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Triple Alliance is Formed
The Triple Alliance is signed by Germany, Italy and Austria- Hungary. This was a military agreement and was a mutual agreement that if any country were to be in trouble they would help out. This alliance soon stopped because of World War I. -
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WWI--Battle of Somme
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The Triple Entente is Formed
The Triple Entente consisted of Great Britain, France and The Russian Empire. This was a counterwight to the Triple Alliance and this new system of alliances was one of the underlying sparks of WWI. -
Franz Ferdinand and wife get assassinated
Franz Ferdiand was a reclusive and unpopular heir, he brought unpopular ideas forward such as making the Austria-Hungary Empire a 16 state federation. Because of this a Serbian terrorist groups, The Black Hand assassinated Franz Ferdiand on they way to Sarajevo. Thus sparking World War I. -
Austria–Hungary declares war on Serbia
After the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Austria–Hungary declared war on Serbia. Because of this statement Serbia then turns to its allies, Germany as Germany is part of the Triple Alliance it is sworn to protect the allies of Austria-Hungary as well. -
Britain declares war on Germany
The day before Britain's Prime Minister, Herbert Asquith sent a telegram to Germany to withdraw their army from inside of Belgium. Britian recieved no response from Germany and thus Britain declared war. This included all of Britains allies such as Australia. -
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson announces the U.S. are neutral.
President Woodrow Wilson stated that they would remain neutral and not fight in the war as they believed the fighting did not concern or involve them. -
Breaking The Stalemate
Many trench conflicts happened during this time in hopes that on both sides, the Allies and the Germans, that it would break the stalemate. There would be heavy shellings to destroy trenches and defenses, these attacks used to last for days. After this they would try to cross no mans land to no avail as defenses were still up. -
Infantary Units moved from Egypt to Europe
The units of AIF were transferred from Egypt to Europe to fight on the Western Front and more specifically, France.They were oringally organized into the Anzac Group and II Anzac Group alongside with the New Zealand Corps. However on the 1st of November 1917 they were changed to the Australian Corps. -
Bombardment on Germans Begins
Allies on the bank of Somme begin their week long bombardment in Northern France. Over 1.5 million shells are fired at the Germans to destroy their trenches, in theory making a rapid advancement across the German trenches. The only fault was that the Germans had bunkers and would simply take cover until the bombardment was over and resume their positions. -
First day on the Somme
This was the first day of 141 days of violent bloodshed. On the same day the Battle of Albert began, the army consisted of the French Army and the British Divisions which included all of Britain's allies such as Australia. The French and British succesfully made the German defense collapse and the Allies had success by making the Germans retreat thus making the Allies take hold of both banks on the Somme. -
Battle of Albert
On the first day on the Somme the British Army suffers the worst death toll in a single day, 18, 800 soldiers were killed. This was because of the fact of the 13 attack divisions expecting the Germans to be heavily damged. They attacked in broad daylight and stood shoulder to shoulder as they were shot by the Germans who rsumed positions after staying in their bunkers. -
Battle of Fromelles
The battle of Fromelles was was one of the most costly battles of the Somme Campaign. It was located near Northern France and there were a series of shell attacks aimed to draw the Germans attention away from the Southern part of the attack, however the Germans had bunkers that they would hide in until the attacks stopped. This was costly as in one day alone 3600 were injured and more died from their wounds. -
Battle of Pozières Ridge
From the 23rd of July the 1st Australian division made an attack with heavy artillery fires. The Germans countered this attack by their own artillery but the Australians refused to give ground. This was a great success in taking the small village of Pozières. In 5 days the 1st divisision lost 5,000 men -
First Time Tanks are Used on Battle Field
For the first time tanks were used on the battle field by the Aliies, as they continued their offensive on an 8 kilometre border made by the Germans. These British tanks helped British advance across the borders as they destoryed the barbed wire and piercing German defenses. -
The Renewal Attack on the Somme
The Allies, including the ANZACS renewed their attacks again on the Somme. They managed to capture several different towns north of the Somme River. Tanks were once again used. -
The First Referendumon Conscription Held in Australia
After the news of the death toll being heard in Australia men volunteering for the war cause began to fall steadily. Pressure was put on the Australian Government to recruit 5500 men for reinforcements. Because of this the Prime Minister proposed whether to make it compulsory for men to undego training for overseas. The referndum was defeated by favour of Australian citizens. -
British Division and French Army abandon offensive
The British and French armies abandon the fight because of the first snowfall. They have pushed back the Germans by few kilometres along the 24 km barbed wire, however the breakthrough that they had originally planned did not go successfully. The casualties were horiffic, 600,000 on both sides. -
Germans withdraw from the area
When the Germans drew away from the Battle of Somme it was a strategic withdrawal it was known as Operation Alberich. As they withdrew they destoryed everything in their wake. They destroyed villages, cut down trees, poisoned wells and so fourth they created a series of lines known as the Hindenburg line that was short and powerful. -
The U.S enters the war
Many events contribuated to the fact of the the U.S declaring war. One of the most serious cases was the sinking ship, The Lusitania that was sunk by a German submarine. The Lusitania contained one thousand two hundred people, one hundred twenty-nine were Americans. -
The Armistice (The end of WWI)
The ceasfire ended in 1918, it was agreeed by The Allies and Germany in a railway carriage. however it was not officially over until 1919 in making the Treaty of Versailles making Germany claim responsibility of WWI. -
The Treaty of Versailles officially ends WWI.
The Treaty of Versailles was the peace settellment signed and agreeed by the Allies and by Germany. It was held in Versailles situated near Paris hense the name. It was signed after the war that ended in 1918.
