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Archduke Franz Ferdinand murder
What happened: Archduke and his wife, Sofie were shot in Sarajevo by Gavilo Princip (One of the group of six assasains) The great Prussian statesman Otto von Bismarck, the man most responsible for the unification of Germany in 1871, was quoted as saying at the end of his life that “One day the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans.” It went as he predicted. -
Germany declares war on Russia.
On August 1, 1914, four days after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, two more great European powers—Russia and Germany—declare war on each other; the same day, France orders a general mobilization. The so-called “Great War” that ensued would be one of unprecedented destruction and loss of life, resulting in the deaths of some 20 million soldiers and civilians and the physical devastation of much of the European continent. -
Germany declares war on France.
What happened: On the afternoon of this day in 1914, two days after declaring war on Russia, Germany declares war on France, moving ahead with a long-held strategy, conceived by the former chief of staff of the German army, Alfred von Schlieffen, for a two-front war against France and Russia. Hours later, France makes its own declaration of war against Germany, readying its troops to move into the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, which it had forfeited to Germany in the settle -
The United Kingdom declares war on German
What happened: On August 4th 1914, Great Britain declared war on Germany. It was a decision that is seen as the start of World War One. Britain, led by Prime Minister Herbert Asquith, had given Germany an ultimatum to get out of Belgium by midnight of August 3rd. In fear of being surrounded by the might of Russia and France, Germany had put into being the Schlieffen Plan in response to the events that had occurred in Sarajevo in June 1914. -
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson announces the U.S. will remain neutral.
What happened: During his address he warned U.S. citizens against taking sides in the war for fear of endangering the wider U.S. policy. The effect of the war upon the United States will depend upon what American citizens say and do. Every man who really loves America will act and speak in the true spirit of neutrality, which is the spirit of impartiality and fairness and friendliness to all concerned. -
The Battle of Tannenberg begins
What happened: On August 26, 1914, the German 8th Army, under the leadership of Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff, strikes with lethal force against the advancing Russian 2nd Army, led by General Aleksandr Samso. The battle resulted in the almost complete destruction of the Russian Second Army and the suicide of its commanding general, Alexander Samsonov. -
The First Battle of the Marne begins.
What happened: It was a First World War battle fought from 5–12 September 1914. It resulted in an Allied victory against the German Army (Chief of Staff Helmuth von Moltke the Younger) On September 6, 1914, some 30 miles northeast of Paris, the French 6th Army under the command of General Michel-Joseph Manoury attacks the right flank of the German 1st Army, beginning the decisive First Battle of the Marne at the end of the first month of World War I. -
The unofficial Christmas truce is declared.
What happened: It was a series of widespread but unofficial ceasefires along the Western Front around Christmas 1914. Some German soldiers emerged from their trenches and approached the Allied lines across no-man’s-land, calling out “Merry Christmas” in their enemies’ native tongues. At first, the Allied soldiers feared it was a trick, but seeing the Germans unarmed they climbed out of their trenches and shook hands with the enemy soldiers. -
Germany declares a "war zone" around Great Britain
What happened: "War zone" in which submarines would destroy every enemy merchant vessel found there. She warned neutrals that neither the crews nor passengers of such vessels, whether enemy or neutral subjects, would be safe in the zone. This was quite a different matter from the interference of the British with the trade rights of the United States. Compensation for property losses might be made after the war, but compensation for loss of lives as a result of the new German rules of submarine -
The Battle of Gallipoli begins.
What happened: The campaign began with a failed naval attack by British and French ships on the Dardanelles Straits in February-March 1915 and continued with a major land invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula on April 25, involving British and French troops as well as divisions of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC). -
The British ocean liner RMS Lusitania is sunk by German U-boat,
What happened: On May 7, 1915, less than a year after World War I (1914-18) erupted across Europe, a German U-boat torpedoed and sank the RMS Lusitania, a British ocean liner en route from New York to Liverpool, England. -
The Battle of the Somme begins.
What happened: At 7:30 a.m., the British launch a massive offensive against German forces in the Somme River region of France. During the preceding week, 250,000 Allied shells had pounded German positions near the Somme, and 100,000 British soldiers poured out of their trenches and into no-man’s-land on July 1, expecting to find the way cleared for them. However, scores of heavy German machine guns had survived the artillery onslaught, and the infantry were massacred. -
Zimmerman Telegram
What happened: The Zimmermann Telegram (or Zimmermann Note) was an internal diplomatic communication issued from the German Foreign Office in January, 1917 that proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico in the event of the United States entering World War I against Germany. -
The United States declares war on Germany.
What happened: At 8:30 on the evening of April 2, 1917, President Wilson appeared before a joint session of Congress and asked for a declaration of war against Germany in order to "make the world safe for democracy." On April 4, Congress granted Wilson's request. Hours after Germany declared war on the United States following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. -
German flying ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen (more commonly known as the Red Baron), is shot down.
What happened: He is considered the ace-of-aces of the war, being officially credited with 80 air combat victories. During 1917, he became leader of Jasta 11 and then the larger unit Jagdgeschwader 1 (better known as the "Flying Circus"). By 1918, he was regarded as a national hero in Germany, and widely respected even by his enemies. Richthofen was shot down and killed near Amiens on 21 April 1918. -
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson issues his Fourteen Points
What happened: Fourteen Points is a blueprint for world peace that was to be used for peace negotiations after World War I. Europeans generally welcomed Wilson's points but his main Allied colleagues (Georges Clemenceau of France, David Lloyd George of the United Kingdom, and Vittorio Emanuele Orlando of Italy) were skeptical of the applicability of Wilsonian idealism. -
The Treaty of Versailles officially ends WWI.
What happened: This first global conflict had claimed from 9 million to 13 million lives and caused unprecedented damage. Germany had formally surrendered on November 11, 1918, and all nations had agreed to stop fighting while the terms of peace were negotiated.
