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Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand was the archduke of Austria-Hungary. He was traveling with his wife to Sarajevo. Franz and his wife were killed by a Serbian nationalist. The nationalist first tried throwing a bomb into their car, but it rolled off and wounded an officer. Then later that day they couple went to visit the officer. During this time the nationalist saw an opportunity to shoot them, and he did. They died within an hour of being shot. Their deaths led to the start of World War I. -
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World War I
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Austria Declares War on Serbia
Austria declared war on Serbia after a Serbian nationalist assassinated Franz Ferdinand and his wife. This was the beginning of the first World War. Austria-Hungary allied with Germany before attacking Serbia. Many Europeans countries were worried this would turn into a European War. -
Great Britain Declares War on Germany
Germany invaded Belgium, and Great Britain gave them a choice. Either leave Belgium before midnight or we will wage war. Germany did not leave Belgium. Germany had done this out of fear because they were surrounded by Germany and Russia. -
Ottoman Empire Joins the War
The Ottoman Empire joined the war on the side of the Central Powers. German pressure pushed the empire to join the fight. Alliance with the Central Powers was more appealing than alliance with the Allied Powers. The Allies were against many things Turkey did. Turkey joined the war by bombing Russian Black Sea Ports. -
The Zeppelin Bombings
The first causalities that Britain had were from German Zeppelin airships. Both Great Yarmouth and King Lynn's got bombs dropped on them. Two out of the three airships sent were successful. The third airship had to turn back due to mechanical problems. -
Italy Joins the War
Italy joined by declaring war on Germany and Austria. By Italy joining, it opened up a whole new war front. They had 1.2 million men ready for action, but they only had enough weapons for 732,000 of those men. They went to the South Tyrol region and the Isonzo River where they had a few successes, but ended up in a stalemate. -
Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun lasted for 10 months, and was one of the longest fights of World War I. Over 1,200 weapons were fired onto the French front, and they hit a cathedral in Verdun, starting the Battle of Verdun. The German death number was 143,000, and the French death number was 162,440. The French had started pulling military weapons and men out of Verdun in 1915, so when this attack happened, the French were not ready. -
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland is known as the greatest naval battle in World War I. The British Naval Force met Germany's naval force off the Danish coast. Over 2,000 British soldiers were killed in just the first day of fighting. Two British ships were exploded causing those deaths. After this battle Germany decided not to encounter the Grand Fleet for the rest of the war. -
The German U-Boat Campaign
In the early stages of the war, U-Boats severely hurt the Allies naval attack. The German government said that they would make sure unarmed passengers were safe before sinking an enemy ship. These U-boats were 214 feet long, could carry up to 35 men, and could hold 12 torpedoes. -
United States Joins the War
The United States pledged neutrality in 1914. However many US ships were continuously damaged by Germans. Germans pledged in 1917 that they would resume unrestricted warfare in war-zone waters. This caused the United States to break diplomatic relations and declare war against Germany. -
Ottoman Empire Signs Treaty
Representatives from the Ottoman Empire and Great Britain meet aboard a ship to sign an armistice. That ended the participation of the Ottoman Empire in the war. The Treaty of Mudros was signed that evening. The Treaty also dissolved the Ottoman Empire. -
End of World War I
Germany signed an armistice with the allies. This took place outside a railroad car in France. 9 million soldiers were dead and 21 million were wounded from the war. World War One is known as the war to end all wars because of the mass destruction it had caused.
