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Archduke Assassination
The archduke of Austria-Hungary, Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated while on a trip to Sarajevo. He and his wife were killed by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip, who was part of the terrorist group known as the Black Hand. It has also been said that Princip also killed the archduke's unborn child during the assassination of both him and his wife. This event is known to have sparked the beginning of World War I. -
Germany Declares War on France
Only two days after declaring war on Russia, Germany declared war on France. This was part of a plan organized by the German army's former chief of staff, Alfred von Schlienffen. Now that Germany was officially at war against both Russia and France, there was the matter of the Balkans. The solution to this problem led to the Germans assembling at the borders of Belgium to try to cut through in order to get to France. Belgium denied permission for Germany to cross through their territory. -
World War I Begins
The World War didn't really start until Germany invaded Belgium territory in order to attack France. This was a strategical attack against France that Germany needed permission from Belgium to continue on with. Invading Belgium caused them to declare war on Germany, and ended up bringing Great Britain into the war only hours after. Great Britain declared war on Germany because their ports were close to the Belgium border, and there was the threat of Germany taking over Belgium. -
First Battle of Marne
During the First Battle of Marne there was the use of radio intercepts and transport of troops using automobiles. There was the use of trench warfare during this battle which marked the beginning of the use of this style of fighting throughout the war. This battle was fought in the north and east parts of Paris, and was meant to push Germany back after they had advanced through Belgium and France. In the end, the French won the battle, and pushed Germany out of their gained territory. -
The First Trenches
The first trenches started being built during the beginning of the Battle of Marne. This battle was what sparked the widely used strategy to use trenches in order to protect soldiers on the front. Digging of the trenches started in only the first month of the war, and continued on until the end. The first trenches were built on the Western Front, and ended up stretching from the North Sea on the coast of Belgium all the way through France. It was a very elaborate system. -
Christmas Truce
In the middle of World War I, around the time of Christmas, all fighting had stopped. This is known as the Christmas Truce because when all the fighting stopped it was to give the soldiers time to celebrate the holidays in the trenches. It is said that starting on Christmas Eve the soldiers started singing carols, and on Christmas day it continued on. There were even soldiers from opposite sides that would emerge from their trenches, and try to spread the holiday cheer among their enemy. -
Germans Fire
On this day, Germany introduced the start of using poisonous gases to fight during the war. The Germans used lethal chlorine gas that ended up weakening the Allied forces tremendously. This new weapon was devastating to those who were exposed to it, and Germany continued using this lethal method to win their battles. The first major use of poisonous gas was against French divisions in Ypres, Belgium. -
The Sinking of the Lusitainia
The sinking of the Lusitania was caused by a torpedo fired by a German submarine. The British transport ship sank in about twenty minutes killing nearly 2,000 people on board. About 120 of the dead were Americans. The sinking of the ship caused Americans to consider entering the war, warning the Germans not to do something like that again. -
Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun was started by the Germans when they attacked France's position in the fortified city of Verdun. After the battle started it continued on for ten months. The cycle of attacks and counterattacks is said to have turned the city into hell on earth. Finally, the French were able to push the Germans back and reclaim their lost territory. Unfortunately, both sides lost about 800,000 soldiers altogether by the time the battle had ended. -
Zimmerman Telegram
In January of 1917, the British intercepted a telegram from the Germans to Mexico. The telegram was offering Mexico the opportunity to regain territory from the United States if they joined them in the war. Great Britain sent the message to the United States causing us to enter the war by declaring war on Germany. This message is what pushed the United States leaders to revoke their neutrality, and the US ended up fighting alongside the Allied forced to take down the Central Powers. -
The United States Enters the War
The United States formally entered the war after it was voted on in the US Senate. It was a nearly unanimous vote that stood at 82 to 6. This action led the United States into the World War even after declaring neutrality when it started. After entering the war, the United States joined the Allied Powers which consisted of Great Britain, France, Russia, and Italy. -
Selective Service Act
A few weeks after entering World War I, the US Congress passed the Selective Service Act. This act gave the president the power to draft soldiers for the war. Before the passing of the act there was the problem of the Allied Powers needing fresh soldiers which the United States couldn't deliver, even after receiving volunteers. Thus, created the Selective Service Act that President Woodrow Wilson signed to draft all men from ages 21 to 30 into the military. -
Battle of Cambrai
The Battle of Cambrai was the first battle where tanks were largely used. For this battle there was the use of five cavalry divisions and three tank brigade which the British used to perform a surprise attack against the Germans. The use of the tanks was effective, but exploitation was too slow. Even with the British use of tanks, the Germans were able to counterattack and reclaim their lost land. This battle showed the power of tanks and changed warfare in the future. -
Veteran Event (Gas Masks)
In one of the letters veteran Albert Kleinecke sent, he talked about how the soldiers were given gas masks to help protect them from harmful gases. During these times poison gas was used to take out the enemy. He said that even though the gas masks were very good there were some people who weren't protected from the gas since they were too slow to get their mask on. It was also said, in the letter, that one captain had breathed too much gas into his lungs from not getting his mask on in time. -
Veteran Event (Military Map Making)
In another letter, Albert talks about how the war isn't as hard on him as it is others. He talks about studying aerial photography, the plane table survey, and his job to produce military maps. He said that he makes the maps based off of what the photographs and the table show in order to make maps of the battle field and war zones as accurately as possible. Doing this job didn't require him to go out onto the battle field to fight, that's why he said the war wasn't as hard on him. -
Veteran Event (Hearing the Front)
Albert talks about, in this letter, how close to the front he is. He said that he wasn't on the front, but he was in the first zone which is the closest place to the front. It's said that while he works on the plane table surveys he can hear the battle raging on in the front. He can hear things like the planes overhead, machine gun fire, and the tanks. -
The Battle of Cantigny
The Battle of Cantigny was the first battle in which the United States was able to fight an offensive war against Germany and the Central Powers. There were nearly 4,000 troops that were able to capture the village Cantigny, France from Germany. Before, the United States wasn't able to gather the troops that they needed to win a battle like this. Once they were able to get their numbers up they could send more men out into battle which, in this case, helped them win more offensive battles. -
Veteran Event (Fighting Near the Town)
In this letter that Albert sent to his family, he talked about how he had traveled to a town where there had been active fighting. While he was there he said that there was some active fighting between planes above the town. The town that he was in was about 25 miles from the front, and he had never been that close to the fighting before. There was so much for him to take in, and he said that it was hard to believe that there was fighting anywhere near where the town was. -
Veteran Event (The Town)
In another letter, Albert talked about how he visited a town where the war had passed through. He said that there were gun shells, shell holes, debris, and traces of explosions. This was the first he had seen of what the front had did to the towns that it passes through. He sounded astonished that the war had caused so much destruction since that town was closer to the front than he had ever been before. -
World War I Ends
The Great War ended on the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month on the year in 1918. The war ended up leaving a total of 9 million dead, and about 21 million more injured. This war was known to be the "war to end all wars", but unfortunately it didn't end all wars because we had a second world war not 30 years later. The official end of the war was when the peace treaty, the Treaty of Versailles, was signed in 1919 at the Versailles Palace.
