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37 Days to WWI
This timeline describes the events in the days leading up to WWI. -
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (N)
This was the last day of Archduke Franz Ferdinand's Bosnia trip with his wife Sophie Chotek, when Gavrilo Princip led five other armed men to assassinate him. He believed his people would be free if he killed the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, who annexed Bosnia. The men took many weapons, but the first attempt failed since the bomb thrown at their car was deflected. The next attempt was successful. Princip shot Ferdinand in the head, and his pregnant wife in the stomach, killing both. -
Austria-Hungary’s Revenge on Serbia (N)
After the assassination of their heir to the throne, Austria-Hungary attacked Serbian shops, and rioted in Sarajevo. They held Serbia responsible for the assassination of Ferdinand, despite Serbian government’s claims that they warned Austria of the plans and tried to tell Ferdinand to postpone his trip. Conrad von Hötzendorf, the Austrian military chief, wanted to start a war, but feared Russia would step in to help Serbia, their ally. Austria-Hungary also had a powerful ally; Germany. -
Great Britain and Germany on Good Terms (A)
On this date, Britain’s Royal Navy left Kiel, Germany’s naval base, after working with them to complete a few successful projects. Germany’s navy had outdone Britain’s at many sporting events, and Britain was impressed. Upon the departure of the Royal Navy, Great Britain and Germany were on good terms and were encouraging to each other. -
Germany Makes Austria-Hungary a Promise (A)
Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany saw that Austria-Hungary wanted to fight Serbia, and decided after careful consideration to tell their ambassador that Germany would always be their faithful ally. This, which was known as Germany’s blank cheque, promised Austria-Hungary that no matter what actions they decided to take, even fighting Russia, Germany would fully support it and back it up. -
Austria-Hungary Attempts to Attack Serbia (M)
Many Austrians saw Germany’s support as a green light to attack Serbia quickly, but Tisza, the Hungarian Prime Minister, was not on board, so both countries decided to make some final demands from Serbia rather than a quick fight. Not accepting the demands of Austria-Hungary meant a war between them and Serbia, and waiting a long time would allow for Russia to get involved too. -
Germany and Britain Discuss Alliances (A and M)
As far as support from Britain, British Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey said they weren’t obligated to provide any to France or Russia in the event of a European war. However, in 1907, the Triple Entente was formed between Britain, Russia, and France, so Britain was bound to that alliance. Russia was very powerful, so Britain attempted to warn Germany of their strength, but that didn’t halt Germany’s plans with Austria-Hungary. -
Austria-Hungary Finally Agrees to War (M)
Austria-Hungary was finally given permission from Hungary’s Prime Minister, so they finalized an ultimatum for Serbia. If they accepted it, then Austria-Hungary would’ve had complete control over them, but if they didn’t, it would mean both countries engage in a war. Much of Austria-Hungary wanted to fight Serbia in order to settle everything they had against them, but there was still a slight fear of Russia’s power. -
Russia Warns Austria-Hungary (A)
Russia heard about Austria-Hungary’s plans for an ultimatum, and disagrees with it. Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Sazonov, said that if they cause any problems, then they would regret it and have to deal with many other European powers.. Since Russia and Serbia were allies, Russia supported Serbia and defended them in their time of need. -
Serbia Replies to Austria-Hungary’s Ultimatum (N)
Serbia agreed with almost everything that Austria-Hungary asked, except for two things that they refused. One of the two things they didn’t accept was granting them judicial power, since it went against their beliefs and nation’s rights. With that, they rejected Austria-Hungary’s ultimatum altogether and prepared for war. -
Britain Tries to Avoid War (A)
Sir Edward Grey of Britain wanted to hold a conference with all the countries that weren’t largely involved in the pending war. He thought they could discuss the situation with Austria-Hungary, Serbia, and Russia and make the situation more bearable, but Germany refused to agree because they didn’t want others to think they were giving in to Britain’s demands. -
The War Between Austria-Hungary and Serbia Begins (A and M)
Austria-Hungary and Serbia begin to fight, but Germany is angry because Austria-Hungary wasn’t prepared to begin. They realize that the heir to their throne was assassinated, but spectators won’t feel bad for Austria-Hungary forever. It took two weeks for Germany’s ally to regain military stability. -
Russia’s Army Almost Interferes (M and A)
Russia’s army was told it could interfere with the conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, but telegrams from Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany caused it to be taken back. They said that Germany wanted peace too, and it was still possible for Russia to witness it without getting involved, even though their ally was. When Russia’s Tsar realized that he would be causing a conflict with Germany too, he stopped Russia’s army -
Russia Steps In (A)
The Tsar changed his mind again, because there was a lot of pressure on him to make the right choice, and he knew he had to defend his ally and protect his own empire. Even though he wanted peace, he chose to send his army to fight Austria-Hungary and Germany in order to help Serbia. -
Germany Fears the Triple Entente (M and A)
Since the Triple Entente involved three ally countries that surrounded Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm thought they would plan to attack Germany and destroy it, so he prepared his military to fight them as well as Serbia. An ultimatum was issued to Russia which said either they stopped their troops, or there would be a war. Also, Germany forced France to house German soldiers. -
German, French, and Russian Armies Prepare (M)
Germany didn’t receive a response to Russia’s ultimatum, so they decided to declare war against them.After asking Sazonov, Russian foreign minister, three times if Russia would back down, and hearing no all three times, the German army began to move. At the same time, expecting Germany to fight them, France started to move their troops too. -
Belgium Rejects Germany’s Ultimatum (N)
Germany issued an ultimatum to Belgium to ask if German troops could travel through their land safely. Since Belgium didn’t want to take sides, they rejected it. Britain had always promised them they could remain neutral, so when German troops crossed into Belgium’s land after the rejection of Germany’s ultimatum, Britain was obligated to get involved too. -
War is Declared Between Germany and France (M)
Germany declared war on France, believing that they had to beat France before they tried Russia. France tried not to do anything that might start a fight, but Germany was determined to battle. At this time as well, Britain began to like the idea of war more and more, realizing that it was necessary for a positive national image to get involved. -
Britain Issued an Ultimatum (A) PART 1
As Germany continued to cross into Belgium, Britain had to make sure Belgium could remain neutral by issuing a ultimatum to Germany. Britain’s ambassador, Goschen, told Germany that it was Britain’s duty to ensure Belgium stayed neutral, even though Germany attempted to blame all future events on Britain. -
Britain and Germany Begin a War (A) PART 2
When Germany still wouldn’t stop entering Belgium, war was declared between Germany and Britain. From there, violence broke out in many other areas, including an assassination in southern Europe, and eventually the war spread to parts of Africa, Asia, New Zealand, Australia, South America, and North America, which took millions of lives along its four year course.
