-
Franco-Prussian War (2)
During this war, Germany finally became unified and took Alsace and Lorraine from France, their two coal producing providences, causing France to import coal from other places. France and Germany then competed for coal in Morocco, an area rich in mineral resources -
Germany Unifies (2)
Germany unified, causing a boom in their industrialization. Their products started competing with Britain's, causing economic tensions between the two countries. -
Baghdad Railway (2)
Germany starting building a railway through the Balkans region so they could established a port in the Persian Gulf. Germany rivaled with Russia for this area since Russia wanted to control the Balkans since many of their exports passed through the area. -
Russo-Japanese War (2)
After this war Russia lost all ambitions in the far east so they started to focus more on the Balkans, which intensified an old rivalry with Austria-Hungary because they also had a great interest in the Balkans -
Russia Established the Duma (3)
The Duma was an elective legislative body that tsar Nicholas II refused to listened to, wanting to keep his autocratic rule, causing the Russian people to lose faith in him. -
Britain Releases Dreadnought (2)
Britain releases a battleship called the Dreadnought, thus starting a naval rivalry between Britain and Germany, creating tension between the two countries -
Austria-Hungary Annexed Bosnia (3)
Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia, which was apart of the Ottoman Empire. This made Serbia mad because they wanted Bosnia to become apart of their nation, and it was clear that Austria-Hungary didn't want them to be independent -
Archduke Ferdinand Shot (3) (4)
There was an Austrian presence in Serbian lands. This upset Serbia and led to feelings of nationalism, and eventually caused a Serbian nationalist to shoot and kill Archduke Ferdinand. -
Austria-Hungary Declares War on Serbia (1)
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia after someone from Serbia killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, thus beginning World War 1 -
Russia and France Enter the War (1) (3)
Russia was friends with Serbia, so after war was declared on them by Austria-Hungary, they began to mobilize. This entry into the war caused many of the economic problems in Russia to amplify. Russia also had an alliance with France, so they got the French to mobilize as well. -
Russia Begins Mobilization (5)
Czar Nicholas II, on the same day Austria-Hungray declared war on Serbia, decided to begin partial mobilization. -
Russia Mobilizes (5)
The russian czar decides to have a full mobilization of their army and Germany begins mobilizing themselves. -
Germany Enters the War (1)
Kaiser William II promised Austria-Hungary that the Germans would support them in their war against Serbia. They knew that Russia was friends with Serbia, but didn't believe that they would mobilize in war. -
Russia Attacks (6) (16)
Russia launched their first attack against Germany, part of their army going straight through the heart of East Prussia, while the other part cut off the German's line of retreat. This caused about one million Germans to leave their home. -
UK Enters the War (1) (6) (8)
Germany needed to pass through neutral Belgium in order to quickly defeat France. The British foreign secretary, Sir Edward Grey, told Germany to withdraw from Belgium since they were a neutral country. Germany refused, causing the United Kingdom to declare war on them. The fighting in Belgium started the Western Front, a significant theater of WWI -
Central Powers at War (5)
All of the Central Powers were now at war and everyone was mobilizing their people for war. -
Fighting on the Eastern Front Begins (6) (8)
Fighting on the eastern front begins, and since the land was much larger then the west, trench warfare didn't develop like it did on the west. Since the land was bigger, the lines were less dense, making them easier to break. Due to poor communication, if a line was broken it was difficult for reinforcements to come to the line. -
Fleeing to Venice (16)
The Imperial Russian Army had started invading the Austrian Crownland of Galicia. This caused many civilians to flee to Venice -
Women's Peace Parade (5) (11)
1500 women in New York City protested against world war 1. This protest later formed a group called the Women's Peace Parade, which led to the mobilizing of women in war. -
Wellington House (4)
25 British Authors were invited by the Bureau in Britain to the Wellington House. They all came up with what the best way to use propaganda to promote WWI would be. -
First Battle of the Marne (6) (7) (8)
This battle began trench warfare. Trenches had been used only in the war but were small and only used for 24 hours. The Germans were pushed back into the Aisne river, causing them to dig trenches to avoid machine guns and so they could stay in France. This type of warfare lasted for four years. This caused all the armies to be stalled in the trenches. -
