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Archduke Assassination
The death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was one of the reason World Was 1 started http://www.europeana-newspapers.eu/wwi-in-historic-newspapers-the-assassination-of-franz-ferdinand/ -
Russia Mobilizes
Russia mobilizes its vast army to intervene against Austria-Hungary in favor of its ally, Serbia. This move starts a chain reaction that leads to the mobilization of the rest of the European Great Powers, and inevitably to the outbreak of hostilities. -
World War 1 begins
Germany invades Belgium, beginning World War I -
Germans Fire
The Germans fire shells filled with chlorine gas at Allied lines. This is the first time that large amounts of gas are used in battle, and the result is the near-collapse of the French lines. -
Lusitania Sinks
A German submarine sinks the passenger liner Lusitania. The ship carries 1,198 people, 128 of them Americans. -
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. -
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. -
Submarines Back
Germany resumes unrestricted submarine warfare in European waterways. This act, more than any other, draws the United States into the war and causes the eventual defeat of Germany. -
Zimmerman Telegram
British intelligence gives Wilson the so-called Zimmerman Telegram, a message from German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmerman proposing that Mexico side with Germany in case of war between Germany and the United States. In return, Germany promises to return to Mexico the "lost provinces" of Texas and much of the rest of the American Southwest. Mexico declines the offer, but the outrage at this interference in the Western Hemisphere pushes American public opinion to support entering the war. -
Wilson For War
President Wilson outlines his case for war to Congress. -
U.S. Enters War
Congress authorizes a declaration of war against Germany. The United States enters World War I on the side of France and Britain. -
Selective Sercice Act
Congress passes the Selective Service Act authorizing the draft. Although criticized for destroying democracy at home while fighting for it abroad, President Wilson claims he sees no other option and signs the bill into law. -
Battle of Belleau Wood
The Battle of Belleau Wood begins as the U.S. Marine Corps attacks the Germans across an open field of wheat, suffering huge casualties. -
End of World War 1
Germany, bereft of manpower and supplies and faced with imminent invasion, signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside Compiégne, France. The First World War left nine million soldiers dead and 21 million wounded, with Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, France, and Great Britain each losing nearly a million or more lives. In addition, at least five million civilians died from disease, starvation, or exposure. -
Battle of St. Mihiel
The Battle of St. Mihiel begins when 300,000 American troops under the direct command of General Pershing fling themselves into the German lines. -
Flamethrowers
Germans were the first to use flamethrowers in WWI. Their flamethrowers could fire jets of flame as far as 130 feet (40 m).
