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Archduke franz Ferdinand, heir to Austria -Hungary's throne is assasinated
June 28 - Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to Austria-Hungary's throne, and his wife, Sophie, are assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip while the couple were visiting Sarajevo. -
Austria – Hungary declares war on Serbia
Austria-Hungary announced war on Serbia, this was the beginning of the First World War. -
Germany declares war on Russia due to the Triple Alliance
Germany declares war on Russia. France and Belgium begin to make a move. -
Germany declares war on France
Germany started war on France, and take over neutral Belgium. Britain then sends a final warning, ignored by the Germans, to retract from Belgium. -
Britain and Germany declare war on each other
Great Britain began a war on Germany. This decision to go to war meant all countries within the British Empire including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa, also had to go to war. -
Australia begins to recruit an army to send to Europe
On the 11th of August 1914, the Australian Army began to recruit soldiers to send to the Battle currently occuring in Europe. The Australian Army would go over to Europe to help Britain and the Triple Entente fight against other countries and the Triple Alliance. -
First Australian Troops leave Australia for Egypt
The Australian Soldiers were sent to Egypt in November 1914 and, after several delays due to the presence of German naval vessels in the Indian Ocean, arrived in Egypt, where they were initially used to defend the Suez Canal until April 1915. -
Australian Soldiers go to Action at Gallipoli
After the Australian soldiers had been defending the Suez Canal in Egypt for several months, they then carried out a cautious landing on the Gallipoli Pennisula, with the goal of opening up a second front and securing the passage of the Dardanelles. The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACS) grouped together and went ashore on the 25th April 1915 where they fought with the British, French and other allies for the next eight months against the Turks. -
Battle of Lone Pine, Gallipoli, takes place
From the 6th - 9th of August 1915, the Battle of Lone Pine was fought between the Australian and Turkish forces. At first. the Australians managed to capture the main Turkish trench line from the battalion that was defending the position in the first few hours of the fighting; however, the fighting continued and the Turks ended up calling off all attempts to retake the land and the Australians won. They were soon evacuated from the penninsula. -
The charge of the light horse at the Nek, Gallipoli, occurs.
The Battle of the Nek was a small World War I battle fought as part of the Gallipoli campaign. "The Nek" was a narrow stretch of ridge in the Anzac battlefield on the Gallipoli peninsula. The Nek connected the Anzac trenches on the ridge known as "Russell's Top" to the knoll called "Baby 700" on which the Ottoman defenders were entrenched. -
The last Australians are evacuated from Gallipoli.
On the 19th of December 1915, the last of the Australian soldiers fighting were evacuated from the Gallipoli Penninsula. -
Australians go to action on the western front, France
In 1916, after Gallipoli, the ANZACs were sent to France to an area known as the Western Front, where the war was bogged down in trenches and mud. In 1917, the USA joined the war. In March 1918 the German army launched a massive offense to break the deadlock, hoping to win an advantage before significant numbers of US soldiers arrived. Finally, during April and November 1918, the AUS & USA armies combined and infantry, artillery, tanks and aircraft were more effective.Germany soon surrendered. -
The Battle of Somme begins.
The Battle of the Somme , also known as the Somme Offensive, took place between 1 July and 18 November 1916 on either side of the river Somme in France.The battle saw the British Expeditionary Force and the French Army mount a joint offensive against the German Army, which had occupied a fairly large part of the north of France since its invasion of the country in August 1914. The battle was one of the bloodiest wars ever recorded with more than 1 million casulaties. -
The Battles of Pozieres and Mouquet Farm, France, take place.
From 23rd July - 3rd September 1916, the Battle of Mouquet Farm, was part of the Battle of the Somme and followed the Battle of Pozieres. The Mouquet Fram was closely located to the high ground of Pozieres. Following the previous fighting, the British hoped they could gain control of the ridge and distabilise the German's position. -
The first Conscription Referendum is lost
As many Asutralians were dying overseas at war, the AIF was facing a shortage of men to fight overseas. So Labor Prime Minister Billy Hughes decided to ask the people in a referendum if they would agree to a proposal requiring men undergoing compulsory training to serve overseas. The referendum was defeated with 1,087,557 in favour and 1,160,033 against. -
The First Battle of Bullecourt, France, occurs.
Bullecourt, a village in northern France, was one of several villages to be heavily incorporated into the defences of the Hindenburg Line in 1917.
In March 1917, the German army had withdrawn to the Hindenburg Line in order to shorten their front and make their positions easier to defend. This move was quickly followed up by the British and empire forces, and they launched an offensive attack around Arras in early April 1917. -
The Second Battle of Bullecourt,
[The Second Battle of Bullecourt](http//www.ww1westernfront.gov.au/battlefields/bullecourt-may-1917.html')
The battle was fought to aim operations at a major attack down south under the General Robert Nivelle. The British found an opening and sought a breakthrough. The battle was fought from the 3rd of May until the 15th of May 1917. -
The Battle of Messines, Ridge, Ypres, Belgium, takes place.
Battle of Passchendaele
The Battle was fought between the British and their allies againist the German empire. It was for the control of ridges south and east of Belgium city of Ypres and also the railway junctionwas a vital supply. It took place on the Western Front. -
The Third Battle of Ypres, Belgium, takes place.
The third battle of Ypres
The battle started on the 1st of August and finished on the 14th of November 1917. The battle was delayed due to weather and finally the canadian crops captured Passchendaele. Many Australians deid at the thrid battle of Ypres 38,000 troops. -
The Australian light Horse wins the Battle of Beersheba in Palestine.
Battle of Beersheba
The Australian light horses charged down and captured the town Beersheba, then overran and captured the remaining Ottoman trenches the others went into town to capture the garrison. They won the Battle of Beersheba. -
The second conscription referendum is lost.
Second Referndum
Britian sought a sixth Australian division. The second referendum, the prime minister Hughes says 'Are you in favour of the proposal of the Commonwealth Government for reinforcing the Commonwealth Forces overseas?' The second referendum was defeated by 160,000 votes. -
The Battle of Villers, Bretonneux, France, takes place.
Battle of Villlers Bretonneux
The battle was susessful counter attack by the Australian forces. It was one of the first battles with tanks. The tanks were equipped with machbine guns. It was fought for 3 days and was won by the Australian forces. -
The Battle of Hamel, France, occurs.
Battle of Hamel
The Battle of Hamel was a sussesful attack launched by the Australian troops. It was the first time the American troops participated in an offensive attack. Four American companies helped Australian troops throughout the battle. -
The Battle of Mont St Quentin, France, takes place.
Battle of Mont Saint Quentin
The battle was fought between 31st of August until the 2nd of September 1918. It was described as the greatest military achievement in the war. Australian troops broke the lines of the German troops in Mont St Quentin. -
Australians storm the Hindenburg line, France.
Hindenburg Line The Australian troops storm a German defensive position. They reclaimed the position and fought agianist the German troops. -
The Australian Light Horse takes Damascus in Syria.
The Australian Light Horse takes Damascus
The Australian Light Horses take over Damascus from the Turks and were welcomed back as heros at Damascus. Hundreds of horses raid the city to find they have fled. -
The war ends with the armistice.
The war ends in Armistice
The war ends in armistice.It marked a victory for the allies and a complete defeat of the Germans. The German troops withdrew. It was not a surrender though. It was a victory for the allies.
