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Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Wife Assassinated
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated on the 28th of June 1914. He was the heir to the throne in Austo-Hungry. He was with his wife, Sophie on a tour of the Austo- Hungry military when they were shot. There were 7 Serbian teenagers that were involved in the attack. -
Austo-Hungry declares war on Serbia
Austo Hungry declared war on Serbia because they suspected that the Serbian government was involved with the killing of the heir to the throne and his wife. The Serbian government has never been officially found involved. -
Germany declares war on Russia
German declared war on Russia on the 1st of August 1914 because the Russian Government was allied with the Serbian Government. This meant that if Serbia went to war, then so who Russia and vice-verser. -
German declares war on France
German declares war on France on the 3rd of August 1914. German declared war because France was allied with Russia. Since Russia was now at war, France also had to join the war. This meant that France were allies with Serbia. -
Britain declares war on Germany
Britain declared war on German on the 4th of August. Britain was neither allied with Russia, Serbia or France but they were allied with Belgium. Belgium was a neutral country that the Germans invaded on their way to France. -
Battle of Tannenberg begins
The battle of Tannanberg was a battle that was established early on in the war. It was mainly between the Germans and the Russians, with a few Serbian regiments involved also. It was thought to be easy victory for the Russians because the bulk of the German forces were in the west fighting France. This proved not the case with the Germans holding ground until their backup came, 3 weeks later. -
First Battle of Marne.
The first battle of Marne was a battle fought between the British, French and German forces. It was an offensive that pushed the Germans back into a retreat. It was the first time that there was movement of troops using automotive vehicles. It was also the first time that Trench warfare was used. Trench warfare was used on both the Allied Forces and the Central Powers. -
Australia and New Zealand join the war
The Australian and New Zealand Army Core, joined World War 1 on the 12th of October 1914. They joined the war because they were allies with the British and therefore Belgium. Since the British was at war, the Australians were required to join. There was a very enthusiastic response from the Australians. Conscription was also used later in the war. -
Battle of Ypres
This was a battle mainly fought between the British and the Germans. The British were unaware of the German force advancing on the town, but the British were highly trained. The British officers that were there, stated that the Germans advanced one the town with thousands of troops. These troops however were only 6 weeks out of school and training. They walked in linked arms, singing songs while the British killed them. 1,500 German were killed and 600 taken as prisoners. -
Second battle of Ypres
The Second battle of Ypres was on the 22nd April 1915. This battle was the first time that the Germans used poison gas. The British and French were court completely off guard and they suffered thousands of causalities. The Germans made 30kms of territory in a matter of hours. This was the greatest gain, in that period of time for the whole war. Using the gas, was a major technological advance, but was also the start of ‘dirty warfare or chemical warfare.’ -
Battle of Gallipoli
This battle was fought along the Gallipoli peninsula. There was little knowledge of the area. The Turkish also had the high ground, in the hills overlooking the beach. The ANZAC landed on the 25th April 1914. They suffered thousands of causalities on the first day. They didn’t make much territory after that. There were heavy losses on both sides. The ANZACs and Turkish suffered 250,000 causalities. The ANZACs retreated, without losing a single man. The greatest evacuation in history. -
Battle of Verdun
The battle of Verdun was the bloodiest and longest battle of the war. The Germans attacked the town of Verdun, with 1,120 8inch guns. They rained terror down on the city for 3 hours straight sending the French running for cover. The French had built bomb shelters underground unknown to the Germans. The French attacked the smallish German force but was quickly forced to retreat, after another bombardment. The Germans were eventually forced into retreat after 3 months of fighting. -
Battle of Jutland
The battle of Jutland was the only major naval battle that occurred through World War 1. The encounter was between German and British Naval Forces. The battle included more than 250 ship and 100,000 men. It started with gunfire from the scouting ships earlier in the day. The British out smarted the German, positioning in front of the sun, scoring hundreds of direct hits, forcing the Germans into retreat. -
Battle of Somme
The battle of Somme was also one of the bloodiest battles of World War 1. This battle was the first real offensive that the British lead. They were becoming a stronger, more organised force as the war progressed. This battle was the first time that tanks were used in combat. The British were the first country to use a tank in combat. The Germans quickly bought theirs into the battle. Between both the Allied and Central powers, more than 1.5 million men were killed. -
German sent the Zimmerman Telegraph
The Zimmerman telegram was a secret document that was coded with German coding. This message was supposed to be sent to the Mexican Government, asking them to start a war with America. This was so they could get America out of the war. The British intercepted the message and decoded it. They gave it to the American Government, and this caused, America and German completely abandon their relationship. This was the first major decoded message that the British achieved. -
USA declared war on Germany
- The United States declared war on Germany on the 26th April 1917. The Americans had stayed out of World War 1 for most of the duration because they were a neutral country, with only trade connections between the European countries. The final spark that made the Americans join the war was the Zimmerman Telegram, decoded by the British. The USA bought most of their army. The USA military also bought the deadliest weapon, the machine gun.
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Battle of Passchendaele Begins
The battle of Passchendaele was a 3month long war that involved the British and Canadian troops. This was a major win against the German because it stopped them from having access to France. There was a lot of resistance in Belgium as it was backed by the British. In the process, most of the Canadian troops were killed, with the British suffering fewer than 5,000 causalities. This war was fought mainly in trenches. The Allied Trenches were terrible and often were filled with mud and dead humans. -
Russian Revolution
Russia had two major revolutions. The first revolution involved the removing of Czar Nicholas II form power. The Russian population had no faith in his ability to guide the Russians, out of hunger and poverty, after the poor job he did with their involvement in World War 1. The second revolution involved the creation of the Soviet Union, after a more radical government removed Czar Nicholas II form power. -
Russia signs Treaty of Brest Litovsk
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed by Russia after their revolution. The Treaty stated that Russia had officially removed itself from World War 1. The Treaty stated that the Russians were to give the Germans all the territory that they had lost. The Germans were very happy because they had removed a major threat to winning the world without having to kill all of Russia. The Russians were in debt, poverty and under pressure to fix their country from their population -
German signs armistice at Compiege, France
On the 11th November 1918, at the 11th hour, the Germans signed the armistice with Allied Forces, in a railroad car outside Compiegne, France. This was the end of World War 1. The Central Powers were under threat of invasion from the British and French Troops. Germany had no option but to sign the treaty unless they wanted to be invaded. Both the Allied and Central Powers suffered heavily. -
World War 1 officially ends
World War 1 officially ends with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. This Treaty was negotiated between the Allied Powers and Central Powers, without much input form Germany. The Germans were given their land back, but they had to pay for the repair costs in every country they had been involved/occupied in. Overall the War had killed more the 9 million people and wounded 21million people. Civilians were among the highest that were killed throughout the war.