The First Trenches Were Built (8) (11)
The first trenches were built. Whenever it rained, water would accumulate at the bottom, and the mud would cause trench foot. Approximately 20,000 of the British casualties in 1914 were caused by trench foot alone. -
Britain Prepared (4)
The first film propaganda, a silent mostly black-and-white documentary, was released. Film propaganda proved to be an effective technique in manipulating the nation into mobilizing to fight against an enemy. -
Armenians Get Deported (12)
The Ottoman government began deporting their Armenian citizens, before any revolts occurred. This led to the Armenian Genocide. -
Turks Fire Back (12)
Turks fired at Von. Even though deportations had already started, they were blamed for attacking first. -
Armenian Genocide (12)
The Ottoman government starting rounding up and killing it's Armenian citizens. It is estimated that 1.5 million Armenians died and many others were forced out of the country. The Turkish government refuses to acknowledge the genocide to this day. -
Treaty of London (18)
This treaty between the Triple Entente and the Kingdom of Italy primness that Italy would get some land on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. -
Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive (16)
Germany began going east into Russia territory, causing the ethnic-minorities who lived on the border, and also spoke little to no Russian and had foreign customs, to move into the Russian interior. -
Lusitania Sinks (4) (6) (10)
Germany used unrestricted submarine warfare, believing that they would win the war faster if they did. This resulted them in sinking a British ship that also carried several American passengers. The propaganda made about the sinking of this ship helped influenced America's decision to enter the war and fighting the Germans. -
Italy Declares War on Austria-Hungary (8)
When Italy became one of the allies it turned the war from a two-front war to a three-front war, causing Austria-Hungary and Germany to spread their armies out even more and thus weakening them more. -
Spring Offensive (9) (10)
After the eastern front was free because of Russia leaving the war, Germany realized that the only way to win was to have a huge attack on the western front before the US joined. It failed, leaving the German army weak. -
Battle of the Somme (7) (11)
This battle of the most costly war for Britain. They had 420,000 casualties. This even thus changed their attitude towards the war -
Uncle Sam Poster Propaganda (4)
The US started printing propaganda for the war in the form of posters, the Uncle Sam one being the most famous. Posters were easy to mass produce and easy to translate into other languages, and could also be put in a variety of places. This simple yet effective method greatly affected the American's emotions about the war. -
Turnip WInter (11) (12)
The British naval blockade caused Germany to be constantly under the threat of starvation, and poor weather lead to a bad harvest. Most of the rations were sent to the troops, the civilian population faced the worst of the famine. 121,114 Germans starved to death this year. -
Immigration Act of 1917 (5) (16)
This immigration act restricted immigration into the US. This, and several other reasons, led to African-Americans leaving the rural South to cities and towns into the north because they needed additional labor in the factories to help with the war since many of their workers were drafted into the war. -
Battle of Verdun (7) (11)
One of history's greatest slaughters, 18% of Germany's casualties happened during this battle, which is roughly 282,000 people. It was planned to be a major victory for the German's but instead this battle caused the German's to lose their initiative and the war -
Russian Revolution Starts (3) (9)
Russia withdrew from the war because of their revolution, caused by disasters on the battle field, food and fuel shortages, workers on strike, and marches for bread. This ended the battles on the eastern-front, temporarily helping Germany now that they didn't have to fight on two-fronts. -
US President Requests War (1) (12)
President Woodrow Wilson requested a declaration of war against Germany because of their use of unrestricted submarine warfare, which the US believed was a violation of human rights. -
US Enters the War (9) (10)
The US officially enters the war, giving the Allied soldiers a much needed psychological boost in fighting the war. They also more than made up for the loss of Russia in the war, so that their exit had little effect on the overall outcome of the war. -
US Declares War on Germany (7) (10)
The US declares war on Germany. This entry effectively stopped the German's advance on the Western Front. -
October Revolution (16)
