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Assassination Of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand
The assassination causes high stress between nations and later causes ww1 to begin -
Russia Begins to Mobilize
The Russians begin to mobilize to help there close ally Serbia against Austro-hungry. This act forces other European nations to begin to mobilize. -
The Beginning
Germany Invades Belgium leading to other countries acting upon this forcing ww1 to begin -
The Germans Begin to Fire Gas
The Germans fired shells filled with chlorine gas at Allied lines. This is the first time that large amounts of gas are used in battle, and the result is the near-collapse of the French lines. However, the Germans are unable to take advantage of the breach. -
The Attack on the Lusitania
A German submarine sinks the passenger liner Lusitania. The ship carries 1,198 people, 128 of them Americans. Forcing America to be apart of the war -
Germany Takes Responsibility
Reacting to international outrage at the sinking of the Lusitania and other neutral passenger lines, Kaiser Wilhelm suspends unrestricted submarine warfare. This is an attempt to keep the United States out of the war, but it severely hampers German efforts to prevent American supplies from reaching France and Britain. -
Changing the Battlefield Forever
The British employ the first tanks ever used in battle, at Delville Wood. Although they are useful at breaking through barbed wire and clearing a path for the infantry, tanks are still primitive and they fail to be the decisive weapon, as their designers thought they would be. But these weapons did change the battlefield forever as we know it -
Germany Decides to Continue
Germany resumes unrestricted submarine warfare in European waterways. This act, more than any other, draws the United States into the war and causes the eventual defeat of Germany. -
The Secret telegram
British intelligence gives Wilson the Zimmermann Telegram, a message from German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmermann proposing that Mexico side with Germany in case of war between Germany and the United States. In return, Germany promises to return to Mexico parts of Texas and much of the rest of the American Southwest. Mexico doesn't accept the offer but the outrage at this interference -
Wilson's Big decision
On April 2, 1917, Wilson decides to hold a meeting with Congress whether or not they should enter the war initially they do not but the Zimmerman telegram slightly forces there hand. -
Us Enters War
Congress authorizes a declaration of war against Germany. The United States enters World War I on the side of France and Britain. -
The Draft
The united states congress passes the selective service act authorizing a draft for service in the military.this was highly criticized because it was said to go against democracy. -
The first treaty
The Germans sign a peace treaty with the new Bolshevik government of Russia. The terms of the treaty give Germany huge tracts of land that had been the Ukraine and Poland, and peace on the Eastern Front allows Germany to shift soldiers to the Western Front, causing serious problems for the French, British, and Americans. Although Russia leaving the war was good for many it also caused problems for some countries due to the land Russia gave up giving the axis an advantage -
First American offensive
The Battle of Cantigny is the first major American offensive of the war. Though small in scale, the Americans fight bravely and soon go on to larger attacks against German positions. -
Battle of Belleaue Woods Begins
The Battle of Belleau Wood begins as the U.S. Marine Corps attacks the Germans across an open field of wheat, suffering huge casualties. -
Battle of Belleaue Woods Ends
The Battle of Belleau Wood ends with the final expulsion of the Germans from the wood, which marks the farthest German advance on Paris. The area has changed hands six times during the three-week battle, which has caused nearly 10,000 American casualties. -
Battle Of saint Mihiel
The Battle of St. Mihiel begins when 300,000 American troops under the direct command of General Pershing fling themselves into the German lines. One of the largest battles to take place -
The Armistice
An Armistice is signed ending fighting on the Western Front. Signaling the end of the first world war. -
The Great Kaiser Abdicates
Kaiser Wilhelm abdicates, ending all German hope for a victory. He and his retinue quietly slip over the border into the Netherlands where he lives out the remainder of his life in relative peace and writes a self-promoting memoir defending his actions in the war. Signaling the closed end of the war -
The war is over
After the war, there are many people left with things to remind them of there service and some people left with memories they could never forget