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The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife traveled to Bosnia and went to the capitol city of Sarajevo, in an open-topped car. At first, Serbian terrorist threw a bomb into the car, but that attempt would fail. But, their luck would later run dry. Later that day, they would ride past Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist, who would kill the Ferdinands’. Austria-Hungary would be angered by this act of violence, and with the help of Germany, declare war on Serbia, officially marking the start of WWI. -
Austrian-Hungarian Empire Declares war on Serbia
Declared war exactly 1 month after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were assassinated by Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip, beginning the first World War. -
Germany Invades Belgium
Germany invaded neutral Belgium as apart of the Schlieffen Plan. This was a plan to capture Paris quickly by catching the French off guard by invading through Belgium, avoiding the German/French border. -
First Battle of the Marne
The first battle of WWI that resulted in the Allied and German forces fighting over the German invasion of Belgium. -
Lusitania Disaster
A German U-boat torpedoed and sank the RMS Lusitania, a British ocean liner that was on its way to Liverpool, England. There was 1,900 passengers on board and almost 1,100 of them died, including more than 120 Americans. The sinking of this ship would place a turn in public opinion against Germany, with the United States and other allied/neutral countries. -
The Somme
The Battle of the Somme, was the first battle of WWI fought by the British and French armies of the allies, against the German army of the central powers. This battle was intended to be a quick victory for the allies. But, more than 3 million men fought in this battle, but 1 million men were wounded or killed, making it one of the deadliest battles in human history. -
Zimmerman Note
This was a proposed military alliance between Germany and Mexico. If the United States were to enter World War I against Germany, Germany would help Mexico recover Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. This telegram was intercepted and decoded by British intelligence, and revelation of the contents would enrage Americans. -
United States joins the War
The United States declares wars on Germany and its Central Powers counterparts. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Was a separate peace treaty. This officially ended the war between Russia and the Central Powers. This treaty came into play based off the Bolsheviks overthrowing the Russian government. This group was led by Vladimir Lenin who wanted Russia to pull out of the war. -
Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations
The treaty of Versailles ended WWI and wars between Germany and other countries. This treaty punished Germany heavily and was to admit guilt for the war and pay unlimited reparations. Other treaties would decide the fate of countries that fought with Germany. This Treaty also established the League of Nations, which was a diplomatic group developed as a way to solve disputes between countries before another war such as, WWI, happened again.
