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Franz Ferdinand Assassination
Franz Ferdinand was the Archduke of Austria-Hungary. Ferdinand, along with his wife, were assassinated on June 28, 1914. They were both shot by a Bosnian Serb nationalist. They were shot while visiting the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. -
World War I Begins
World War I started for several reasons, one of them being the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. It also started because of the German invasion of Belgium. Austria-Hungary threatened war on Serbia. -
Lusitania Sinks
The sinking of the Lusitania occurred less than a year after the war started. It happened because the Germans decided to send a U-boat to torpedo the Lusitania. There were nearly 2,000 people on the ship and about 1,100 people died, 120 of them being Americans. -
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The Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun was fought in Verdun, France. Verdun was the longest battle in World War I, lasting about 10 months. The battle was very expensive since it lasted so long. It began when Germans attacked the town of Verdun. -
First Tanks
The first time tanks were used in war was in 1916. The British were the first to use them. The Battle of Flers-Courcelette was the battle they were used in. -
Zimmerman Telegram
The Zimmerman Telegram was a way of communicating that Arthur Zimmerman, from Germany, came up with. The telegram was often used to communicate with others secretly. When people used the telegram, they used special words and symbols to stand for other words. -
United States enters the War
In 1917, the US decided to join the war. They were allies with France, Britain, and Russia. Over 2 million US men fought in France. A bunch of US citizens did not want to go to war and just wanted to stay out of what was going on, but they had no choice but to be apart of it. -
Selective Service Act
In 1917, after the US joined the war the US decided they needed to make the Selective Service Act. The Selective Service Act made it to where there was a war draft. This means that all guys starting at a certain age were required to sign up for the draft and people would be selected to serve in the war. They had to do this because they needed people to fight in the war and a lot did not want to. -
The Battle of Cantigny
The Battle of Cantigny was the first serious and big American battle of WWI. It was located in Cantigny, France. Cantigny took place in 1918. -
The Battle of Belleau Wood
The Battle of Belleau Wood happened in 1918. It started because the US Marine Corps attacked the Germans. The US attacked them because they wanted everyone out of that area. By the end of the Battle of Belleau Wood there were almost 10,000 dead. -
WWI Ends
In November of 1918, World War I ended. An Armistice was signed. The Armistice ended all fighting and ended the war. -
Wilhelm's Abdication
Kaiser Wilhelm, emperor of Germany, wrote his abdication in 1918. This was saying that he was not going to be emperor any longer. This made Germany no longer have any hope of winning the war.
