World war 1

World War I Timeline (1914-1918)

By Yariana

  • Assessination of Archduke Frans Ferdinand of Austria

    Assessination of Archduke Frans Ferdinand of Austria
    On June 28, 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria,heir presumptive to the Austro -Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie Duchess of Hohenberg, were shot dead in Sarajevo, by Gavrilo Princip, one of a group of six Bosnian Serb assassins coordinated by Danilo lli'c. The political objective of the assassination was to break off Austria-Hungary's south-Slav provinces so they could be combined into a Gretaer Serbia or a Yugoslavia.

  • First Checks to German advance

    First checks to the German advance were made at St. Quentin and Guise. The Russian commander at Tannenburg, Samsonov, committed suicide. The Russian 3rd and 8th armies defeated the Austrians near Lemberg.

  • Lemberg Occupied with the Russians

    Lemberg was occupied by the Russians. French aerial reconnaissance spotted gaps in the German advance towards the Marne and informed ground force commanders accordingly.

  • Austrian invasion of Serbia

    Start of the 3rd Austrian invasion of Serbia. The Battle of Coronel in the Pacific Ocean took place. ‘HMS Monmouth’ and ‘HMS good Hope’ were lost with no survivors.

  • Austria suffer at the Battle

    Austria suffered a heavy defeat at a battle to the south of Belgrade. Battle of the Falkland Island took place – the German Navy suffered heavy losses with over 1,800 men killed.

  • Fortification of Thiaumont

    The fortification at Thiaumont is taken by the Germans but immediately retaken by the French. During the Battle of Verdun, the fortification changed hands 16 times.

  • Oswald was killed.

    Oswald Boelke was killed in action. Boelke was credited with introducing new tactics that gave the German Air Force greater aerial dominance.

  • 1917 Entry of America into World War I

    1917 saw the entry of America into World War One, the result of Germany’s use of unrestricted submarine warfare. 1917 also saw the start of the Battle of Passchendaele, also known as the Third Battle of Ypres.

  • The hospital ship "Britannic"

    The hospital ship “Britannic” was sunk by a mine in the Eastern Mediterranean; at 47,000 tons the “Britannic” was the largest ship to be sunk by a mine.

  • "Spring Offensive"

    Germany broke through in the Somme at the start of its ‘Spring Offensive’. 65 divisions attacked along a 60-mile front. The German Air Service launched a major campaign against the Royal Flying Corps but it failed.

  • Advance against the Germans

    The Allies continued their advance against the Germans. The RAF dropped 1,563 bombs and fired 122,150 rounds of ammunition in support of ground forces. This day is known as the “Black Day of the German Army”.