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Assassination of the Archduke
On January 28th, 1914 the Archduke of Austria-Hungary was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Young Bosnia who aimed to get rid of Austria-Hungary rule in Bosnia. After the first failed assassination attempt, Princip was able to successfully assassinate the archduke and his wife as they were attempting to flee from the scene, but took a wrong turn, leading them to him. Afterwards, Princip was arrested, and sentenced to 20 years in prison. (Owings 1984, pp. 527–530.) -
Austria-Hungary Declares War
Austria-Hungary responded to the assassination by declaring war on Serbia, due to the assassinators being Serbian nastionalists,
Austria-Hungary believed Serbia was partly responsible. However, they made sure to get backup from Germany, which promised to help defend Serbia in battle. (http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/austria-hungary-declares-war-on-serbia) -
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English Naval Blockade
During the start of WWI, G.B. set up a naval blockade to stop the United States and other countries from selling supplies to the Germany. The blockade is often credited as the reason why the U.S. joined the war later on. Not only did the blockade stop countries from giving resources to Germany, but it also put more stress on the German citizens as well, depriving them of resources, causing an estimated 400,000 citizens to starve, because of the blockade. Which farther weakened their war efforts. -
Germany declares on Russia and France
On August 1st, 1914, with its allyship with Serbia, Germany declares war on Russia, and 2 days later on August 3rd declares war on France. This was part of German's battle plan, called the Schlieffen Plan. Germany beleived it would have to fight Russia and France. To win the war, and sent most of its troops to France first, hoping to win the battle within a few days and mobilize to the front lines near Russia. However, to get to France Germany had to go through Belgium, which was neutral. -
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Battle of Liège
The Battle of Liege was the first battle of World War I, fought between the German and Belgian army, as they were planning on attacking France by going through Belgium first. They were hoping for it to be a quick battle, and get through Belgium in only two days. However, the eleven days it took them to win the battle put problems in their strategy. -
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Battle of Dinant
The Battle of Dinant was the second battle in WW I, and the first in which the French and German forces fought head-on. However, aside from the deaths faced by the German and French armies, hundreds of civilians were also killed, with the Germans believing that they were helping out the French. This, along with other agressive actions during the war, led Germany to be seen as cruel and agressive in the public eye. -
First Battle of the Marne
After the German forces made their way through Belgium, they were met by English and French troops on the outskirts of France. This battle the first major battle against the Germans and French. In previous WWI battles, the conflict was usually more active, and less trench warfare used, such as in the Battle of Dinant, where the French soldiers dug themselves in on the opposite side of the river. However, this battle was almost entirely fought from the trenches. -
Sinking of the RMS Lusitania
It was sunk by a German U-Boat, due to issues with the United States helping out the Britain, such as giving them loans. The ship was set from New York to Liverpool, carrying thousands of passengers. However, the ship also housed war-time supplies. Germany knew about this, and used it as reasoning to sink the ship, used the information to sink the Lusitania. This event was used as a motive in the United States to show support for the allies, and swayed public opinion of the German side. -
Second Battle of Ypres
The second battle of Ypres is one of the most famous battles of WWI, due to its scale and use of chlorine gas by the Germans. It was fought between May 22nd and the 25th, 1915. During the battle. the Germans would unleash gas on the allies, choking and killing the soldiers. While it was highly effective, the Germans didn't expect it to be so effective, and as a result didn't gain much territory because of it, and were later pushed back by the allies, losing the battle. -
Battle of Verdun.
The Battle of Verdun was one of the largest in WWI. The battle lasted for over 9 months, and was between the German and French armies. In the end, over 130,000 French and 120,000 German soldiers had died, making it one of the bloodiest wars in the beginning of WWI. However, the French were able to defend Verdun, and reclaim the forts that German soldiers had captured. -
Zimmerman Telegram
The Zimmerman telegram was a ciphered message sent from Germany to the German embassy in the U.S., directed at getting Mexico's support in the war, with the promise of giving Mexico New Mexico and Arizona. The British intercepted and decoded this message, and later handed it to the U.S. government. This message is also one of the main reasons the United States joined the war, and noted as one of the most important intelligence triumphs of World War One. -
U.S. Joins the War
The American congress decided to join the war by declaring war against Germany. This decision was in part impacted by the Zimmerman Telegram, as well as Germany returning to total submarine warfare, which continued to sink American ships. President Woodrow Wilson called a special session of the United States Congress, to vote on the war. The votes to enter the war vastly outweighed the votes not to. As a result, Congress wrote a declaration of war to Germany, and entered the war with the allies. -
Drafted (November 6th, 1917)
On November 6th, 1917, Harry Frieman was drafted into the United States army. From then to the end of his life, he wrote almost daily in his journal, giving a summary of what he did that day. From November Until the July 6th , while not explicitly stated, Frieman was stateside, undergoing training. However, on July 6th, he was deported, going to Europe. -
Battle of Cantigny
The Battle of Cantigny one of the first major battles that American troops fought in World War 1. The battle took place on the outskirts of the French town Cantigny, with America and France on the offensive. Over a thousand American soldiers were injured, and around three hundred were killed. On the opposite side, the German’s had around thirteen hundred casualties and losses. The battle was won within a day, with following battles pushing German troops away from Paris. -
Verdun
By September 13th, 1918, Frieman was on the front lines, near Verdun. They took their gun positions, and stood guard all night. In the following dates, Frieman recalls seeing planes “raid[ing] Huns lines”, and other accounts of attacks on the German forces. The Germans and the Allies continued to fire at each other, although with few Ally injuries during this time. By September 20th, Frieman had received orders to move positions. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Verdun) -
Front lines
After spending several days in the forests near Verdun, Frieman and his unit received orders to move to the front line during the night. After hours of cannon fire from the allies, Frieman along with others were ordered to go over the top, into no man’s land. Later, the allies were under attack by a sniper in a tree, which Frieman killed. By the 19th, the Allies were making large advances. However, they were also suffering many casualties by the Germans as they neared the Hindenburg line. -
Saint Miehel Sector
After hiding in the woods until Oct. 7th, they were ordered to move again, towards Saint Miehel Sector. There, they started battling the Germans again. There, they experienced constant artillery fire an occasional gas attacks. By October 25 Frieman and his unit was relieved by another division, and over the next three days hiked over 20 hours back to Verdun. From there, they took gun positions and attacked the Germans on the front lines again, experiencing artillery and occasional gas attacks. -
Armistice of 11 November 1918
The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was an agreement between the allied and central powers to stop fighting each other while a treaty could be made. The armistice was the document that put the fighting on the Western Front to a stop. This came after Germany realized it was loosing, as well as with riots taking place in Germany, which led to the removal of the German Kaiser. The Treaty included sending German soldiers out of back to Germany, the exchange of P.O.W.s, and steps to formal peace. -
Armistice | End of the war.
On November 11th, the armistice was signed by the allies and the German, putting a halt to the fighting while peace can be made. Word got to to Frieman and his unit the same day, and fighting stopped on both sides. Frieman accounts the last shot was fired exactly at 11AM. His unit backed to the back of the hill, and that night the huns celebrated with fire rockets. This was in effect until the rest of his journal, which abruptly ends on May 16th, 1919 with no explanation. -
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles is often noted as one of the most important documents of World War 1. The Treaty of Versailles was the formal agreement of peace between the Allied powers and Germany. One of the main details of the treaty was the fact that it put almost all of the burden on Germany. It required that Germany acknowledge it was responsible for all the damages and loss, and pay over 34 billion dollars in reparations. As well, it also caused massive territorial changes across Europe.
