-
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia
On July 28,1914,Hungary declared war on Serbia and started the first world war. Hungary felt threatened by the Serbian intention in the Balkans region. They were worried about the assassinations and responded by getting ready to start invading Serbia. With the support of Germany, Hungary gave Serbia an Ultimatum and a list of demands that they expected Serbia to meet. Serbia agreed with all the request except for one. So Serbia began to prepare for the war with Austria-Hungary -
Germany declares war on France
On 3rd August, 1914 Germany declared war on France. A couple hours later France then makes its own declaration against Germany.France begins to prepare to invade with their troops in Lorraine. The first wave of German troops gathered at the front line of neutral Belgium. Germany has officially started to invade France.This was considered an attack to Belgium neutrality in the European powers. -
Battle of Mons
Britain declared war on Germany which lead to the battle of Mons.The battle of Mons was the last of the four “Battle of the Frontiers” on the western Front. The Frenches BEF had been placed to assist the Frenches 5th army to attempt to break through the German lines. The German troops fired first, targeting the northern point of the Salient. After nine hours the French 5th army was forced to withdraw their troops. There was 1,600 hundred casualties. -
The battle of Albert
The battle of Albert had been an assault by the french on the center of the German lines. By the time the battle officially begun it had also become a British affair. The french had underestimated the German lines because they were not able to break through them like they had hoped for. On the first day of the battle the British were losing heavily. But the tides soon turned for the better for the British and within two days they were able to capture the first German trench. -
Turkey joins Central Powers
Turkey officially joined the central powers with a signing in August 1914. One reason was the opportunism of the Turkish minister. The Central power had better benefits and options for Turkey. The Germans had now completed their goal which was to keep Turkey from joining the enemy. The Turkey military on their side The Germans had the upper hand. There was a secret treaty that only five people were aware of signed on August 2nd. This treaty allowed the Germans to command the Turkish navy. -
Christmas Truce
Starting on Christmas eve The Germans and the British sang Christmas carols to each other and even ceased the firing. On Christmas morning the German soldiers came out of their trenches and walked across no mans land shouting merry Christmas in native tongue. After The French saw that the Germans were unarmed they shook hands with their enemies. Both sides even exchanged gifts and played a rough game of soccer. Some of the soldiers used this time to collect the bodies of their fallen allies. -
German gas attack
The German soldiers surprise the allied forces by firing more than 150 tons of Chlorine gas at two french colonial divisions at Ypres in Belgium. Toxic smoke was rare. The poisonous attack defeated two divisions of the french and Algerian colonial troops. The Germans did not expect the gas to work that well and failed to take advantage of the Opportunity. The french still managed to keep their positions. Immediately after this attack the British began to prepare their own gases and gas masks. -
The sinking of the Lusitania
A German U-boat fired a Torpedo at British steamship killing 1,128 people including 128 Americans. This event made the relations between Germany and the U,S weaker.This event would set off a chain of occurrences that would eventually lead the U.S to enter the War. The Germans defended their actions by saying the boat was carrying weapons,but this only angered the U.S even more. Anti-German riots broke out all over America -
Edith Cavell executed (Veteran)
Cavell was a nurse that served for a couple years as a matron at a nurse training school in Brussels. After the city was captured by the Germans,Cavell chose to stay there to help the wounded soldiers. She helped both the Germans and the french soldiers. In August,1915, German authorities arrested her for helping the British and French soldiers, She admitted to nursing them back to health and the Germans sentenced her to death for being a traitor. -
Zimmerman telegram
The Zimmerman telegram was an almost unbreakable code used by the Germans. The telegram was deciphered by the British intelligence. In the telegram, The ambassador offered financial aid to Mexico if they agreed to enter U.S-German conflict. Germany also promised to return lost land to Mexico including Texas and Arizona. The U.S president found out the contents of the telegram and ordered the U.S to start aiming their ships toward Germany. -
Frank Luke (Veteran)
Pilot Frank Luke was the greatest balloon buster that joined the 27th Aero squadron. He had a sharp attitude and did not listen to his commanders when they tried to give him orders.But he was and expert at shooting down enemy aircraft pilots. He claimed 18 Arial victorious. On September 29th, his plane was shot down and Frank died from his injuries hours later. He then became the first ever pilot to receive a medal of honor. -
Armistice
On November 11th, the firing had been put to a stop and the only thing you could hear was silence.It took a couple hours for the reality to sink in that the war was over. Both sides had agreed not to surrender but to just end the fighting. Neither side seemed to be winning this war. The Germans did not agree to the Armistice until later on in the war when all hope of winning was lost. But they got harsher treatment from the British and the French. -
Charles Whittllesay (Veteran)
Major Charles led his team into hostile German territory, but they were left behind on accident.Charles ordered his men to build a defense line and to stand strong. Even though he only had 600 men against the German army. Charlie and his men managed to keep the Germans back before the reinforcements came he had only 128 men left. Sadly Charlie retired and suffered PTSD. A couple years later he committed suicide on his way to Cuba. -
Alvin York (Veteran)
Alvin was a sergeant that was stationed in France along with the 82nd division of the U.S army. Him and 17 other american soldiers were captured under German fire with no hope to win. He managed to escape with his men while picking off German shooters with firing skills. He soon managed to make the remaining German troops to surrender, and killed more than 20 troops evenhandedly. He had captured 132 enemy soldiers. After the battle he rejected fame and returned to his farm in Tennessee. -
Treaty of Versailles
The treaty of Versailles was a agreement that was signed by the Allied powers. In the treaty the Germans had to pay compensation that they had caused instead of receiving armistice. German territory was reduced by 10 percent. The treaty also included that the league of nations guaranteed each others independence and territory.Economic sanctions would be ordered if they showed signs of breaking or going against the treaty. This treaty was made to prevent future world wars from happening.
