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The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by the Black Hand secret society in Sarajevo.
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Austria Hungry declares war on Serbia. Starting World War 1.
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Germany declares war on Russia.
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Germany declares war on France, and invades neutral Belgium
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The French desire to score a quick victory starts the first major French-German action of war
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Great Britain and France declare war on Austria Hungry. Serbia is invaded by Austria Hungry.
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Japan declares war on Germany. Then the Japanese prepare to assist the British in expelling the Germans from the far east.
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The British Navy suffers its worst defeat in centuries during a sea battle in the Pacific. Two British ships are sunk with no survivors by a German squadron.
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Germany declares the waters surrounding British Isles to be a war zone in which ships can be sunk without warning
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Western Front comprises the Franco-German-Belgian front and any military action in Great Britain, Switzerland, Scandinavia, and Holland.
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Eastern Front comprises the German-Russian, Austro-Russian, and Austro-Romanian fronts.
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A German U-Boat torpedoes the British passenger liner Lusitania off the Irish coast. It sinks in 18 minutes, drowning 1,201 persons, including 128 Americans.
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The British Army suffers the worst single-day death toll in its history as 18,800 soldiers are killed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
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Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungray dies at age 86. He is succeeded by Archduke Charles who wants to take Austria-Hungry out of the war
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Battle of Kut begins. Last Turkish troops in Sinai recross the frontier.
HMS Corwallis sunk by submarine in Mediterranean -
Hamaden recaptured by Russian forces.
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United States declares war on Germany
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First contingent of United States troops arrives in France.
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China declares war on Germany and Austria-Hungary.
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Action of Tikrit
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Qasr-i-Shirin occupied by British forces.President Wilson delivers Message to Congress laying down the "Fourteen Points".Russian Bolshevik Government withdraw demand for transfer to Stockholm and resume negotiations at Brest-Litovsk
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Narva occupied by German forces
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Mons retaken by British forces. Armistice concluded between the Allied and Associated Powers and Germany. British Government recognize Latvian Provisional Government as independent.New National Government formed in Estonia.
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The Paris Peace Conference opens with delegates from 32 nations invited. President Woodrow Wilson attends, marking the first-ever visit to Europe by a sitting president.
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At the Palace of Versailles in France, a German delegation signs the Treaty formally ending the war. Its 230 pages contain terms that have little in common with Wilson's Fourteen Points as the Germans had hoped. Germans back home react with mass demonstrations against the perceived harshness, especially clauses that assess sole blame for the war on Germany.
