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Franz Ferdinand is Assassinated at Sarajevo
A teenage Serbian nationalist by the name of Gavrilo Princip killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie Chotek. While moving through the streets of Sarajevo, their motorcade took a wrong turn and encountered Princip. The Archduke was shot at point blank range in the neck, and his wife in the abdomen. Princip claimed to have not meant to shoot Sophie. Ferdinand’s death sparked a chain of events leading up to WWI. -
Austria declared war on Serbia
Exactly one month after the Archduke and his wife’s death, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, officially starting WWI. Austria-Hungary decided that the best way to respond to the assassinations was to prepare for a potential invasion of Serbia. Their powerful allie Germany agreed to aid them in case of a war. Austria-Hungary gave Serbia some demands, but they declined. Serbia notified its strong allie Russia about the upcoming danger. -
Germany declared war on Russia
Only four days after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Germany and Russia declare war on each other. This same day France assembled troops and supplies to be ready for war. They also urged Great Britain to state their support, but they declined. Germany advised Russia to stop mobilization against Austria-Hungary, because if they continued it would mean for them to go to war, but Russia refused. -
Germany declared war on France and invaded Belgium. Germany had to implement the Schlieffen Plan
On August 2, Germany crossed into Luxembourg as part of their strategy to invade France through neutral Belgium. This plan was later known as the Schlieffen Plan. The Schlieffen Plan was planned long before the invasion of Belgium. In fact, it took nine years to finalize. Germany made the plan based on a theory that they would be at war with France and Russia at the same time. -
Battle of Marne Started
The French 6th Army, under the command of General Michel-Joseph Maunoury, attacked the right flank of the German 1st Army. The First Battle of Marne introduced the use of radio intercepts and automotive transport of troops in wartime. It was fought about 30 miles northeast of Paris. By September 10, the Germans retreated to the north of the Aisne River and began the phase of the war known as trench warfare. -
First Battle of Ypres
The Allied and German forces started a battle to control the city of Ypres and its beneficial positions on the north coast of Belgium. On October 19, the Germans opened their Flanders offensive on the Allies. Falkenhayn, the new German Army Chief of Staff, ordered an advance to break through the Allied line and capture the ports of Dunkirk, Calais, and Boulogne. The fighting went on until November 22 when the arrival of winter weather forced it to stop. -
Turkey joins Germany’s side in the war. Trench warfare begins to dominate the Western Front
The Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers because of German pressure and the opportunism of Enver Pasha, Turkish minister of war. Other reasons included Germany’s victories early in the war and Turkey's dispute with the Triple Entente. Trench warfare is a type of land warfare in which troops dig long holes in the ground to be sheltered from artillery and enemy fire. The Western Front is quite possibly the most famous use of trench warfare in World War I. -
The Lusitania was sunk by a German U-Boat
Less than a year after war broke out across Europe, a German U-boat torpedoed and sunk the Lusitania. The Lusitania was a British ocean liner headed from New York to Liverpool, England. The ship held over 1,900 passengers and crew members, and more than 1,100 died. Of those 1,100 deaths about 120 of them were Americans. It was also later revealed that the ship carried about 173 tons of military weapons for Britain. -
Italy declared war on Germany and Austria
Italy declared war on Germany and Austria, joining the side of the Allies in WWI. Originally Italy declared itself neutral at the start of the war, although it was a member of the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary. Italy weighed their options and carefully considered how to gain the greatest benefit from participation in the war. When they officially entered the war they opened a new front, stretching 600 kilometers, but was mostly mountainous. -
British forces surrendered to Turkish forces at Kut in Mesopotamia
Sir Charles Townshend and his 13,000 troops surrendered after surviving nearly 5 months under siege by Turkish and German forces. This was the singles largest surrender of troops in British history at this time. Due to problems with illness Townshend's forces were plagued. Not only this but they were also running low on supplies. -
Start of the Brusilov Offensive
The Brusilov Offensive began during the Battle of Lutsk. The Brusilov Offensive was the largest and most successful Allied attack of WWI. General Alexei Brusilov's troops started their attacks on Austria-Hungary's 4th Army. Although the Austrian troops outnumbered the Russians, the success of the barrage demolished this advantage. -
End of the Brusilov Offensive
Within two day Brusilov's troops defeated the 4th Army. They advanced 75 kilometers along a 20 kilometer long front line. The 4th Army suffered 130,000 casualties, and 200,000 were taken prisoner. The Brusilov Offensive, effectively ended Josef Ferdinand's career. -
US declared war on Germany
The U.S. House of Representatives endorsed the declaration to formally join WWI, two days after the U.S. Senate voted to go to war with Germany. When war broke out President Wilson pledge neutral, which was a stance that many Americans agreed with. Britain however, wasn't too happy with the decision. When Germany started sinking unarmed ships, the U.S.'s opinion about them began to change. On June 26, the first 14,000 U.S. infantry troops arrived in France to start combat training. -
Armistice between Germany and Russia signed
Russia declared a truce a day after Bolsheviks took over their military headquarter at Mogilev. Directly after the Bolsheviks took power in Russia they told the Central Powers to arrange an armistice, and withdraw from the war. -
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed between Russia and Germany
Russia signed a treaty with the Central Powers in the city of Brest-LItovsk, ending their participation in the war. An armistice was reached early in December of 1917, and a truce was announced the 15th. Though the difficult part was figuring out the peace terms between Russia and the Central Powers. Negotiations over the matter started on the 22 in Brest-Litovsk. -
The Karmala
The Karmala was formerly a freighter. Lieutenant Mark Lewis McCave and the 1st and 2nd Battalions of his regiment boarded the ship. While on the ship they were chased by a German U-boat. To escape it they had to go far to the north. -
Second Battle of Marne started. The start of the collapse of the German army
The Germans begin what would be their final attack in WWI. The Second battle of Marne ended in a major Allie victory. -
Turkish forces collapse at Megiddo
British forces in Palestine renew their attack on the Turkish defense north of Jerusalem. They began with capturing Megiddo. At midnight British forces executed a feint maneuver by directing an attack up the Jordan Valley as a diversion. The attack on Megiddo led to more victories by British forces. -
Turkey made peace
The Ottoman Empire sign a treaty with the Allies, marking the end of their participation it the first World War. Although Turkey originally sought to stay neutral, they soon found themselves in an alliance with Germany. The Treaty of Mudros, signed on October 30th, stated that wars with Turkey would end at noon the following day. Turkey also had to demobilize their army and release all prisoners of war. -
Austria made peace
Austria-Hungary requested to make peace during the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, which ended in an Italian victory. The Italian army were advancing into Austria's territory because the Austro-Hungarians were hesitant to sign an armistice. When they threaten to break off the negotiations and continue advancing, Austria-Hungary signed it that same day. The armistice was call the Armistice of Villa Guisti. -
Germany signed an armistice with the Allies
The Great War was ended at the 11th hour on the 11 day of the 11th month in 1918. At 5 a.m. that morning Germany signed an armistice agreement with the Allied powers. 9 million soldiers died, and 21 million were wounded during the first World War. Each nation that participated in the war lost around a million or more lives. -
The Treaty of Versailles was signed by the Germans
The signing of this treaty officially ended World War I. The treaty of Versailles was mostly negotiated among the Allied powers. The treaty included 15 parts and 440 articles that reassigned German boundaries and assigned responsibility for reparations. Germany was forced to give up its territory received from the Treaties of Brest-Litovsk. Germany agreed to the terms under the Dawes Plan and the Young Plan, but the plans were cancelled in 1932.
