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Archduke Franz Ferdinand Of The Austro-hungarian Empire Is Assassinated In Sarajevo
Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie the Duchess of Hohenburg, are killed by Bosnian Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip. The Austrian government suspects that Serbia is responsible. -
Austria-hungary Declares War On Serbia. World War I Begins
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World Erupts In War
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Russians Are Defeated At Battle Of Tannenberg
On the eastern front, Germans shatter the Russian Second Army and take over 92,000 prisoners at the Battle of Tannenberg. -
Germans Conduct Air Raid On Paris
The attack has little military value, but is intended to terrorize civilians. -
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Germans Stopped At First Battle Of The Marne
German invasion of France is stopped in the First Battle of the Marne as German troops are forced to the north side of the Marne River, causing the the Schlieffen Plan to fail. -
Commission For Relief In Belgium Founded
October 1914: Responding to need, the Commission for Relief in Belgium (CRB) is created by Herbert Hoover, who is at the time a mining engineer and consultant living in London. The CRB distributes millions of tons of food to civilians in Belgium and northern France. Hoover goes on to be appointed director of the U.S. Food Administration in 1917 by President Wilson. -
In First Battle Of Ypres, Entrenched Allies Fight Off German Assault
As The Armies Tried To Out Flank Each Other, They Extended Their Lines To The English Channel And Began Trench Warfare. Ypres, A Belgian City And Communications Hub, Was Essential To Both Sides. In The First Battle Of Ypres, Entrenched Allies Fight Off German Assault. Germans Give Up Their Offensive By November 24 As Winter And Stormy Weather Set In. -
Japan Attacks And Captures Tsingtao, China
Held By The Germans Since 1898, Tsingtao Is A Lightly Garrisoned Port City On The Yellow Sea. The Germans Surrender On November 6. -
Christmas Truce Observed On Western Front
The Sound Of Christmas Carols Across No Man’s Land Encourages Troops From Both Sides To Exchange Greetings. The Truce Is Spontaneous And Was Experienced By Hundreds, Perhaps Thousands, Of Soldiers. -
Bread Rationing Is Introduced In Germany
Each Citizen And Neutral Foreign National Is Issued A Bread Card For An Initial Daily Quota Of 225 Grams (About 8 Ounces). -
Turkish Army Disarms Its Armenian Troops
Ottoman Turkish Army Disarms And Segregates Armenian Soldiers Into Labor Battalions Fearing Christian Armenians Are Aiding Orthodox Russians In Their Fight Against Turkey. In 1915, 1,000,000 Armenians Are Forcibly Removed To Syria And Mesopotamia. -
German Saboteurs At Work In America
A German Officer, Werner Horn, Is Arrested In Maine For A Bombing That Damages The Saint Croix-vanceboro Railway Bridge, Which Connects The U.S. And Canada. -
Germany Threatens Submarine Warfare Against Merchant Vessels
Germany Warns That Neutral Vessels In British Waters “Would Be Destroyed Without It Always Being Possible To Warn The Crews And Passengers.” -
German Women Demonstrate For Peace
Several Thousand Women Demonstrate For Peace Before The German Reichstag [Parliament]. -
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In Second Battle Of Ypres, Germans Use Poison Gas
In The Second Battle Of Ypres, The Germans Open The Assault With A Chlorine Gas Attack, The First Successful Use Of Poison Gas On The Western Front; More Than 10,000 Allied Troops Are Affected, Over Half Of Whom Died. By May 25, The Allies Withdraw. The Affects Of A Gas Attack Are Vividly Described In Wilfred Owen’s Poem, Dulce Et Decorum -
Allies Land In Gallipoli, Turkey
Allies, Including Australian And New Zealand Troops, Land In Gallipoli, Turkey At Helles And Anzac Cove. The Turkish Controlled Peninsula Of Twisting Shorelines Protects The Dardanelle Straits- A Key International Waterway Connecting The Mediterranean Sea To The Black Sea. -
German U-boat Torpedoes The Lusitania
The Cunard Passenger Ship Lusitania Sinks In British Waters. It Was Attacked By German U-boat U-20, Commanded By Kapitanleutnant Walther Schwieger.
A Total Of 1,198 Drown, Including Many Women And Children And 128 U.S. Citizens. Germans Will End Unlimited Submarine Warfare On Passenger Liners On September 1, 1915 Because Of Worldwide Outrage At This Attack On Civilian Shipping. -
Third Allied Offensive On Gallipoli Fails
A Final Attempt By Allied Troops To Take Krithia, A Coastal City In Turkey, Is Unsuccessful. Field Marshal Kitchener Decides To Send Three Additional Divisions As Reinforcements. The Turks Also Bring In Additional Troops. -
German Forces In South-west Africa Surrender To General Botha Of South Africa
A Six-month Campaign Conquers The German Colony, Capturing Its Wireless Stations And Strategic Harbors. -
In London, Women Demonstrate For The Right To Work In War Industries
In London, Women Demonstrate For The Right To Work In War Industries With Banners Proclaiming: “Women Demand The Right To Serve” And “The Situation Is Serious – Women Must Help To Save It.” -
Allied Troops Enter Kut-al-amara In Mesopotamia
British And Indian Forces Move Up The Tigris River To Capture Kut-al-amara In Mesopotamia From Turkish Forces. Their Ultimate Goal Is Baghdad, Roughly 100 Miles From Present-day Baghdad In Iraq. They Will Surrender Their Forces In April, 1916. -
British Nurse Edith Cavell Is Executed
British Nurse Edith Cavell, A Nursing Instructor Working With The Red Cross, Is Shot By Germans At 7 A.M. Under Accusations Of Being A Spy And Helping Allied Soldiers Escape Belgium. She Was Charged With Espionage Five Days After Her Execution. -
Serbia Is Invaded By Germany, Austria And Bulgaria
The Central Powers Troops Cross The Danube River And Within Days Capture Belgrade. A Massive Serbian Retreat Follows. Soldiers And Their Families Made Their Way To The Albanian Border Through Mountains And A Steady Snowfall. -
Germans Begin Battle Of Verdun With Heavy Artillery Barrage
The German Code Name For The Attack In The Meuse Region Of France (Toward The Direction Of Verdun) Is Gericht, ‘place Of Execution.’ Verdun Becomes The Symbol Of France’s Determination To Defend Its National Pride And Honor. “They Shall Not Pass” (On Ne Passe Pas) Becomes The Battle Cry. The Battle Of Verdun Would Continue For The Rest Of The Year. -
The Escadrille Américaine, Later The Lafayette Escadrille, Is Formed
This French Army Flying Unit Is Composed Mostly Of American Volunteers. Thirty-eight Americans Serve In The Lafayette Escadrille And Are Credited With 57 Victories.
