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The Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the prince and throne holder of Austria-Hungary. Ferdinand was riding in his top down limousine sighting the town of Bosnia in a parade. He was Assassinated by Gavrilo Princip whom is a member of "The Black Hand" while on the way to the hospital to visit the injured civilians from his previous assassination attempt that he had just gotten away from. This was known as "The Spark" which then started the great war. -
Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia
On 28 July 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. The declaration of war was made after Serbia rejected the terms in an ultimatum sent to them by Austria on July 23, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austria-Hungary throne, had been assassinated by Serbian student, Gavrilo Princip, in Sarajevo -
The Battle of Somme
The Battle of the Somme (1 July - 18 November 1916) was a joint operation between British and French forces intended to achieve a decisive victory over the Germans on the Western Front. For many in Britain, the resulting battle remains the most painful and infamous episode of the First World War. -
Trench Warfare
World War I was a war of trenches. After the early war of movement in the late summer of 1914, artillery and machine guns forced the armies on the Western Front to dig trenches to protect themselves. Fighting ground to a stalemate. -
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World War 1
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Germany Declared War on Russia
Germany entered into World War I on August 1, 1914, when it declared war on Russia. In accordance with its war plan, it ignored Russia and moved first against France–declaring war on August 3 and sending its main armies through Belgium to capture Paris from the north. -
Germany Declares War on France
On July 31, 1914, Germany demanded that France remain neutral, and that the Russians stop mobilizing. Neither country bowed to German demands. When Germany declared war on Russia on August 1, 1914, it knew that war with France would soon follow. Two days later, on August 3, 1914, Germany declared war on France. -
The Battle of The Mons
Battle of Mons, (August 23, 1914) engagement between the British Expeditionary Force and the German army at Mons, Belgium, during the Battle of the Frontiers in the opening weeks of World War I. The German victory forced the BEF into a retreat that was not checked until the First Battle of the Marne. -
The Western front
The Western Front, a 400-plus mile stretch of land weaving through France and Belgium from the Swiss border to the North Sea, was the decisive front during the First World War. Whichever side won there either the Central Powers or the Entente would be able to claim victory for their respective alliance. -
The Christmas Truce
As the German soldiers lit their lanterns and displayed them on the edge of their trenches, carol singing broke out. Soon enough the British and French troops joined in. Christmas greetings and well wishes were exchanged, and offers of a temporary ceasefire were communicated between the trenches. -
The Lusitania
On May 7, 1915, the German submarine (U-boat) U-20 torpedoed and sank the Lusitania, a swift-moving British cruise liner traveling from New York to Liverpool, England. Of the 1,959 men, women, and children on board, 1,195 perished, including 123 Americans. -
The Battle of The Marnes
In saving Paris from capture by pushing the Germans back some 72km (45 miles), the First Battle of the Marne was a great strategic victory, as it enabled the French to continue the war. However, the Germans succeeded in capturing a large part of the industrial north east of France, a serious blow. -
The Battle of Ypres
Ypres 1915 - Veterans Affairs Canada
This was the fame or notorious Ypres Salient, where the British and Allied line pushed into the German line in a concave bend. The Germans held the higher ground and were able to fire into the Allied trenches from the north, the south and the east. -
The Zimmermann Telegram
On January 16, 1917, Zimmermann sent a telegram to the president of Mexico, Venustiano Carranza. In exchange for Mexico's involvement in World War I, Germany would: Fund a Mexican invasion into the United States. Give Mexico the states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas in exchange for their help, Mexico declined. -
America Joins The War
In early April 1917, with the toll in sunken U.S. merchant ships and civilian casualties rising, Wilson asked Congress for “a war to end all wars” that would “make the world safe for democracy.” A hundred years ago, on April 6, 1917, Congress thus voted to declare war on Germany, joining the bloody battle -
The Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was signed by Germany and the Allied Nations on June 28, 1919, formally ending World War One. The terms of the treaty required that Germany pay financial reparations, disarm, lose territory, and give up all of its overseas colonies. -
Ending of The Great War
Finally, the fighting was over. At 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918 the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month the guns fell silent. To mark the one-year anniversary of the Great War, Americans celebrated Armistice Day on Nov.