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The Timeline of World War 1 and the events that transpired during this deadly conflict.
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On June 28, 1914, Archduke Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated by a young Serbian man named Gavrilo Princip. The plot was created by a group of peasant Bosnian students. Initially, there was a failed attempt that ended up injuring two officers. When Princip fired those shots, he had unknowingly sparked one of the deadliest conflicts in history, which was World War 1.
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After the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, the Austrian Government blamed Serbia for the assassination and declared war. Germany was allied with Austria, and when Russia went to support Serbia, it declared war on Russia. It became a domino effect as each country started a war with one another, dragging their allies with them. WWI officially started on July 28, 1914.
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The Battle of Gallipoli was a failed attempt made by the Allies to control the sea route from Europe to Russia during the war. It was unsuccessful due to the lack of intelligence and knowledge of the surrounding lands. Within a couple months, the allies were suffering heavy losses and withdrew. It took place from February 19, 1915 to January 9, 1916.
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On May 7, 1915 a German U-Boat sunk the ship Lusitania. The ship sunk and killed 1128 people including 128 American people. The sinking of the Lusitania angered both Britain and the United States. This attack eventually led to the United States joining the Allies in the war against the Central Powers.
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The Battle of Verdun was an engagement between the German Offensive and the French defending the Fortress of Verdun. It was one of the longest and most costly of the battles in the war. The Battle of Verdun took place from February 21 to December 18, 1916
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The Battle of Somme, also called the Somme Offensive, was one of the largest and bloodiest conflicts in the war. The first day of the Battle was brutal and the British already lost over 25,000 men the battle. The main goal of the offensive was to relieve the French army fighting at Verdun and to overall weaken the German army. The offensive took place on July 1, 1916 to November 18, 1916.
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The Russian Revolution was pair of revolutions in 1917 that massively changed how Russia was governed. Initially, Russia was still governed by serfdom, which was massively abandoned by the rest of the world at the end of the Middle Ages. These revolutions eventually led up to the creation of the Soviet Union.
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The Zimmermann Note was a secret message that was telegraphed from Germany to Mexico that proposed an alliance between the two. It stated that should the US enter the war, Germany would help Mexico take back Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. It was intercepted on January 16, 1917 and was one of the reasons why the US did enter the war.
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On April 6, 1917, after a vote between The Senate, the house of representatives endorsed the decision to enter the war. The President at the time, Woodrow Wilson, wanted keep neutral during the war. But tensions rose as German U-boats sank many civilian ships like the Lusitania or the William P. Frye, all of which had American citizens.
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Russia initially joined the war in support of protecting Serbia from Austria-Hungary. But Russia was still developing as it joined the war. Consequently, it led Russia totally exhausting its economy and leaving its people suffering. They eventually withdrew on March 3, 1918.
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The Battle of Chateau-Thierry was a relatively short battle but was a significant one. Even though it lasted for 3 weeks, it is significant because this was one of the first battles the Americans participated in the war. The battle took place on July 18, 1918.
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The Battle of Argonne Forest, was part of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. It was a major assault, along the entire front with the objective to capture a railway junction at Sedan with the support of 1 million American soldiers. It was fought from September 26, 1918 until the Armistice of November 11, 1918.
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The Armistice was an agreement that was signed on November 11, 1918 by the Allies and their enemies. The armistice ended fighting between each other and their allies. Germany were actually the ones who came to America for an Armistice. This was because they had lost their support from their allies and the outcome of the war seemed clear to them.
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The treaty of Versailles was an agreement that officially ended the conflict between the Allies and Germany. It was classified of many parts, many of which reduced the German powers in some way. The treaty was signed on June 28, 1919.
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The League of Nations was an organisation that was founded on January 10 1920 after the Paris Peace Conference. The main motive behind the League was to maintain world peace. The first meeting of the League of Nations was on January 16, 1920.
