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Franz Ferdinand Assassination
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated while visiting Sarajevo,Bosnia . He was next in line for the Austro-Hungarian throne. The killing off decades of old tensions in Europe and started World War I . -
Austria Hungry declares War Serbia
On July 28, 1914, one month to the day after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were killed by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, effectively beginning the First World War. -
First use of gas as a weapon by the Germans
German forces shock Allied soldiers along the western front by firing more than 150 tons of lethal chlorine gas against two French colonial divisions at Ypres, Belgium. This was the first major gas attack by the Germans, and it devastated the Allied line. -
Sinking of Lusitania
A British passenger liner that was torpedoed by the Germans .Over thousands of people died . -
Wilson re-elected for President & American Neutrality
After campaigning on the slogans “He Kept Us Out of War” and “America First,” Wilson was elected to a second term in the White House in November 1916. Wilson was only sitting Democratic president to win re-election between 1832 and 1936. -
Zimmerman Note
The Zimmerman's Note was a secret diplomatic communication issued from the German Foreign Office that proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico . -
U.S. Declares War
President Wilson appeared before Congress on April 2nd and called for a declaration of war against Germany. Four days later, his request was granted. -
Bolsheviks led by Lenin overthrows Russia Government
During the Russian Revolution, the Bolsheviks, led by leftist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, seized power and destroyed the tradition of czarist rule. The Bolsheviks would later become the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The Russian Revolution of 1917 was one of the most explosive political events of the twentieth century. -
WAR ENDS
At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the Great War ends. The First World War left nine million soldiers dead and 21 million wounded, with Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, France, and Great Britain each losing nearly a million or more lives. In addition, at least five million civilians died from disease, starvation, or exposure. -
Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles is peace document signed at the end of World War I by the Allied and associated powers and by Germany.