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Archduke Franz Ferdinand heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his wife are assassinated in Sarajevo.
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27,000 French soldiers die on this single day in an offensive thrust to the east of Paris, towards the German borders.
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German army, led by Erich Ludendorff and Paul von Hindenburg achieves its greatest victory of the war on the Eastern front against Russia at the Battle of Tennenberg.
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War becomes "Total War" with German Zeppelin air raid on England
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1,198 civilians, including 128 Americans die.
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Germany responds to U.S. anger by ceasing to sink ships without warning.
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British use gas in battle near Loos, but shifting winds cause 60,000 British casualties.
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The longest battle of the war, the Battle of Verdun, is fought to a draw with an estimated one million casualties.
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Woodrow Wilson re-elected President of the United States with campaign slogan: "He kept us out of the war"
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Germany again declares unrestricted submarine warfare.
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French launch disastrous offensive at Chemin des Dames, advancing only 500 yards at the cost of 250,000 plus casualties.
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The United States passes the Selective Service Act empowering the Federal Government to draft men for the armed forces.
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The first wave of the American Expeditionary Force lands in France.
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American troops in France fire their first shot in trench warfare.
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Two waves of influenza kill more people than did the war.
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Germans launch the first of five major offensives to win the war before American troops appear in the trenches. German advance is finally stopped in late June
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Baron von Richthofen, "the Red Baron" is killed in air dog-fight.
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President Wilson agrees to co-operate with Allies in sending "volunteer" troops into Russia.
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Peace Treaty signed by German delegates and Allies in Versailles.
