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Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his Wife Assassinated
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were assassinated exactly one month before the beginning of WWI by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo. Their lives were taken by a terrorist group called the "Black Hand." -
WWI Begins
Austria-Hungary demands many things from Serbia, and Serbia accepts and complies to all but one, resulting in Austria breaking all relations to the country and officially declaring war. -
Clara Wilhelmina Joins
Clara joined at the beginning of WWI. Seeing as she had already been a nurse for four years beforehand, she wanted to put her skills to good use during these bad times. -
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How Long Clara was in the War
Clara served from 1914-1918. During those times she worked as in the Army Nurse Corps in France. Her highest ranking was Lieutenant. -
Germany Declares War on Russia
As an ally of Austria, Germany declares war on Russia to protect them. In return, France then declares war on Germany in order to protect its own ally, Russia, who they had a treaty with. -
The Battle of the Frontiers
Forces from both the French and the Germans collide along the eastern borders of France and southern Belgium. -
The Ottoman Empire Joins In
Turkey joins the war on Germany’s side with the signing of the Turco-German Alliance. This was Turkey's way of assuring their independence. -
Christmas Truce
A Christmas truce is declared between many warring soldiers along the Western Front. -
Battle of Verdun
This battle was fought on the Western Front along the hills north of Verdun-sur-Meuse, being the longest of the First World War. The battle, in particular, was between Germans and France. -
Battle of the Somme
Also known as the Somme Offensive, this battle was fought by the French and the British against Germany. It lasted from July 1st to November 18th, 1916. -
Tanks
The first tanks ever were used in battle at Delville Wood. These first tanks were useful for breaking through barbed wire and clearing paths, but weren't very useful other than that. -
Wilson Arrives
President Woodrow Wilson visited a huge facility in Paris, where Clara had been working in the Jaw Ward. The Jaw Ward was where disfigured patients were taken care of. In a memoir of hers, she stated, "When [Wilson] went out of that ward, he was just white as a sheet and he couldn't continue." -
Zimmerman Telegram
The Zimmerman Telegram was a "secret diplomatic communication issued from the German Foreign Office in January 1917 that proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico." Mexico would recover Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona if the US joined the war against Germany. -
Submarine Warfare Resumes
Germany resumes their submarine warfare in European waterways. All merchant ships, neutral countries or not, were attacked by the German Navy. -
US Joins the War
The US joins the war on France's and Britain's sides. -
Selective Service Act
An act that authorizes the draft//numbers were chosen and those men with those numbers were sent out to fight. The act was upheld as constitutional by the United States Supreme Court. -
Brest-Litovsk
Germany signs a peace treaty with the new government of Russia. The treaty allowed Germans to shift soldiers to the Western Front. -
Armistice Day
An Armistice is signed to end the fighting on the Western Front. The end of the war. -
Clara Marries
Clara married Arnold Hoke after WWI, another veteran of the war. The two shared thoughts and memories about the terrific event often in their later years.
