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Assasination of Franz Ferdinand
In Sarajevo, Bosnia the Archduke of Austria-Hungary and his wife were killed by the Serbian Gavrilo Princip. They were killed while riding in an open car. Gavrilo Princip was a 19 year old black hand member. The murder was an excuse for Austria-Hungary to punish Serbia. The punishment was Austri-Hungary giving Serbia multiple demands in an ultimatum. This event led to Austria-Hungary delcraing war on serbia. -
German Government Declares War on Russia
Shortly after the war began between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, Russia joined in as an ally of Serbia, and began mobilizing towards the Austro-Hungarian border. Russia also moved towards the German border as they expected the Germans to join with the Austro-Hungarians. This led to the government of Germany declaring war on Russia. -
Battle of Marne
The battle lasts a total of 4 days and was the first major clash on the western Front. When the German were close to a victory, general Josef Joffre kept good communications and was able to form a counterattack. The battle took place in the valley of the Marne River. This battle put an end to the Schlieffen Plan. This battle used the trench warfare outside of Paris and was between the German's Sixth Army and the French's Fifth Army. -
The Gallipoli Campaign
This was a campaign by the Allies to try and take the Dardanelles. The Dardenelles was sea strait in the Ottoman Empire that would give the Allies access to the Ottoman's capital city, Constantinople. It was called the Galipoli Campaign because the British, Australian, New Zealand and French armies attacked the Gallipoli Peninsula, located on the western side of the Dardenelles sea strait. However, once December, 1915 came around the Allies retreated and ended their campaign. -
The Battle of Somme
The beginning of July, 1914 caused the British army to attack the German army. This was in an effort to reduce the pressure against France. The Battle of Somme took place in the Somme River valley, which is in northwestern Verdun. The battle ended in November of 1914 and resulted in over half a million deaths for both the Germans and the British. -
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
The policy that the German's followed. It said that he German's would without warning sink anything that is in Britain's waters. This is the second time the German's were using this policy of warfare. The first time they used this was on May 7, 1915,sinking the British boat, Lusitania. This new warfare made the United States angry because it affected them. The new policy was sinking American ships in Britain's waters. -
The United States Recieves Zimmerman's Letter
On this date, Arthur Zimmerman of Germany sent a letter to the United States. The letter stated how Germany was planning on aiding Mexico in reconquering their land lost to the United States, as long as Mexico would agree to become an ally of Germany. This however angered the United States and pushed them one step closer to declaring war on Germany. -
Treaty of Brest- Litovsk
This occurred when Russia had a new person contain power. His name was Valdimir Ilyich Lenin, a communist. His main goal was to take Russia out of World War I. To pursue this goal, one of his first acts was gaining a truce with Germany. This truce was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which ended the war between the two countries. This treaty also helped the Germans because they no longer had to fight on to fronts. -
The Second Battle of Marne
This battle was between the Germans and the Allies. The allies counterattacked the Germans as they were determined to get to the valley of the Marne River. In the Battle the Allies were supplied with 350 tanks and 140,000 fresh United States troops. They even had 2 million more American soldiers as they advanced to Germany. This Battle led many countries in the Central Powers to surrender, or have a revolution, or even become a republic. -
Germany and French sign armistice
This occurred when kaiser Wilhelm II stepped down from power. After that occurred Germany became a republic. A representative from the new German government and a representative from France joined together. The representative from France was commander Marshal Foch. These two met in a railroad car near Paris. When there the two signed an armistice. This was an agreement to end the fighting between the two. This led to the World War I was to end. -
The Treaty of Versailles is Signed
The arguments between the British, French and United States at the Paris Peace Conference led to the Treaty of Versailles to be signed by Germany and the Allied powers. The Treaty was signed after World War I. This treaty brought together a League of Nations, but it also punished the British.
