World War 1: Timeline important events from August 1914 to November 1918.

  • The assassination

    The Balkan states of Bosnia and Herzegovina, had been annexed from Turkey and taken into the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This was strongly resented by many Serbs and Croats and a nationalist group, The Black Hand, was formed.
  • Germany declares war on Russia.

  • Period: to

    WW1 Timline from 1914- 1918

  • Germany declares war on France.

  • The United Kingdom declares war on Germany, after Germany invades Belgium.

  • Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia and Serbia declares war on Germany.

  • - U.S. President Woodrow Wilson announces the U.S. will remain neutral.

  • The Battle of Tannenberg begins.

  • The First Battle of the Marnebegins. Trench warfare begins as soldiers on both sides dig in.

  • Battle of Ypres begins.

  • - The United Kingdom announces that the North Sea is a military area, effectively creating a blockade of goods into Germany.

  • • December 24 The unofficial Christmas truce is declared.

  • Germany declares a "war zone" around Great Britain, essentially effecting a submarine blockade where even neutral merchant vessels were to be potential targets.

  • The Dardanelles Campaign begins.

  • The British ocean liner RMS Lusitania is sunk by German U-boat, U-20

  • The Second Battle of Ypres begins. It is during this battle that the Germans first use poison gas.

  • The Battle of Gallipoli begins.

  • The Battle of Verdun begins.

    The Battle of Verdun was the longest battle of World War I and was one of the bloodiest.
  • The Battle of Jutland, the major naval battle of the war, begins.

  • The Battle of the Somme begins.

    During the Battle of the Somme, tanks are first introduced into battle.
  • Germany sends the secret Zimmerman Telegram.

    Telegram is sent to Mexico in an effort to entice Mexico to join the war. The British intercept and decipher the coded message.
  • Russian Tsar Nicholas II abdicates.

  • The United States declares war on Germany.

    The first turning point
  • The Battle of Passchendaele begins.

    (also known as the Third Battle of Ypres)
  • The armistice agreed upon between the new Russian government and the Central Powers goes into effect.

  • Russia signs the Treaty of Brest Litovsk.

    It is a peace treaty between Russia and the Central Powers.
  • Germany launches the Spring Offensive.

  • German flying ace, Baron Manfred von Richthofen is shot down.

    more commonly known as the Red Baron.
  • Germany signs the armistice at Compiegne, France. Fighting ends on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

  • The Treaty of Versailles officially ends WWI.