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Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who was the heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, visited the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. A group of six Serbian assassins met on the street where they knew his convoy would pass. 5 of the assassination attempts failed, except when Ferdinand's convoy accidentally took a wrong turn where, coincidentally, the last assassin stood. Ferdinand and his wife were both shot and killed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I -
Anti-Serb riots in Sarajevo
Following the assassination of Ferdinand, there was large-scale anti-Serb violence on June 28th and 29th. It led to a huge ethnic division in the city, and many Serbian shops, houses, and institutions were burned and pillaged. Also, two Serbians were killed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Serb_riots_in_Sarajevo -
The July Crisis
Following the assassination, Austria-Hungary, Germany, Russia, France and Britain led the July Crisis. Austria-Hungary believed that Serbian officials (especially the officers of the Black Hand, which were a secret military society formed by officers of the Serbian Army) were involved in the plot to murder the Archduke. Austria-Hungary delivered to Serbia ten demands that were made intentionally unacceptable to provoke a war with Serbia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I -
Austria-Hungary Declares War on Serbia!
Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Over the span of a few days, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire joined with the Austro-Hungarians (The Central Powers), and Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, and Romania joined with Serbia (The Allied Powers). Japan and The United States later joined the Allies.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I -
Ground Warfare
The war began with a mix between 20th-century and 19th-century styles and technology for fighting, but later the armies were using telephones, wireless communication, armored cars, tanks, and machine guns. Much of the fighting was in trench warfare, which was extremely brutal. Helmets were also later invented to counter head injuries and shrapnel. Chemical warfare was also introduced, but gas masks led to it being ineffective. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I#Ground_warfare -
A war with... planes?
Planes were a new technology at the beginning of the war, and they were originally used for reconnaissance, but they were later upgraded to have guns on the front. Bomber planes and fighter planes were later developed, and the Germans invented Zeppelins. Obviously, the planes weren't very safe, and in April of 1917 the Average life expectancy of a British pilot on the Western front was 93 hours.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I#Aviation -
The Armenian Genocide
Between 1915-1918, Armenians in the Ottoman Empire (which later became Turkey) were intentionally marched to death by the Ottomans. There is an estimated 1.5 million deaths. To this day, the Turkish government denies the genocide.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I -
The Germans invented submarines!
The Germans developed u-boats after the war began. Initially, they were unbeatable, but depth charges and hydrophones (passive sonar) were invented to counter them.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I#Naval -
The United States joins the war!
The US joined after German u-boats kept sinking American ships (which were neutral at the time). Most of the soldiers for the war were conscripted instead of voluntarily joining. The Draft ended up being very unpopular.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription_in_the_United_States#World_War_I -
The end of the war
Germany formally surrendered on November 11, but the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, formally ending the war.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I -
The Aftermath
The German, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian empires disappeared, and new countries emerged. There were an estimated 40 million million civilian and military casualties. Fascism and Communism became popular ideas among areas heavily affected by the war. Also, many soldiers came back suffering from shell shock, and some died from health defects from the gasses many years later.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I#Legacy_and_memory
