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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina by Gravilo Princip whose ubjective was to seperate Austria-Hungary's South Slav provinces, so they could be combined into Yugoslavia. Austria-Hungary later declared war after an ultimatum was rejected by the Serbian government. -
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia
Austira-Hunagry delclares war on Serbia, convinced that Serbia was behind the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. -
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WWI
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Russia Mobilizes
Russia, Serbia's protector mobilizes their troops in order to defend Serbia from the Central Powers when the time came. Germany damanded that Russia stand down, but they refused. Forcing France and Germany to ready their troops as well. -
Germany declares war on Russia
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Britain declares war on Germany
After Germany invades neutral Belgium Britain is dragged into the war in an attempt to stop Germany from spreading west. -
First Battle of the Marne
The First Battle of the Marne was fought between September 5, 1914 to September 12, 1914. The battle was fought between Germany with a strength of approx. 1,485,000 and a combined force of French and British troops numbering 1,071,000. The battle was a victory for the allies and it forced the Germans to retreat north-west. It was fought along the Marne River near Paris, France. There was about 250,000 casualties on each side. -
Indians join the war for the first time
Approximately 1.5 million Indian, and 1.3 million Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, and South Africans are brought into the war as a part of the British Empire. -
Siege of Tsingtao
The Siege of Tsingtao was the attack on the German port of Tsingtao in China made by the United Kingdom and Japan. It was the first enconter between Germans and Japanese during WWI. -
First use of poison gas
Both sides had expiremented with toxic gas before, but in January of 1915 the Germans use xylyl bromide killing 1,000 Russian troops on the Eastern Front. -
Gallipoli Campaign
Took place on the Gallipoli Pennisula in the Ottoman Empire. The area provided a straight into the Russian Empire which France and Britain needed in order to give supplies to Russia. The Ottomans held onto the pennisula and it is regarded as one of the greatest victories by the Ottoman Empire in WWI. -
Sinking of The Lusitania
The passenger boat the Lusitania was shot by a torpedo, fired from a U-boat off the coast of Ireland. 1,200 people are killed, 128 are American. Even though Germany issued warnings the sinking shocked the world and pushed the U.S. closer to war. -
Battle of Verdun
The battle was the longest single battle of the war, it lasted 9 months and cost 300,000 lives on both the French and German sides. It occured near the town of Verdun, France. -
U.S. Declares War On Austria-Hungary
The U.S. joined the war because passenger ships containing American citizens were being sunk by German U-Boats. Germany also tried to reach out to Mexico in order to make an alliance, these conflicts outraged Americans and the U.S. had to join the war.
