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Archduke Franz Ferdinand Assasinated
On June 28th, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assasinated by Gavrilo Princip. It happened in Sarejevo, a old part of Serbia that Austria Hungary annexed in 1908. Austria Hungary blamed Serbia government for the Attack. Austria Hungary asked for assurance from Germany to declare war on Serbia, and Germany was all for it. This ultimatly was one of the biggest causes of WW1 -
Germany Deploys Troops
On August 4th, 1914, Germany deployed its troops and invaded Belgium. This is when Great Britian declared war, and France declared war a day before. Troops crossed the border and the Battle of Liege began. The Invasion of Belgium lasted from August 4th, til November 22nd. -
The Battle of Marne
On September 6th til September 9th, 1914 was the Battle of Marne. This was Frances first major offensive against Germany and also one of the first battles of the war. This stopped Germany from getting the quick victory that they wanted. This was the first major resistance that Germany had felt. -
Christmas Truce
On December 24th, 1914 an unofficial Christmas Truce happened. Both sides of the line stopped fighting and sang Christmas carols, exchanged gifts, and played a good nature Soccer game. This is a special moment and I really like this. It shows that with all the bad in this world, people can still come together. Even though peace didn't stay for more than that night, maybe we can make peace stay longer. -
The Sinking of the Lusitania
On May 7th, 1915 a German U-boat sunk the Lusitania, a British passenger ship. This ship was not only holding British passengers, but also 128 American passengers on board. Even though there was civilians on the ship, there wa anti-submarine weapons on the ship, that let the Germans justify their attack. The sinking of the Lusitania was one of the first major event that made the United States think about joining the war. -
Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun started on Febuary 21st til December 16th. This was one of the bloodiest battles of the war with nearly 400,000 French deaths and 350,000 German deaths. Germany thought this battle would be the battle to give the Germans the victory. -
Time in Paris
Roland spent a lot of time in Paris as an Aerial observer. They were down at a hotel with the 13 other observers. They got to the hotel and rented the top floor for one week, and said not to let anyone on the top floor unless they say so. -
Zimmerman Telegram
The Zimmerman Telegram was a telegram sent to Mexico from Germany asking to form an alliance and for them to launch an attack against the United States as revenge for them taking their territory in a former war. British intercepted the message and told the United States and this was the final straw. After they found out about the telegram U.S. troops started getting ready to ship out to Europe. -
U.S. Declares War
On April 6th, 1917 U.S. finally declares war on Germany. This was terrible for Germany and their chances of winning the war were looking very slim. U.S. troops strted getting ready to ship out to Europe. The U.S. did not declare war on Austria Hungary until December. -
Balloon Mission
Roland's mission in this one was to shoot down 3 German balloons. They needed to shoot them down so that a battle could start. In the interview he said that the balloons were about 500 meters off the ground and they had to go up and shoot them. The Germans never saw the attack coming because Roland and his crew were 5,000 meters off the ground. Him and his team successfully shot down all the balloons and his mission was complete. -
Bombing of a town
Roland and his squad was meeting up with another squad in a town. They were on there way and when they got there the squad they were meeting with were not there. Germans were where they were at and they had no protection. Until Billy Mitchell a flight commander, came along with 100 U.S. planes and bombed the town -
Battle of Cantigny
The Battle of Cantigny started on May 5th, 1918. This was the first major battle that America had that really effected the war. This battle resulted in over 1,000 troops dead and a lot more wounded. In the end the Germans surrended. -
Roland Saves his Plane
On August 17th, 1918, My Veteran, Roland had a crazy flight. In his plane they were fighting in a battle. Bullets hit the control wires to the plane that he was in. His pilot kept his cool while Roland held the wires together so he could operate the plane. -
Battle of Saint-Mihiel
The Battle of Saint-Mihiel started on September 12th, and lasted till the 16th. This was a hard fought battle by the Americans. We didn't have as much as a tactical advantage as France and Britain did for this battle, but we fought it and won anyway. This is also important because my veteran fought in this battle, and in this battle he saw his brother die. -
German Kaiser Ended the Fighting
On November 9th, 1918, just two days before Armistice, the Kaiser of Germany ended all fighting on the front. Germany was losing hope and the people of Germany were suffering. Shortly after this the Kaiser of Germany, then became the King of Prussia. -
Armistice Day
On Novmber 11th, 1918, Germany agreed to sign an armistice agreement with the Allies. If Germany didn't sign this, then an invasion would have happened on Germany. This ended the Great War and the German hope of winning the war.
