WW1 timeline

  • Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated

    Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated
    was killed in his car after a wrong turn
  • Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.

    Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
    Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia and russia decades war on Austria-Hungray.
  • Germany declares war on neutral Belgium

    Germany declares war on neutral Belgium
    Germany declares war on neutral Belgium and invades Belgium and Luxembourg as part of the Schlieffen Plan. As a result, Britain declares war on Germany.
  • Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia.

    Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia.
    Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia after Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
  • The Ottoman Empire signs a secret alliance with Germany

    The Ottoman Empire signs a secret alliance with Germany agreeing to enter the war once Germany declares war on Russia. They formally enter the war several months later on October 28,1914 when they bomb Russian sea ports. Bulgaria joins the Central Powers on October 15, 1915.
  • The United States declares neutrality

    The United States declares neutrality in the war.
  • The German army defeats Russia at the Battle of Tannenberg.

    The German army defeats Russia at the Battle of Tannenberg.
    The German army defeats Russia at the 2st Battle of Tannenberg.
  • Period: to

    German invasion of France at the First Battle of Marne.

    The German invasion of France is halted at the First Battle of Marne.
  • The Race to the Sea ends

    The Race to the Sea ends when the Germans withdraw at the 1st Battle of Ypres.
  • Unofficial Christmas truce

    Unofficial Christmas truce is declared by German and Allied soldiers in the trenches along the Western Front.
  • Period: to

    The Germans use poison gas

    The Germans use poison gas at the 2nd battle of Ypres.
  • Armenian Genocide begins.

    Armenian Genocide begins.
  • Allies begin a nine-month battle for Gallipoli

    Allies begin a nine-month battle for the Turkish peninsula of Gallipoli.
  • Italy Joins the Allies

    Italy Joins the Allies.
  • A German U-boat sinks the Lusitania

    A German U-boat sinks the Lusitania killing 1,198 civilians, including 128 Americans.
  • British nurse, Edith Cavell, is executed

    British nurse, Edith Cavell, is executed by the Germans.
  • Period: to

    The Battle of Verdun

    The Battle of Verdun is fought resulting in an estimated one million casualties.
  • Period: to

    The British introduced the tank

    The British introduced the tank during the Battle of Somme. The battle results in an estimated one million casualties.
  • Woodrow Wilson is re-elected

    Woodrow Wilson is re-elected President of the United States.
  • Emperor Karl of Austria abdicates.

    Emperor Karl of Austria abdicates.
  • British cryptographers deciphered a telegram from German

    British cryptographers deciphered a telegram from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmerman to the German Minister of Mexico.
  • submarine warfare

    The Germans resumed unrestricted submarine warfare.
  • Tsar Nicholas II

    Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicates.
  • President Wilson asks the U.S. Congress

    President Wilson asks the U.S. Congress for a declaration of war against Germany.
  • Period: to

    The 3rd battle of Ypres

    The 3rd battle of Ypres, also known as Passchendaele, results in minor gains for the Allies and a total of 700,000 casualties.
  • The Balfour Declaration

    The Balfour Declaration is presented in London.
  • President Wilson outlines his Fourteen Points

    President Wilson outlines his Fourteen Points in a speech before Congress.
  • The Treaty of Sevres

    The Treaty of Sevres ends the war on the Eastern Front with the Ottoman Empire.
  • Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

    The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk is signed between Russia and Germany.
  • Period: to

    Germans on the banks of the Marne near Paris are stopped

    Germans on the banks of the Marne near Paris are stopped by American forces at Chateau-Thierry
  • Germany and the Allies sign an Armistice

    At eleven o’clock on this day, the war on the Western Front ends as Germany and the Allies sign an Armistice.
  • Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany abdicates

    Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany abdicates.
  • Treaty of Versailles

    Germany and Allies sign the Treaty of Versailles. The U.S. Senate later refuses to ratify it.