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Assassination
The Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated at Sarajevo. The Austrians believe the assassin is Serbian and mark Serbia as a target. Significance to US - Wilson wouldn't want to have diplomatic relations with a country that just had their political leader killed. -
War declared: Austria and Serbia
Austria declares war on Serbia
Significance to US - Austria is backed by Germany and Serbia is backed by Britain. The US is allied with Britain -
War declared: Britain/Germany and Germany/Belgium
British Government sends ultimatum to Germany. Great Britain declares war on Germany later that day. Belgium severs diplomatic relations with Germany making Germany declare war on Belgium. German troops then cross the Belgian frontier and attack Liège. Germany bombarded the city into submission with the help of Austrian howitzers using high explosive shells.
Significance to US - The United States are neutral but are allied with Britain and might have to side with Britain due to alliance. -
Lusitania
A German U-Boat torpedoes the British passenger liner Lusitania off the Irish coast. It sinks drowning 1,201 persons, including 128 Americans. It is significant to America because it sunk Americans on an innocent boat. President Woodrow Wilson subsequently sends four diplomatic protests to Germany. -
Submarine Sinks
German cruiser Undine sunk by British submarine. Italian S.S. Ancona sunk by Austrian submarine. -
Germany Telegraphs
The British intercept a telegram sent by Alfred Zimmermann in the German Foreign Office to the German embassies in Washington, D.C., and Mexico City. It outlines plans for an alliance between Germany and Mexico against the United States. Germany would provide tactical support while Mexico would expanded into the American Southwest, retrieving territories that had once been part of Mexico. The telegram is passed to the Americans and is then made public, causing an outcry from people in the U.S. -
War declared: United States of America and Germany
The United States of America declares war on Germany.
Significance to US - Remained neutral but now is in war with Germany -
American Troops in France
The first American troops land in France.
Significance to US - The United States fight alongside France -
Armistice concluded: 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month
At 5:10 am, in a railway car at Compiègne, France, the Germans sign the Armistice which is effective at 11 am--the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Fighting continues all along the Western Front until precisely 11 o'clock, with 2,000 casualties experienced that day by all sides.
Significance to US - Fighting stops on the front lines essentially ending war -
Treaty of Versailles
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.
Significance to US - Wilsons fourteen points weren't used making the punishment worse than needed. This also ended the war
