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Assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand
Archduke Francis Ferdinand is assassinated on a visit to Bosnia. On the morning he visited, a bomb was thrown at his car and it bounced off. It exploded and injured two officers in a second car. On the way to the way to visit the officers in the hospital, Princip shot him and his wife. She died instantly and he said “Sofia” and then died. -
Austria Hungary declares war on Serbia
On July 28, 1914 Austria Hungary declared war on Serbia. This was because Princip, Francis Ferdinand’s assassinator, was from Serbia. This caused a chain reaction which worked its way through Europe’s system of alliances. -
Russia prepares troops for war
On July 29, Russia, as Serbia’s protector, began readying their troops for war. Germany, Austria-Hungary’s protector, demanded that Russia stop. Russia refused to stop. At that point, France, Russia’s ally began readying their troops as well. So did Germany. -
Germany declares war on Russia
On August 1, 1914, Germany declared war on Russia. Germany’s military leaders had been preparing for this day. -
Britain joins war
Germany had hoped to keep Britain out of the war, but on August 4, 1914 the invasion of Belgium brought Britain in. -
US becomes neutral
Between 1897 and 1914, American commercial investments overseas increased from $700 million to $3.5 Billion. To protect those investments, on August 4, 1914 President Wilson officially proclaimed the US a neutral country. -
Suffragists march down Fifth Avenue
On August 29, 1914, suffragists dressed in black and carrying a banner of a dove marched down New York City’s Fifth Avenue. -
The Lusitania sinks
On May 7, 1915, a German U-boat sighted the Lusitania, a British passenger liner in the Irish Sea. Suspecting that the boat contained weapons for the Allies, the U-boat fired. The Lusitania sank in eighteen minutes taking 1200 passengers with it. 128 of them were Americans who had boarded in spite of the warnings. -
Sussex Torpedoed
On May 24, 1916, a German U-boat torpedoed the Sussex, a French passenger steamship. Two Americans were killed, and 80 other passengers were killed or injured. The US threatened to cut diplomatic ties into Germany. The Sussex Pledge was signed making the German government promise that U-boats would warn ships before attacking. -
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The Battle of Somme
In 1916, The Battle of Somme took place. The British suffered around 20,000 deaths in a single day. This sank their morale and they began using any tactic available including burning fields, erasing the distinction between civilians and soldiers, killing livestock, and even poisoning wells. -
Germany ends Sussex Pledge
Germany told the US that it would end the Sussex Pledge and resume unrestricted submarine warfare the next day.German strategists thought that it might bring the US into the war. -
US breaks diplomatic relations with Germany
The US broke off diplomatic relations with Germany. Wilson asked Congress for permission to start arming American merchant ships. -
Czar Nicholas II was forced to give up the throne
(no specific date) Czar Nicholas II was Russia's autocratic leader. He was forced to give up the throne and replaced with Republican government. This Russian Revolution cheered the prowar faction in the US. -
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Sinking of the ships CIty of Memphis, Illinois, and Vigilancia
Germany sank the City of Memphis, Illinoin, and the Vigilancia between March 16-18. Wilson's patience had run out. On March 20 the President's cabinet unanimously voted for war. -
The U.S. joins the war
On March 20, the President's cabinet voted unanimously for war. The President agreed. A war Resolution passed 82-6 in the Senate and 373-50 in the House. -
The President signed for war
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Convoy system
Starting in May all merchant ships traveled in a convoy. A convoy is a group of unarmed ships surrounded by a ring of destroyers, torpedo boats, and other armed ships. -
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Selective Service Act started
The Selective Service Act was made sometime in May. It authorized a draft of young men for military service. -
Lever Food and Fuel Control Act
This act gave the President power to manage production and distribution of foods and fuels vital to the war effort. -
Wilson's 14 points
On January 8, Wilson stood before Congress. The war wasn't over, but he talked about peace. He had a system for achieving his goal of peace. It was called the 14 points for the number of provisions it contained. He hoped that his points would be the basis of peace negotiations. Germany assumed it would. At first the Allies seemed to go along with it. One by one, they discarded his proposals. -
Lenin and Germany sign peace treaty
Lenin signed a truce with Germany in December and a final peace treaty on March 3, 1918. Russia's exit from the war freed Germans from the two front war they had been fighting -
Germany broke through the British line for the first time since 1914
Germans attacked British lines on March 21. For the first time since 1914. They spent all their energy trying to push back the British lines. By the end of May they were only about 50 miles away from Paris -
Battle of Amiens
The Allied armies stopped the German advance in the North and recaptured Germany's gains from earlier in the year. General Ludenorff advised Kaiser Willhelm to seek a peace settlement, but the Allies insisted on total surrender before peace. -
Meuse-Argonne Offensive
Over a million AEF troops began to drive to expel the Germans from France and to cut their supply lines. The German army was soon in full retreat. -
Kiel Mutiny
Sailors in the German port Kiel realized that they would soon be defeated. They realized that further fighting would just cause needless loss of life, so they mutinied. By November 10, they had fled to Holland. -
Armistice signed
At 5 AM an armistice (cease fire) was signed. As planned, six hours later the guns fell silent. -
Versailles treaty
The Allies presented the treaty to Germany on May 7, but Germany refused to sign it until the Allies threatened with a French invasion. On June 28, the great powers signed the treaty at Versailles -
Wilson returned from Versailles
On July 8, Wilson returned from Versailles with the treaty. Many had been skeptical as to if it would work or not. -
Congress votes to disregard the treaty of Versailles and end the war
Since Wilson had been paralyzed, Congress voted to disregard the treaty of Versailles and declare the war officially over. Wilson vetoed the resolution. -
Ending of the war
On June 2, another resolution to end the war was passed. By that time Warren G. Harding was in office, and he signed it. Congress ratified seperate treaties with Germany, Austria, and Hungary