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Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand
The Black Hand group assassinated Archduke Ferdinand on this date. They wanted Bosnia-Herzegovina to leave the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This lead Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia and began the Great War -
Austria-Hungary Declares War on Serbia
On July 28th, 1914, one of the bloodiest wars in history began to take place. Nearly one month after the Archduke, Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were killed by Gavrilo Princip, Austria-Hungary officially declared war on Serbia. -
Great Britain Enters War
On August 4th, 1914, Great Britain entered World War I. Belgium's ports were close to the British coast and Germany's control of Belgium would have been a major threat to Britain. Britain refused to ignore the events on August 4, 1914, when Germany attacked France. This date is when the war officially began. -
First Passenger Ship Sinks
On July 28th, 1915, R.M.S. Falaba was sunk by the German submarine. It was a 5,000 ton cargo and passenger ship. The Falaba was just off the Irish coast when U-28 surfaced and stopped the ship. The Falaba made wireless messages and sent distress rockets. The U-28 fired a single torpedo at the Falaba. Resulting in 100 deaths, including that of one U.S. citizen. -
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Second Battle of Ypres
In the Second Battle of Ypres, the Germans used asphyxiating gas discharged from cylinders (mustard gas) against the allies. The British amounted to more than 54,000 casualties. The French lost at least 50,000. Belgians suffered more than 20,000 casualties. The untested Canadians distinguished themselves as a strong fighting force, because they resisted the first large-scale poison gas attack. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
Germany declared unrestricted submarine warfare near the British Isles. People believed that because the ship was filled with mostly civilians, Germany wouldn't attack it. They also thought the ship was too fast to be a victim of a submarine attack, though they were proved wrong. The sinking of the Lusitania didn’t directly cause America to enter the war, but it did turn public opinion against Germany, ultimately being a big factor to the U.S. entering the war. -
Germany Limits Submarine Warfare
After much international outrage at the sinking of neutral passenger ships, Germany suspends unrestricted submarine warfare. This was an attempt to keep the United States out of the war. Restricting submarine warfare impacted German efforts to prevent American supplies from reaching their French and Britain allies. -
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Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme was fought in northern France. It lasted for five brutal months. The British and French armies fought the Germans along a 15-mile front. The aims were to relieve the French Army fighting at Verdun and to weaken the German Army. Germany suffered a million casualties wounded, captured, or killed. The British saw 57,470 casualties on first day of battle of the Somme, which 19,240 army men were killed. That made it the bloodiest day in British military history. -
Zimmerman Telegram
The Zimmerman Telegram was intercepted and decoded by British intelligence in January of 1917. In the telegram, Germany offers financial aid to Mexico if they agreed to enter any future U.S.-Germany conflict as Germany's ally. The telegram influenced United States' neutrality because it also stated that it was to begin unrestricted submarine warfare again and the U.S. shares a border with Mexico. -
U.S. Enters War
On April 6, 1917, the United States entered the Great War. They sided with the allies. Wilson wanted to demonstrate the global influence of the U.S. -
German Spring Offensives
During the Spring of 1918, German troops were ordered to attack the Western Front, an over 400-mile-long strip of land. The German 18th Army was to advance on Amiens, an important railroad city. This would be a big loss for the allies. The 18th army ran out of supplies and resorted to eating their horses and looting ships for food. They conquered much territory, but by April, the Germans had 230,000 in casualties. By the end of March 1918, 250,000 Americans poured into the Western Front. -
Earl M. Bill Begins Sails to France
Earl M. Bill and the rest of the 74th Regiment of the Coast Artillery Corps began their sail to France on this day. They sailed from Hoboken, New Jersey aboard the U.S. Transport President Grant. -
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Earl M. Bill and Spanish Influenza
Earl M. Bill writes that he noticed an increase of sickness on board on the way to France. It was ruled out that it was Spanish Influenza. Bill says that they had enough coffins and embalming fluid for 15 people, but this number was exceeded by far. Bill himself came down with the flu as well, but only for three days. The top deck of the ship was turned into a morgue and bodies had to be thrown overboard. -
Earl M. Bill Censors Letters of Soldiers
For a few days, Earl M. Bill censored letters of solders. Anything that might have helped the enemy had to be marked out of the letter. He writes that he is surprised of the topic that the soldiers wrote about and that they must trust the censorers a lot. -
Earl M. Bill Wants to Fight
Earl M. Bill writes that he wishes he could actually fight in the war.He says that he is unlucky that he hasn't gotten the opportunity yet. Bill wants to go home, but he also wants to see more of the country and earn a gold stripe for six months of service. He is afraid the war will end first. -
Earl M. Bill Receives Orders
Earl M. Bill and the rest of his troop were ordered to march and then board a train. They made the trip in good time and marched into a camp that he describes as "the worst camp I've ever been in." They had several false alarms and were eventually ordered to embark on the U.S. transport Mongolia. -
Treaty of Versailles Signed
On this day, the Allied Powers and Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. This officially ended World War I. The treaty put restrictions on Germany to punish them. There were fourteen points. Germany was to accept full responsibility for the war, pay for all damage, reduce it's military, forfeit it's territories, and more. It also redrew the map of Europe to prevent another war from erupting.
