Australians at War Timeline

By Rilzz6

  • Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated starting WW1

    Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to Austria-Hungary's throne, and his wife, Sophie, are assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip while the couple were visiting Sarajevo whiched started World War 1
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    World War 1

  • The Battle of Tannenberg begins

  • The Battle of Ypres begins

  • The Dardanelles Campaign begins

  • The Second Battle of Ypres begins

    It is during this battle that the Germans first use poison gas.

  • The Battle of Gallipoli begins

  • The Battle of Verdun begins

    The Battle of Verdun was the longest battle of World War I and was one of the bloodiest.

  • The Battle of Jutland, the major naval battle of the war, begins.

  • The Battle of the Somme begins

    During the Battle of the Somme, tanks are first introduced into battle.

  • The Battle of Passchendaele (also known as the Third Battle of Ypres) begins

  • The Second Battle of the Marne begins

  • Germany signs the armistice at Compiegne, France

    Fighting ends on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month (i.e. 11 a.m. on November 11).

  • The Treaty of Versailles officially ends WWI

  • Germany invades Poland, starting World War 2

  • Period: to

    World War 2

  • Germany invades France, Belgium, and the Netherlands

  • Battle of Britain begins

  • Germany invades the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa)

  • The Japanese launch a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

  • Guadalcanal Campaign begins

  • The Battle of Midway begins

  • First Battle of El Alamein begins

  • Battle of Stalingrad begins

  • Second Battle of El Alamein begins

  • Casablanca Conference begins

  • Battle of Kursk begins

  • After 900 days, the Siege of Leningrad is finally over

  • D-Day

  • Battle of the Philippine Sea

  • Assassination attempt against Hitler fails

  • Battle of Leyte Gulf begins

  • Battle of the Bulge begins

  • Yalta Conference begins

  • Battle of Iwo Jima begins

  • Battle of Okinawa

  • Battle of Berlin begins

  • Adolf Hitler commits suicude

  • Germany signs an unconditional surrender

  • The United States drops the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan

  • The United States drops a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan

  • Ho Chi Minh declares an independent Vietnam, called the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

  • North Korea invades South Korea

  • Period: to

    Korean War

  • Truman orders air and naval support for South Korea & calls for UN intervention

  • U.S. troops invade at Inchon

  • Pyongyang falls to UN forces

  • Chinese divisions enter fighting

  • MacArthur declares "There is no substitute for victory"

  • Truman relieves MacArthur of command

  • MacArthur addresses Congress after being away from the U.S. since 1935

  • Negotiations begin at Panmunjon

  • Period: to

    Korea becomes campaign issue in 1952 presidential election

  • Armistice formally re-established the division of Korea

  • The French suffer a decisive defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu.

  • The Geneva Accords creates a cease-fire for the peaceful withdrawal of the French from Vietnam and provides a temporary boundary between North and South Vietnam at the 17th parallel.

  • South Vietnam declares itself the Republic of Vietnam, with newly elected Ngo Dinh Diem as president.

  • Period: to

    Vietnam War

  • The National Liberation Front (NLF), also called the Viet Cong, is established in South Vietnam.

  • Period: to

    Indonesian Confrontation

  • Indonesian Confrontation: President Sukarno and Tunku Abdul Rahman agree to hold a plebiscite on the Federation proposal.

  • Indonesian Confrontation: Tunku Abdul Rahman signs the London Agreement. In response, Indonesian Confrontation: Indonesia declares the "Crush Malaysia" campaign.

  • Indonesian Confrontation: The Federation of Malaysia is formed without Brunei.

  • South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem is executed during a coup.

  • North Vietnamese attack two U.S. destroyers sitting in international waters (the Gulf of Tonkin Incident).

  • North Vietnamese attack two U.S. destroyers sitting in international waters (the Gulf of Tonkin Incident).

  • In response to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, the U.S. Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

  • A sustained U.S. aerial bombing campaign of North Vietnam begins (Operation Rolling Thunder).

  • The first U.S. combat troops arrive in Vietnam.

  • Indonesian Confrontation: MacDonald House in Singapore is bombed.

  • Indonesian Confrontation: The Indonesian army crushes an attempted coup by the PKI.

  • Indonesian Conforntation: Indonesian President Sukarno transfers power to General Suharto.

  • Indonesian Confrontation: Indonesia signs a peace treaty with Kuala Lumpur.

  • The North Vietnamese join forces with the Viet Cong to launch the Tet Offensive, attacking approximately one hundred South Vietnamese cities and towns.

  • U.S. soldiers kill hundreds of Vietnamese civilians in the town of Mai Lai.

  • General William Westmoreland, who had been in charge of the U.S. troops in Vietnam, is replaced by General Creighton Abrams.

  • U.S. troops in Vietnam reaches 540,000.

  • July 1969 - President Nixon orders the first of many U.S. troop withdrawals from Vietnam.

  • Communist revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh dies at age 79

  • The American public learns of the Mai Lai massacre.

  • President Nixon announces that U.S. troops will attack enemy locations in Cambodia. This news sparks nationwide protests, especially on college campuses.

  • Portions of the Pentagon Papers are published in The New York Times.

  • The North Vietnamese cross the demilitarized zone (DMZ) at the 17th parallel to attack South Vietnam in what became known as the Easter Offensive.

  • The Paris Peace Accords are signed that provide a cease-fire.

  • The last U.S. troops are withdrawn from Vietnam.

  • North Vietnam launches a massive assault on South Vietnam.

  • South Vietnam surrenders to the communists.

  • Vietnam is unified as a communist country, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

  • November 13, 1982 - The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. is dedicated.