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Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
Heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia by a Serbian nationalist student, Gavrilo Princip. This set off many traumatic events that led to the outbreak of war in late July 1914. -
Germany declares war on France
Germany declares war on France. German troops invade Belgium. Germany had to execute the Schlieffen Plan. This Plan was a strategic plan for a possible victory in a war fighting on two fronts such as WW1 (fighting on the Western Front and Eastern Front). British foreign secretary demanded Germany to withdraw from neutral Belgium. -
British declares war
Great Britain declares war on Germany and its Allies because Germany did not withdraw from Belgium. The Australian government also pledged full support for Britain in the war against Germany. -
Allied troops land at Gallipoli
The Australian Imperial Force land at Gallipoli together with troops from New Zealand, Britain, and France to fight the Turks. The troops were very conjested on the small beach and they were also faced with steep cliffs which they had to climb to get off the beach. -
Battle of Lone Pine, Gallipoli
This fierce battle was the only successful Australian attack against the Turkish trenches. It was intended to divert attempts made by NZ and Australian units to breakout from the ANZAC perimeter battlefield. This battle of intense hand-to-hand fighting resulted in over 2,000 Australian casualties. Seven Victoria Crosses were awarded for bravery to Australian troops. -
Last Australian troops evacuate from Gallipoli Peninsula
The Allies evacuate 83,000 troops from the battlefields of Suvla Bay at ANZAC Cove in Gallipoli. There were virtually no casualities in this withdrawal and the Turkish were unaware of this evacuation taking place. Many men were saddened by having to leave behind the graves of their dead comrades. -
Battle of Jutland
The only major navy battle of World War 1 between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet. -
Start of the Battle of the Somme
This battle was intended as a joint French-British attack trying to drain the German forces of reserves. The attack sees 750,000 allied soldiers set upon a 30 km front from north of the Somme river between Arras and Albert. On the first day nearly 60,000 soldiers were wounded, dead or missing, It is the worst single day's fighting in British military history. This enormous loss of life was for little territorial gain. -
Battle of Fromelles
This was the first major battle on the Western Front fought by Australian troops. The attack was intended to deceive German troops away from the Somme offensive then being pursued further to the south. The 5th Australian Division suffered 5,533 casualties and the 61st British Division suffered 1,547. The German's lost a little more than a 1,000. -
First Battle of Bullecourt
The Battle was fought as part of the British offensive north and south of Arras. It was undertaken to support a major attack further south. It resulted in 3,289 Australian casulties. -
The Third Battle of Ypres
Also known as the Battle of Passchendaele. This battle was mostly fought in shocking weather conditions until the fall of Passchendaele village on 6 November. The Allies attacked the Flanders, a French region on the German front, but only gained a few kilometres. It was a costly battle taking the lives of 310,000 British men and 260,000 German men. -
Australians drive Germans from Villers-Bretonneux
The Germans had captured Villers–Bretonneux and were pushing out west in the direction of Amiens. Australian units helped defend the town but a German attack forces the British north of the town out of the village of Hamel. An Australian battalion had to go back to avoid being closed in.The German advance was stopped by British troops working with the Australians soldiers. -
Second Battle of the Marne
This Battle was the turning point of WW1 on the Western Front. It was the last major German offensive of the war and the start of the collapse of the German Army. It was also a major victory for the Allies. The German attack failed when an Allied counter-attack led by France and supported by British and American troops over powered the Germans causing them to lose ground. This battle inflicted severe casualties. -
Armistice signed
During WW1 over 35 million people were killed, wounded or missing. After four long years of fighting, in the French town of Redonthes, Germany signed an Armistice with the Allies. The official date and time of the end of WW1 was 11.00 am on the 11th day of the 11th month. This is known as Armistice Day.
