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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
The Archduke of Austria Franz Ferdinand was in Sarajevo Bosnia, which had been annexed by Austria Hungary, inspecting the army stationed there. 7 young men hand planned to assassinate him while he drove down the main road but this plan failed as the man who threw the bomb missed. The driver was supposed to take an alternate route than the one planned to get Ferdinand out of the city but did not and when he stopped to turn around Gavrilo Princip shot and killed the Archduke. -
Germany invades Belgium starting the war
After the assassination of the Archduke of Austria, they declared war on Serbia. Germany says they will help Austria, and France says they’ll help Serbia. Germany wants to invade France but the easiest way was through Belgium. Germany wanted permission to move their armies through Belgium but were denied access so they invaded. Click Here -
Battle of Verdun
The battle of Verdun lasted eight months and ended with roughly 650,000 total casualties. The German forces were battling to take control of two forts trying to get to the cathedral of Verdun. They took fort Douaumont and fort Vaux, but never made it to the cathedral.
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Germany restricts its submarine warfare
Germany listens to requests of US president Wilson and agrees to limit submarine use in order to not break diplomatic neutrality with the US. This stopped the sinking of non-military passenger ships in the English channel. -
England deploys the first tanks ever used in battle
At the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, part of the battle of the Somme, the British sent 49 tanks to be used. 17 were not able to run and were left behind. Of the 32 left 9 made it into no man's land and into German lines. The French thought that the British should’ve waited to use tanks later in a high volume. -
Germany reinstates its Submarine campaign
The supreme army and the German naval forces thought that if they had their full force they could secure a victory against the British. Even though he was advised not to give in the Kaiser agreed with this and had his U-boat campaign continue.
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US enters war
The United States was originally against joining the war but after the sinking of many ships with American passengers people began to change their minds. Before the US had entered the war a couple hundred Americans had been killed. President Woodrow Wilson gave a speech to congress explaining why we should enter the war and 4 days later the US went to war with Germany. Click Here -
Alvin York was sent his draft letter
York had recently given up drinking fighting and gambling to join a christian sect, they wanted him to stay out of the war but he was denied at all levels. Once he got on base he made it clear he was a pacifist but his battalion commander convinced him, with a bible passage, that fight was okay sometimes. -
Russia and Germany sign a peace treaty
After Vladimir Lenin's, German aided, rise to power in Russia his first action was to end Russia’s involvement in WWI. This treaty was named after the city it was signed in, Brest-Litovsk. This was supported by the Russian people because they had just been through a revolution, and they had been losing many battles. Click Here -
Alvin York in the Maas-Argonne Offensive
Alvin York captured German troops but was ambushed. Half of the 17 men were killed but York was able to fight his way out without sustaining any major injuries. After the leader of his group was shot he took leadership returning fire on the German machine guns and getting his men out. -
Alvin York Capturing German soldiers
York was attacked by a group of 6 German soldiers but he fought them and forced them to surrender. While taking these men back to camp he captured even more German soldiers, still not wanting to kill he spared many men's lives. -
Kaiser Wilhelm fleas to the Netherlands with his advisers
German civilian leaders in late 1918 realized in order to keep order the Kaiser needed to abdicate. It was announced on Nov 9 that he would abdicate, before he had actually agreed to. The next day Kaiser Wilhelm agreed to abdicate after he lost support from the leaders of the army. Click Here -
Alvin York is given the Medal of Honor
York became the most decorated soldier of WWI. He was given the Medal of Honor after returning home from WWI for his service. He had a total of 20 kills and made 132 Germans surrender. -
Alvin York comes back to the US
York came back a decorated war hero but the American press didn’t know about this for a couple of months when a writer found his story and published it. York married soon after returning and had 8 children. -
The treaty of Versailles was signed
The treaty of Versailles officially ended WWI, it was named after the city it was signed in, Versailles, France. This treaty rearranged Germany’s borders and made them pay reparations for the war. Many people say this treaty is actually one of the main causes for WWII.
