-
Britain and France declared war on Turkey
Britain and France, Russia’s allies, declared war on Turkey, because of the help given to the German attack on Russia. -
Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, happened on 28 June 1914 in Sarajevo. They were shot dead by Gavrilo Princip. ... This soon led to the outbreak of war in Europe at the end of July 1914. -
Austria declared war on Serbia
The Austrian government blamed the Serbian government for the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife and declared war on Serbia.
Although Russia was allied with Serbia, Germany did not believe that she would mobilise and offered to support Austria if necessary.
However, Russia did mobilise and, through their alliance with France, called on the French to mobilise. -
Germany declared war on Russia
Germany declared war on Russia -
Germany declared war on France
Germany declared war on France. German troops poured into Belgium as directed under the Schleiffen Plan, drawn up in 1905. The British foreign secretary, Sir Edward Grey, sent an ultimatum to Germany demanding their withdrawal from the neutral Belgium. -
British declaration of war
Germany did not withdraw from Belgium and Britain declared war on Germany. -
Japan declared war on Germany
Japan declared war on Germany through her alliance with Great Britain, signed in 1902 -
Russia declared war on Turkey
Because of the help given by Turkey to the German attack of Russia, Russia declared war on Turkey. -
Romania enter the war
Romania joined the war on the side of the Allies. But within a few months was occupied by Germans and Austrians. -
Italy
Italy entered the war on the side of the Allies. -
Battle of Verdun
The Germans mounted an attack on the French at Verdun designed to ‘bleed the French dry’. Although the fighting continued for nine months, the battle was inconclusive. Casualties were enormous on both sides with the Germans losing 430,000 men and the French 540,000. -
Battle of the Somme
The battle was preceded by a week long artillery bombardment of the German line which was supposed to destroy the barbed wire defences placed along the German line but only actually succeeded in making no mans land a mess of mud and craters. The five month long battle saw the deaths of 420,000 British soldiers (60,000 on the first day), 200,000 French soldiers and 500,000 German soldiers all for a total land gain of just 25 miles -
USA declares war on Germany
The United States of America declared war on Germany in response to the sinking, by German U boats, of US ships. -
Battle of Amiens
The British general, Haig, ordered the attack of the German sector at Amiens. At the same time the news came through that the allies had broken through from Salonika and forced Bulgaria to sue for peace. -
Armistice signed
At 11 am, in the French town of Redonthes, the Armistice was signed bringing the war to an end.