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(EU) The funeral of king Edward the VII
An act of killing a king that catapulted Europe into war. Alliances joined together and Europe was in danger because of it. -
(US) President Woodrow Wilson inaugurated
President Woodrow Wilson, who would serve as commander in chief during WWI, officially becomes president for the first of two terms. -
(EU) Archduke Franz Ferdinand shot in Sarajevo
On this day, the Archduke of Austria-Hungary was shot by Garilo Princip. This event is often considered the spark for WWI, which would grow because of entangling alliances. -
(EU) Germany attacks/ declares war on France
Germany declares war on France, moving ahead with a long-held strategy, conceived by the former chief of staff of the German army, Alfred von Schlieffen, for a two-front war against France and Russia. -
(EU) Britain declares war on Germany
On this day in 1939, in response to Hitler's invasion of Poland, Britain and France, both allies of the overrun nation declare war on Germany. -
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(EU) western front
The Western Front was the main theatre of war during the First World War. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. -
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(EU) battle of tannenberg
The Battle of Tannenberg was fought between Russia and Germany between the 26th and 30th of August 1914, the first month of World War I. The battle resulted in the almost complete destruction of the Russian Second Army and the suicide of its commanding general, Alexander Samsonov. -
(EU) Christmas Truce of 1914
Starting on Christmas Eve, many German and British troops sang Christmas carols to each other across the lines, and at certain points, the Allied soldiers even heard brass bands joining the Germans in their joyous singing. On Christmas Day, German soldiers emerged from their trenches and approached the Allied lines across no-mans-land, calling out “Merry Christmas” in their enemies’ native tongues. they then exchanges presents with eatchother. -
(US) Sinking of the William P. Frye
The William P. Frye, a ship named after the well-known Maine senator William Pierce Frye, was on its way to England with a cargo of wheat. On January 27, it was intercepted by a German cruiser in the South Atlantic Ocean off the Brazilian coast and ordered to jettison its cargo as contraband. When the American ship’s crew failed to fulfill these orders completely by the next day, the German captain ordered the destruction of the ship. -
(EU) Armenian genocide
the Turkish government arrested and executed several hundred Armenian intellectuals. After that, ordinary Armenians were turned out of their homes and sent on death marches through the Mesopotamian desert without food or water. -
(US) Sinking of the lusitania
A German U-boat torpedoed and sank the RMS Lusitania, a British ocean liner en route from New York to Liverpool, England. -
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(EU) The Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916, was the largest and longest battle of the First World War on the Western Front between the German and French armies. The battle took place on the hills north of Verdun-sur-Meuse in north-eastern France. -
(EU) Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and France against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 November 1916 on both sides of the upper reaches of the River Somme in France. -
(US) Election of 1916
Woodrow Wilson became the first Democratic president since Andrew Jackson to be elected to two consecutive terms of office when he defeated Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes in the 1916 Presidential Election. Hughes, the Republican candidate, was defeated by nearly 600,000 votes in the popular vote. -
(EU & US) Zimmerman telegram
A coded telegram from Germany was sent to the German ambassador to inform them of their plans. They planned on getting Mexico to join allies and start a war with the US. Also, they planned on getting Japan on the plan to also attack. -
(US) US chases Pancho Villa
Pancho villa killed 32 Americans which drew the deployment of a U.S. military expedition into Mexico, but Villa eluded capture during the 11-month manhunt. Pardoned by Mexican President Adolfo de la Huerta in 1920, Villa retired to a quiet life at his ranch until his assassination. -
(US) Woodrow Wilson asks Congress for a Declaration of War
With German submarine warfare continuing unabated, the final straw came on April 1, 1917, when the armed U.S. steamer Aztec was torpedoed near Brest and 28 of its crew members drowned. The next day, Wilson stepped before Congress to deliver his historic war message, making clear exactly how high he considered the stakes of the war to be. -
(US) United States Declares War on Germany
On April 4, the U.S. Senate voted in favor of war by 82 votes to 6; two days later, the House of Representatives delivered their own yes vote by 373 votes to 50, formally announcing the entrance of the United States into the First World War. -
(US) Fourteen points
On 8th January, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson presented his Peace Programme to Congress. Compiled by a group of US foreign policy experts, the programme included fourteen different points. The first five points dealt with general principles: Point 1 renounced secret treaties; Point 2 dealt with freedom of the seas; Point 3 called for the removal of worldwide trade barriers; Point 4 advocated arms reductions and Point 5 suggested the international arbitration of all colonial disputes. -
(US) American First Army attacks St. Mihiel salient.
The attack on the Saint-Mihiel salient on 12 September gave him the opportunity to use the U.S. First Army in combat for the first time. The American part of the assault was to be conducted by two "super" corps, each with three divisions in attack and one in reserve. -
(EU & US) Meusse-Argonne
Allied forces begin the attack at Meusse-Argonne, the final offensive of the war. -
(EU & US) WW1 Ends
Germany signs the Armistice at Compiègne, ending World War I.
