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Warzone
Germany declares a "war zone" around Great Britain, essentially effecting a submarine blockade where even neutral merchant vessels were to be potential targets. -
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. -
serbian nationalist
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to Austria-Hungary's throne, and his wife, Sophie, are assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip while the couple were visiting Sarajevo. -
Archduke Assassination
Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated in Sarajevo. His death is the event that sparks World War I. -
Russia Mobilizes
Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated in Sarajevo. His death is the event that sparks World War I. -
Period: to
War In Europe
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
Germany declares war on Russia.
Germany declares war on France.
The United Kingdom declares war on Germany, after Germany invades Belgium.
Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia and Serbia declares war on Germany. -
World War 1 Begins
Germany invades Belgium, beginning World War I. -
U.S. neutral
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson announces the U.S. will remain neutral. -
Xmas Truce
The unofficial Christmas truce is declared. -
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. However, the Germans are unable to take advantage of the breach. -
Lusitania Sinks
A German submarine sinks the passenger liner Lusitania. The ship carries 1,198 people, 128 of them Americans. -
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. -
Germany and Russia Peace
The Germans sign a peace treaty with the new Bolshevik government of Russia. The terms of the treaty give Germany huge tracts of land that had been the Ukraine and Poland, and peace on the Eastern Front allows Germany to shift soldiers to the Western Front, causing serious problems for the French, British, and Americans. -
Battle of Cantigny
The Battle of Cantigny is the first major American offensive of the war. Though small in scale, the Americans fight bravely and soon go on to larger attacks against German positions. -
Armistice Day
An Armistice is signed ending fighting on the Western Front. -
Prohibition starts
Prohibition means that the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol was banned because of the Eighteenth Amendment. The women were grateful that it was taking into place because they thought that the households would be more safe from their husbands. The men on the other hand didn't like it. -
Failure to Ratify
The United States Senate fails to ratify the Treaty of Versailles and U.S. involvement in the League of Nations. -
Period: to
treaty was signed
Treaty of Versailles drafted and signed
