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Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
This immediate caused World War 1 because Ferdinand was the heir to the Austrian throne.The death of the archduke started a chain reaction that set the alliances of Europe against each other and began WWI. -
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Battle of Tannenberg
This war became an example of Russian incompetence. The entire Russian second army was annihilated. -
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Battle of Marne
This battle stooped the German assault into France. The Germans were halted and both sides dug trenches, which became the Western Front. -
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Battle of Gallipoli
The British attempted a naval invasion to seize the Ottoman capital of Istanbul and open a sea route to resupply Russia. This battle was one of the Allies greatest disasters in World War One. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
A German U-boat torpedoed the ship where 1,198 people died and 761 of those survived including 128 Americans. This outraged Britain and The U.S. and that led to the U.S. declaring war on Germany. -
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Battle of Verdun
This was the longest battle on the western front which lasted 303 days. It turned into an attrition battle, which both sides enduring horrific casualties. -
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Battle of Somme
This was the largest battle World War One on the western front and one of the bloodiest in human history with 1+ million dead. This battle introduced tanks which made it more insane. -
Interception of the Zimmermann telegram
British code breakers intercepted an encrypted message from Zimmermann intended for Heinrich von Eckardt, the German ambassador, to Mexico. The Germans would provide military and financial support for a Mexican attack on the United States, and in exchange Mexico would be free to annex lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. -
March Russian Revolution
This happened when riots and strikes over the scarcity of food erupted in what is now St. Petersburg. Most Russians had lost faith in the leadership ability of the czarist regime. -
U.S. joins World War One
The U.S. joined two days after the U.S. senate votes 82 to 6 to declare war against Germany. The U.S.House of Representatives endorses the decision by a vote of 373 to 50, and the United States formally enters World War One. -
November Russian Revolution
Russia's Bolshevik Revolution took place as forces led by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin overthrew the provisional government of Alexander Kerensky. Leftist revolutionaries led by Bolshevik Party leader Vladimir Lenin launched a nearly bloodless coup d'état against the Duma's provisional government. -
Signing of the armistice
Fighting in World War One came to an end following the signing of an armistice between the Allies and Germany that called for a ceasefire effective at 11 a.m. -
Signing of the Treaty of Versailles
World War One officially ended with the signing of this document. The Germans had no chance to negotiate and had harsh terms imposed on them by the Treaty of Versailles. -
Creation of the League of Nations
The League of Nations was intended to be a place where countries could work out their problems. The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded on January 10, 1920 as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the first World War. -
Creation of the USSR
The Soviet Union was formed was formed by the Treaty on the creation of the USSR which legalized the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, and Byelorussian, republics that occurred from 1918. Joseph Stalin took over as leader of the Soviet Union after Lenin's death on 1924.
