World War ONE

  • Archduke Franz Ferdinand Assasinated

    Archduke Franz Ferdinand Assasinated

  • Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, beginning World War I

    On July 28, 1914, one month to the day after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were killed by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, effectively beginning the First World War.
  • Period: to

    Germany invades Luxembourg and Belgium. France invades Alsace.

    British forces arrive in France. Nations allied against Germany were eventually to include Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Rhodesia, Romania, Greece, France, Belgium, United States, Canada, Serbia, India, Portugal, Montenegro, and Poland.
  • Austria-Hungary invades Russia

    Austria-Hungary deemed Serbia to be deserving of punishment for the assassination. Although Russia had no formal treaty obligation to Serbia, it wanted to control the Balkans, and had a long-term perspective toward gaining a military advantage over Germany and Austria-Hungary. Therefore, August 6, 1914 - The Austro-Hungarian Empire declares war on Russia.
  • Start of World War One

  • Allied forces halt German advance into France during First Battle of the Marne

    It resulted in an Allied victory against the German armies in the west. The military governor of Paris, Joseph Simon Gallieni, wanted the Franco–British units to counter-attack the Germans along the Marne River and halt the German advance.
  • Germany begins naval blockade of Great Britain.

    The British—with their overwhelming sea power—established a naval blockade of Germany immediately on the outbreak of war in August 1914, issuing a comprehensive list of contraband that all but prohibited American trade with the Central powers.
  • German submarine sinks the passenger liner Lusitania during crossing from New York to Liverpool, England, killing 128 Americans.

    On the afternoon of May 7, 1915, the British ocean liner Lusitania is torpedoed without warning by a German submarine off the south coast of Ireland. Within 20 minutes, the vessel sank into the Celtic Sea. Of 1,959 passengers and crew, 1,198 people were drowned, including 128 Americans
  • Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary.

    On May 23, 1915, Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary. The Italian declaration opened up a new front in World War I, stretching 600 kilometers most of them mountainous along Italy's border with Austria-Hungary.
  • Germany begins the attack on Verdun.

    At 7:12 a.m. on the morning of February 21, 1916, a shot from a German Krupp 38-centimeter long-barreled gun, one of over 1,200 such weapons set to bombard French forces along a 20-kilometer front stretching across the Meuse River, strikes a cathedral in Verdun, France, beginning the Battle of Verdun, which would stretch on for 10 months and become the longest conflict of World War I.
  • Allied offensive begins the Battle of the Somme.

    The Battle of the Somme, which took place from July to November 1916, began as an Allied offensive against German forces on the Western Front and turned into one of the most bitter and costly battles of World War I.
  • Battle of Verdun ends with 162,440 French and 143,000 German casualties.

    The massive loss of life at Verdun 143,000 German dead out of 337,000 casualties, to France's 162,440 out of 377,231 would come to symbolize, more than that of any other battle, the bloody nature of trench warfare on the Western Front.
  • The United States declares war on Germany.

    On April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson went before a joint session of Congress to request a declaration of war against Germany. Wilson cited Germany’s violation of its pledge to suspend unrestricted submarine warfare in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean, as well as its attempts to entice Mexico into an alliance against the United States, as his reasons for declaring war.
  • President Woodrow Wilson presents to Congress his outline of Fourteen Points required for peace.

    Wilson wanted the end of the war to bring out lasting peace for the world. He gathered together a number of advisors and had them put together a plan for peace. This plan became the Fourteen Points. The main purpose of the Fourteen Points was to outline a strategy for ending the war.
  • Russia signs armistice with Germany.

    On March 3, 1918, in the city of Brest-Litovsk, located in modern-day Belarus near the Polish border, Russia signed a treaty with the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria) ending its participation in World War I (1914-18).
  • Germany begins its final offensive of the war: Battle of the Bulge

    Germany's Final Major Offensive to Beat Back Advancing Allied Forces: Remembering the Battle of the Bulge. Seventy years ago today, the German Army launched the Ardennes Counteroffensive, better known as the Battle of the Bulge.
  • End Of world War One

    Germany had formally surrendered on November 11, 1918, and all nations had agreed to stop fighting while the terms of peace were negotiated. On June 28, 1919, Germany and the Allied Nations (including Britain, France, Italy and Russia) signed the Treaty of Versailles, formally ending the war.
  • Allied and German representatives sign treaty of Versailles.

    The United States signs treaty of guaranty, pledging to defend France in case of an unprovoked attack by Germany. It was signed on June 28, 1919, by the Allied and associated powers and by Germany in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles and went into effect on January 10, 1920. The treaty gave some German territories to neighbouring countries and placed other German territories under international supervision.
  • Period: to

    Roaring Twenties

    The roaring twenties was a period of economic prosperity with a distinctive cultural edge in the United States and Europe, particularly in major cities such as Berlin, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York City, Paris, and Sydney.
  • Treaty of Versailles takes effect.

  • Period: to

    United States signs separate peace treaties with Germany, Austria, and Hungary

    On July 2, 1921, U.S. President Warren G. Harding signed the Knox–Porter Resolution, which had been passed by the U.S. Congress and ended the state of war between the U.S. and Germany, Austria and Hungary, further setting the stage for bilateral peace treaties
  • Wall Street Crash

    The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange collapsed. The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange collapsed.
  • Period: to

    The Great Depression

  • Dust Bowl

    The Dust Bowl was the name given to the drought-stricken Southern Plains region of the United States, which suffered severe dust storms during a dry period in the 1930s. People and livestock were killed and crops failed across the entire region. It intensified the crushing economic impacts of the Great Depression and drove many farming families on a desperate migration in search of work and better living conditions.
  • Smoot-hawley tariff act

    Smoot-hawley tariff act was a law that implemented protectionist trade policies in the United States. Sponsored by Senator Reed Smoot and Representative Willis C. Hawley, it was signed by President Herbert Hoover on June 17, 1930.
  • Period: to

    World War Two

    World War II began in Europe on September 1, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland. Great Britain and France responded by declaring war on Germany on September 3. The war between the U.S.S.R. and Germany began on June 22, 1941, with the German invasion of the Soviet Union.
  • World War Two ends