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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were shot dead in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip -
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World War I
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The Second Battle of Ypres begins. It is during this battle that the Germans first use poison gas.
Begun in April and used primarily as a means of diverting Allied attention from the Eastern Front, and as a means of testing the use of chlorine gas, it eventually concluded in failure in May. As a consequence of the failure of this attack the German army gave up its attempts to take the town, choosing instead to demolish it through constant bombardment. -
February 21 - The Battle of Verdun begins.
The Battle of Verdun was the longest battle of World War I and was one of the bloodiest. -
April 6 - The United States declares war on Germany
On April 6, 1917, the United States Congress declared war upon the German Empire -
March 3 - Russia signs the Treaty of Brest Litovsk, which is a peace treaty between Russia and the Central Powers.
March 3 - Russia signs the Treaty of Brest Litovsk, which is a peace treaty between Russia and the Central Powers. -
March 21 - Germany launches the Spring Offensive.
The 1918 Spring Offensive or Kaiserschlacht (Kaiser's Battle), also known as the Ludendorff Offensive, was a series of German attacks along the Western Front during the First World War, beginning on 21 March 1918, which marked the deepest advances by either side since 1914 -
Influenza Pademic WWI
The influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 killed more people than the Great War, known today as World War I (WWI) -
June 28 - The Treaty of Versailles officially ends WWI.
World War I (1914-1918) was finally over. This first global conflict had claimed from 9 million to 13 million lives and caused unprecedented damage. Germany had formally surrendered on November 11, 1918, and all nations had agreed to stop fighting while the terms of peace were negotiated.
