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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Gavrilo Princip shot the couple in the capital city of Bosnia, Sarajevo. The assassin was in a terrorist group known as the Black Hand. They wanted the unification of all Slavs from the Austro-Hungarian Empire into a Greater Serbia. -
Second Battle of Ypres
The Allies were gaining ground on the Central Powers until they were driven back from Ypres in April. This was the first time gas was used, and it was effective at clearing the British, but it also prevented the Germans from advancing. -
Battle at Verdun
In February, the Germans launched a massive attack at the fortress town of Verdun in France. The battle was ineffective and led to a huge amount of casualties on both sides, with 800,000 total men dead. -
USA joins war on the side of the Allies
American forces join the war after the German submarine attacks on American ships in the Atlantic, causing the losses of American lives. The interception of the Zimmerman telegraph, which was a proposition by the Germam foreign secretary to the German ambassador to Mexico to tell the Mexican government to join the Central Powers, caused American powers to take part in the war.
