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(EU) The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo
The Archduke of Austin-Hungary was shot by Garvilo Princhip. This event is often considered the spark of World War 1, which grew because of entangling alliances. -
(EU) Britain declares war on Germany
The declaration was a result of German refusal to remove troops from neutral Belgium. Prior to the German invasion, the United Kingdom had signed the Treaty of London (1839) which guaranteed British and French defence of Belgium sovereignty. -
(US/EU) President Woodrow Wilson declares US policy of Neutrality
President Woodrow Wilson declared that the United States would remain “impartial in thought as well as in action.” At the time, a vast majority of Americans approved of Wilson’s policy of strict U.S. neutrality. -
(EU) Germany invades-declares war on France, causing Britain to declare war on Germany.
First, Britain and France declare war on Germany (August 3, 1914). In response to Hitler's invasion of Poland , Britain and France, both allies of the overrun nation immediately declared war on Germany (September 3,1914) . -
(US/EU) The sinking of the Lusitania
Germany waged submarine warfare against the United Kingdom which had implemented a naval blockade of Germany. -
(EU) Germany Limits Submarines
Reacting to international outrage at the sinking of the Lusitania and other neutral passenger lines, Kaiser Wilhelm suspends unrestricted submarine warfare. This is an attempt to keep the United States out of the war, but it severely hampers German efforts to prevent American supplies from reaching France and Britain. -
(EU) First tanks
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 the decisive weapon, as their designers thought they would be. -
(US) Woodrow Wilson elected President
The 1916 United States presidential election was the 33rd quadrennial presidential election. Incumbent Democratic President Woodrow Wilson defeated Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes, the Republican candidate. -
(US) President Wilson Re-election
Incumbent Democratic President Woodrow Wilson defeated Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes, the Republican candidate. Wilson was the only sitting Democratic president to win re-election between 1832 and 1936. -
(US/EU) The Zimmerman note
The Zimmermann Note was a secret diplomatic communication issued from the German Foreign Office that proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico. -
(US) Congress passes the Espionage Act
Congress passed the Espionage Act. The piece of legislation gave postal officials the authority to ban newspapers and magazines from the mails and threatened individuals convicted of obstructing the draft with $10,000 fines and 20 years in jail. -
(US/EU) Wilson asks for declaration of war
President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany, saying, “The world must be made safe for democracy.” Four days later, Congress voted overwhelmingly in favor of a war declaration -
(US) American enters the war/ Congress votes for the declaration of war
The Wilson administration was able to successfully sustain a position of neutrality through the first thirty months of the war. President Woodrow Wilson addressed a joint session of Congress to request a declaration of war against Germany. -
(EU) Armistice on the Western Front
On Nov. 11, 1918, after more than four years of horrific fighting and the loss of millions of lives, the guns on the Western Front fell silent. Although fighting continued elsewhere, the armistice between Germany and the Allies was the first step to ending World War I. The global reaction was one of mixed emotions: relief, celebration, disbelief and a profound sense of loss. -
(EU/US) Spanish Influenza
The influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 killed more people than World War I, at somewhere between 20 and 40 million people. It has been cited as the most devastating epidemic in recorded world history. More people died of influenza in a single year than in four-years of the Black Death Bubonic Plague from 1347 to 1351. Known as "Spanish Flu" or "La Grippe" the influenza of 1918-1919 was a global disaster.
