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Assasination of Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand heir to the Austrian empire was assisinated during a drive while visiting Sarajevo with his wife. It is this event that is said to have started the war. -
The Scheifflin Plan
The German declared war on France and planned to invade Belgium. The Sheifflin Plan was a strategy to bring about a swift victory, it was designed to exploit other countries inability to quickly prepare for war. The plan worked well against the Belgium army, but france held strong and fought off the German forces resulting in the failure of the Scheifflin plan. -
War is declared, support is promised.
Kaiser William II of Germany promises German support for their Austrian allies against Serbia. Germany declares war on the Russians, who are sworn to defend Serbia. Because the assassination was commited by Serbs, Austria declares war on Serbia. Britain joins its French and Russian allies. -
The Battle of the Marne
The Battle of the Marne was fought during September of 1914. Casualties were high on both sides. The French lost about 250,000 soldiers, as did the Germans. The BEF (British Expeditionary Force) lost about 13,000 men as well. The French managed to save Paris, however, and Germany's Schleiffen Plan had failed. -
First Zeppelin Raid on Britain
Zepplins were a relatively new technology. The models built in 1914 had five machine guns and could carry 4,400 lbs. of bombs. Their maximum speed was 136 kph and they could reach a height of 4,250 metres. this particular raid took place over the east coast of England. Yarmouth and King's Lynn were both bombed. -
Gallipoli Campaign
at 2:30 am the men of the Anzac corps approached the west coast of Gallipoli. 20000 men were killed and was the first case of large amounts of casualities for all countries involved. The Turkish Army had the high ground to the Anzacs leaving them at a disadvantage before the fighting had even begun. The Anzacs were ambushed and slaughtered with no mercy. The plan went horribly wrong. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
The RMS Lusitania was an ocean liner owned by Cunard Lines. She was attacked by a German U-boat and sank in eighteen minutes. 1,198 of the nearly 2,000 passengers aboard died. Many of the passengers were American citizens. It is considered the second most famous civilian liner disaster, following the sinking of the RMS Titanic. These events did a lot to turn public opinion of several countries, including the United States, against the Germans. -
Conscription Introcuced in Britain
Beginning in 1916, the law in Britain stated that each man had to serve in the military for a certain period of time. Britain was beginning to run out of volunteer soldiers. -
The Treaty of Versailles
The official peace settlement known as the Treaty of Versailles was signed at Versailles, near Paris. The treaty was very harsh on Germany and is often credited with the onset of the Second World War. The treaty forced Germany to accept full responsibility for the the war and pay reparations, give up territories and reduce the army size to 100 000.
