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Archduke Francis Ferdinand is assassinated.
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and Franz Ferdinand's wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, occurred on 28 June 1914 in Sarajevo when they were mortally wounded by Gavrilo Princip -
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, beginning World War I.
On July 28, 1914, one month to the day after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were killed by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, effectively beginning the First World War. -
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Germany invades Luxembourg and Belgium.
France invades Alsace. British forces arrive in France. Nations allied against Germany were eventually to include Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Rhodesia, Romania, Greece, France, Belgium, United States, Canada, Serbia, India, Portugal, Montenegro, and Poland. -
Austria-Hungary invades Russia.
Austria-Hungary was allies with Germany and was obliged to assist them when war was declared on August 1 1914. ... Austria-Hungary declaring war on Russia on August 6th simply started the war there earlier. If they had not, the Russian's would have finished mobilizing and declared war by invading Hungary not long later -
Allied forces halt German advance into France during First Battle of the Marne
A counter-attack by six French armies and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) along the Marne River forced the Imperial German Army to retreat northwest, leading to the First Battle of the Aisne and the Race to the Sea. ... The war became a stalemate when the Allied Powers won the Battle of the Marne. -
Germany begins naval blockade of Great Britain.
The Blockade of Germany, or the Blockade of Europe, occurred from 1914 to 1919. It was a prolonged naval operation conducted by the Allied Powers, especially Great Britain, during and after World War I to restrict the maritime supply of goods to the Central Powers, which included Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey. -
Allied forces land on the Gallipoli Peninsula of the Ottoman Empire.
At dawn on 25 April 1915, Allied troops landed on the Gallipoli peninsula in Ottoman Turkey. The Gallipoli campaign was the land-based element of a strategy intended to allow Allied ships to pass through the Dardanelles, capture Constantinople (now Istanbul) and ultimately knock Ottoman Turkey out of the war -
German submarine sinks the passenger liner Lusitania.
The sinking of the Cunard ocean liner RMS Lusitania occurred on Friday, 7 May 1915 during the First World War, as Germany waged submarine warfare against the United Kingdom which had implemented a naval blockade of Germany. German submarine sinks the passenger liner Lusitania during crossing from New York to Liverpool, England, killing 128 Americans. -
Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary.
On May 23, 1915, Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary. The Italian declaration opened up a new front in World War I, stretching 600 kilometers—most of them mountainous—along Italy's border with Austria-Hungary. -
Germany begins the attack on Verdun.
At 4am on 21 February 1916 the battle began, with a massive artillery bombardment and a steady advance by troops of the German Fifth Army under Crown Prince Wilhelm. Five days into the battle, German forces captured Fort Douaumont, the largest and highest of the 19 forts protecting Verdun -
Naval Battle of Jutland takes place between British and German fleets
The Battle of Jutland (German: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, during the First World War -
Allied offensive begins the Battle of the Somme.
The Battle of the Somme, which took place from July to November 1916, began as an Allied offensive against German forces on the Western Front and turned into one of the most bitter and costly battles of World War I -
Battle of Verdun ends with 550,000 French and 450,000 German casualties.
The massive loss of life at Verdun—143,000 German dead out of 337,000 casualties, to France's 162,440 out of 377,231—would come to symbolize, more than that of any other battle, the bloody nature of trench warfare on the Western Front. -
The United States declares war on Germany
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General John J.
Pershing, newly selected commander of the American Expeditionary Forces, arrives in England with his staff. -
President Woodrow Wilson
President Woodrow Wilson presents to Congress his outline of Fourteen Points required for peace. -
American forces stop German attempt to cross the Marne River at Chateau-Thierry.
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Allied forces begin the attack at Meusse-Argonne, the final offensive of the war.
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American First Army attacks St. Mihiel salient
Battle of Saint-Mihiel, (12–16 September 1918), Allied victory and the first U.S.-led offensive in World War I. The Allied attack against the Saint-Mihiel salient provided the Americans with an opportunity to use their forces on the Western Front en masse -
Treaty of Versailles takes effect.
The Treaty of Versailles was the primary treaty produced by the Paris Peace Conference at the end of World War I. It was signed on June 28, 1919, by the Allied and associated powers and by Germany in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles and went into effect on January 10, 1920. -
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United States signs separate peace treaties with Germany, Austria, and Hungary.
On July 2, 1921, U.S. President Warren G. Harding signed the Knox–Porter Resolution, which had been passed by the U.S. Congress and ended the state of war between the U.S. and Germany, Austria and Hungary, further setting the stage for bilateral peace treaties.
