-
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was shot to death with his wife by the Bosnian Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo. Sparked the outbreak of World War I. -
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia
This war declaration broke the peace between Europe's great powers. -
Germany and Great Britain enter the war
Germany enters the war and invades Belgium. The attack on Belgium brings Great Britain into the war. -
First German Zeppelin Attack
Germany uses a zeppelin to attack England. Zeppelins were a great advantage because they could observe the entire battlefield and were usually out of the range of enemy artillery. -
Germany's blockade of Britain
German U-boat attacks on Allied and neutral shipping; declares blockade of Britain. This prompted Britain to later blockade Germany. -
German U-boat sinks Luisitania
When a German U-boat sunk the Lusitania, a ship with American passengers, the U.S. and Germany went into a diplomatic crisis, prompting the U.S. to enter the war. -
Battle of Verdun
Germany attacks Verdun, defended by the French. This was the longest battle of the war and cost much from both sides. -
Battle of Jutland
The biggest naval battle in history fought between Britain and Germany. There was no clear victor. -
Start of the Battle of Somme
In the Battle of Somme, the British and the French fought against Germany. This battle had the greatest British casualties in British military history, 60,000. -
U.S. declares war on Germany
President Woodrow Wilson had delivered a war address to congress a few days before and congress agreed to join the fight against Germany -
U.S. Espionage Act passed
This Act punished people for protesting the war or the U.S. government. -
U.S. declares war on Austria-Hungary
U.S. realized that they must fight Austria-Hungary to win the war -
Woodrow Wilson delivers "Fourteen Points" speech to Congress
The Fourteen Points was a statement of principles for peace that was to be used for peace negotiations in order to end World War I. -
Germany ceases unrestricted submarine warfare
Germany will no longer warn ships before attacking them. This caused the hostility between other countries and Germany to rise. -
Armistice Day
Armistice ended hostility between Allied forces and Germany and France. Ended hostilities on the Western Front of WWI. Took in effect at 11 o'clock in the morning, "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month." Today this day is known as Veterans Day.
