World War 1

By Kyliebridges

  • Germany Officially United

    The German National Assembly met to represent the first assembly to be freely elected by German people. However, this did not last long, and in 1949 the revolution was extinguished. Germany was finally officially united before the 1960s, as Otto von Bismarck undertook it. This allowed Germany to partake in it’s first war as a united country, the Danish War.

  • Triple Entente Alliance formed

    This alliance formed between Russia, France, and the United Kingdom. This affected WW1 because such alliances were one of the main causes behind all of the conflict. It also joined 3 very powerful countries together and changed the dynamic of how the war would go.

  • France loses Alsace and Lorraine to Germany

    This was the first time that France lost this territory to Germany after the Franco-German War. This territory was given back to France after World War 1 in 1919 because Germany was blamed for the cause of the Great War.

  • Russo-Japanese War

    This conflict between Russia and Japan affected WW1 by creating a lasting tension between these two powers throughout the world war.

  • Austria- Hungary annexes Bosnia

    The dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary announces the annexation of Bosnia, which was one of a set of dual provinces in the Balkan region. At the time, the Balkan region was under the control of the Ottoman Empire. Germany was allies with Austria-Hungary, and would go to battle against both France and Russia on their side.

  • Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated

    When a Serbian nationalist assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it caused a massive conflict. This event was widely acknowledged to have sparked the outbreak of World War 1.

  • Austria declares war on Serbia

    One month after the assassination of Archduke Franz and his wife, Austria- Hungary declares war on Serbia, which effectively begins the First World War.

  • Schlieffen Plan put into action

    This plan took advantage of Russia being slower, it also took into account differences in how quickly the three other countries could prepare for war. This affected WW1 because it was an advanced and aggressive military strategy.

  • Ottoman-Germany alliance formed

    This was a mutually beneficial alliance. It has effects on WW1 because it gave Germany safe access into Britain and strengthened the Ottoman military.

  • Japan declares war on Germany

    Japan sent an ultimatum to Germany, demanding the removal of all German ships from Japanese and Chinese waters on August 15. However, when Germany did not respond, Japan declared war on Germany on August 23, 1914. This essentially entered Japan into the Great War on the side of the Allies.

  • Battle of Tennenburg

    This battle begins when the German 8th Army strikes with lethal force against the Russian 2nd Army. The Battle of Tannenberg was just one of the many small battles that occurred during the Great War. After 3 days, the Russians began their retreat, and on August 30, the leader of the Russians shot himself.

  • Battle of Marne

    On September 6, General Michel-Joseph Manoury and the French 6th Army attack the German 1st Army. Although the Germans were prepared against the surprise attack, and fought for many days, they eventually retreated on September 9.

  • Russian Army out of ammunition

    This event was a turning point in the war because Russia lost the advantage and declined in the war from this point onward.

  • Lusitania sinks

    A British boat that carried people across the altiantic was sunk by the German. This is a turning point because it gave the US an excuse to become involved in the war because of the deaths of American citizens.

  • Battle of Gallipoli

    This battle was quite different from the others. It was an unsuccessful attempt by the Allied Powers to control the Sea Route from Europe to Russia. By mid-October, Allied forces suffered many casualties and didn’t make much progress. Soon enough, evacuation began, which ended the battle.

  • Battle of Verdun

    The Battle of Verdun began when more than 1, 220 guns opened fire on February 21. Then, the Germans and the French erupted in yet another war; the Germans gave orders to take the French positions without regard to casualties. At the end of the battle, casualties for both sides totaled between 600,000 and 700,000

  • Battle of Jutland

    The Germans and the British scouting forces began to fire at each other on May 31, 1916, which started the Battle of Jutland. Eventually, the British naval fleet overpowered the Germans, and forced Germany to retreat; however, both sides claimed victory even though the British had control over the North Sea.

  • Zimmerman Telegraph found

    This was a telegraph intercepted by the British that was meant to be sent from Germany to Mexico, to ask the Mexicans to help Germany invade the US. Britian was able to warn the US, which is a turning point because the interception of this telegraph saved millions of Americans lives and forced America to become actively involved in warfare.

  • 14 points proposed

    U.S President Woodrow Wilson discusses the aims of the United States in World War 1, which outlines the “Fourteen Points.” This peace proposal, based on peace without victory, called for the restoration of territories conquered during the war, and other peace keeping rules.

  • Unrestricted submarine warfare commences

    This new type of modern warfare was a turning point for WW1 because it changed how the war was being fought completely. Submarines were sinking enemy freighters and other ships with no warnings, this was new technology for the time.

