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Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand and his wife came to Sarajevo, in June 1914. With knowledge of coming, the Black Hand tasked men to assassinate the Archduke. They mapped the route Ferdinand would take in Sarajevo and placed members at each point. After an unsuccessful bomb attempt, the Archduke went to the hospital to see the injured. The driver took a wrong turn where Gavrilo Princip, member of the Black Hand drew his pistol and fired into the car, hitting the Archduke in the neck and his wife in the abdomen. -
Outbreak of the War
July 28th, 1914 Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
August 1st, 1914, Germany declares war on Russia.
August 3rd, Germany declares war on France, while Britain sends a warning to Germany.
August 4th, German Army marches into Belgium. Britain declares war on Germany.
August 5th, Austro-Hungary declares war on Russia.
August 10th, France declares war on Austro-Hungary.
August 12th, Britain declares war on Austro-Hungary. -
Outbreak of the War
July 28th, 1914 Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
August 1st, 1914, Germany declares war on Russia.
August 3rd, Germany declares war on France, while Britain sends a warning to Germany.
August 4th, German Army marches into Belgium. Britain declares war on Germany.
August 5th, Austro-Hungary declares war on Russia.
August 10th, France declares war on Austro-Hungary.
August 12th Britain declares war on Austro-Hungary. -
Battle of Mons
After the British Expeditionary Force arrived in France in August 1914, to meet the French Army posted in Charleroi, the BEF met the advancing German Army. The BEF were positioned on east and west of the city of Mons on a 40km front. Orders were given to a group of Royal Fusiliers to destroy the bridges over the Mons-Conde Canal. 150,000 German Soldiers attacked British positions. Many German casualties occurred, but being outnumbered Sir John French was instructed to retreat to the River Marne. -
Battle of Tannenburg
When Alexander Samsonov was given command of the Russian Second Army, he advanced into the southwestern area of East Prussia. There his forces clashed with German forces. Even with the superior numbers, the Russian Army saw little success. By August 29th, the Russian Army was surrounded. General Alexander Samsonov called for a retreat, but being in the German cordon, his forces were slaughtered or captured. 10,000 of the 150,000 Russian soldiers were able to escape. -
First Battle of Ypres
Ypres was taken by the German Army at the beginning of the war. But by early October, the BEF was able to retake the town. The first German offensive took place on October 15, 1914, but the BEF was able to hold their position. German attacks took place for four weeks but with the arrival of the French Army and the weather deteriorating, German forces decided to abandon the German offensive in November. It's estimated that 135,000 German troops were killed or badly wounded, the BEF lost 75,000. -
Turkey Joins the Central Powers
In July, 1914 Turkey and Germany signed a defensive alliance, because Turkey was worried about Russian expansion. This agreement was kept a secret and Turkey kept talks with other European countries. Then on October 29, 1914, Germany and Turkey launched an attack on Russian Navy Bases in the Black Sea. Turkey was revealed a Central Power and went to war with Russia, Britain, and France. -
Chlorine Gas Used at Ypres
With the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Fritz Haber, a talented chemist gave his services to German and began experimenting with chlorine gas. The Germans first used chlorine gas at the Ypres. Many soldiers claimed to have chest pains and burning sensation in their throat. Realizing that they were being gassed, the French soldiers fled the sight. An hour after the attack there was a four-mile gap in the Allied line, but afraid of the side effects, the Allies were able to reclaim the area. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
On May 1st, a passenger ship called the Lusitania left New York heading for Liverpool. The ship carried 1,257 passengers and 650 crew. Most of the passengers and the crew were aware of the danger they could face with the unrestricted warfare. On May 7, a German U-20 resubmerged to recharge the batteries. A few moments later the Captain of the submarine spotted the Lusitania. He fired two torpedos, sinking the ship; 2,000 passengers on board, 1,198 were drowned, 128vAmericans were among them. -
First Zeppelin Raid on London
Count Ferdinand Zeppelin, a German army officer, began developing his idea of aircrafts 1897. His L3-3 Zeppelin was accepted into military use in March 1909, and by 1914, the Germans developed a Zeppelin that could reach a maximum speed of 136 kph and reach a height of 4,250 meters. It could carry four machineguns and 4,400 pounds of bombs. On May 31st, 1915 Germany sent a Zeppelin raid over London. Many buildings were destroyed in the raid. 28 civilians were killed and injured over 60. -
German Verdun Offensive
