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The Assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand
Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand was taking a drive in Sarajevo, Bosnia when he and his wife were shot by assassin Gavrilo Princip. The death of the arch duke was the start of World War 1. -
World War 1 Begins
When Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the Archduke's assassination, all chaos happened. Austria-Hungary claimed war on Serbia, Germany declared war on Russia, Germany also declared war on France. A day later Germany invaded Belgium, which caused Great Britain to declare war on Germany. -
Alliances
With tension buiding up between countries, some countries decide to build alliances. Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy formed the Triple Alliance while Great Britian, France, and Russia formed the Triple Entente. -
New Weapons
With all these countries fighting each other, one of them decided to create a new weapon: poisonous gas. This gas killed hundreds of people, thanks to the Germans whom are the people who created it. -
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. -
Britain Introduces 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. -
The Germans Blockade
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. -
United States Enters the War
Congress authorizes a declaration of war against Germany. The United States enters World War I on the side of France and Britain. -
Peace between the Russians and Germans
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. -
Battle of Cantingy
The Battle of Cantigny is the first major American offensive of the war. Though small in scale, the Americans fight bravely and soon go on to larger attacks against German positions. -
Kaiser Wilhelm Goes Into Hiding
Kaiser Wilhelm abdicates, ending all German hope for a victory. He and his retinue quietly slip over the border into the Netherlands where he lives out the remainder of his life in relative peace and writes a self-promoting memoir defending his actions in the war. -
World War 1 Officially ends
With 32 countries officially coming to an agreement, fighting and total destruction could finally end. But with all the countries tension higher than ever, World War 2 would soon follow.
