-
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Gavrilo Princip killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife. -
This Means War
One month after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. -
Push for War
Germany declares war on Russia -
WAR! WAR! WAR!
Germany declares war on France and invades neutral Belgium -
Touching Down in France
The first British troops land in France -
War Doesn't Stop
Great Britain and France declare war on Austria Hungary -
The Start to it All
First confrontation on European soil since the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, four divisions of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), commanded by Sir John French, struggle with the German 1st Army over the 60-foot-wide Mons Canal in Belgium, near the French frontier. -
3rd Times a Charm
Austria invades Serbia. This is the third attempt to conquer the Serbs in retaliation for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. This attempt fails like the two before it, at the hands of highly motivated Serbs fighting on their home ground. The Austrians withdraw in mid-December, after suffering over 220,000 casualties from the three failed invasions. -
Gaining Control
Germany declares war zones around British Isles -
Death Marches
The Armenian genocide began. That day, the Turkish government arrested and executed several hundred Armenian intellectuals. After that, ordinary Armenians were turned out of their homes and sent on death marches through the Mesopotamian desert without food or water. -
Peace Treaty
Italy signs peace treaty called the Treaty of London -
Surprise Surprise
British ocean liner Lusitania is torpedoed without warning by a German submarine off the south coast of Ireland -
First Battle
The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and France against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 November 1916 on both sides of the upper reaches of the River Somme in France. -
Battle of Bucharest
The Central Powers completed their cross of the Danube River at Sistova and occupied the regional capital of Craiova, Romania. -
Battle of Rafa
The Desert Column of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force captured the last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula. Ottoman casualties included 1,434 prisoners, 200 killed and 168 wounded. British casualties were 71 killed and 415 wounded. -
Communication is Key
A secret diplomatic communication issued from the German Foreign Office in January 1917 that proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico in the event that the United States entered World War I against Germany -
US Enters WW1
United States formally declared war against Germany and entered the conflict in Europe. -
Coming in for Landing
The first American troops land in France -
Declaring War Everywhere
China declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary -
Versallies
The Rapallo Conference in Rapallo, Italy was convened by the Allied powers in the wake of the severe Italian setback at Caporetto. The conference decided to form a Supreme War Council at Versailles, France to co-ordinate allied plans and actions and promised fresh aid to the Italians -
The Fourteen Points
The Fourteen Points was a statement of principles for peace that was to be used for peace negotiations in order to end World War I. The principles were outlined in a January 8, 1918 speech on war aims and peace terms to the United States Congress by President Woodrow Wilson. -
Spanish Sickness
First recorded case of Spanish flu at Funston Army Camp, Kanas; start of worldwide pandemic killing 50-100 million -
Armistice
The armistice that ended fighting on land, sea and air in World War I between the Allies and their opponent, Germany -
Paris Peace Conference
On January 18, 1919, a few months after the end of World War I, leaders from the Allied nations began a series of discussions that became known as the Paris Peace Conference to settle issues raised by the war and its aftermath. -
An Ending to it All
The Treaty ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919 in Versailles, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand which directly led to World War I.