The German attack began on February 21st, 1916 with 1 million advancing Germans against 200,000 defending French. The Germans pushed the French back to their third line of trenches by the 3rd day of the attack. On March 6, 1915, the Germans launched another attack and advanced another 3km, where the French held the point until it was captured on 29th May. French then counter-attacked and reclaimed nearby forts by 2nd November 1916. The Battle of Verdun was the longest battle in WWI. -
The Battle of Somme
Being known as the bloodiest battle in WWI, the Battle of Somme was a British led attack that was a mix of artillery bombardment to provide protection and destroy enemy trenches. On July 1st, 1916 the attack occurred but the barrage shifted for the British and left them exposed, but the French saw success. A long stalemate occurred after the battle, leading to Germans refortifying. When the offensive ended on November 18, 1916, the Britsh lost 420,000 casualties, and the French about 200,000. -
The United States Declares War on Germany
Although the United States was declared neutral in 1914, they had strong ties to Britain. But after the sinking of the Lusitania, Wilson announced an increase in the US Armed Forces, yet stressed neutrality during his 1916 Presidential election campaign. Then with the publication of the Zimmerman Telegram, intensified the opinion against the Central Powers. On April 2nd, President Wilson asked permission to go to war and was approved by the Senate on the 4th and by the House on the 6th. -
Theodore Arrives in Liverpool
Theodore Edward Beach arrives at Liverpool after being drafted by the US Army. He goes for a hike thru Liverpool. He saw a lot of dirty kids running around begging for pennies. The next day he got in a compartment train to Winchester and arrived at night time. He had to hike to camp it was a long and hard hike. -
Start of German Spring Offensive
After Russia signed the Brest-Litovsk Treaty, Germany was able to withdraw their army from the Eastern Front. They decided to launch a massive offensive on the Western Front before the United States Army could established in France. The Germans agreed to attack on three front line points: Lys, Arras, and Aisne. -
Theodore- Went through Chateau
Theodore travelled through Chateau to find it blown to pieces. They stumbled upon a battlefield filled with many dead Germans and a few Marines, he also found equipment from the Germans but all the useful items were already taken. The French were occupying the area and fed his squad and they found many cooperatives to trade with but went through the night with a barrage and believed they’d have to help in the morning or in the night. -
Battle of Amiens
During May 1918 the Allies planned a counter-attack just south of Somme. After the German retreat in Marne, they returned to the plan. They put the British Fourth Army to lead the attack. Their objective was to capture the Amiens line. Every available soldier and tank was moved to the sector. On August 8th, 1918 the Amiens offensive had great success. The tanks followed the soldiers met with little resistance and by mid-morning, the Allies gained 12 km and took the Amiens line. -
Theodore- Aisne River
Theodore watched guard from 9-12:40 while being under the constant alert of gas. He never put on his mask even with the alarms because he never smelled anything. Several shells went over and landed on the hill or in front of him. He met a man suffering from shell shock and said he acted like a man with palsy and anytime a weapon was fired the man would just about come out of his skin. -
United States St. Mihiel Offensive
The US Army’s first offensive was the German-held St Mihiel salient. 300,000 soldiers were assembled to the sector in early September. The Germans knew an attack was incoming and ordered a partial withdrawal of troops. When the Americans attacked on September 12th, the German withdrawal was still in progress. The US Army had additional help with a second assault from the French Army. The Allies advanced 9km the first day, and by September 16th, the salient was under control of the Allies. -
Theodore- S.O.S
Shot at a mass of troops 25 times and certain they hit them. Tanks and artillery moved up during the night. Heard that they were due for a S.o.S. He also saw five planes go down with one nearby. One of the pilots were dead and the other had shots in his legs. He write that the Allied planes took down 4 Central Powers planes as well as aircraft and a machine gun. -
Theodore- Celebrating Thanksgiving
He was given a steak, mashed potatoes, choc, pear, bread and butter, and cigars or cigarettes. Sadly the day was rainy and didn’t feel like writing letters. He played cards with other soldiers. Sent another soldier to go get souvenirs. -
Paris Peace Conference
After the Armistice was signed on November 11th, 1918, it was agreed to have a peace conference held in Paris to discuss the post-war world. Opening on January 12, 1918, to January 20th, 1920, meetings were held at various locations in and around Paris. Leaders from 32 countries represented 75% of the world’s population, but the negotiations were dominated by France, Britain, Italy, United States, and Japan.
