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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
The assasination was performed by three Bosnians (Gavrilo Princip, Nedjelko Cabrinovic and Trifco Grabez) Nd was orchestrated by the Serbian terrorist organisation; the Black Hand. When Franz Ferdinad and his wife Sophie arrived in Sarajevo they were driven to a reception with the governor of Bosnia a bomb attack commenced but it failed and only injured bystanders. After the reception Franz decided to visit those injured in the earlier attack but another assassin shot Franz and Sophie. -
Period: to
World War 1
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Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia
Following the assasination of Archduke Ferdinand, Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Serbian Government (in hope it would either spark war or Serbian humiliation). Russia advised Serbia on it's reply and Serbia agreed to all of the demands except two which involved the dismissal of Serbian officials and the interference of Austro-Hungarian ones. Austria-Hungary's response was partial mobilisation and the severing of all diplomatic realtions with Serbia. -
Germany declares war on Russia
When Austria-Hungary bombarded Belgrade on the 29th of July Russia declared partial mobilisation. Austria-Hungary declared mobilistaion on the border with Russia, prompting Russia to declare general mobilisation. Germany forseeing hostilities presented an ultimatum to Russia on the 31st of July: cease mobilisation. Russia ingored the demand and Germany declared war on Russia. -
Germany declares war on France
While Russia was mobilising and Germany was delivering it's demand to cease mobilisation, Germany asked France for notification on whether it would stay neutral in a war between Russia and Germany. Like Russia, France ingored the demand and began general mobilisation and Germany declared war on France and engaged the Schlieffen plan. -
Germany puts Schlieffen plan into action
Once Russia began mobilising it's military it would take the Russian army approximately 6 weeks to reach Germany (that was Germany's theory). Once the Russians began mobilising thier army Germany would attack (and defeat) France via a direct route through Belgium. Once France was defeated Germany's modernised rail system would be used to move the German military to the Eastern Front where they would attack (and defeat) the Russian forces . The invasion of Belgium provoked war with Britain. -
Lead up to The Battle of Bita Paka
Bita Paka was a small radio station established shortly after the beggining of the First World War. The station was important to German fleets fleeing the Pacific in serch of coal and the station was also responsible for the protection of nearby Rabau. German New Guinea had no colonial defence force, instead it had a Polizeitruppe consisting of approximately 240 native police and 50 German Officers. The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force was raised to take control of Bita Paka. -
Battle of Bita Paka begins
The AN&EMF intended to take control of Bita Paka to cripple German operations in the area and extend British influence as well. A small force of Australian soldiers landed six miles from Bita Paka radio station and began thier march. Australian troops captured a German sniper and used him to convince a group of German soldiers to surrender. Eventually Australian soldiers encountered German trenches and took cover to wait for reinforcements. -
Battle of Bita Paka (continued)
Once reinforcements arrived Australian troops opened fire with their 12 pounder guns scattering the German soldiers in fear. The Germans eventually regrouped and fell back to another set of trenches and in doing so reinforced the soldiers already there. A battle soon ensued and the Australian soldiers captures the second set of trenches. Once the trenches were captured the Australian soldiers marched to Bita Paka radio station only to find that the Germans had destroyed the tower. -
Battle of Bita Paka ends
In the aftermath of the Battle of Bita Paka the retreating Germans were chased to Toma where they were besieged by the Australian soldiers until they surrendered, realising the futility of their situation. The Battle of Bita Paka was important in effort to drive Germany out of New Guinea and it was also the first battle Australia was involved in over the course of the First World War. The Battle also led to the occupation of New Guinea and (eventually) it's governance by Australia. -
First zeppelin raid on Britain
Airships had primarily been used only for reconnaissance by Germany until the Kaiser was pressured by the German Admirality to allow their use for raids. Eventually the Kaiser agreed an the first zeppelin raid occured killing 2 and injuring 16. In reatliation to the French bombings of German cities the Kaiser allowed the bombing of London and the first air raid on London occured on the 31st of May killing 7 and injuring 35. -
Dardanelles/Gallipoli campaign invasion begins
The Gallipoli campaign was planned by the British Admiralty. The plan was to take pressure off Russia's front by distracting Turkish soldiers and to occupy Constantinople/ Istanbul to give a foothold to the Allies in Turkey. Naval bombardments occured and demolition crews landed early in the campaign but were soon withdrawn due to bad weather. Eventually allied troops landed on the Gallipoli peninsula consiting of both British and ANZAC troops on the 25th. -
The Lusitania sunk by German U-boat
The Lusitania set sail on the 1st of May 1915 from New York bound for Liverpool. The Lusitania was carrying a large amount of civilian passengers, many of which were American. The passengers felt secure as the Lusitania was a luxury line and as such would not be a military target. When the Lusitania arrived oiff the Irish coast it was fired upon by a U-boat and sank in 18 minutes. The sinking was demonised thoughout America and Britain and helped change America's stance in the war. -
Evacuation of Gallipoli by the Allies begins
Throughout the Gallipoli campaign little progress was made and it was concluded that without large reinforcements there would be no decisive results. Eventually the withdrawal of Gallipoli was ordered by the Allies and it commenced on the 19th of December. The evacuation was completed on January 6th 1916. The campaign did draw Turkish forces away from the Russian front but apart from that it is widely recognised as a failure and was a significant factor in the resignation and of H.H Asquith. -
Battle of Verdun
A German offensive was launched with the intent of occupying the fotress of Versun and it's surrounding fortfifications, to undermine the French. The Germans made a successful offensive until they reached Fort Douaumont. After the Germans claimed Douaumont French reinforcements arrived and slowed the German advance. A stalemate ensued in the area until Germany could no longer maintain thier advantage and gave up the offensive. By the end of the year the French had reclaimed thier territory. -
