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Assasination of Franz Ferdinand
The Balkan states of Bosnia and Herzegovina had been annexed from Turkey and taken into the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This resulted in the formation of nationalist group, The Black Hand. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria had decided to inspect Austro-Hungarian troops in Bosnia. The Black Hand supplied a group of students with weapons. Serbian nationalist student, Gavrilo Princip, assassinated Ferdinand and his wife. -
Austria Declares War on Serbia
The Austrian government blamed the Serbian government for the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife and declared war on Serbia. Although Russia was allied with Serbia, Germany did not believe that they would mobilise and offered to support Austria if necessary. -
Germany Declares War on Russia
Germany, an ally of Russian-Hungary, declares war on Russia and demands the neutrality of Russia’s ally France; France refuses and mobilized. -
Germany Declares War on France
Russia had the largest army in Europe and once mobilized posed a formidable danger to Germany. Germany felt compelled to strike at France before Russia could mobilize. -
British Declaration of War
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. By doing this, the German military hierarchy had doomed Belgium to an invasion. -
Battle of the Frontiers
The Battle of the Frontiers included five offensives launched under French Commander-in-Chief Joseph Joffre and German Chief of Staff Helmuth von Moltke's initiative during the first month of the war, August 1914. The battles - at Mulhouse, Lorraine, the Ardennes, Charleroi and Mons - marked the collision of both French and German invasion plans. -
The Battle of Tannenberg
The Battle of Tannenberg was fought by Russia against Germany and resulted in the almost complete destruction of the Russian Second Army. The battle is notable for rapid movements of completing German troops by train allowing them to concentrate forces against each Russian army in turn.The Allied battle plan before war had been based on France and the United Kingdom stopping the German armies in the West while the huge Russian armies could be organized and brought to the Eastern front. -
First battle of the Marne
The First Battle of the Marne was conducted between September 6-12 1914, After invading Belgium and north-eastern France, the German army had reached within 30 miles of Paris. Their progress had been rapid, having successfully beaten back Belgian, French and British forces in advancing deep into north-eastern France. Their advance was in pursuance of the aims of the Schlieffen Plan, whose primary focus was the defeat of Western France before taking on Russia. -
First Battle of the Masurian Lakes
The First Battle of the Masurian Lakes was a German offensive in the Eastern Front. It pushed the Russian First Army back across its entire front, eventually ejecting it from Germany. Further progress was affected by the arrival of the Russian Tenth Army on the Germans' left flank. -
Battle of the Yser
The Battle of the Yser secured part of the coastline of Belgium for the allies.The German offensive at the Canal formed part of a wider battle for control of Flanders,The land surrounding the River, Yser formed a natural obstacle to the German advance.The German Fourth Army, operating under Duke Albrecht, began attacking Belgian forces deployed along the Canal with a heavy bomb. -
Battle of Cocos
The Battle of Cocos was a single-ship action that occurred after Australian and light cruiser responded to an attack at Direction Island by German light cruiser SMS Emden.Emden's commanding officer, Karl von Müller, decided to attack the communications station at Direction Island, in the Cocos Islands, to hamper Allied communications and frustrate the search for his ship. -
Battle of the Falklands
The Battle of the Falkland Islands was a British naval victory over the Imperial German Navy .The British sent a large force to track down and destroy the victorious German cruiser squadron. Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee's East Asiatic Squadron sped towards Port Stanley, in the Falkland Islands. His intention was to raid the British radio station and coaling depot there. -
First Zeppelin Raid on Great Britain
Britain suffered its first casualties from an air attack when two German zeppelins drop bombs on The zeppelin, a motor-driven rigid airship developed in 1900. It was by far the largest airship ever constructed. Germany employed three zeppelins in a two-day bombing mission against Britain. One turned back after encountering mechanical problems, but the other two zeppelins succeeded in dropping their bombs on England. -
Battle of Bolimov
The Battle of Bolimov was between Germany and Russia where the German Ninth Army attacked the Russian Second Army near the Polish village of Bolimow. It was the first attempt by the Germans at using a large scale of poisonous gas but it proved ineffective. This caused the German commanders to call off their attack. In response, the Russians sent 11 divisions which led to launch a counterattack. -
Second Battle of the Marsuian Lakes
The Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes formed part of Paul von Hindenburg's plan to advance beyond the Vistula River in hopes of knocking Russia out of the war. The German Army launched a surprise attack against the Russian army's southern wing. Effective resistance held up the German advance in Augustow, causing them to surrender. -
Second Battle of Ypres
The Second Battle of Ypres was fought for control of the strategic Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium. It marked the first time that Germany used poison gas on a large scale on the Western Front. The battle was also the first time that a former colonial force defeated Europe. The purpose was to divert Allied attention from the Eastern Front and to test the use of chlorine gas but it eventually failed. -
Lusitania Sank
There outraged protests in 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. -
Italy Declares War on Germany
Romania enters the war on Entente’s side. Their army is defeated after a few weeks. -
Conscription Introduced in the United Kingdom
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The Battle of Verdun Begins
The Battle of Verdun was fought between the German and French armies in France from February 21 December 18, 1916. The attack came about because of a plan by the German Chief of General Staff, von Falkenhayn, who wanted to launch a massive German attack on a narrow stretch of land that had historic sentiment for the French. It was the longest and one of the most devastating battles in the First World War and the history of warfare. -
Battle of Jutland
German forces, confined to port by a British naval blockade, came out in the hope of splitting the British fleet and destroying by ship. However, the British admiral, Beatty, aware that the German tactics were the same as those used by Nelson at Trafalgar, sent a smaller force to lure the German's into the range of Admiral Jellicoe's main fleet. Although Beatty's idea worked, the exchange of fire was brief and the German's withdrew. -
Battle of the Somme
The battle of the Somme was planned late in 1915 and was intended as a joint French-British attack.The attack was launched upon a 30 kilometre front, from north of the Somme river between Arras and Albert, and ran until 18 November, at which point it was called off. -
First Aeroplane Raid
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. -
Battle of Rafa
The Battle of Rafa completed the recapture of the Sinai Peninsula during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign. Desert Column attacked the entrenched Ottoman Army garrison in the area to the north and east of Sheikh Zowaiid. This Egyptian Expeditionary Force victory over an entrenched Ottoman Empire garrison marked the end of fighting on the Sinai Peninsula. -
USA Declares War on Germany
The United States of America declared war on Germany in response to the sinking, by German U boats, of US ships. -
Canada Obtains Victory in the Battle of Vimy Ridge
The main combatants in the battle were the Canadian Corps, of four divisions, against three divisions of the German Sixth Army. The Canadian Corps captured most of the ridge during the first day of the attack. The ridge fell during the second day once the Canadian Corps overcame German resistance. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Following the successful revolution by the Bolsheviks, the Russians signed an Armistice with Germany at Brest-Litovsk. This meant that Russia had to surrender Poland, the Ukraine and other regions. They had to stop all Socialist propaganda directed at Germany and pay 300 million roubles for the repatriation of Russian prisoners. -
RAF Formed
The Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service were merged to form the Royal Air Force. -
Battle of Amiens
The British general, Haig, ordered the attack of the German sector at Amiens. At the same time the news came through that the allies had broken through from Salonika and forced Bulgaria to sue for peace. -
Hindenburg Line Collapsed
The Hindenburg Line were the last and strongest of the German army's defence Throughout September 1918, Australian forces had helped the British army to secure positions from which an attack on the Hindenburg Line could be launched. It was hoped that this would finally break the power of the German army.The Allies broke through the third and final stage of the Hindenburg Line, and the Germans were forced to fall back. -
Armistice with Turkey
The allies had successfully pushed the Turkish army back and the Turks were forced to ask for an armistice. The terms of the armistice treaty allowed the allies access to the Dardenelles. -
Amistice Signed
At 11 am, in the French town of Redonthes, the Armistice was signed bringing the war to an end. -
German U-boats Interned
3 days after the armistice, fighting ends in the East African theater when General von Lettow-Vorbeck agrees a cease-fire on hearing of Germany's surrender. -
Czechoslovakia Proclaimed a Republic
The Czechoslovak Republic existed from 1918 to 1938. It was composed of Bohemia, Moravia, Czech Silesia, Slovakia and Subcarpathian Ruthenia. -
Germans Evacuate Luxembourg
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Germans Evacuate Belgium