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Assassination!!!
Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated in Sarajevo. His death is the event that sparks World War I. -
Russia Mobilizes
Russia mobilizes its vast army to intervene against Austria-Hungary in favor of its ally, Serbia. This move starts a chain reaction that leads to the mobilization of the rest of the European Great Powers, and inevitably to the outbreak of hostilities. -
World War One Begins!
Germany invades Belgium, beginning World War I. -
Trench Warfare
The First Battle of the Marne begins. Trench warfare begins as soldiers on both sides dig in. -
Blockade
The United Kingdom announces that the North Sea is a military area, effectively creating a blockade of goods into Germany. -
Germans Fire!
The Germans fire shells filled with chlorine gas at Allied lines. This is the first time that large amounts of gas are used in battle, and the result is the near-collapse of the French lines. However, the Germans are unable to take advantage of the breach. -
Lusitania Sinks
A German submarine sinks the passenger liner Lusitania. The ship carries 1,198 people, 128 of them Americans. -
U Boat
The British ocean liner RMS Lusitania is sunk by German U-boat, U-20 -
First Tanks
The British employ the first tanks ever used in battle, at Delville Wood. Although they are useful at breaking through barbed wire and clearing a path for the infantry, tanks are still primitive and they fail to be the decisive weapon, as their designers thought they would be. -
Germany Limits Submarines
Reacting to international outrage at the sinking of the Lusitania and other neutral passenger lines, Kaiser Wilhelm suspends unrestricted submarine warfare. This is an attempt to keep the United States out of the war, but it severely hampers German efforts to prevent American supplies from reaching France and Britain. -
Battle of Verdon
The French held their line against a German offensive until December of the same year, during the longest battle of the war. -
Submarines Back
Germany resumes unrestricted submarine warfare in European waterways. This act, more than any other, draws the United States into the war and causes the eventual defeat of Germany. -
Zimmerman Telegram
British intelligence gives Wilson the so-called Zimmermann Telegram, a message from German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmermann proposing that Mexico side with Germany in case of war between Germany and the United States. In return, Germany promises to return to Mexico the "lost provinces" of Texas and much of the rest of the American Southwest. Mexico declines the offer, but the outrage at this interference in the Western Hemisphere pushes American public opinion to support entering the war. -
Wilson for War
President Wilson outlines his case for war to Congress. -
U.S Enters War
Congress authorizes a declaration of war against Germany. The United States enters World War I on the side of France and Britain. -
Selective Service Act
Congress passes the Selective Service Act authorizing the draft. Although criticized for destroying democracy at home while fighting for it abroad, President Wilson claims he sees no other option and signs the bill into law. -
Germany and Russia Peace
The Germans sign a peace treaty with the new Bolshevik government of Russia. The terms of the treaty give Germany huge tracts of land that had been the Ukraine and Poland, and peace on the Eastern Front allows Germany to shift soldiers to the Western Front, causing serious problems for the French, British, and Americans. -
RAF Formed
The british Royal Air Force is formed. -
Austrian-Hungarian Empire Surrenders
The Austrian-Hungarian Empire surrenders. -
World War 1 Ends
The Central Powers, tired of fighting, sign the armistice that ends World War 1