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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie. - https://www.firstworldwar.com/source/harrachmemoir.htm
The murder of Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie infuriated Austria-Hungary. The Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie traveled to Sarajevo, Bosnia for a state visit. The couple made their way down to the capital city, to inspect the imperial troops that were stationed there. Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist, shot and killed Ferdinand and his wife at point blank range. Austria-Hungary then declared war on Serbia with the support of Germany. -
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, beginning World War 1. -https://www.firstworldwar.com/source/autrohungariandeclarationofwar_serbia.htm
The Austrian government believed the Serbian government was responsible for the death of the Archduke and his wife and were to be held responsible. Russia was allied with Serbia and Germany did not believe Russia had the means to mobilize and offered their support to Austria if needed. Russia did mobilize though and due to their alliance with France, they called on them to mobilize as well. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia which effectively started World War 1. -
Period: to
World War 1
World War 1 began after the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and last until the surrender of the Germans on the 11th of November in 1918. -
The United States declares its neutrality. -https://college.cengage.com/history/us/resources/students/primary/neutrality.htm
President Woodrow Wilson announces that the United States was going to remain neutral in the war. He stated that we would be “impartial in thought as well as in action”. The initial view of the American Public was the same was Wilson’s, they approved of Wilson’s strict policy of neutrality. -
Sinking of the Lusitania. -http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/lusitania.htm
The luxurious British-owned steamship know as the Lusitania was sunk by a German U-Boat. On the boat, 1,128 lost their lives, including 128 Americans. This disaster immediately changed the relationship between Germany and the United States who was, at the time, neutral. The sinking of the Lusitania nourished a great dislike of Germans by the Americans which eventually led to the United States giving of their neutrality to entire the Great War. -
First Aeroplane raid. -http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/firstworldwar/spotlights/airraids.htm
During the First World War, Britain was attacked by air. This was the first time that
civilians were put directly in the firing line. From the start of the war, Britain was not
prepared well enough to fend off enemy air-ships / air-crafts. Generally, Britain had focused on defending the coastline rather than airspace. It didn’t help that a majority of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) were operating overseas, which left few air-crafts to defend the British at home. -
U.S. declared War. - https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/world-war-i-america-heads-to-war
Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war on Germany. Congress granted the request and the United States was formally at war with Germany and had entered the war Wilson had tried so hard to avoid. Several events led to his decision including the sinking of the Lusitania, and the Zimmerman Telegram sent to Mexico by Germany. The continuation of unrestricted submarine warfare by Germany was the event that tipped the American Public from neutral to fighting on the front lines. -
Germany Signs the Armistice at Compiègne, ending World War I. -https://www.firstworldwar.com/source/armisticeterms.htm
The armistice ended fighting on land, sea, and air between the Allies and Germany. The Armistice of Compiegne was signed by the French Marshallah Foch. The signing of this armistice was marked as a victory for the Allies and a defeat for the Germans, although it was not considered a formal surrender. While the armistice was effective in ending the fighting on Western Front, it was tediously stretched out until The Treaty of Versailles was signed and took effect.
