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Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand was killed by Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, Bosnia. For being the heir of Austria. -
Investigation of the death of the Archduke
On July 13, 1914, Friedrich von Wiesner, an official of the Austro-Hungarian Foreign Office, reports back to Foreign Minister Leopold von Berchtold the findings of an investigation into the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, and his wife Sophie the previous June 28, in Sarajevo, Bosnia. -
Germany declared war on France
Germany declared war on France. German troops poured into Belgium as directed under the Schleiffen Plan, drawn up in 1905. The British foreign secretary, Sir Edward Grey, sent an ultimatum to Germany demanding their withdrawal from the neutral Belgium. -
Japan declares war on Germany
Japan declared war on Germany through her alliance with Great Britain, signed in 1902 -
Battle of Masurian Lakes
Having defeated the Russian Second army, the Germans turned their attention to the Russian First army at Masurian Lakes. Although the Germans were unable to defeat the army completely, over 100,000 Russians were taken prisoner. -
Turkey
Turkey entered the war on the side of the central powers and gave help to a German naval bombardment of Russia. -
Russia declared war on Turkey.
Because of the help given by Turkey to the German attack of Russia, Russia declared war on Turkey. -
Britain and France declared war on turkey
Britain and France, Russia’s allies, declared war on Turkey, because of the help given to the German attack on Russia. -
Second battle of Ypres
Poison gas was used for the first time during this battle. The gas, fired by the Germans claimed many British casualties. -
Lusitania sunk
There outraged protests from the United States at the German U-boat campaign, when the Lusitania, which had many American passengers aboard, was sank. The Germans moderated their U-boat campaign. -
Italy
Italy entered the war on the side of the Allies. -
British And German Fleets
The British and German fleets meet 60 miles off the coast of Jutland, Denmark, in the war’s only major encounter between the world’s two largest sea powers. Although a naval arms race between Britain and Germany had been one of the causes of World War I, the clash of the battleships is largely indecisive. -
British and German fleets
The British and German fleets meet 60 miles off the coast of Jutland, Denmark, in the war’s only major encounter between the world’s two largest sea powers. Although a naval arms race between Britain and Germany had been one of the causes of World War I, the clash of the battleships is largely indecisive. -
Zeppelins
The first Zeppelins appeared over the English coast. -
USA declares war
The United States declares war on Germany. In his address to Congress four days earlier, U.S. Pres. Woodrow Wilson had cited Germany’s practice of unrestricted submarine warfare and the “Zimmermann Telegram” as key reasons behind the abandonment of his long-standing policy of neutrality. -
The first battle of Somme
The First Battle of the Somme begins. The British offensive is intended to draw German attention from Verdun, and in that regard only could it be considered a success. The nearly 20,000 killed in action on July 1 marks the single bloodiest day in the history of the British army. By the time the Somme campaign ground to a halt some four and a half months later, the combined casualties of both sides topped 1,000,000. -
Offensive at Cambrai
A British offensive at Cambrai, France, marks the first large-scale use of tanks in combat. Attacking with complete surprise, the British tanks ripped through German defenses in depth and took some 7,500 prisoners at low cost in casualties. Bad weather intervened, however, and adequate infantry reinforcements were not available to capitalize on the breakthrough. Within two weeks the British had been driven back almost to their original positions. -
Russia surrenders
After months of delays, the Soviet government concludes a separate peace with the Central Powers when it accepts the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Russia surrenders its claim to Ukraine, to its Polish and Baltic territories, and to Finland. -
More riots
Tsar Nicholas II abdicates the throne after a week of riots in the Russian capital of St. Petersburg. The Russian Revolution saw the overthrow of the Romanov dynasty and, ultimately, the rise to power of Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks. -
Germany and allies
Germany and the Allies conclude an armistice based largely on Wilson’s Fourteen Points. With the threat of revolution gripping German industrial centers and Allied armies on the verge of flanking the entire German defensive line, the ability of Germany to continue the war seemed doubtful at best. Nevertheless, a group of hard-core militarists, led by Erich Ludendorff, would perpetuate the “stabbed in the back” myth, claiming that Germany had been betrayed by its politicians, -
The war officially ends
