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Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie the Duchess of Hohenburg, are killed by Bosnian Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip. The Austrian government suspects that Serbia is responsible.
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Secretary of the Austro-Hungarian Legation at Belgrade sends despatch to Vienna accusing Serbian complicity in the assassination.
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“This is a dark day and a dark hour. The sword is being forced into my hand. This war will demand of us enormous sacrifice in life and money, but we shall show our foes what it is to provoke Germany.” - Kaiser Wilhelm II, July 31, 1914
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Germany mobilizes her armed forces. War on Russia is declared.
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French military mobilisation ordered.
Italy announces neutrality.
Belgium announces neutrality. -
Germany declares war on France.
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Germany declares war on neutral Belgium and invades in a right flanking move designed to defeat France quickly. As a result of this invasion, Britain declares war on Germany.
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Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia.
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"The Battle of the Frontiers" -- 27,000 French soldiers die on this single day in an offensive thrust to the east of Paris, towards the German borders.
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German army, led by Erich Ludendorff and Paul von Hindenburg achieves its greatest victory of the war on the Eastern front against Russia at the Battle of Tennenberg.
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First Battle of the Marne halts German invasion in France.
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The First Battle of Marne checks German advance at the cost of 13,000 British, 250,000 French and 250,000 German casualties.
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First trenches of the Western front are dug.
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The British Indian Expeditionary Force sails from Bombay to the Persian Gulf in preparation for the defense of Mesopotamia.
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Trenches are established along the entire Western Front
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Secured oil supplies in the Middle East needed to supply most of the Royal Navy
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The Battle of the Falkland Islands. A Royal navy task force sinks three German cruisers that were victorious at the Battle of Coronel in November. Only the SMS Dresden escapes.
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The German First High Sea fleet bombards Hartlepool, Whitby and Scarborough, killing 137 civilians and proving that the British mainland is susceptible to attack
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In the first airborne attack on British soil, Zeppelins bomb Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn, killing five civilians.
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Turkey enters the war
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Blockade of Britain by German U-boats begins. All vessels are considered viable targets, including those from neutral countries.
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Allied naval bombardment of the Dardanelles and Gallipoli begins.
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Allied losses amount to 12,800 in two days. Some of the blame falls on the poor quality and lack of British shells, initiating the 'Shell Crisis'.
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Allied landing at Gallipoli - 70,000 British, Commonwealth and French troops are under heavy fire. On 'Y' Beach, 1,200 out of a force of 1,500 men are casualties.
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German U-boat torpedoes British liner Lusitania with the loss of American lives, creating a US-German diplomatic crisis.
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Discontent over rising casualty figures grows and a coalition government is formed as Prime Minister Asquith struggles to maintain control of the House of Commons.
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British morale is shaken as Germany demonstrates it can attack the capital at will.
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The Third and final Battle of Krithia begins at Gallipoli as Allies attempt to push inland from their beach-heads. British losses amount to 6,000 men.
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German troops use flame throwers for the first time against the British lines at Hooge, Ypres.
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They opt not to take the strategic heights overlooking the beaches and are eventually pinned to the coast by Turkish troops.
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The Battle of Scimitar Hill, Gallipoli, is the final British offensive in the Dardanelles. They are repelled and lose 5,000 men.
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At the Battle of Loos the British use gas for the first time but the wind blows this over their own troops resulting in 2632 casualties - seven
are killed. -
British and Canadian regiments take Hill 70 at Loos and break the German line, but lack of reserves to exploit the breach results in limited success. The Canadians alone receive over 9,000 casualties.
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Under German pressure to open up military rail links to Constantinople and the Middle East, the Austro-Hungarians step up their campaign against the Serbians. Anglo-French forces land at Salonika to counter allied German expansion in the Balkans.
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She becomes a popular martyr and British heroine.
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Allies inflict heavy casualties on the Turks, but are forced to retire to Kut due to lack of supplies. The Turkish soldiers give chase and besiege the town.
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Not one soldier or sailor is killed in the withdrawal and the Turkish are unaware of the evacuation taking place.
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The longest battle of the war, the Battle of Verdun, is fought to a draw with an estimated one million casualties. The Battle ended December 1918.
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The Battle of Jutland, the only major naval engagement of the war is fought with no clear winner.
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The Battle of the Somme results in an estimated one million casualties and no breakthrough for the Allies. British introduce the tank, an effective weapon but far to few to make much of a difference.
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Woodrow Wilson re-elected President of the United States with campaign slogan: "He kept us out of the war"
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Rasputin, the self-avowed holy man and confidant to the Tsarina, is murdered by relatives of the Tsar.
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Reich Foreign Secretary Zimmermann's telegram to Mexico urging her entry into war against the United States is discovered and translated by the British
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Provisional government is declared
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President Wilson asks Congress for a declaration of war with Imperial Germany
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French launch disastrous offensive at Chemin des Dames, advancing only 500 yards at the cost of 250,000 plus casualties
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April - June
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Third Battle of Ypres, known as Passchendaele, results in minor gains, but still no breakthrough in the Western front at the cost of 700,000 casualties for both sides results in minor gains, but still no breakthrough in the Western front at the cost of 700,000 casualties for both sides, results in minor gains, but still no breakthrough in the Western front at the cost of 700,000 casualties for both sides
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