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Austria declares war on Serbia
Although Russia was allied with Serbia, Germany did not believe that she would mobilize and offered to support Austria if necessary. -
Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated. The Austrian government blamed the Serbian government for the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife and declared war on Serbia. -
Germany declares war on Russia and France
Germany declared war on France. German troops poured into Belgium as directed under the Schlieffen Plan, drawn up in 1905. The British foreign secretary, Sir Edward Grey, sent an ultimatum to Germany demanding their withdrawal from neutral Belgium -
Battle of Tannenberg
The Russian army marched into Prussia. Because of the differences in railway gauge between Russia and Prussia, it was difficult for the Russians to get supplies through to their men. The Germans used their railway system to surround the Russian Second army at Tannenberg before it’s commander could realize what was happening. The ensuing battle was a heavy defeat for the Russians with thousands of men killed and 125,000 taken prisoner. The Germans won the battle, 13,000 men were killed. -
Battle of Masurian Lake
Having defeated the Russian Second Army, the Germans turned their attention to the Russian First army at Masurian Lakes. Although the Germans were unable to defeat the army completely, over 100,000 Russians were taken, prisoner. -
Turkey Enters War
Turkey entered the war on the side of the central powers and gave help to a German naval bombardment of Russia -
Dardanelles
The Russians appealed for help from Britain and France to beat off an attack by the Turkish. The British navy responded by attacking Turkish forts in the Dardanelles. -
Battle of Ypres
Poison gas was used for the first time during this battle. The gas, fired by the Germans claimed many British casualties. -
Battle of Jutland
The British and German naval forces met again but the battle was inconclusive. The German ships did a great deal of damage to British ships before once again withdrawing and the British Admiral Jellicoe decided not to give chase. British losses were heavier than the German, the battle had alarmed both the Kaiser and the German Admiral Scheer and they decided to keep their fleet consigned to the harbor for the remainder of the war. -
Winston Churchill Resigns
Winston Churchill, critical of the Dardanelles campaign, resigned his post as First Lord of the Admiralty. He rejoined the army as a battalion commander. -
Battle of Jutland
This was the only truly large-scale naval battle of the war. German forces, confined to port by a British naval blockade, came out in the hope of splitting the British fleet and destroying it ship by ship. The exchange of fire was brief and the German’s withdrew. -
Battle of Verdun
The Germans mounted an attack on the French at Verdun designed to ‘bleed the French dry’. Although the fighting continued for nine months, the battle was inconclusive. Casualties were enormous on both sides with the Germans losing 430,000 men and the French 540,000. -
Battle of Somme
The battle was preceded by a week-long artillery bombardment of the German line which was supposed to destroy the barbed wire defenses placed along the German line but only actually succeeded in making no men land a mess of mud and craters. The five-month-long battle saw the deaths of 420,000 British soldiers (60,000 on the first day), 200,000 French soldiers and 500,000 German soldiers all for a total land gain of just 25 miles. -
New War Commander
Lloyd George, who had never trusted his war minister’s ability to direct the war, persuaded the Cabinet to appoint the French General Nivelle as supreme war commander over Haig’s head. Haig was assured that the appointment was for one operation only and that if he felt the British army was being misused by the Frenchman he could appeal to the British government. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Following the successful revolution by the Bolsheviks, the Russians signed an Armistice with Germany at Brest-Litovsk. The terms of the treaty were harsh: Russia had to surrender Poland, the Ukraine and other regions. They had to stop all Socialist propaganda directed at Germany and pay 300 million roubles for the repatriation of Russian prisoners. -
Battle of Amiens
The British general, Haig, ordered the attack of the German sector at Amiens. At the same time the news came through that the allies had broken through from Salonika and forced Bulgaria to sue for peace. -
Armistice with Turkey
The allies had successfully pushed the Turkish army back and the Turks were forced to ask for an armistice. The terms of the armistice treaty allowed the allies access to the Dardanelles. -
Hindenburg Line Collapses
By the beginning of November the allies had pushed the Germans back beyond the Hindenberg line. -
Armistice was Signed
At 11 am, in the French town of Redonthes, the Armistice was signed bringing the war to an end