-
Assassination of archduke Ferdinand
On Sunday, 28 June 1914, at about 10:45 am, Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian province of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The perpetrator was 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip, a member of Young Bosnia and one of a group of assassins organized and armed by the Black Hand. -
Germany invaded Belgium
Germany invaded Belgium on August 4, 1914, as part of their Schlieffen Plan to defeat France quickly. Belgium was a neutral country at the time. -
Battle of Marne
The Battle of the Marne was a major World War I battle on September 5–12, 1914. The battle occurred on the Marne River in France and involved the French, British, and German armies. The battle marked the end of the German plan to win the war quickly, and the battle led to the establishment of trench warfare -
The Gallipoli Campaign
The Gallipoli Campaign was a World War I military operation that took place from February 19th 1915 to January 1916. The campaign was part of a larger strategy to defeat the Ottoman Empire. -
Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme was a major World War I battle that took place from July 1 to November 18, 1916. It was fought between the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. -
Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun was a World War I battle that took place from February 21 to December 18, 1916. It was the longest battle of the war and one of the most costly in history. The battle took place on the hills north of Verdun, France. The town of Verdun is located on the River Meuse. -
Death of Grigori Rasputin
Grigori Rasputin was murdered in December 30th 1916 by Prince Yussupov and other conspirators. The circumstances of his death are still debated, but the simplest version is that he was shot in the head. -
Tsar Nicholas abdicates
Tsar Nicholas II abdicated the Russian throne on March 15, 1917 (March 2nd, Julian calendar), during the February Revolution, ending the Romanov dynasty's 300-year rule, and power was initially transferred to his brother, Grand Duke Michael, who later renounced it. -
US declares war on Germany
The United States declared war on Germany twice: first on April 6, 1917, during World War I. The second declaration came on December 11, 1941, during World War II, hours after Germany declared war on the US. -
Lenin's return to from exile
On April 16, 1917, Vladimir Lenin, leader of the revolutionary Bolshevik Party, returned to Petrograd after a decade of exile to take the reins of the Russian Revolution. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3rd 1918 between the Bolshevik government of Russia and the Central Powers. The treaty ended Russia's participation in World War I. -
Armistice ending WWI
The Armistice of 1918 was signed on November 11, 1918, ending World War I's fighting on the Western Front. The armistice was signed in a French railway car in Compiègne, France. -
Treaty of Versailles signed
The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919 in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. The treaty ended World War I.