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Period: to
WWI
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The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
On June 28, 1914, the Archduke of Austria-Hungary and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were shot and killed by Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Black Hand. Their driver, Leopold Lojka, had made a wrong turn while driving to the hospital after a bombing went down which resulted in Princip noticing the Archduke and his wife. Two gunshots were fired, one in the Archduke's neck, the other in his wife's stomach. -
The First World War Starts
After the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand occurred in Serbia on June 28, 1914, just a month after, the nation of Austria-Hungary soon declares war on Serbia. France and Great Britain hear about the declaration on Serbia and soon join forces with Serbian forces to go up against Austria-Hungary. Hearing about France and Great Britain's alliance with Serbia, countries such as Germany, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire (or Turkey), Norway, and Sweden join forces with Austria-Hungary in the war. -
German Soldiers Invade Belgium
From August 4, 1914 - October 31, 1914, Belgium was in a state of heightened alert due to Germans going to invade Belgium. The government of Belgium announced that if the First World War was to ever occur, then the country would remain neutral throughout the whole duration of WWI. The reason Germany had invaded Belgium, was to get into France and soon concentrate and go up against Russian forces. -
The Battle of Tannenberg
Throughout the course of a week from August 23, 1914 - August 30, 1914, was the Battle of Tannenberg, which was Russia's biggest defeat in all of WWI. The Battle of Tannenberg, aka the Second Battle of Tannenberg, was fought between Russian armies and German armies. Due to Russia's army being so small, they faced major casualties and deaths. Tsar Nicholas II wanted to lead the battle, but because of him having no experience whatsoever, Russia was forced to pull out of the war altogether. -
The Start of Propaganda in WWI
Between the 4 years of WWI from September 2, 1914 - 1918, propaganda was a big thing that had started to go around. When an army was in need for soldiers, posters were put up everywhere calling for help. Some posters that really antagonized the enemies, while other posters using regular civilians as the example. Altogether, these posters tried influencing civilians, specificially men, to join the army. -
The Christmas Truce of 1914
On the very first Christmas during WWI, an unofficial ceasefire occurred along the Western Front. Just a few hours before, German soldiers were singing a Christman tune which caught the attention of the British soldiers. The British started singing along with the Germans and eventually, both sides came out of the trenches declaring they wouldn't shoot. However, even though both sides were at peace throughout this whole event, the higher ranks had disapproved this whole "truce." -
The Lusitania Sinks
On May 1, 1915, a British ship known as the RMS Lusitania set sail during WWI, from New York City to Liverpool, England, carrying almost 2,000 passengers on board. However, just 6 days after the Lusitania set sail, German soldiers rode submarines and torpedoed the RMS Lusitania, causing it the sink. Almost 1,200 of the 2,000 passengers were killed during the sinking, and almost 130 of those passengers were Americans. This being the spark that led President Wilson to join the Allies in WWI. -
The Battle of Verdun
From February 21 - December 18, 1916, France and Germany went head-to-head in a battle in Verdun. During the battle, the Germans had dropped almost two million bombs over the French trenches. After the Battle of Verdun, there were more than 700,000 casualties and due to the constant bombing during the battle, the land was changed drastically. -
The Bloodiest War during WWI
Known as the bloodiest battle of WWI, the Battle of the Somme, starting July 1, 1916, and ending November 18, 1916, was a battle that happened along the upper reaches of the river Somme. It's known as the bloodiest battle due to having almost 57,000 casualties on the Allies side just on the first day alone. Although being the bloodiest, the Allies still pulled out strong, being crowned the victors of the Battle of the Somme. -
The Zimmermann Telegram
Germany, in need of more allies and help with the war, sends out a secret document to the president of Mexico, in hopes they'll join. The telegram states a proposal for alignment, or to join forces, if the USA ever joins the war. The telegram also states that if Mexico did join the war, Germany would help recover land that had now belonged to America. Word soon got out as the British presented the telegram to U.S. goverments, causing America to declare war on Germany. -
The February Revolution
Between March 8, 1917 - March 12, 1917, Vladimir Lenin led a group of communists known as the Bolsheviks whose plan was to overthrow Tsar Nicholas II. Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate the throne of Russia due to being discontent at home, and due to the two major losses during the First World War. On March 15, 1917, the Bolsheviks had successfully forced the Tsar to give up the throne, and even overthrew Tsar Nicholas II. -
America Joins the Allied Forces
On April 6 1917, President Wilson declared war on Germany and had joined the Allied forces in the war, this being the British and the French. Wilson's decision to take part in the war was due to submarine warfare, the Lusitania sinking, and even the Zimmerman Telegram, where Germans tried to encourage Mexico to join the war. -
Russian Revolution
After overthrowing Tsar Nicholas II, Russia officially withdraws from the war and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk is officially signed. The treaty made Russia a completely neutral country after 1917 and made sure there were no more attacks and battle that happened on the Eastern Front. -
Armistice
On the 11th hour of November 11, 1918, an armistice was signed to officially stop the fighting, but not to stop the war just yet. Although signing the armistice officially declared the fighting to be put to an end, for six hours after the signing, soldiers from areas other than the Western Front were still at war. -
The Treaty of Versailles
On June 28, 1919, 5 years after the Archduke's assassination, the Treaty of Versailles was signed. The treaty officially ended the First World War and demanded that Germany be held responsible for the war and pay back almost $66M. Germany had accepted to be held accountable and was forced to give back the land they had taken over, these lands becoming new nations post-war. The treaty also states that Germany should be demilitarized and their army limited to 100,000 soldiers. -
League of Nations is Created
After the First World War had come to an end, America helped European countries establish and create an organization known as the League of Nations. The organization's main goal was to "promote international cooperation and achieve international peace and security." The League of Nations soon disbanded two decades later due to unanimity which made decision-making hard within the League. The League's downfall was essentially also a big contribution to the start of WWII happening.