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Assassination of ArchDuke Franz Ferdinand
This was probably the main cause for WWI because of the fact that Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia just two weeks after the occasion.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/world-war-i-history -
Russia Mobilizes
Russia intervenes in 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. -
World War I Begins
Germany invades Belgium, beginning the first World War. -
Germans Fire
The Germans fire gas-filled shells towards Allie lines. This is the first time that large amounts of gas are used in battle, and the result is the nearly collapsed French front lines. However, the Germans are unable to take advantage. -
Lusitania is Sunk
A German submarine sinks the passenger ship the Lusitania. The ships carried 1,198 people...128 Americans. -
Germany Limits Submarines
Reacting to international outrage of the sinking of the Lusitania, Kaiser Wilhelm suspends unrestricted submarine warfare. This is an attempt to keep the United States out of the war, but it severely restricts German efforts to keep American supplies from reaching Britain and France. -
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 were still new and they fail to be the decisive weapon, as their designers thought they would be. -
Submarines Return
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 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. 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's Case for War
President Wilson presents his outline for war to congress. -
United States Enters War
Congress authorizes a declaration of war against Germany. The US enters war on the side of Britain and France. -
Selective Service Act
Congress passes the Selective Service Act authorizing the draft. Although criticized for destroying democracy at while fighting it abroad, President Wilson says he sees no other option and signs the bill. -
German and Russian 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. https://www.abmc.gov/news-events/news/100th-anniversary-battle-cantigny-american-forces%E2%80%99-first-divisional-attack-world -
Chateau-Thierry
The Americans attack the Germans at Chateau-Thierry. This battle would turn into the larger Battle of Belleau Wood. -
Battle of Belleau Wood
The Battle of Belleau Wood begins as the US Marines attack the German forces across a huge wheat field...suffering great losses. -
Belleau Woods Ends
The Battle of Belleau Wood ends with the final expulsion of the Germans from the wood, which marks the farthest German advance on Paris. The area has changed hands six times during the three-week battle, which has caused nearly 10,000 American casualties. -
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. This offensive attack was quite successful for the Americans because they caught the Germans in retreat. -
Wihelm Abdicates
Kaiser Wilhelm abdicates, ending all German hope for a victory. He and his retinue quietly slip over the border into the Netherlands where he lives out the remainder of his life in relative peace and writes a self-promoting memoir defending his actions in the war. -
Armistice Day
An Armistice is signed declaring the ending of fighting on the Western Front.
https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/november-11/
