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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 killings set off decades old tensions in Europe and started WWI. -
The War Begins
Gavrilo Princip was a member of a Serbian nationalist group. Princip and his group plotted the murder of Franz Ferdinand.They hoped to bring down the Austro-Hungarian Empire and unite the Slavs.It was Princip who fired the shots that killed the archduke and his wife. Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the assassination.With Germany's support, it gave Serbia a list of demands, which Serbia refused. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914. Connected Grade 6 Ch. 8 lesson 1. -
First Use Of Gas as a weapon By The Germans
On April 22, 1915, 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. Found on History.com. -
The Sinking of the Lusitania
The Lusitania was sailing over to Great Britain and all of a sudden boom! They were hit. It was a German Torpedo that busted through the ship's hull. Germany said they were shipping war supplies to Great Britain. -
Wilson reelected; Pledged American neutrality
Reelected President Wilson believed that the U.S. should be neutral because it was a war in Europe and not the U.S. Many Americans agreed with him. -
Zimmerman's Note
Arthur Zimmerman, a German foreign minister, wanted a world war. In January 1917, he sent a telegram message to convince Mexico to try to invade the U.S. and get Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico back. The telegram was intercepted by Great Britain. The British told the U.S. but the U.S. didn't believe them because they thought they were trying to get them in the war. Zimmerman confessed that he did send it. -
U.S. declares war
After the sinking of the Sussex was sunken, Congress constructed new warships and doubled the size of there army. President Wilson still wanted to be neutral but he knew he had to declare war. So in April 2, 1917 the U.S. declared war. -
Bolsheviks led by Lenin overthrow Russia government
The Bolsheviks led by Lenin overthrow the Russian government because they wanted to get out of the war and focus on having a Communist government. -
War Ends
Germany formally surrendered on November 11, 1918, and all nations agreed to stop fighting while the terms of peace were negotiated. On June 28, 1919, Germany and the Allied Nations (including Britain, France, Italy and Russia) signed the Treaty of Versailles, formally ending the war. -
Treaty of Versailles
World War I officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919.Negotiated among the Allied powers with little participation by Germany, its 15 parts and 440 articles reassigned German boundaries and assigned liability for reparations. After strict enforcement for five years the French assented to the modification of important provisions.
