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Assassination
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his pregnant wife, Sophie Chotek is assassinated by Gavrilo Princip, a member of Serbian group called the 'The Black Hand'. Chotek was killed almost instantly by a bullet in the stomach and Ferdinand was killed second by being shot in the neck. The picture shows the blood stained clothes that Ferdinand was wearing at the time of his murder. Princip was not executed, because he was only 20 years old, but sent to prison where he died four years later of Tuberculosis. -
Serbia enters the war
Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. A British newspaper columnist from the 'Tacoma Times' reported this event on quite a small scale. The image shows Serbian soldiers offto war. -
Russia takes action
Russia announces mobilizes her armies as an ally of Serbia and call upon France to mobilize theirs too. The picture depicts the Russian army coming together. -
Germany and Russia enter the war
Germany declares war on Russia and begins to mobilise her army. The image shows a newspaper with the front page stating: 'GERMANY DECLARES WAR UPON RUSSIA'. The paper claims that 'Hope for peace is now folly'. -
France enters the war
Germany declares war on France. The image shows some French soldiers in their uniforms. -
Belgium and Britain enter the war
Germany declares war on Belgium and moves towards France, Britain consequently declares war on Germany and Austria-Hungary. The newspaper states on their front page that Britain is now in a 'BIG WAR'. This shows that the newspapers were using the war for an exciting news story and maybe were not taking the situation seriously and looking at it in a marketing perspective. -
Russia enters the war
Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia, supporting their allies. -
Battle of the Frontiers
27,000 French soldiers are killed on one day in a brave attempt to move forward onto the German borders, east of Paris. The picture is of a painting of a modern interpretation of the battle. This shows hte maturity of the world's perspective on war now, opposed to the early 20th century. -
Battle of Tannenberg
The battle of Tannenberg was the first major battle on the Eastern Front, claiming almost 250,000 Russian lives This battle is one of Germany's greatest acheivements in the war and was lead by Erich Ludendorff and Paul von Hindenburg. It went from the 26th of August to the 30th. The painting shows Ludendorff and Hindenburg planning their attack. -
First Battle of the Marne
The first battle of the Marne stops the German invasion in France. The picture is of the French soldiers fighting with the Germans. -
Trenches Dug on Western Front
The first trenches are dug at the Western Front. The picture shows how bad the conditions were in the trenches in the war, with rats and disease roaming free daily. -
Christmas Truce
The unplanned Christmas Truce is declared by the soldiers on the Western Front. The Germans and Allies got up out of their trenches, played a game f football with each other and had a Christmas lunch. The picture is of the two enemies playing together as if they were not at war at all. The very next day, they began fighting again. -
Total War
In the morning, the two Zeppelins that later made it to England out of the six that were made (L3 and L4) leave Germany. WWI turns into 'Total War' when the Germans raid England by air with their Zeppelins. The images shows one of the Zepplins and the sheer size of it. The Allies didn't have too much trouble hitting their targets as their are virtually impossible to miss. -
Beginning of Gallipoli
Allies begin the nine-month battle with the Turks for the peninsula of Gallipoli for easy access to central Europe. The picture shows the state of the trenchs at the time- crowded and dirty. -
U-Boats
The German submarines (U-Boats) sink the Lusitania, killing 1,198 civillians in the process, 128 Americans included. -
Tsar Nicholas
Tsar Nicholas takes total command of the Russian armies. -
Gas
The British attempt to use gas against their enemies at the Loos but turning winds cause the gas to come back on then. Results were 60,000 British casualties. The tyoes of gases used were yellow gas, green gas, mustard gas and the famous napalm gas. The picture shows the Allies geared up later in the war with their gas masks. It was a big improvementfor the soldiers safety when gas masks were introduced as it was almost impossible for gas to penetrate the mask. -
Withdrawal from Gallipoli
The Allies begin their withdrawal from Gallipoli. It was one of their worst ever battles, with 44,000 British soldiers dead and a quater of those died on the peninsula. -
British Conscription
The British Conscriptiongoes into action, although many are against it. -
The Battle of Somme
The battle of Somme ended with one million casualtiesvand no further movement for the Allies-just plenty of wounded soldiers. The British introduced their new tanks in this battle, but there was not much difference made as there were too little of them to make a difference. The picture shows an Australian soldier in the trenches carrying a wounded friend. This proves how heroic the Australians were in the war, with tight friendship bonds conquering the rules from the Generals. -
Battel of Verdun
The battle of Verdun is fought, the longest battle fought in the war. It went from 21 February-18 December with an estimated one million casualties. Although it was incredibly long, it was fought to a draw. The picture is a drawing, showing how futile the battle was, because nobody won and it was just a massive loss with either side growing weaker as shown in the image. -
Battle of Passchendaele
Otherwise known as the third battle of Ypres, this battlefield was covered in mud from heavy rainfall from three days prior. Men were drowning in mud after slipping into the slushy mess. Germans hid in concrete bunkers, but the Allies were still being killed by their gas and machine guns. By the end, the Allies only gained 8km on their side and there was a total of 700000 casualties from either side. The image shows how muddy the battlefield was, with soldiers stuck in some in the picture. -
Russian Government sign armistice
Leon Trotsky represents Russia in signing the Armistice with Germany. -
German and British stop advance
The British and American troops dtop the German advance near Amiens. -
German shells
German shells land in Paris. -
Tsar Nicholas Family Murdered
Former Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, children and members of his household are assassinated by the Bolsheviks. -
Turks sign Armistice
Turkey signs the Armistice. -
War Totals
Total dead:
-Russia: 1700000
-Germny: 1773000
-France:1388000
-British Empire:908000
-Austria-Hungary: 1200000
-Turkey: 325000
-U.S:116516
Russia: 1700000
Total wounded:
-Germny: 4950000
-France: 4216000
-British Empire: 2090000
-Austria-Hungary: 3620000
-Turkey:4000000
-U.S: 234428
Total dead: 8500000
Total wounded: 21250000
Total Missing: 7750000
Total Casualties: 375000000 -
End of World War One
Turkey signedan Armistice at the end of October and Austria-Hungary did the same in Nov 3. On Nov 9, the Kaiser was abandoned. The final Armistice is signed by Germany at 5am and goes into action at 11am.
324,000 Australian soldiers enlisted in World War One, there were 61,720 deaths, 155,000 were wounded and 4,044 POW's. 45,000 of those deaths were on the Western Front. The picture is the front page of 'the daily dispatch', reporting the end of the war. -
Demobilisation of armies
In 1919, all armies are demobilises and millions of people are sent back home to their families.