The Bolsheviks had led this revolution and starting taking government buildings. This caused many refugees to move westward. -
Classicism and Surrealism (20)
This was a period of Picaso's paintings that followed the upheaval of World War 1, and many other artists in Europe painted in this style. -
Fourteen Points (14)
US President Woodrow Wilson published his fourteen points, a blueprint for peace negations after World War 1 -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (9) (18)
This treaty ended Russia's participation in the war completely, and Russia also renounced their claims on Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine and Lithuania. -
2nd Battle of the Marne (7)
This battle was a victorious counter offensive against the Germans, forcing them to retreat from the Marne. -
Weimar Republic (19)
The Weimar Republic caused massive political instability in Germany. It allowed the existence of several political parties, and their political leadership was very weak and uncertain. -
War Ended (9)
The war officially ended on this date. If Russia didn't have their revolution, they would still be in the war, and soldiers would still be on the eastern front, so the war would've gone on for longer. -
Draft Covenant (15)
President Woodrow Wilson submitted a draft covenant for the League of Nations, which was later rejected by the US senate -
What the US Wanted in Peace (10) (13) (14) (15)
The US president Woodrow Wilson wanted to establish a League of Nations to prevent future wars, an idea that would never have been made if the US didn't join the war. However, the US senate rejected the idea. This caused others to think the League wasn't a good idea since one of the world's stronger nations rejected it. -
What Great Britain Wanted in Peace (13) (14) (17) (19)
Great Britain wanted Germany's punishment to include some war reparations, which they got, but it destroyed the German economy, and caused chaos among the German social structure and their political stability. -
What France Wanted in Peace (13) (14) (17) (18)
France wanted control of the Left Bank of the Rhineland, which they did, along with Alsace and Lorraince. The loss of this land caused Germany to have less natural resources and furthered damaged their economy. -
What Germany Wanted in Peace (13) (14)
Germany wanted to be present at the peace conference, and they also wanted to keep their military and empire, which they didn't get. -
Germany Loses Land (18)
Germany loses a large amount of their land, along with Russia, to form a new country called Poland. -
Treaty of Versailles (14) (19)
The Treaty of Versailles was signed and officially brought an end to World War 1 for good. There was a lot of shock and disillusionment after this, causing people to lose faith in their old systems and to fear the future. -
Coal Mines in Saar Basin (17)
France gains the coal mines in Saar Basin, causing France to get rich and Germany to become poor. -
What the Balkans Wanted in Peace (13) (17)
The Balkans wanted peace, but instead they got tensions and bloody wars that would last for decades. -
Austria-Hungary Dissolved (18)
The Treaty of Saint-Germain was signed, breaking up Austria-Hungary. Three countries formed from their lands, Austria, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. -
Treaty of Versailles Rejected (15)
President Woodrow Wilson and the US senate couldn't compromise on the Treaty of Versailles, mainly because of the League of Nations, so the US rejected it so they never ratified the treaty or joined the league. -
First War Reparation Paid (19)
The Germans had to pay their first war reparations, which ended up causing hyperinflation in the German economy. Soon, a German Mark had become worthless. -
Knox-Porter Resolution (15)
Since the senate rejected the Treaty, the US and Germany were technically still at war, a joint resolution was signed, officially ending the United States' involvement in World War 1. -
The Sun Also Rises (20)
When Hemingway published this book, he popularized the term "The Lost Generation". This group of people had become cynical sue to the large amounts of death in WWI, causing them to seek the meaning of life. -
The Great Depression (19)
After the events of World War 1, the Great Depression started. It was the most severe economic downturn in history. -
Nazi Germany Began (15)
Nazi Germany began under Adolf Hitler's rule, and without the US in the League of Nations, they were powerless to stop them. -
Guernica (20)
Picasso painted paintings based off of the bombing of the Basque town of Guernica, embodying the inhumanity, brutality, and hopelessness of war. -
Weeping Woman (20)
After Picasso painted "Guernica" he painted "Weeping Woman", which was a postscript to "Guernica" and was a tortured portrait of one of his mistresses. -
Kingdom of Italy Fell (17)
Due to mass unemployment, the Italian people overthrew the government and the Italian Republic began.
