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World War One begins
Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated in Sarajevo. His death is the event that sparks World War I. -
Period: to
WWI
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Russia begins to move!
Russia mobilizes its vast army to intervene against Austria-Hungary in favor of its ally, Serbia. This started other great powers to start moving their armies -
First battle of WWI
Germany invades Belgium -
Gas attack!
The germans fire shells full of chlorine gas at allied lines making this battle the first time a lot of gas was used as a weapon. The french's lines almost collapsed however, they didnt. -
Tanks incoming
The British employ the first tanks ever used in battle, at Delville Wood. Although they are useful at breaking through barbed wire and clearing a path for the infantry, tanks are still primitive and they fail to be a revolutionary weapon -
Submarine warfare
Germany resumes unrestricted submarine warfare in European waterways which brings the USA in the war which results in the downfall of Germany -
The Zimmerman Telegram
A message from German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmermann proposing that Mexico side with Germany in case of war between Germany and the United States. In return, Germany promises to return to Mexico the "lost provinces" of Texas and much of the rest of the American Southwest. Mexico declines the offer, but angers the US which makes them want to join the war -
USA is all in
USA officially declares war against Germany -
Peace Treaty
The Germans sign a peace treaty with the new Bolshevik government of Russia. The terms of the treaty give Germany huge tracts of land that had been the Ukraine and Poland, and peace on the Eastern Front allows Germany to shift soldiers to the Western Front, causing serious problems for the French, British, and Americans. -
End of the War