-
assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the archduke of Austria-Hungary.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated in Sarajevo. -
Russia mobilizes
Russia mobilizes its vast army to intervene against Austria-Hungary in favor of its ally (Serbia). -
Germany invades Belgium
beginning World War I. -
Battle of Tannenberg
Tannenberg was a crushing defeat for Russia, which lost almost an entire army, 400 guns, and other war material. -
Germans fire
The Germans fire shells filled with chlorine gas at Allied 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. -
First tanks
The British employ the first tanks ever used in battle -
Submarines Back
Germany resumes unrestricted submarine warfare in European waterways. -
Zimmerman Telegram
British intelligence gives Wilson the so-called Zimmermann Telegram, a message from German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmermann proposing that Mexico side with Germany in case of war between Germany and the United States. -
Wilson For War
President Wilson outlines his case for war to Congress. -
U.S enters war
The United States enters World War I on the side of France and Britain. -
Selective Service Act
Congress passes the Selective Service Act authorizing the draft. -
Germany and Russia Peace
The Germans sign a peace treaty with the new Bolshevik government of Russia. -
Battle of Cantigny
The Battle of Cantigny is the first major American offensive of the war. -
Chateau-Thierry
The Americans attack the Germans at Chateau-Thierry. -
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 -
Battle of Belleau Wood ends
The Battle of Belleau Wood ends with the final expulsion of the Germans from the wood -
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. -
Wilhelm Abdicates
Kaiser Wilhelm abdicates, ending all German hope for a victory. -
Armistice Day
War ended
