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Franz Ferdinand Assassination
The assassination was the spark that lit the flame of WWI. -
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia
The killing of Archduke set off a major conflict. The person who killed the Archduke, Gavrilo Princep, was a Serbian, so Austria-Hungary blamed the death on Serbia. -
First use of weaponized gas by Germany
Yes, it was the original idea of the Germans to use gas in warfare, but the Allies and other countries caught on and started copying them, and was responsible for 85% of chemical fatalities in WWI. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
The British passenger ship that was secretly carrying weapons named the Lusitania was shot down by Germans and left a scar on America, the news reports rampant. -
Wilson reelected; pledged American nuetrality
President Woodrow Wilson, one of the most hopeful and active presidents, was reelected. He and many others were opposed to the idea of joining the war, hence why so many people voted. Being neutral didn't last for long though. -
Bolsheviks overthrow Russian government
In Russia, riots broke out over the government's handling of the conflict and the frugal amount of food and energy. A group named the Bolsheviks tried overthrowing them, and they succeeded. Led by Vladimir Lenin, the Bolsheviks wanted to get out of the war for them to build a new Communist nation -
Zimmermann Note
The Zimmermann Note was a telegram from Germany telling Mexico to engage war with the U.S. (Texas) to distract them from entering the war in Europe. The last thing that Germany wanted was for the U.S. to fight in Europe -
U.S. enters the war
The U.S. declares war on Germany because of the Zimmermann note. As I stated, the Germans told Mexico to keep the U.S. distracted. In theory, the plan was great, but it ended up backfiring when we came to fight with Germany -
The End of War
Germany and Wilson set up an armistice and it went into effect on the 11th hour of the 11th month of the 11th day of 1918. The armistice said that Germany would withdraw all armed forces west of River Rhine, to withdraw their naval fleet on the Baltic Sea, and to surrender absolutely massive amount of weapons and ammunition. -
Treaty of Versailles
Passed on June 28, 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was a massive loss for the Germans. They had to accept that they lost the war by paying the Allies millions of billions of dollars. On top of that it made the Germans completely disarm and give up some oversea colonies and gave the British some territory. It also broke up the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and also made new ones. Wilson also got the League of Nations to check the treaty to see if there were any mistakes.
