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Balkan Wars
There were two Balkan wars that occurred during WWI. The first war happened was between October 8, 1912, to May 30, 1913. It was between the Ottoman Empire and the Balkan leagues. The second Balkan war was started by Bulgaria when they started to attack their neighbors on June 29, 1913. At one point, the war became too harsh and Bulgaria called for peace. They signed the Treaty of Bucharest, ending the war on August 10 (Hall, 2014). -
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, were shot on this day. Bosnian nationalists were after Archduke and tried to assassinate him. A bomb was first thrown at the car and landing underneath, wounding two officers and bystanders. But, Archduke nor his wife remained unharmed. Later, Gavrilo Princip struck and pulled out his pistol firing at the couple in their open-topped car (Greenspan, 2014). -
WWI Begins
WWI began one month after Archduke's assassination. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, and quickly, a European war broke out. Alliances brought in new competitors into the war. Russia, Belgium, France, Great Britain, and Serbia were now against Austria-Hungary and Germany. The Allies were now against the Central Powers. The peace within Europe quickly broke (History.com, 2009). -
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Gallipoli Campaign
French and British forces wanted to take control of the Black Sea, a route from Europe to Russia. By doing this, they hoped to remove Turkey out of the war. After failing a naval attack, forces began to prepare for a land invasion. A little progress was made, but because the Allies failed to make the next move, enemy forces were allowed to advance up to the Allies. Allied casualties rose and troops began to evacuate (History.com, 2009). -
Lusitania Sunken
A British liner was attacked by a German U-boat and hit with a torpedo. It carried ammunition for the British, which Germany tried to justify as the reason for the attack. Out of the 1,900 passengers, 1,100 were killed, along with over 120 Americans. This heavily influenced America on joining the war. To add to that, German U-boats sunk an Italian liner in November, which killed 25 more Americans (History.com, 2009). -
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Battle Of Verdun
German forces surrounded Verdun and started to fire. Forces were ordered to take out French forces "without regard to casualties." French forces became weak and Germans started to advance. They got closer and were 2 miles away from the cathedral. Although, Germany eventually retreated due to the failure of being able to take over Verdun. French forces regrew and were able to take back the forts (History.com, 2009). -
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Battle Of The Somme
1.75 million bombs were dropped on Somme by the Allies, hoping to weaken German forces. French and British forces advanced one week later and to their surprise, many of the wire stayed up German positions were strong. Soldiers were caught no man's land and were gunned down by machine guns. Allies continued attempting to advance, but could not get through. Bad weather made it difficult to advance, and a halt was eventually called (History.com, 2009). -
Zimmerman Note
British code breakers were able to intercept a note. It was from Arthur Zimmerman, the German foreign secretary. It was a telegraph sent to Mexico. The note stated for an alliance between the two nations and support for attacks on the U.S. In return, Mexico would be able to re-annex the land they lost. This influenced Wilson joining the war, with him wanting to disprove Germany's strong military (Andrews, 2014). -
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Russian Revolution
Russia's economy became unstable and the people failed to get their needs. Protesters fought with the police and some were killed, some just trying to get bread. Czar Nicholas retired from the throne, but participation in the war continued. Protesters continued and fought for a Soviet country. The government was formed by party leaders and Russia was now a communist state (History.com, 2009). -
U.S. Joins WWI
The Zimmerman Note along with the amount of Americans killed by German U-boats influenced Wilson. Wilson was known for the slogan "He kept us out of war," which he used the influence his reelection. But, it was quickly broken and America declared war on Germany. Congress passed a bill that allowed America to get ready for war. On April 6, 1917, the United States officially joined the war (History.com, 2009). -
Russia Withdraws From WWI ( Treaty of Brest-Litovsk )
Russia's battle in WWI resulted in many losses and weakened Russia. In December of 1917, there was a ceasefire that allowed Russia to discuss treaties with the Central Powers. By signing the treaty, Russia would give over Poland and the Baltic States over to the Central Powers. Trotsky disagreed refused to give over more territory. But the war resumed, and Russia began to fall to Germany and signed the final treaty (History.com, 2010). -
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Battle of Chateau-Thierry
The battle was a counterattack to the German advancement on Marne. The goal of the Allied forces was to defend the river and stop the advancement. American troops first held off the Germans from crossing the river. Then, along with the French troops, they pushed back German forces across of the river. This was the second American victory in the war (History.com, 2009). -
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Meuse-Argonne Offensive
After an overnight bombardment, Allied forces began advancing with 700 tanks and infantry. 400,000 American troops were sent to aid in the battle. Allied forces were able to capture more than 30,000 prisoners by night and continued advancing. Although the Germans were weak, they continued to resist. The battle came to a halt on September 30 but continued on October 4. German forces became weak and began to retreat (History.com, 2009). -
Armistice
Now with the U.S. in the war, Germany was outnumbered and started to fall to the Allies. The Germans worried about their weak military and feared being conquered. Instead of either side surrendering, the war ended with an armistice. Both sides decided to stop and on the 11th hour on November 11, it was silent. Both powers agreed that this would be the best way to stop all of the suffering and destruction (Kiger, 2018). -
Treaty Of Versailles
The terms of the Treaty of Versailles were discussed amongst the Allies. By signing the treaty, the war would officially end. Harsh restrictions were put on Germany that would greatly decrease the amount of power it had. Germany was stripped of all it's colonies and their military was limited. Germany took responsibility for all of the casualties and agreed to pay reparations (History.com, 2009). -
First Meeting of League of Nations
After WWI, President Woodrow Wilson gave his "Fourteen Points" speech. In one of the points, he stated that there should be an international body. On January 10, 1920, the League of Nations was created. Due to a stroke that Wilson, he was unable to negotiate with Congress about the effects the treaties had on the U.S. The League of Nations had the first meeting in Geneva without the U.S. (History.com, 2009).
