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The heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne and his wife, Sophie, were murdered by Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo. The murderer was Serbian, and this event led directly to the outbreak of World War I.
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Austria-Hungary was threatened by Serbian ambition in the Balkans region of Europe, and they determined that the response to the assassinations was to prepare for military invasion of Serbia.
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Britain and France, Russia’s allies, declared war on Turkey, because of the help given to the German attack on Russia.
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The Russians appealed for help from Britain and France to beat off an attack by the Turkish. The British navy responded by attacking Turkish forts in the Dardenelles.
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There outraged protests from the United States at the German U-boat campaign, when the Lusitania, which had many American passengers aboard, was sank. The Germans moderated their U-boat campaign.
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British losses were heavier than the German, but the battle had alarmed both the Kaiser and the German Admiral Scheer and they decided to keep their fleet consigned to harbour for the remainder of the war.
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The Germans mounted an attack on the French at Verdun designed to ‘bleed the French dry’. Although the fighting continued for nine months, the battle was inconclusive. Casualties were enormous on both sides with the Germans losing 430,000 men and the French 540,000.
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The first German air raid on London took place. The Germans hoped that by making raids on London and the South East, the British Air Force would be forced into protecting the home front rather than attacking the German air force.
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The United States of America declared war on Germany in response to the sinking, by German U boats, of US ships.
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At 11 am, in the French town of Redonthes, the Armistice was signed bringing the war to an end.
