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British Royal Military Academy
While at boarding school, Churchill joined the Rifle Corps, which started his military career. Eventually He left for the British Royal Military Academy. He was there for 16 months. It took three tries before finally passing his exam, and graduating 20th in his class of 130. -
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Winston Churchill and Important WWI Events
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Fourth Hussars
Churchill joined the Fourth Hussars in 1895. He served in the Indian Northwest Frontier and the Sudan. While serving, he saw action in the Battle of Omdurman in 1898. -
War Correspondent
In 1899, Churchill left the army and became a war correspondent for the Morning Post. He was sent to South Africa to report on the Boer War. He was taken and held Prisoner by the Boers. -
Parliament
Churchill was elected a member of Parliament. He was also appointed to the Prime Minister’s Cabinet. He was the President of the Board of Trade in the Cabinet. -
Proposals
Churchill introduced several reforms for the prison system, introduced the first minimum wage, and helped set up labor exchanges for the unemployed and unemployment insurance. He assisted in the passing of the People’s Budget. The People’s Budget taxed the wealthy to pay for new social welfare programs. -
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Ferdinand was killed by Gavrilo Princip. Princip was a member of the Serbian Nationalist organization the Black Hand. He shot Ferdinand in the neck and his wife in the abdomen, killing the both of them. Princip was charged with treason, but since his date of birth was unknown, Austro-Hungarian law stated that capital punishment could not be applied to any person under the age of 20. He was sentenced to 20 years but died of tuberculosis in 1918. -
Beginning of the War August 1-6
On July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. On August 1, 1914, Germany declares war on Russia. August 3, 1914, Germany declares war on France. August 4, 1914, The United Kingdom declares war on Germany after invasion of Belgium. August 6, 1914, Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia, and Serbia declares war on Germany. -
The Battle of Liege August 5-16
The Battle of Liege was the first battle of the war and the first battle fought on land. The aim was for Germany's Second Army, 320,000 troops, to attack France from the north, and seize the city of Liege (the gateway to Belgium). Liege was surrounded by a ring of heavily armed forts. The forts were eventually captured with the help of 17-inch howitzers. -
The First Battle of the Marne September 6-12
The battle took place in the Marne River Valley of France. It began when the French staged a surprise attack with the help of British troops, halted the Germans. Both sides were stopped and not getting anywhere so they dug into the ground. This is where Trench Warfare started. -
Christmas Truce
During battle, on Christmas Eve, German and British troops began singing Christmas carols to each other across the lines. On Christmas morning, German soldiers crossed no-man’s land, and called out Merry Christmas to their enemies. Both sides shook hands, exchanged gifts, and sang carols and songs. Some soldiers played soccer with the opposing side, while other soldiers took the opportunity to collect the bodies of the fallen. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
The Lusitania was an ocean liner that was to set sail from New York to Liverpool. Earlier that month, newspapers across New York warned American citizens and said that they were taking a risk if they traveled on British or Allied ships in war zones. The captain of the ship ignored the warnings and set sail. The afternoon of May 7, the ship was hit with a torpedo, and sank in less than 20 minutes. There were casualties on the ship including Americans. Germany found out that the United States was -
The Battle of Verdun
The plan to attack Verdun was proposed by German Chief of General, von Falkenhayn. He wanted to “bleed France white” by launching a massive attack. The Germans had 140,000 troops, and the French had 30,000. The battle lasted over 300 days, and the German lost around 340,000 troops, and the French, over 360,000 troops. -
The Battle of Jutland
The Battle took place between the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet. It was known as the greatest naval battle of WWi, and the largest sea battle in naval warfare history. The British lost 11 ships, and over 6,000 troops, and the Germans also lost 11 ships, and over 2,500 troops. -
The Battle of the Somme
Also known as the Somme Campaign, the battle was known as one of the largest and bloodiest military battles in history. Was the first great offensive for the British during WWI, the battle lasted for four months.On the first day, the British alone lost more than 57,000 troops, and by the end of the campaign, the British, French, and Germans lost more than one million men combined. -
Zimmermann Telegram
A telegram was sent from the German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann, to the German Minister to Mexico von Eckhardt, promising Mexico United States territory if they supported Germany. British cryptographers got ahold of the telegram in early January and deciphered it. The telegram was one of the United States' reasons for going to war. -
United States declares war
After deciphering the telegram, the British waited over a month to present it to President Woodrow Wilson. On March 1, 1917, the press released the telegram. And on April 6, 1917, the United States Congress officially declared war on Germany and its allies. -
Fourteen Points
The Fourteen Points was a list of points, or ideas, created by Woodrow Wilson expressing his vision of the war ending on a peaceful note. Eight of the fourteen points treated territorial issues, the next five points concerned general principles for a peaceful world, and the last point talked about what would become of the League of Nations. The Fourteen Points was used as a basis for negotiation for The Treaty Versailles. -
The Armistice
The Armistice was an agreement between Germany and the Allies that would end World War I. The terms of the Armistice were that the Germans were to evacuate territories on the Western Front within two weeks, Allied forces were to occupy the left bank of the Rhine within a month, and a neutral zone established on the right. Originally, the Armistice was renewed continuously every 30 days until the The Treaty of Versailles was signed. -
The Treaty of Versailles
After Germany had surrendered, terms of peace were beginning to be negotiated. On June 28, 1919, Germany and the Allied Nations (including Britain, France, Italy, and Russia) signed The Treaty of Versailles, which formally ended the war. The United States didn’t agree to its terms, so they didn’t sign the treaty.
