-
June 28, 1914
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his wife are assassinated -
June 28, 1914
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his wife are assassinated -
July 28, 1914
Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia -
July 28, 1914
Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia -
August 2, 1914
The Ottoman Empire signs a secret alliance with Germany agreeing to enter the war once Germany declares war on Russia. They formally enter the war several months later on October 28,1914 when they bomb Russian sea ports. Bulgaria joins the Central Powers on October 15, 1915 -
August 4, 1914
Germany declares war on neutral Belgium and invades Belgium and Luxembourg as part of the Schlieffen Plan. As a result, Britain declares war on Germany -
August 6, 1914
Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia -
August 10, 1914
The United States declares neutrality in the war -
August 30, 1914
The German army defeats Russia at the Battle of Tannenberg -
September 10, 1914
German invasion of France is halted at the First Battle of Marne -
December 25, 1914
Unofficial Christmas truce is declared by German and Allied soldiers in the trenches along the Western Front -
April 22, 1915 --
The Germans use poison gas at the 2nd battle of Ypres -
April 24, 1915
Armenian Genocide begins -
April 25, 1915
Allies begin a nine-month battle for the Turkish peninsula of Gallipoli -
May 7, 1915
A German U-boat sinks the Lusitania killing 1,198 civilians, including 128 Americans -
May 23, 1915
Italy Joins the Allies -
-- May 25, 1915
The Germans use poison gas at the 2nd battle of Ypres -
October 12, 1915
British nurse, Edith Cavell, is executed by the Germans -
July 1, 1916 --
The British introduce the tank during the Battle of Somme. The battle results in an estimated one million casualties -
February 21, 1916 --
The Battle of Verdun is fought resulting in an estimated one million casualties -
November 7, 1916
Woodrow Wilson is re-elected President of the United States -
-- November 18, 1916
The British introduce the tank during the Battle of Somme. The battle results in an estimated one million casualties -
-- December 18, 1916
The Battle of Verdun is fought resulting in an estimated one million casualties -
January 19, 1917
British cryptographers decipher a telegram from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmerman to the German Minister of Mexico -
January 31, 1917
The Germans resume unrestricted submarine warfare -
March 15, 1917
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicates -
July 31, 1917 --
The 3rd battle of Ypres, also known as Passchendaele, results in minor gains for the Allies and a total of 700,000 casualties -
November 2, 1917
The Balfour Declaration is presented in London -
-- November 10, 1917
The 3rd battle of Ypres, also known as Passchendaele, results in minor gains for the Allies and a total of 700,000 casualties -
January 8, 1918
President Wilson outlines his Fourteen Points in a speech before Congress -
March 3, 1918
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk is signed between Russia and Germany -
May 31, 1918
Germans on the banks of the Marne near Paris are stopped by American forces at Chateau-Thierry -
November 9, 1918
Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany abdicates -
November 10, 1918
Emperor Karl of Austria abdicates -
November 11, 1918
At eleven o’clock on this day, war on the Western Front ends as Germany and the Allies sign an Armistice -
June 28, 1919
Germany and Allies sign the Treaty of Versailles. The U.S. Senate later refuses to ratify it -
August 10, 1920
The Treaty of Sevres ends the war on the Eastern Front with the Ottoman Empire