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Archduke Assassination
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated and this event sparks WWI -
Austro-Hungarians and Serbia
Austria-Hungary issues an ultimatum to Serbia with 10 requests to be met in order to avoid military action. Serbia’s response effectively accepted all terms of the ultimatum but one: it would not accept Austria-Hungary’s participation in any internal inquiry, stating that this would be a violation of the Constitution and of the law of criminal procedure -
Austro-Hungary Declares War on Serbia
Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia because they only granted nine out of ten requests on the ultimatum which made it incomplete -
Russia Mobilizes
Russia mobilizes its vast army to intervene against Austria-Hungary in favor of its ally, Serbia. This leads to the mobilization of the rest of the European Great Powers. -
Germany Declares War Against Russia
Germany declares war against Russia under the terms of its alliance with Austro-Hungary. Germany also mobilizes against the French because they realize that France will come in on the side of Russia -
Germany Invades Luxembourg
Germany invades Luxembourg because it was part of the passageway to France -
Germany Invades Belgium
Germany invades Belgium to execute the Schlieffen Plan, which was a plan for war with Russia calling for an attack on France first. Also, the roads of Belgium were needed for the German Army to reach the French. -
Germany Declares War on France
Germany declares war on France moving ahead with a long-held strategy conceived by the former chief of staff of the German army, Alfred von Schlieffen, for a two-front war against France and Russia. The British foreign secretary, Sir Edward Grey, sent an ultimatum to Germany demanding their withdrawal from the neutral Belgium. -
Britain Declares War on Germany
Germany did not withdraw from Belgium and Britain declared war on Germany -
Japan Declares War on Germany
Japan declared war on Germany due to their alliance with Great Britain that was signed in 1902 -
Battle of Tannenberg
The Germans used their railway system to surround the Russian Second army at Tannenberg. This ensuing battle was a heavy defeat for the Russians with thousands of men killed and 125,000 taken as prisoners. Although the Germans won the battle, 13,000 men were killed. -
Battle of Masurian Lakes
This was the second defeat for the Russian Army in World War I -
First Battle of Ypres
Allied and German forces begin the first of what would be three battles to control the city and its advantageous positions on the north coast of Belgium during the First World War -
Zeppelin Bombing
The Zeppelins struck Great Britain for the first time, dropping bombs on the seaside towns of Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn. Modern warfare had arrived! -
Second Battle of Ypres
German forces shock Allied soldiers along the Western Front by firing more than 150 tons of lethal chlorine gas against two French colonial divisions at Ypres in Belgium -
Lusitania Sinks
Lusitania, which had many American passengers aboard, was sank by a German U-boat. -
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 -
Battle of Jutland
This was the only truly large-scale naval battle of the war. German forces, confined to port by a British naval blockade, came out in the hope of splitting the British fleet and destroying it ship by ship. The exchange of fire was brief and the German’s withdrew. -
First Aeroplane Raid
The first German air raid on London took place. The Germans hoped that by making raids on London and the South East, the British Air Force would be forced into protecting the home front rather than attacking the German air force -
U-Boat Campaign
In Germany, orders were given to step up the U-boat campaign. All allied or neutral ships were to be sunk on sight and in one month almost a million tons of shipping was sunk. Neutral countries became reluctant to ship goods to Britain and Lloyd George ordered all ships carrying provisions to Britain to be given a convoy -
U.S. 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
