-
Period: to
20th Century History
-
Assasination of Archduke Ferdinand
-
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia
-
Russia announces mobilization as ally of Serbia
-
German troops mobilize against Russia
-
Germany declares war on France
-
Germany declares war on Belgium and invades; the Schlieffen Plan in put into action
-
British Empire declares war on Germany - Canada included
WWI begins in earnest for all sides except for the US and Brazil dragged into war. -
Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia
-
Battle of the Marne - German army stopped outside of Paris; 4 years of trench warfare ensues
-
Unofficial Christmas Truce
Nothing special; just wanted to make things a little bit cheerful before all the woe and death after this. -
Germany begins naval blockade of Britain
Unrestricted submarine warfare begins in earnest. -
Battle of Gallipoli begins
Allied armies are forced to pull out after 9 months of bitter fighting resulting in 500,000+ casualties on both sides. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
Loss of 1,198 civilians, 128 of whom are American.
This incident will be used as a rallying cry to war later on in 1917 in the US. -
Germany temporarily halts unrestricted submarine warfare
-
Tsar Nicholas II leaves to "command" the front, leaving his wife to overlook internal matters
-
British attempt to use poison gas near Loos, but drifting winds causes gas to float over to British line instead
-
Douglas Haig becomes commander of the BEF
-
Conscription is in effect in Britain
-
Battle of Verdun begins
From February 21st to December 18th, more than 1 million soldiers are thought to have died in the forts, trenches, and fields surrounding the town of Verdun. -
Canadian Corps take Vimy Ridge
For the first time, all four Canadian divisions were to fight together. -
Battle of the Somme
Introduction of the tank, though no breakthrough and over 1 million casualties both sides combined. -
Battle of Jutland takes place with no clear victor
-
David Lloyd George becomes PM of Britain
-
Raputin, the monk who had severly influenced the Tsar's wife and Russia's war effort, is assassinated
-
The infamous Zimmermann Telegram is intercepted and translated by the British
In it, the German Reich's Foreign Secretary Zimmermann urges Mexico to declare war on the US. -
Germany once again declares unrestricted submarine warfare
-
Tsar Nicholas II abdicates; Provisional gov't is established
Largely due to the ineptitude of the Tsar in quelling the bread riots in Petrograd, which evolved into a mass Proletariat movement led by the workers' councils, or Soviets. -
President Woodrow Wilson asks Congress to declare war on German Reich
-
Disastrous French offensive at Chemin des Dames
Gaining only 500 yards at the cost of 250,000+ lives.
French soldiers soon go on strike/mutiny. -
Russian Provisional Army led by Alexander Kerensky launch last and disastrous offensive
-
First units of the American Expeditionary Force lands in France
-
Battle of Passchendaele or 3rd Battle of Ypres begins and costs 700,000 lives for both sides by November
-
The October Revolution
Led by Lenin and Trotsky, the Bolshevik party overthrows the Provisional gov't.
Russian Civil War begins. -
The new Russian gov't, represented by Trotsky and under orders from Lenin, sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
With one penstroke, the Russians lose land that took their ancestors a hundred years to conquer. -
President Wilson declares 14 points
-
German Spring Offensive begins
-
British and Australian troops stop German offensive near Amiens
-
German Spring Offensive effectively stopped on the doorsteps of Paris
-
Former Tsar Nicholas II, his family and entourage are shot by retreating Bolshevik security forces
To prevent the White Army from capturing them from the Red Army, Bolshevik security were given orders to shoot them before they themselves retreated. -
Hundred Days Offensive
Allied counteroffensive since August pushes past fortifications at Hindenburg line -
From July to October, German troops had been deserting en masse and sailors mutinying against going into hopeless battles
-
Turks sign Armistice
-
Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates
-
German Republic founded
Known in short time as the "Weimar Republic" for the town where the constitution of the new republic was darwn up. -
Armistice goes into effect
November 11th becomes known as "Armistice Day".
