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Franz Ferdinand assassinated at Sarajevo
The Archduke of Austria, Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne and his wife, Sophie, the Grand Duchess of Hohenberg were all shot dead by Gavrillo Princip in Sarajevo. -
Period: to
World War 1
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Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia
On July 28, 1914, one month to the day after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were killed by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, effectively beginning the First World War. -
Germany declared war on Russia
Germany was honoring her alliance with Austria-Hungary. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia in response to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Serbian nationalists. Russia was allied with Serbia and everyone knew Russia would declare a war on Austria-Hungary. -
Germany invades Luxembourg
The German occupation of Luxembourg in World War I was the first of two military occupations of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg by Germany in the twentieth century. -
The BEF started its retreat from Mons. Germany invaded France.
The Battle of Mons was the first major action of the BEF in the Wold War One. It was an action of the Battle of the Frontiers, where the Allies fought with Germany on the French borders. At Mons, the British tried to hold the line of the Mons-Condé Canal against the advancing German Army. Although the British fought well and inflicted casualties on the more superior Germans, they were eventually forced to retreat because of the German's greater strength and the retreat of the French Army. -
First Battle of Ypres
The Battle of Ypres (and the numerous battles that surrounded this Flanders town) has become linked forever with World War One. Along with the Battle of the Somme, the battles at Ypres and Passchendaele have gone down in history The town had been the centre of battles before due to its strategic position, but the sheer devastation of the town and the surrounding countryside seems to perfectly summarise the futility of battles fought in World War One. -
Zeppelin raid on Britain
On the morning of January 19th 1915 two German Zeppelin airships, the L3 and L4 took off from Fuhlsbüttel in Germany. Both airships carried 30 hours of fuel, 8 bombs and 25 incendiary devices. They had been given permission by the Emperor Wilhelm II to attack military and industrial buildings. The Emperor had forbidden an attack on London due to concern for the Royal family to whom he was related. -
Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary
On May 23, 1915, Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary. The Italian declaration opened up a new front in World War I, stretching 600 kilometers—most of them mountainous—along Italy's border with Austria-Hungary. Italy—which had become a unified nation only as recently as 1859—was, like Russia, not yet a fully industrialized power. -
Germans capture Warsaw from the Russians
After his success in the Battle of Tannenberg, General Hindenburg reassembled an army which he called the Ninth German Army. Its goals were to cut through Poland, capture Warsaw, and to continue into Galicia to fight the Southern Russian Army.and supplies. Because of this retreat and lack of preparation, Polish and Russian -
Start of the Battle of Loos
The Battle of Loos was fought in September 1915. The battle at Loos was part of Marshal Joffre's campaign in Artois that was designed to push back the Germans in a two-pronged offensive. Hence why on September 25th the British 1st Army commanded by Douglas Haig attacked German positions at Loos. -
Start of the Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun in 1916 was the longest single battle of World War One. The casualties from Verdun and the impact the battle had on the French Army was a primary reason for the British starting the Battle of the Somme in July 1916 in an effort to take German pressure off of the French at Verdun. The Battle of Verdun started on February 21st 1916 and ended on December 16th in 1916. It was to make General Philippe Pétain a hero in France. -
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland is considered to be the only major naval battle of World War One. Jutland witnessed the British Navy losing more men and ships but the verdict of the Battle of Jutland was that the German Navy lost and was never in a position again to put to sea during the war. Admiral John Jellicoe's tactics were criticised by some, but after the battle the British Navy remained a powerful fighting force whereas the German High Seas fleet was not. -
Start of the Brusilov Offensive
The Brusilov Offensive took place in 1916. The offensive started in June 1916 and ended in August of the same year. The Brusilov Offensive ironically was nearly a major success in a war that had been a disaster for the Russians up to that year. -
Start of the Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme started in July 1st 1916. It lasted until November 1916. For many people, the Battle of the Somme was the battle that symbolised the horrors of warfare in World War One; this one battle had a marked effect on overall casualty figures and seemed to epitomise the futility of trench warfare. -
End of the Brusilov Offensive
After the disasters at Tannenburg and the Masurian Lakes, the Russian army had fallen back to a line from Riga in the Baltic through to the Pinsk marshes near the Rumanian frontier - about 500 miles long. It was divided into three sectors:
The North-West Front led by General Kuropatkin
The West Front commanded by General Evert
The South-West Front commanded by General Ivanov -
USA declared war on Germany
America entered World War One on April 6th, 1917. Up to that date, America had tried to keep out of World War One – though she had traded with nations involved in the war – but unrestricted submarine warfare, introduced by the Germans on January 9th, 1917, was the primary issue that caused Woodrow Wilson to ask Congress to declare war on Germany on April 2nd. Four days later, America joined World War One on the side of the Allies. -
Germany’s unrestricted submarine warfare campaign started
The use of unrestricted submarine warfare was announced by Germany on January 9th, 1917. The use of unrestricted submarine warfare was to have a major impact on World War One as it was one of the main reasons why America joined the war. -
Battle of Caporetto
The Battle of Caporetto was one of the more decisive battles of World War One. The Italian Army suffered major losses at Caporetto in terms of prisoners taken and equipment lost. The Italian Army had enjoyed a number of successes around the Isonzo area of north Italy. The primary opponents in the Isonzo area had been Austro-Hungarian forces and after the Eleventh Battle of Isonzo. -
Britain captured Jerusalem from the Turks
The Battle of Jerusalem (officially named the "Jerusalem Operations" by the British) developed from 17 November with fighting continuing until 30 December 1917, straight after the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) victory at the Battle of Mughar Ridge, fought as a consequence of the decisive EEF victories at the Battle of Beersheba and Third Battle of Gaza during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I. Before the capture of Jerusalem was secured, two battles were recognised by the Brit -
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed between Russia and Germany.
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk brought about the end of the war between Russia and Germany in 1918. The German were reminded of the harshness of Brest-Litovsk when they complained about the severity of the Treaty of Versailles signed in June 1919. -
The Treaty of Versailles was signed by the Germans.
The Treaty of Versailles was the peace settlement signed after World War One had ended in 1918 and in the shadow of the Russian Revolution and other events in Russia. The treaty was signed at the vast Versailles Palace near Paris - hence its title - between Germany and the Allies. The three most important politicians there were David Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau and Woodrow Wilson.
