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When it was learned that the heir-apparent to the Austrian throne, Franz Ferdinand, was scheduled to visit Sarajevo in June of 1914, the Black Hand decided to assassinate him because of his perceived threat to Serbian independence.
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Using the assassination of the Austrian archduke Francis Ferdinand as a pretext to present Serbia with an unacceptable ultimatum, Austria-Hungary declared war on the Slavic country on this day in 1914, sparking World War I. -
Russia suffered a major loss in the Battle of Tannenberg, losing control of its Second Army on August 1914 due to clever planning by German soldiers. The invasion was still in the beginning stages and hadn't really got off the ground, and proved to be one of many failed efforts due to poor planning on Russia's side
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The Battle of Masurian Lakes took place at the start of World War One, in September 1914. The battle marked the second defeat for the Russian Army at the hands of the Germans, following the Second Army's near destruction and subsequent loss (from suicide) of Alexander Samsonov at the Battle of Tannenberg.
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First Battle of the Marne, (September 6–12, 1914), an offensive during World War I by the French army and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) against the advancing Germans who had invaded Belgium and northeastern France and were within 30 miles (48 km) of Paris.
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The aim was to crush the French army before the Allies grew in strength through the full deployment of British forces.
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The conspirators then bound him and threw him through a hole in the ice into the Neva River, where he finally died by drowning. However, a subsequent autopsy largely refuted this account of events; Rasputin apparently was shot to death.
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The telegram was considered perhaps Britain's greatest intelligence coup of World War I and, coupled with American outrage over Germany's resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare, was the tipping point persuading the U.S. to join the war.
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On April 2, President Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany specifically citing Germany's renewed submarine policy as “a war against mankind. It is a war against all nations.” He also spoke about German spying inside the U.S. and the treachery of the Zimmermann Telegram.
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The 1918 influenza pandemic was the most severe pandemic in recent history. It was caused by an H1N1 virus with genes of avian origin. Although there is not universal consensus regarding where the virus originated, it spread worldwide during 1918-1919. -
The Second Battle of the Marne is considered to be one of the most important victories of the Allied forces in World War I. This battle was the last German offensive and by the time the German army reached the Marne River, soldiers were exhausted and there was a lack of food, ammunition, and supplies.
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On Nov. 11, 1918, after more than four years of horrific fighting and the loss of millions of lives, the guns on the Western Front fell silent. Although fighting continued elsewhere, the armistice between Germany and the Allies was the first step to ending World War I.
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Set against the backdrop of contemporary expectations, the Paris Peace Treaties almost inevitably disappointed everyone and it failed in achieving its ultimate objective: the creation of a secure, peaceful, and lasting world order.
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The Treaty of Versailles was signed by Germany and the Allied Nations on June 28, 1919, formally ending World War One. The terms of the treaty required that Germany pay financial reparations, disarm, lose territory, and give up all of its overseas colonies.
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On 15 November 1920, 41 members states gathered in Geneva for the opening of the first session of the Assembly. This represented a large portion of existing states and corresponded to more than 70% of the world's population.
