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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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Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
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Germany declares war on neutral Belgium and invades in a right flanking move designed to defeat France quickly.
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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.
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Germany declares a submarine blockade of Great Britain. Any ship approaching England is considered a legitimate target.
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British use gas in battle near Loos, but shifting winds cause 60,000 British casualties.
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Allies begin withdrawal of troops from Gallipoli.
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The longest battle of the war, it fought to a draw with an estimated one million casualties.
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US President Wilson publicly warns Germany not to continue unrestricted submarine warfare policies
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results in an estimated one million casualties and no breakthrough for the Allies. British introduce the tank, an effective weapon but far to few to make much of a difference.
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The United States with campaign slogan: "He kept us out of the war"
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Reich Foreign Secretary Zimmermann's telegram to Mexico urging her entry into war against the United States is discovered and translated by the British.
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Germany again declares unrestricted submarine warfare.
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President Wilson asks Congress for a declaration of war with Imperial Germany. (Link goes to PBS: American Experience)
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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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known as Passchendaele, results in minor gains, but still no breakthrough in the Western front at the cost of 700,000 casualties for both sides.
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President Woodrow Wilson declares his 14 points as the path to permanent world peace.
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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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At eleven o'clock on the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, the war ends as Germany and Allies sign an Armistice.