  • Tsar Nichols II abdicates

    Tsar Nichols II resigned from his position of leading Russia, making him the last King of Russia. This affected the war by
    leaving Russia temporarily with no leadership.

  • US declares war on Germany

    President Wilson declared war on Germany on April 2, 1917, when he appeared before Congress and stated the reason for the declaration was in order to make “the world safe for democracy”. On April4, Congress granted his request.

  • Battle of Passchendaele

    This battle is characterized by the immense amount of rain that occurred within a few days of July 31. It was the heaviest rain for 30 years and had turned the soil into mud, which clogged weapons and immobilized tanks. The attacks resumed after the rain subsided; however, not much progress was made for the British and for the Germans. Although Germany couldn’t afford any more casualties, they continued to fight until November.

  • Balfour Declaration

    Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour writes a letter to Britain’s Jewish citizen, Baron Lionel Walter Rothschild. He expressed the British government’s support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine. This caused future conflicts between the two sides of the war.

  • Bolsheviks emerge as a political group

    In 1903, the Bolsheviks met with other Russian Marxists, and established the RSDWP, which was the official beginning of the Bolsheviks; however, in November of 1917, them and their allies occupied government buildings and other strategic locations in the Russian capital. Then within 2 days, Lenin, the leader of the Bolsheviks formed a new government (USSR).

  • Vladimir Lenin takes power of Russia

    Lenin takes over during the revolution which gives Russia some leadership that they need during this time as they are still involved in the war. This leads eventually to the treaty that end Russia's involvement in the war.

  • October Revolution

    This was a political movement in Russia. This affected the Great War because it was a seizure of state power in Russia after the resignation of the King, and Russia's later rebellions end up changing their involvement in the war.

  • Russia signed treaty of Brest-Litovsk

    This was a treaty between Russia and the great powers that ended Russia's involvement in WW1. Eliminating Russia from the equation showed a shift in power between the two sides.

  • Battle of Somme

    The Battle of Somme was one of the largest battles of the First World War. On the first day of the battle, the British alone lost more than 57,000 soldiers and by the end, the Allies and the Central Powers would lose more than 1.5 million men

  • Influenza epidemic

    In May, reports of sever influenza trickled in from Europe; soldiers and men in their prime time of life were becoming ill in large numbers. Within two months, influenza spread from the military to the civilian population, and from there to Asia, Africa, and South America. This epidemic consisted of 3 waves, and continued to worsen as time passed. By the end, nearly 675,000 Americans were dead from the sickness.

  • Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates

    Wilhelm did not actively seek war, and tried to hold back his generals from mobilizing the German army in the summer of 1914. By 1918, popular unrest in Germany and a naval mutiny convinced the civilian political leaders that he had to abdicate to preserve order. His abdication was announced on November 9, and he took a train to the Netherlands on November 10.

  • Armistice signed

    The Great War ends on November 11, 1918, when Germany signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car in France.

  • Treaty of Versalllies signed

    This treaty ended World War 1. It was a turning point because it ended the war between Germany and the Allied Powers.

  • Treaty of Saint Germain

    This was a second treaty that was signed also involved in ending World War 1. It declared the Allied Powers the victors of this war.

  • New Economic Policy

    This was the economic reconstruction of Russia post-WW1. This declared Russia a capitalist system again in order to revive the economy. This was a turning point for Russia in order to recover from war.

  • Stalin takes over Russia

    Stalin takes control of Russia. He has the intentions to improve the economy and modernize their military and also improve the army after the many failures in WW1.

  • Trotsky flees Russia

    Trotsky flees Russia in fear of losing his life to the new leader of Russia, Stalin. This showed how intense the government of Russia had become during this post-War time.

  • Russia-Germany pact violates Verallies

    Russia and Germany made a pact to be allies which violated the Treaty of Versallies, they wanted to eliminate secret alliances to prevent another world war and since tensions were still high from WW1 this act was taken very seriously.

  • Germany stops reparation payments to France

    Nearly 92 years after the country's defeat by the Allies, Germany's last $94 million payment was issued on October 3.

  • Triple Alliance formed

    This alliance was between Germany, Austria, and Italy. This alliance lasted up until the war and affected it by giving Germany some protection from their enemies (all three countries are in between Great Britain, Russia, and France but all together they give some protection.

  • Revolution overthrows Austrian-Hungarian Emporer

    A group of rebels overthrow the emporer and a government system was set up in place of the emporer. This event affects World War 1 because Austria's involvement in the war is majorly affected by their government leadership at the time which was no longer an emporer.