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Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, was killed by a Serbian assassin Gavrillo Princip in the occupied town of Sarajevo, His assassination spurred Austria towards war and was one of the major factors responsible for World War 1.
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In response to the assassination of their Archduke, Austria delivers an ultimatum that is intentionally unacceptable to Serbia. The intention was to use the Serbian response as an excuse to declare war.
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Upon receiving an "inadequate" response, Austria delivers a declaration of war to Serbia.
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Acting on suspicion of upcoming Russian aggression, Germany declares war on Russia.
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Germany begins the devastating U-boat campaign against British shipping lanes with the sinking of the SS Gitra. Later on, German U-boat accidentally sink the RMS Lusitania, causing the deaths of 128 Americans. The sinking of the Lusitania was one of the events that goaded America into joining in on the war.
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The battle of Verdun lasted from February 21st to December 18th, 1916. The battle was one of the largest, and longest fought during the war. Roughly 2.5 million men clashed in the fields outside Verdun, France, and almost a million of those men died.
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The battle of Jutland occurred on the 31st of May and the 1st of June along Denmark's Jutland peninsula. Resulted in a German victory against the larger British forces.
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The battle of the Somme, lasting from July 1st, to November 18th, goes down as one of the bloodies battles in human history. Over a million men died to take a few miles of terrain along the Upper Somme river in France.
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At 11 P.M. Paris time, the treaty of 11 November goes into effect. The treaty halts all fighting on the Western front. It was no officially a complete surrender, only a cessation of hostilities until further arrangements could be made.
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The treaty of Versailles is signed, officially ending World War 1. One specific clause of the treaty requires Germany accept total and complete responsibility for their involvement in the war and pay for the costs of the war for all of the victor nations.
