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Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
A Serbian nationalist student, Gavrilo Princip, assassinated the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, when their open car stopped at a corner on its way out of the town. -
Investigation of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand
The Austro-Hungarian discover that Gavrilo Princip and Black Hand of Servia where the responsible of the death of the archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophia. -
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. -
Germany declared war on Russia
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Germany declared war on France
Germany declared war on France. The British foreign secretary, Sir Edward Grey, sent an ultimatum to Germany demanding their withdrawal from the neutral Belgium. -
Britain declared war on Germany.
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. -
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. -
Lusitania sunk
There outraged protests from the United States at the German U-boat campaign, when the Lusitania, which had many American passengers aboard, was sank. The Germans moderated their U-boat campaign. -
Second Battle of Ypres
Poison gas was used for the first time during this battle. The gas, fired by the Germans claimed many British casualties. -
Allied landings at Gallipoli
Landings begin on the Gallipoli Peninsula at Cape Helles and at ANZAC Cove. The attempt to force the Dardanelles and capture the Ottoman capital at Constantinople (now Istanbul) is a disaster almost from the outset. Altogether, the Allies suffered more than 200,000 casualties during the subsequent nine-month campaign. The failed offensive becomes the war’s signal event for Australian and New Zealand troops and eventually leads to the collapse of the British government. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
The First Battle of the Somme begins. The British offensive is intended to draw German attention from Verdun, and in that regard only could it be considered a success. The nearly 20,000 killed in action on July 1 marks the single bloodiest day in the history of the British army. By the time the Somme campaign ground to a halt some four and a half months later, the combined casualties of both sides topped 1,000,000. -
Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun begins the French and German armies at Verdun, France, suffer over 700,000 casualties, including some 300,000 killed the battle’s conclusion, entire French villages had been wiped from the map; they were subsequently memorialized as having “died for France.” More than a century after the battle’s conclusion, over 10 million shells remained in the soil around Verdun, and bomb-clearing units continued to remove some 40 tons of unexploded munitions from the area annually. -
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. -
Massed tank attack at Cambrai
A British offensive at Cambrai, France, marks the first large-scale use of tanks in combat. Attacking with complete surprise, the British tanks ripped through German defenses in depth and took some 7,500 prisoners at low cost in casualties. Bad weather intervened, however, and adequate infantry reinforcements were not available to capitalize on the breakthrough. Within two weeks the British had been driven back almost to their original positions. -
Armistice with Turkey
The allies had successfully pushed the Turkish army back and the Turks were forced to ask for an armistice. The terms of the armistice treaty allowed the allies access to the Dardenelles. -
Kaiser abdicated
Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated. -
Armistice signed
At 11 am, in the French town of Redonthes, the Armistice was signed bringing the war to an end. -
Treaty of Versailles
Negotiated the Allied powers with little participation by Germany, its 15 parts and 440 articles reassigned German boundaries and assigned liability for reparations. After strict enforcement for five years, the French assented to the modification of important provisions. Germany agreed to pay reparations under the Dawes Plan and the Young Plan, but those plans were cancelled in 1932, and Hitler’s rise to power and subsequent actions rendered moot the remaining terms of the treaty.
