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World War I
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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinad
Assassinated by Gavrilo Princip of the Black Hand group, Archduke Franz Ferdinand's death is the initial spark of World War I. He was assassinated due to high tensions between Austria-Hungary and the annexed territories of Bosnia and Herzgovina. -
Austria-Hungary Declares War On Serbia
This was the start of the fighting in Europe. Post assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Austria-Hungary felt they need to uphold authority and show dominance to Serbia. Being backed by Germany, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia to suppress the extreme nationalism and end ethnic tensions. -
Germany Invades Luxembourg
Germany Invades Luxembourg on the 2nd of August 1914. This invasion breached Luxembourg's neutrality and caused much panic. The reasoning for the invasion was to take over Luxembourg's key regions, take over their railroads, and try to bypass France's defences. -
Battle of Tannenberg
Russia's second battle in the war, Germany was ready for the fight.The week long battle ended in a German victory and the near depletion of the Russian Second Army. This specific battle showed that Russia was not ready for war and showed why they had the highest casualty rate out of any other country. -
The First Battle of Marne
The First Battle of Marne was fought between Germany, The United Kingdom, and France. The British and French fought push against the advancing Germans who recently invaded Belgium and a part of France. The French won the First Battle of Marne in which delayed their advance, and succeeded in stopping the Germans in their tracks. -
The First Battle of Ypres
A battle fought between the British, French, German, and Belgian, it was fought by flanks then trench warfare. More than 200,000 casualties between both sides. The victor of the battle was not decided. Ypres has had many battles fought on its soil and has become an important location pertaining to World War One -
The Gallipoi Campaign
The Gallipoi Campaigns goal was to weaken the Ottoman Empire, one of the Central Powers, by taking control of the Ottoman straits. This battle was fought between the British, French, Russian, and the Ottoman Empire. This battle became known to be one of the Allied Powers most unsuccessful attempts to gain an advantagous positon. This battle ended in Ottoman victory. -
The Sinking of the Lusitania
The Lusitania was treading dangerous waters and was later sunk by the Germans. Departing from New York, it carried 159 American passengers. All the passengers died from the sinking and this sent Americans into an outrage, forever changing their opinion on the Germans. -
Battle of Verdun
Being the longest battle of World War One, it lasted from Febrary 21st to December 18th in 1916. The Germans wanted to push to a huge advantagous spot that had lines of sight on Verdun. The French counter-attack of heavy artillery and bombardments led to their victory of the 10 month battle. -
Battle of Jutland
This one on one battle was between the British and the Germans. This was the largest naval battle fought in World War One. This battle was to see who had the more dominant naval forces between the Allied Powers and Central Powers. The Britsh really showed their dominance on the waters although the battle was deemed undecided. -
Battle of the Somme
Named the deadliest battle in all of World War One, the Battle of the Somme was an offensive attack fought between the British and French forces against the Germanic army. Three million men were put in to this battle and only about two million made it out. The Allied powers came out on top despite the many casualties. -
The Zimmermann Telegram
The Zimmermann Telegram was issued by the German Foreign Office. In the note it stated that if the United States were to enter the war against Germany, they would aid Mexico into taking back Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.The British intercepted the Telegram and the United States seen this as a huge threat. This makes one of the reasons why the United States joined the war -
Battle of Caporetto
The Battle of Caporetto took place on the Italian Front. It was the Kingdom of Italy against the Central Powers. With 40,000 Italian casualties, this makes it one of Italy’s greatest defeats and the Central Power’s most crushing victory. -
Armistice Day
The signing of the Armistice cease fire was the start of the end. This stopped the fight on the Western Front. Though the fighting still continued elsewhere, this shapped the final days of the war, leading to the Treaty of Versailles. -
The Treaty of Versailles
Signed by Germany and the Allied Nations, the Treaty of Versailles ended World War One. Germany was deemed liable for all the damages. It ordering them to pay damages, demilitarize, lose territory, and give up any overseas assets. The people of Germany became outraged and sought out revenge againts the nations.