Battle of Jutland
The Germans had intended to trap and destroy a fraction of The British fleet, however the British intercepted the orders and set up a trap of thier own. (Hippers) German fleet and (Beatty's) British fleet accidentally became aware of each other leading into a battle. The battle raged until the Germans retreated but found that the British had maneouvured to block them from reaching the German ports. Eventually a German diversion tricked the British into retreating. -
Start of Brusilov Offensive
After Russian defeats at Tannenburg and the Masurian Lakes Russia had to fall back to three fronts (each with it's own commander). By 1916 the Russian armies had made up for most of thier previous shortcomings and were in a much better state. After Verdun the Allies required the Russians to draw German forces from the west to the east. A surprise attack was made but quickly failed after incompetent leadership. General Brusilov planned an offensive that would split the German forces at Somme. -
Battle of the Somme begins
The Germans were entrenched and strategically located when the frontal attack was launched. There were artillery bombardments from the Allies before their infantry advanced. Unfortunately the infantry were mown down by the Germans and little progress was made. The battle did relieve pressure from the soldiers at Verdun however there was massive bloodshed. Much of the criticism lies with Field-Marshall Haig, whose uninventive and outdated tactics and methods resulted in much of the bloodshed. -
End of Brusilov Offensive
The offensive was initially successful after making a widely dispersed attack that forced the Austrians to retreat. The attack also had a different sort of success, the Russians bombarded Lutsk where the Archduke was celebrating his birthday (causing damage and much irrtation). Unfortunately the Germans gathered enough men to assist the Austrians and commander Evert's failure to play his part in the campaign ultimately resulted in it's failure. -
First use of use of tanks at the Somme
Tanks were used en masse for the first time at the Somme. Tanks at the time were highly unreliable machines but they did play at considerable part in ending the horrors of trench warfare and they brought mobility to the Western Front. Thier use a the Somme was not very succesful as the battlefield had become a sea of mud due to heavy rain. Many conservative officers opposed tanks as they made cavalry obsolete. Winston Churchill though was a supporter of tanks. -
The Battle of the Somme ends
The Battle of the Somme resulted in many casualties. The tally of casualties is roughly 650000 Germans, 195000 French and 420000 British. The battle was full of conservative military thinking, one prime example was the use of cavalry. Which had been proven as no longer viable over the the course of the war. The battle had many social and political ramifications, not least of which being the popular snetiment that the 88000 men lost for every mile gained was unjustified. -
Official U.S declaration of war on Germany
As public opinion turned against Germany in the U.S (in response to events such as the sinking of the Lusitania) the U.S was pushed towards war with Germany. The U.S became The U.S entry into war was a turning point as it gave the Allies the support they needed to maintain thier war effort and potentially win the war. The U.S armanent production was increased to meet the needs of the U.S, France and Britain. The U.S declaration of war set an example for many other Western Hemisphere nations. -
Germany begins unrestricted submarine warfare campaign
Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare campaign began shortly after the U.S declaration of war, as fear of provoking the U.S was the only reason for restriction. The Germans made calculations and quotas of production and destruction on both sides that were intended to cut off Allied supplies by destroying supply ships At first the campaign was successul, but the convoy sytem and the development of new anti-submarine technology and tactics ultimately spelled doom for the submarine campaign. -
Communist Revolution in Russia
The Russian Revolution of March 1917 ended the monarchy and replaced it with a provisional government. The provisional government however was undermined from the beggining due to nationalist movements among non-Russian peoples and Soviet propaganda. Eventually the Marxist Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin took control of Russia and signed an armistice with the Central Powers ending conflict between them. This was a serious blow to the Allies. -
Battle of Caporetto
Austria decided that the only way to relieve the stress the Italians were putting on thier border was with an offensive. The offensive was in almost every way effective and brilliant. Austria distrcted one Italian front on the Bainsizza plateau while a German army attcaked another. The Italians fell back while the Germans and Austrians pushed forward until the Italians managed to hold them back at the Piave river and were assisted by eventual reinforcements. The Italians sustained heavy losses. -
The Ludendorff offensive begins
German general Erich Ludendorff initiated an offensive on the Western Front intended to make massive territorial gains before the arrival of the U.S contingents. Ludendorff used many new tactics and a elite shock division during his offensive. Ludendorff attacked the weakest parts of the Allie's lines. He made large gains but in the end they were not useful (and somewhat counter-productive). In the end the Allies reclaimed the territory in a series of counter-attacks. -
Austria-Hungary signs Armistice of Villa Giusti
The Bolshevik Revolution and the pronouncements made by the U.S encouraged socialism and nationalism in Austria-Hungary. After Bulgaria collapsed the Austro-Hungarian goverenment appealed for an armistice which agreed with the U.S pronouncements, the U.S did not agree with it as autonomy was only granted to Austria not Hungary. Several states and peoples declared independence across Austria-Hungary. The Armistice of Villa Giusti was signed bringing peace but diminishing Austro-Hungarian power. -
Germany signs armistice with the Allies
The Armistice was signed in rail carriage in Rethondes. The terms consisted of the following main points: Germany was to withdraw from Belgium, France, Alsace-Lorraine, the West bank of the Rhine, German troops in Africa and Eastern Europe were to surrender and withdraw, Germany was to hand over large amounts of war materials. Germany was able argue for slightly less severe terms. The signing of the armistice was basically the end of the war, as such it is known as the official end of the war.
