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Franz Ferdinand is assasinated
Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His assassination sparked the First World War. While riding in a motorcade through the streets of Sarajevo, he and his wife Sophie were shot and killed by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian member of the Black Hand. “Sopherl! Sopherl! Sterbe nicht! Bleibe am Leben für unsere Kinde!” – “Sophie, Sophie, don’t die, stay alive for our children!" -
The Austrian-Hungarian Empire declares war on Serbia
The Austrian-Hungarian Empire, backed by its ally Germany, declared what was expected to be a short war on Serbia. This is because the Austrian government believe that Serbia is responsible for the death of Franz Ferdinand. -
Germany declares war on Russia
Germany warned Russia, still only partially mobilized, that to continue to full mobilization against Austria-Hungary would mean war with Germany. While insisting that Russia immediately halt mobilization, Germany began its own mobilization; when the Russians refused the German demands, Germany declared war on the czarist empire. -
Germany invade Belgium
Germany declared war on France and invaded Belgium. Germany had to implement the Schlieffen Plan, soon advancing into northeastern France. -
Britain declares war on Germany
Britain declares war on Germany. Australia quickly pledged its support for Britain. “Australians will stand beside our own to help and defend her to our last man and our last shilling" -
Recruiting soldiers
Labor won the Australian Federal Election and became an enthusiastic ‘win-the-war’ party in government. Supporting the pledge of 20,000 men, the new Government watched an extraordinary rush to enlist all around the country and soon promised an increase in the expeditionary force to take the total to 50,000 men. -
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Australia in the Great War
Australia was in the middle of an election campaign when war came. Labor (Andrew Fisher) won the Federal Election and became an enthusiastic ‘win-the-war’ party in government. Supporting the initial pledge of 20,000 men, the new Government watched an extraordinary rush to enlist all around the country and soon promised to take a total of 50,000 men. -
Battle of Marne
The French 6th Army under the command of General Michel-Joseph Manoury attacks the right flank of the German 1st Army, beginning the decisive First Battle of the Marne at the end of the first month of World War I, -
The recruits are sent to Egypt
Instead of going to Britain, which everyone had expected, the troops were diverted to Egypt, largely because it was feared the Australians would not withstand the terrible English winter in makeshift camps on Salisbury Plain. It was tough in Egypt too, with basic facilities, and not much in the way of training beyond marching up and down the sand dunes and deserts. -
The Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire entered World War I as an ally of Germany.
Ottoman ships attacked Russian ports on the Black Sea. Ottoman troops then invaded Russia. Fighting later broke out in the Ottoman territories on the Arabian Peninsula and in Mesopotamia (now mostly Iraq), Palestine, and Syria. -
The Christmas truce
On dawn of Christmas Day, some German soldiers emerged from their trenches and approached the Allied lines across no-man’s-land, calling out “Merry Christmas” in their enemies’ native tongues. At first, the Allied soldiers feared it was a trick, but seeing the Germans unarmed they climbed out of their trenches and shook hands with the enemy soldiers. The men exchanged presents of cigarettes and plum puddings and sang carols and songs. -
Zeppelin raid
Two German Zeppelin airships, the L3 and L4 took off from Fuhlsbüttel in Germany on course to Britain. 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. A total of nine people were killed and some buildings were damaged. -
Allied troops land in Gallipoli
Sending troops to land from the sea on hostile territory against a well-prepared enemy has rarely been attempted in military history, but the Anzacs arrived in Anzac cove. The Gallipoli Campaign was one of the Allies great disasters in World War One. It was carried out on the Gallipoli peninsula in the Ottoman Empire. The doomed campaign was thought up by Winston Churchill to end the war early by creating a new war front that the Ottomans could not cope with. -
Italy declare war on Austria-Hungary and Germany
When war broke out in the summer of 1914, Italy declared itself neutral in the conflict, despite its membership in the so-called Triple Alliance alongside Germany and Austria-Hungary since 1882. Over the course of the months that followed, Italy and its leaders weighed their options; wooed by both sides, they carefully considered how to gain the greatest benefit from participation in the war. -
Evacuation of Anzac
10000 men held the lines of trenches from Bolton’s Ridge in the south to Hill 60 in the north. The day was spent in constant activity aimed at convincing their enemy that things were proceeding as normal. At 2.15 pm the British started a feint attack at Helles to distract the Turkish. At dusk the rear guard began leaving for the beach until finally there were but 1500 left in all those miles of dark trench. By the 20th, the Anzacs had successfully left Gallipoli with hardly a casualty. -
Conscription introduced in Britain
Conscription was introduced, targeting single men aged 18-41. Within a few months WW1 conscription was rolled out for married men. 750,000 men appealed against their conscription in the first 6 months. -
The 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. -
Conscription introduced in Australia
The number of recruits dwindled in Australia, possibly because there were few men with the capacity to enlist. The work of the nation in its factories, offices, schools, shops and farms had to be continued somehow. Yet war patriots began to think that every man in the right age group should be at the war. They demanded that the government introduce conscription. -
USA declared war on Germany
Up to this date, America had tried to keep out of The Great War. Though they 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. -
Combat along the Eastern Front ends
An armistice was signed between the Russia on the one side and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Bulgaria, the German Empire and the Ottoman Empire (the Central Powers) on the other. The armistice took effect two days later, on 17 December. -
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AIF
By 1918 the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) was at the height of its fighting powers: grimly determined, and well led by its own Australian commanders, at last, to the great satisfaction of all Australian soldiers. Though reduced in numbers, the AIF won some remarkable victories in 1918, at Villers-Bretonneux, in the Battle of Amiens, at Hamel, Mont St Quentin and Peronne. Exhausted, the Australians were withdrawn from the line in October, after months of continuous fighting, -
The final three
Germany launched first of its final three offensives on the Western Front. This marked the turning point of World War I. The Germans wanted to capture the strategically important area of Amiens, to divide the Allied armies and to weaken them to the point where a combined counter-attack would be impossible. -
Allies began their last World War I push
Allies began their last World War I push with counterattack on Western Front. By early September, Germany had lost all the territory it had gained since spring. -
Turkey made peace
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Austria made peace
Austria-Hungary signed an armistice with Italy. -
Armistice of Compiègne
The armistice between the Allies and Germany was the agreement that ended the fighting in western Europe that comprised The Great War. It went into effect at 11 a.m. (Paris time) on November 11, 1918, and marked a victory for the Allies and a complete defeat for Germany. -
Peace Conference
On this day in Paris, France, some of the most powerful people in the world met to begin the long, complicated negotiations that would officially mark the end of the First World War. Leaders of the victorious Allied powers–France, Great Britain, the United States and Italy–would make most of the crucial decisions in Paris over the next six months. -
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, between Germany and the Allies.
