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Archduke Franz Ferdinand is killed
Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary is assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia. The first attempt of his assassination was only minutes of the second one that killed him and his wife. His assassination caused the Central Powers, Germany and Austria-Hungary and the Allies, Great Britain, France, Russia, and Serbia to declare war on each other, starting World War I. -
Austria-Hungary Declares war on Serbia
On July 28, 1914, one month to the day after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were killed by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, beginning the First World War. -
Russia Mobilizes
Russia mobilizes its huge army to intervene against Austria-Hungary in favor of Serbia. This move starts a chain reaction that leads to the mobilization of the rest of the European Great Powers, and to the outbreak of hostilities -
Germans Fire
The Germans fired shells filled with chlorine gas at the Allies. It is the first time that large amounts of gas are used in battle, and the result is the near-collapse of the French lines. However, the Germans are unable to take advantage of the breach. -
Lusitania Sinks
A German submarine sinks the passenger liner Lusitania. The ship carries 1,198 people, 128 of them were Americans. -
First Tanks
The British employ the first tanks ever used in battle, at Delville Wood. Although they are useful at breaking through barbed wire and clearing a path for the infantry, tanks are still primitive and they fail to be the decisive weapon, as their designers thought they would be. -
Germany Limits Submarines
Reacting to international outrage at the sinking of the Lusitania and other neutral passenger lines, Kaiser Wilhelm suspends unrestricted submarine warfare. It was used as an attempt to keep the United States out of the war, but it severely hampers German efforts to prevent American supplies from reaching France and Britain. -
Zimmerman Telegram
British intelligence gives Wilson the so-called Zimmermann Telegram, a message from German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmermann proposing that Mexico side with Germany in case of war between Germany and the United States. In return, Germany promises to return to Mexico the "lost provinces" of Texas and much of the rest of the American Southwest. Mexico declines the offer, but the outrage at this interference in the Western Hemisphere pushes American public opinion to support entering the war. -
America Enters The War
American entered the War after 2½ years of efforts by President Woodrow Wilson to keep the United States neutral. -
Armistice Day
The anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended World War I, on Nov. 11, 1918, now kept on Remembrance Sunday. Also know as Veterans Day in America
