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Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
The Balkan states of Bosnia and Herzegovina, had been annexed from Turkey and taken
into the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This was strongly resented by many Serbs and Croats
and a nationalist group, The Black Hand, was formed. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, and his wife, had decided to inspect Austro-
Hungarian troops in Bosnia. The date chosen for the inspection was a national day in -
Austria declared war on Serbia
The Austrian government blamed the Serbian government for the assassination of Franz
Ferdinand and his wife and declared war on Serbia.
Although Russia was allied with Serbia, Germany did not believe that she would mobilise
and offered to support Austria if necessary.
However, Russia did mobilise and, through their alliance with France, called on the French -
Germany declared war on russia
The so-called “Great War” that ensued would be one of unprecedented destruction and loss of life, resulting in the deaths of some 20 million soldiers and civilians and the physical devastation of much of the European continent. -
germany declares war on france
Germany declared war on France. German troops poured into Belgium as directed under
the Schleiffen Plan, drawn up in 1905. The British foreign secretary, Sir Edward Grey, sent
an ultimatum to Germany demanding their withdrawal from the neutral Belgium. -
Zeppelin bombing
Zeppelin airships dropped bombs on Yarmouth. -
Dardenelles
The Russians appealed for help from Britain and France to beat off an attack by the
Turkish. The British navy responded by attacking Turkish forts in the Dardenelles. -
Second Battle of Ypres
Poison gas was used for the first time during this battle. The gas, fired by the Germans -
Lusitania sunk
There outraged protests from the United States at the German U-boat campaign, when the
Lusitania, which had many American passengers aboard, was sank. The Germans
moderated their U-boat campaign. -
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill served in Belgium as lieutenant colonel of the Royal Scots Fusiliers. -
Romania enter the war
Romania joined the war on the side of the Allies. But within a few months was occupied
by Germans and Austrians. -
Battle of Jutland
This was the only truly large-scale naval battle of the war. German forces, confined to port
by a British naval blockade, came out in the hope of splitting the British fleet and
destroying it ship by ship. However, the British admiral, Beatty, aware that the German -
First Aeroplane raid
The first German air raid on London took place. The Germans hoped that by making raids
on London and the South East, the British Air Force would be forced into protecting the
home front rather than attacking the German air force. -
Reinforcements sent to Italy
The Italians had lost many men trying to hold the line between Italy and the Central
Powers. British and French reinforcements were sent to hold the line. -
German U-boat campaign
In Germany, orders were given to step up the U-boat campaign. All allied or neutral ships
were to be sunk on sight and in one month almost a million tons of shipping was sunk.
Neutral countries became reluctant to ship goods to Britain and Lloyd George ordered all
ships carrying provisions to Britain to be given a convoy. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Following the successful revolution by the Bolsheviks, the Russians signed an Armistice
with Germany at Brest-Litovsk. The terms of the treaty were harsh: Russia had to
surrender Poland, the Ukraine and other regions. They had to stop all Socialist propaganda
directed at Germany and pay 300 million roubles for the repatriation of Russian prisoners. -
USA declares war on Germany
The United States of America declared war on Germany in response to the sinking, by
German U boats, of US ships. -
Allies recover France and Belgium
The allies had taken almost all of German-occupied France and part of Belgium. -
Armistice with Turkey
The allies had successfully pushed the Turkish army back and the Turks were forced to ask
for an armistice. The terms of the armistice treaty allowed the allies access to the
Dardenelles. -
Battle of Amiens
The British general, Haig, ordered the attack of the German sector at Amiens. At the same
time the news came through that the allies had broken through from Salonika and forced
Bulgaria to sue for peace. -
Hindenberg line collapsed
By the beginning of November the allies had pushed the Germans back beyond the
