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Assassination
When Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated by Gavrilo Princip while riding through the streets of Sarajevo. This terrorist act was a chain reaction within the alliance system that ended up resulting as the greatest war the world has even known. -
Russia Takes a Stand
Since the assassination of Ferinand was in Serbia, Austria took this change to punish Serbia. On the 28th of July, Austria rejected Serbia's attemps to follow their rules declaring war. On this same day Serbia's ally, Russia steped in. Russian leaders ordered mobilization of troops to the border, with this movement Russia started the war. -
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Sclieffen Plan
The Central powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and Ottoman Empire) went to war against the Allies (Great Britain, France, Russia, and Italy). Everyone thought that the war would be short except for Britain’s foreign minister Sir Edward Grey. The Central powers and Allies came to a deadlock along the battlefields of France; this deadlock became known as the Western Front. This strategy was named the Sclieffen Plan. -
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Eastern Front
The Eastern Front was a stretch of land along the German and Russian border, this war was more mobile then on the Western Front. The Russians and Serbs attacked Austria and Germany yet Germany counterattacked them near a town of Tannenberg. Then the Russian went at war with the Austrians. In December it all changed when Austria, with Germany’s help, they finally beat the Russians making them retreat and finally getting them out of Austria-Hungary completely. -
Allies Attack
Allies attacked the Germans northeast of Paris in the Valley of Marne River. Every soldier was needed and when reinforcement was called 600 taxicabs took soldiers from Paris to the front. Four days passed before a German general retreated their soldiers, it was a very good choice. This was the first major clash on the Western front yet one of the most significant events in the entire war. -
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Ending Stalemate
The allies ended the stalemate by in an effort to take over the Dardanelles strait. This act was known as the Gallipoli campaign, British, Austrian, New Zealand, and French troops continuously made assaults on the Gallipoli peninsula on the western side of the strait. Turkish troops with the help of the German’s defended the attacked region. -
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Germans Attack
Slaughter was at its highest peaks in February. The Germans launched a massive attack against the French, this happened near Verdun. Each country lost more than 300,000 men. -
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Western Front Battle
In July the British tried relieving the French, so the British forces attacked the Germans in the Valley of Somme River. 20,000 British soldiers were killed on the first day. The battle ended in November and both countries lost over half a million casualties. -
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Strategy
The Germans said that their submarines would sink any ship without warning in the waters surrounding Britain. This strategy was called unrestricted submarine warfare. -
President Wilson
When the ZImmermann note seemed to be the last straw. So on the 2nd of April President Wilson asked Congress to declare war. This is when the United States joined the war on the Allies side. -
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Seizing Power
Communist leader Vladimir Ilyich Lenin seized power. He wanted to take his country, Russia, out of the war. One of the first acts he took was offering Germany a truce. -
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Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Germany and Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, this said that they would not go to war against eachother. The Germans took one final chance to make a final attack on the Allies in France. This was the largest artillery attack of the entire war, more then 6,000 German cannons opened the offensive. -
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Battle of Marne
Allies and Germans clashed for the Second Battle of the Marne. The Allies came in with 350 tanks smashing through the German lines. With the help of 2 million American troops the German's had no chance of coming out alive. -
The End
A representive of the new German government met with Marshal Foch near Paris, here they signed an armistice. This was an agreement to stop fighting. On November 11, World War I ended. -
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28th shared between Germany and the Allied powers.