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Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and wife Sophie are assassinated by a Bosnian Serb nationalist in Sarajevo.
This event is known as the spark of WWI because it led to along chain of events that to blaming and later, war. Austria-Hungary was upset after the attack and immediately blamed Serbia. Then, both countries brought in their allies into the argument. Russia supported Serbia and Germany helped Austria. With the help of Britain and France, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia beginning WWI. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS1gROq5iZ8 -
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
This event is marked as the start of WWI, all because of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. Austria felt comfortable with this decision because they had a strong army and wanted to respond to the assassination. Also, Austria-Hungary had the definite support of Germany.
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Germany declares war on Russia.
Because Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Russia started to get involved. Russia started to become mobile, which was intimidating to Germany. Germany told Russia to either stop or go to war. Then, Germany declared war which was the first war between two very strong countries.
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Germany declares war on France.
Soon after Germany declared war on Russia, they decided to go to war with other allies of Russia and Serbia as well. This meant France. This resulted in the importance of allies in World War I and shows why so many alliances were added and needed during this war.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AostqAGgLRk -
Britain declares war on Germany.
Another alliance of Serbia and Russia, Great Britain felt they needed to use their resources and help their allies, so they declared war with Germany. Germany wanted to avoid being surrounded by France and Russia, so they wanted to invade Belgium, a neutral state guaranteed by Britain. This invasion also led to Britain's involvement in the war. -
Russia declares war on Austria-Hungary.
Because Britain declared war on Germany, Russia started to fight with Austria-Hungary. Luckily this was one of the last major declarations of war among major powers in Europe. It also continued to show the two sides of the war and who was on which side. -
First Battle of the Marne begins.
This Battle between Germany and France occurred in the first month of the war. It was one of the first victories of the Allies and was very important in the beginning of the war. Also, the battle of the Marne saved Paris from being attacked, which could have destroyed all of the beautiful and historic city.
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The British begin a naval blockade of Germany.
This blockade was very important because it showed that Britain wanted to use their strong navy to push Germany back and exhaust them of resources. The blockade worked and it made Germany far from their soldiers leaving them harder to feed and take care of. In response to Britain's control on the sea, the Germans started their submarine warfare leading to the U.S. involvement in the war.
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An unofficial truce is declared between the two sides at Christmas.
German and British forces decided to unofficially call a truce on Christmas to celebrate this common holiday. On this day, the soldiers were given a break to celebrate, exchange gifts, and remember fallen soldiers. This showed that the world could set apart their differences and their conflict to bring joy into their lives and celebrate. -
The Second Battle of Ypres begins.
This battle between Germany and the Allies was very important in WWI. This is because it was the battle chemical warfare was introduced, which changed war forever .he chemical warfare caught the allies by surprise and pushed them back a lot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKgHtYBr7lE -
British ocean liner Lusitania is torpedoed by a German U-boat.
A German U-boat hit a British ocean liner with a torpedo in 1915. This killed thousands of citizens, including 128 Americans. This devastation led to furious Americans and was a driving factor to their involvement in WWI.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5z4I3aIn7E -
The Battle of Verdun begins.
The Battle of Verdun was a very important battle between the French and the Germans. This battle began with a single gunshot by the Germans and ended 10 months later, making it one of the longest battles in WWI. The French ultimately lost more about 20,000 more lives in this battle when it was over.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdihcCMAuE8 -
The Battle of Jutland begins.
Being one of the greatest naval battles of WWI, the British navy fought against the Germans in the Battle of Jutland. It started when the British confronted the Germans, which resulted in the open fire between the two naval forces, and both sides suffered tremendously.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY4Ho5ha5KQ -
First Battle of the Somme begins.
The First Battle of the Some was devastating for the British army. The arrived and began moving across no man's land not expecting to find the German Army. The Germans used machine guns, trenches, and barbed wire to kill almost 1/3 of the British and only make them advance 5 miles. This battle was one of the most deadly in all of British history.
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Zimmermann Telegram intercepted by the British.
The Zimmermann telegram was a secret note from the Germans to the Mexicans proposing an alliance. This note was decoded by the British and published all across the U.S. This note was an important factor in the war because it was part of the reason the U.S. got involved. They wanted to fight against Germany and possibly Mexico so that the war could stay in Europe.
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Tsar Nicholas II abdicates the throne after a week of riots in the Russian capital of St. Petersburg.
In 1917, Tsar Nicholas II was forced to relinquish the throne in Russia. This was because there were many riots in St. Petersburg. Also, a new provincial government was put into place during his reign. Later he was sentenced to death.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_6iLa_o4uw -
United States declares war on Germany.
In 1917, the United States finally entered the war by declaring war on Germany. Because of the submarine warfare, the sinking of the Lusitania, and the Zimmermann note, the U.S. decided to get involved. This made many American Citizens fight in Europe instead of staying neutral and safe in North America.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT8YfWzd_zQ -
President Woodrow Wilson issues his Fourteen Points.
Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points were the first attempt at peace during WWI. He delivered his idea on how to restore peace to Congress in 1918. This later led to the creation of the League of Nations and the end of WWI.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbdhxLVlrhI -
The Soviet government signs the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the Central Powers.
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was the beginning of the end of WWI. It was a treaty signed by Russia to end fighting against the Central Powers. Later with the Treaty of Versailles, Russia gave up over 1 million square miles of land to Germany, leaving Russia without many important resources.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYxtSmZ0l1E -
The Treaty of Versailles ends WWI
The Treaty of Versailles marked the very end to World War I. In this treaty, the world blamed Germany for starting to war and punished them harshly. The lost money, land, and made their military weaker to prevent a war like this from happening again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrYhLNQMRro
