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FranzFerdinand & wife are assinated by serbian nationalist Gavrilo while they were visiting Sarajevo
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Due to the assassination, the Austrian-Hungarian Empire declared what was expected to be a short war on Serbia.
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To execute the Schlieffen Plan, Germany had to go through Belgium in order to invade France.
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British naval ships spent the war patrolling the North Sea, intercepting and detaining thousands of merchant ships thought to be harbouring cargo bound for enemy shores. This aggressive display of maritime power aroused considerable anger in neutral countries, many of whom enjoyed strong trading links with Germany.
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some German soldiers emerged from their trenches and approached the Allied lines across no-man’s-land, calling out “Merry Christmas” in their enemies’ native tongues. At first, the Allied soldiers feared it was a trick,
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Germany declares a "war zone" around Great Britain, essentially effecting a submarine blockade where even neutral merchant vessels were to be potential targets.
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british and french forces launched an ill-fated naval attack on Turkish forcees in the Dardanelles in northwestern turkey hoping to take control of the stragetically vital strait seperating europe from asia
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The Second Battle of Ypres begins. It is during this battle that the Germans first use poison gas.
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The campaign began with a failed naval attack by British and French ships on the Dardanelles Straits and continued with a major land invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula involving British and French troops
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at 2:12 p.m. on May 7 the 32,000-ton ship was hit by an exploding torpedo on its starboard side. The torpedo blast was followed by a larger explosion, probably of the ship’s boilers, and the ship sank off the south coast of Ireland in less than 20 minutes
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Nicholas II, the last czar, is crowned ruler of Russia in the old Ouspensky Cathedral in Moscow. He sought to preserve in an era desperate for change.
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The Battle of Verdun was the longest battle of World War I and was one of the bloodiest.
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The Battle of Jutland, the major naval battle of the war, begins. Involving some 250 ships and 100,000 men, this battle off Denmark’s North Sea coast was the only major naval surface engagement of World War I.
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the Battle of the Somme begins. During the Battle of the Somme, tanks are first introduced into battle.
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Germany sends the secret Zimmerman Telegram to Mexico in an effort to entice Mexico to join the war. The British intercept and decipher the coded message.
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on April 2, 1917, President Wilson appeared before a joint session of Congress and asked for a declaration of war against Germany in order to "make the world safe for democracy." On April 4, Congress granted Wilson's request.
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The Battle of Passchendaele (also known as the Third Battle of Ypres) begins. A campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies against the German Empire.
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The Bolsheviks successfully overthrow the Russian government during the 1917 Russian Revolution. two revolutions swept through Russia, ending centuries of imperial rule and setting in motion political and social changes
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The armistice agreed upon between the new Russian government and the Central Powers goes into effect.
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Russia signs the Treaty of Brest Litovsk, which is a peace treaty between Russia and the Central Powers.
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The Germans had realised that their only remaining chance of victory was to defeat the Allies before the overwhelming human and matériel resources of the United States could be fully deployed
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The Treaty of Versailles officially ends WWI.
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The Allied generalissimo, General Ferdinand Foch, ordered a counteroffensive which led to the Second Battle of the Marne, after which victory he was promoted to Marshal of France.
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Wilhelm's abdication was announced by Chancellor Prince Max von Baden in a 9 November 1918 proclamation
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Germany signs the armistice at Compiegne, France. Fighting ends on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month (i.e. 11 a.m. on November 11).
