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Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
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Ultimatum
After failing to meet the ultimatum set by Austria–Hungary, it declares war on Serbia. -
Russia Mobilises
Russia organises it troops to help out Sebia -
Germany declares war on Russia
Supporting its ally Germany declares war on Russia for starting a war on Austria-Hungary -
Germany declares war on France
Germany sees an opporunity to attack France and declares war on them. France respond by returning the declaration to Germany -
Britain get involved
After Germany executes the Schlieffen Plan, invading neutral Belgium, Britain declares war on Germany -
First battle of Aisne
The First Batte of Aisne starts the race to the sea between the Germans and the Allies so they can involve naval units in the war. -
The First battle of Yser
Oct 16 - 31. This battle helped the Allies to secure the coastline from the Germans -
The First battle of Ypres
Oct 19 - Nov 22. This battle ends the race to the sea, it results in a Allied Victory and the Germans are stopped from reaching Calais and Dunkirk on the French English Channel coast. -
Britain's Naval Block
The British begin a Naval Blockade on German boats in the English Channel -
German boat Sunk
The Australian cruiser 'Sydney' sinks the German cruiser 'Emden' at Cocos/Keeling Island in the Indian Ocean. -
AIF in Egypt
The Australian Imperial Force land in Egypt for training and preparation for an future battles -
The Battle of Bolimov
The Battle of Bolimov is significant because is was the first German use of Chemical weapons in WW1 -
First Attack on the Dardanelles
The British and the French launch a naval attack of the Turkish held forts in the Dardanelles -
Second battle of Ypres
April 22 - May 25. This battle is important because Poision gas is used for the first time on the Western front, as shown in the picture. -
Gallipoli Landings
On the early morning of April 25,1915 the ANZAC troops landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The objective landing point was missed and the ANZAC's landed around 2km north of the objective, on steep, high cliffs. They were met with heavy Turkish defence. Machine guns and snipers were in postition to take out the landing parties. Artillery fire from Kaba Tepe provided the Turkish forces with good cover taking out many boats of 2nd ANZAC landing parties before they reached the beach. -
Lusitania Sunk
On May 7, 1915 the British liner, the Lusitania, was hit by a German U-boat. Its Torpedo sunk the Lusitania off the south-west Irish coast -
The August Offensive - The battle of Lone Pine
During the month of August, the Allied forces tried for the last time to capture and gain ground on the Turks forces. Two main battles: Lone Pine (Aug 6 -10) and Nek (Aug 7) were fought. The ANZAC forces won the battle of Lone Pine after the Turkish forces surrendered on August 10, but lost easily at the Nek. 7 Victoria Cross medals were awarded for courage at the battle of Lone Pine. -
The August Offensive - The battle of the Nek
A battle between the ANZAc and the Turkish forces where the ANZACs lost easily to the Turk forces -
A New PM
Billy Hughes replaces Andrew Fisher as the Australian Prime Minister -
The Retreat at Gallipoli
After an unsuccessful campaign at the Gallipoli Peninsula the Allied forces retreat the shore line. Over the next 10-15 days the Allied forces leave the peninsula, suffering no casualties, this could be possibly thought of as the most successful part of the Gallipoli campaign. -
The battle of the Somme
The battle of the Somme was a shocking battle for the Allied forces in particular British and the French forces. On the first day the British forces had lost already 58,000 soldiers...... either Killed, Missing or Wounded. The AIF were also involved in this battle. -
The battle of Fromelles
(July 19-20) The battle of Fromelles was the first battle on the Western front in which the Australian forces were involved. It was a battle which tried to act as a diversion to the battle of the Somme. The AIF and the British soldiers tried to retake land and then break through the enemy line. The Australian War Memorial actually describes this battle as the worst 24 hours in Australian War history. 5,333 casualties in one night.
[Picture - AIF soldiers captured as POW by the German forces.] -
The battle of Pozieres
(July 23 - Aug 5) The battle of Pozieres located on the Western Front, is remembered for the AIF involvement in it. The battle fought for the control of the town of Pozieres during the time of the Somme battle. [Picture - AIF 1st Div memorial in Pozieres] -
The battle of Romani
(Aug 4 - 5) The battle of Romani between the Turks and the Allied forces was for the Suez canal. The canal held by the British was attacked by the Turk and German forces. This battle is significant to Australia as it involved the lighthorse divisions in it. The battle resulted in an Allied victory -
The first Australian conscription attempt
The first conscription attempt in Australia by Billy Hughes was voted on. But the result of the votes were that the against conscription votes had outnumbered the for votes and the attempt by Billy Hughes had failed. -
The end of the Somme
After 5 months of fighting the battle of the Somme finally came to an end with the withdrawal of the Allied forces. This battle was a disaster for Allied forces losing around 500,000 soldiers in total and only gaining a 10km advancement on the German line -
America in the War
After trying to keep out the war for 3 years, America finally entered the war after the unrestricted submarine warfare strategy by Germany finally tipped the American government over the edge. They then entered the war. -
The First battle of Bullecourt
This battle on the Western front involved the British and the Australian forces. The plan was to push the Germans out of the French town of Bullecourt. The Allied attack failed to pushed the Germans out of the town -
The Second battle of Bullecourt
(May 3-15) The British commanders after the first failed attempt planned a second attempt on the town. This second attack was more successful, the Allied forces captured Bullecourt but also lost heavily in the battle. -
The Third battle of Ypres/Passchendaele
(July 31 - Nov 10) During the months of August to November the Allied forces launched an attack on the German front near the French region of Flanders. The purpose was to break the line an capture some of the German submarine bases. The Allies again lost a battle and casualties were high. This battle also included AIF forces which lost around 40,000 soldiers -
The battle for Beersheba
The battle for Beersheba was between the Turkish and Allied forces involving the Australian lighthorse divisions. The result was a Allied victory thanks to the speed and power of the lighthorse divisions, capturing the Turkish trenches. -
The second Australian conscription attempt
Again in 1917, Billy Hughes held another vote on Conscription. This time he had majority support from both parties in government and didn't require the public to vote. But, he wanted to give the people a chance to make up for last years failed vote. In the end, the vote for conscription failed, again. -
The battle for Villers - Bretonneux
This battle is one of the most courageous by the AIF in WW1. The battle of Villers - Bretonneux was also the first tank vs tank battle in WW1. On 24th April the German forces had captured the French town, but over the next 24 hours the AIF forces singlehandedly recaptured the town. But, the AIF lost 1200 soldiers in the battle. -
Bulgaria pulls out
Bulgaria ends its support to the central powers and signs an armistice will the allied forces to end its war involvement. -
Austria-Hungary signs the Armistice
Austria-Hungary under pressure as thier forces weakened and were tiring, signs the armistice with the Allied forces. -
Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany abdicates
Under pressure from the people of his kingdom the king of the German and Prussian kingdom leaves the throne and removes himself as the leader. -
Kaiser Charles I of Austria-Hungary abdicates
The day following the abdication of the German leader the Austria-Hungarian leader does the same, leaving the throne and stepping down as the leader. -
Armistice Day/Remembrance Day
4 long years of fighting, 35 million people Killed, Wounded or Missing and an Allied victory later, World War 1 had finally come to an end. The signing of the Armistice with Germany saw the end of the war at exactly 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month, 1918. The war was finally over and now pain, suffering, loss, joy, relief, honour and courage and other mixed feelings were sinking in........THE GREAT WAR OVER, ALLIED FORCES VICTORIOUS
[Picture - Remembrance day at Australian War Memorial]
