-
Assassination of Archduke - Serbia
June 28 1914: Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated along with his wife by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Bosnia. This act was done, by a single Serbs in order to unite the Serbs under one leader. However, this also caused World War I. Austria-Hungary was enraged at the murder and took action, declaring war. Backed by Germany, Austria-Hungary began its attack Serbia. -
Period: to
World War I
The Great War
"The War To End All Wars" -
"He Kept Us Out Of The War"
The President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson officially declares his policy that the U.S. will maintain neutrality during the war. He was concerned with the population of U.S. citizens that had been born in Germany and Austria. In the speech addressing Congress, Wilson warned United States citizens against taking saids for fear of endangering U.S. policy.
"Such divisions amongst us would be fatal to our peace of mind..." -
Battle of Tannenberg
Probably the most spectacular German victory of the First World War, and Russia's worst defeat. The Russian army never fully recovered from the Battle of Tannenberg. Alexander Samsonov was appointed commander of the Russian Second Army, and planned to invade East Prussia, along with General Rennenkampf. The result was catastrophic: only 10,000 of the original 150,000 soldiers in the Second Army escaped. More than 95,000 were taken prisoner, and 500 artillery guns were captured. -
Britain blockades Germany
The main impact on the naval area of World War I, was Britain's use of the Royal Navy to blockade Germany. The Royal Navy cut off essential raw materials and even food from the German armies. The British would patrol the waters, intercepting cargo ships headed for Germany, and put out minefields against German ships. announce a blockade of the German ports, in response to the German blockade of the British. -
Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun was the biggest and longest battle on the western front. It occured at Verdun, France about 120 miles east of Paris, and lasted from the 21st of February until December 18. French General Robert Nivelle popularized the Battle of Verdun with his words, "Vous no les laisserez pas passer, mes camarades," which translates to "You shall not let them pass, my comrades." In total 163,000 Frenchmen died along with 143,000 Germans. -
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland is said to be the greatest but third largest naval battle of World War I. It was fought between the British-represented by the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Germans-represented by the New German High Seas Fleet. German Naval Commander, Reinhard Scheer, planned on damaging the English fleet with offensive raids against the ships blockading Germany, and laying mines on the British coast. However, the British decoded German messages and were ready to prevent Scheer's plans. -
America joins the fight
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson proposed a declaration of war on Germany on April 2, 1917, during a speech to the houses of Congress. He said, "There is one choice we cannot make, we are incapable of making: we will not choose the path of submission and suffer the most sacred rights of our Nation and our people to be ignored or violated."
April 6 1917-United States declares war on Germany. -
Brest-Litovsk
After the successful revolution of the Bolsheviks, Russia signed an armistice with Germany at Brest-Litovsk. In this agreement, Russia had to surrender over 290,000 square miles of land and a quarter of its population. This land contained a quarter of the nation's industry and 90% of the coal mines. -
Wilson's Fourteen Points
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points were presented in a speech given to the American Congress, January 8, 1918. These fourteen points became the basis for peace and was one reason of Germany and allies to agree on the armistice in November. The first point said: "No more secret agreements." The last point said: "A League of Nations should be set up to guarantee the political and territorial independence of all states." -
Armistice Day
The term "armistice" is defined as the cessation of hostilities as a prelude to peace negotiations. This peace between the warring nations was made at 5 a.m. on November 11, and came into effect six hours later at 11 a.m-hence "the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month." It was signed by a German delegation and Allied Supreme Commander Ferdinand Foch.
