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Period: to
WWI
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Period: to
WWI
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The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand
The Archduke was assassinated along with his wife by Gavrilo Princip. Austria-Hungary blamed the assassination on the Serbian government. Austria-Hungary waited to declare war until they were sure that Germany would help them. -
Battle of Marne
In the first battle British and French forces confronted the German army, by then the Germans have been thirty miles into Paris by now. Joseph Joffre counter-attacked and drove the Germans back north. This ended the plans for a quick victory against the French. -
Chemical Warfare
This is the first time that large amounts of gas are used in battle. Germans fire shells filled with chlorine at the french. This causes a near collapse of the french lines but the Germans are not able to take advantage. -
Lusitania Attacked
Germans use a submarine to sink the Lusitania, an unarmed passenger ship. The ship had 1,198 people on it, 128 of them were American citizens. Kaiser Wilhelm suspends unrestricted submarine warfare do to the national outrage. -
First Tanks
The British use the first tank in battle at the battle of Flers-Courcelette. At the time they were used to break through barbed wire, clear a path for infantry. Even though the tank designers intended them to be used for weapons -
German Proposal to Mexico
The British Intelligence gives Wilson the "Zimmerman Telegram" a message from a German foreign secretary proposing that Mexico sides with Germany in case of war between the U.S. and Germany. In return Germany promises that they will return the land lost to them, Texas and much of the American Southwest. Mexico declines. -
U.S. Enters War
President Woodrow Wilson outlines his case to congress about the U.S. joining the war. Congress agree with Wilson and the U.S. declare war against Germany. They enter on the side of Britain and France -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Bolshevik government of Russia sign a peace treaty with Germany. The terms are that Germany gets land that formerly belong to Poland and Ukraine. This makes it a one front war which was the whole point of the Schlieffen Plan. -
Battle of Belleau Wood
The war begins with the U.S. Marine Corps attacking the Germans at an open field of wheat which causes many casualties. The battle ends when the Germans are exposed from the wood, this marks the farthest Germans have gotten into Paris. This three week war has over 10,000 American casualties. -
Armistice Day
Kaiser Wilhelm abdicates, ending all hope for a German victory. Him and his advisors sneak past the Netherlands boarder. He lives a peaceful life and writes a memoir defending his actions of the war. An Armistice is signed ending all war on the Western Front.
