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Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated in Sarajevo. Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie the Duchess of Hohenburg, are killed by Bosnian Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip. The Austrian government suspects that Serbia is responsible.
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Kaiser William II promised German support for Austria against Serbia.
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Austria declared war on Serbia. “This is a dark day and a dark hour. The sword is being forced into my hand. This war will demand of us enormous sacrifice in life and money, but we shall show our foes what it is to provoke Germany.”
– Kaiser Wilhelm II, July 31, 1914 -
Germany declared war on Russia
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Germany invades Luxembourg
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Germany declared war on France and invaded Belgium. Germany had to implement the Schlieffen Plan.
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Britain declared war on Germany.
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Germany declared war on Belgium.
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France declared war on Austria-Hungary.
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Montenegro declared was on Germany.
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Britain declared war on Austria-Hungary
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Germany invades France.
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Japan declared war on Germany.
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August 26 - 30, 1914
Russians are defeated at the Battle of Tannenberg.
On the eastern front, Germans shatter the Russian Second Army and take over 92,000 prisoners at the Battle of Tannenberg. -
Austria-Hungary declared war on Belgium.
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German air raid on Paris, France.
The attack has little military value, but is intended to terrorize civilians. -
Battle of the Marne started. German invasion of France is stopped in the First Battle of the Marne as German troops are forced to the north side of the Marne River, causing the the Schlieffen Plan to fail.
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The Central Powers troops cross the Danube River and capture Belgrade.
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Turkey entered the war on Germany’s side.
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Held by the Germans since 1898, Tsingtao is a lightly garrisoned port city on the Yellow Sea. The Germans surrender on November 6.
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As the armies tried to out flank each other, they extended their lines to the English Channel and began trench warfare. Ypres, a Belgian city and communications hub, was essential to both sides. In the First Battle of Ypres, entrenched Allies fight off German assault. Germans give up.
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The sound of Christmas carols across No Man’s Land encourages troops from both sides to exchange greetings. The truce is spontaneous and was experienced by hundreds, perhaps thousands, of soldiers.
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The Germans used a chlorine gas attack, the first successful use of poison gas on the Western Front. By May 25, the Allies withdraw. The affects of a gas attack are vividly described in Wilfred Owen’s poem, Dulce et Decorum Est, written in 1917.
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The passenger ship Lusitania sinks in British waters. It was attacked by German U-boat. A total of 1,198 drown, including many women and children and 128 U.S. citizens. Germans will end unlimited submarine warfare on passenger liners on September 1, 1915 because of worldwide outrage at this attack on civilian shipping.
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Italy declared war on Germany and Austria.
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German forces in Africa surrender. A six-month campaign conquers the German colony, capturing its wireless stations and strategic harbors.
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The German code name for the attack in the Meuse region of France (toward the direction of Verdun) is Gericht, ‘place of execution.’ Verdun becomes the symbol of France’s determination to defend its national pride and honor. “They shall not pass” (On ne passe pas) becomes the battle cry.
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After the March 24 sinking of the passenger ship, Sussex, Woodrow Wilson again threatened breaking off relations with Germany. To avert the threat of America entering the war on the side of the Allies, the Germans call off their campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare.
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Off the coast of Denmark, the Germans try to break through the British blockade of German ports. Each side claims victory in this two day battle.
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In an effort to draw German troops away from Verdun, the Allies mount a major offensive.The Battle of the Somme will continue through the summer and end in November. The British gain is a modest six miles. The casualty count is 419,000 British, 194,000 French and 650,000 Germans.
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The Germans feel they have no other choice: the submarine is the only weapon that gives them an advantage over their enemies. Kaiser Wilhelm II gives an order: “To all U-boats – Sink on Sight.”
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Germany warns that neutral vessels in British waters “would be destroyed without it always being possible to warn the crews and passengers.”
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Intercepted weeks earlier by the British intelligence service, the United States is alerted about the Zimmermann Telegram. In the decoded message, German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann promises the return of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona to Mexico as reward for siding with Germany if the U.S. enters the war.
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President Wilson tells a joint session of Congress that Germany’s policy of unrestricted U-boat warfare poses an unacceptable threat to “freedom of the seas.”
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The American steamer Aztec is torpedoed without warning by a German U-boat as it enters British waters. Twenty-eight Americans drown.
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President Wilson delivers his war message in a historic joint session of the House and Senate, stating that the world must be made “safe for democracy” and asks for a declaration of war. 4/2/1917. War is Declared a few days later.
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On the first day of the draft, millions of American men register for service under the Selective Service Act signed on May 18. Throughout the country, 9,586,508 men, ages 21 to 31, register at their local draft boards.
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First American troops land in France.
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July 31, 1917 - November 10, 1917
British launch third battle against the Germans. -
Less than two months after being declared a “socialist republic”, Lenin’s forces succeed in overthrowing the Kerensky government. The Bolsheviks demand a “just and immediate peace.”
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Armistice between Germany and Russia signed
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The formation of a League of Nations.
“What we demand in this war is nothing peculiar to ourselves. It is that the world be made fit and safe to live in; and particularly that it be made safe for every peace-loving nation which, like our own, wishes to live its own life, determine its own institutions, be assured of justice and fair dealing by the other peoples of the world as against force and selfish aggression. The program of the world’s peace, therefore, is our program.”
– President Wilson, -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk is signed by Soviet Russia and Germany. Germany sets harsh terms: Russia yields 34% of population, 32% of farmland, 50% of industrial holdings and 90% of coalmines. Bolshevik negotiator, Leon Trotsky, laments; “This is a peace that Russia, grinding her teeth, is forced to accept.”
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The U.S. mounts an assault on the German observation strongpoint in broad daylight. Within thirty-five minutes, the American soldiers have the village.
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At Belleau Wood, U.S. Marines launch an attack against German storm troopers. Two battalions of Marines, along with army engineers and infantry, confront German storm troopers.
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The former Czar Nicholas II, his wife and children, are shot by Bolsheviks at Ekaterinburg.
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French and American forces of go on the offensive south of Soissons. Severe fighting along the Ourcg River establishes the reputation of the American fighting spirit. The French capture Courmont on 27 July, and the campaign ends on August 5.
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German Republic proclaimed as Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates. The next day, the ex-Kaiser and his entourage flee to Holland.
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Austria accepted truce terms, Emperor Karl Abdicates his thrown.
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Germany signs an armistice.
Fighting ends on the Western Front Paris time 11:00 a.m. when Germany signs this armistice with the Allied Powers. The terms are harsh, intended to show German acceptance of defeat and to prevent any lengthy break for Germany to regroup and start military action again.
