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Archduke of Austria-Hungary Assassinated
Archduke Franz Ferdinard and his wife were assassinated while visiting Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia. Since the murderer was a Serbian, Austria-Hungary now had a reason to punish Serbia. -
Austria-Hungary Declares War on Serbia/Russia Takes Action
On July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declined Serbia's offers with the ultimatum and declared war. Serbia's ally, Russia, began to mobilize troops toward the Austria-Hungary border. This officially started WWI. -
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Germany Declares War on Russia and Starts Using Schlieffen Plan
On August 1, 1914, Germany declared war on Russia because Germany thought that Russia’s mobilized troops were an offensive action. Two days later, Germany also declared war on France. Germany also came up with the Schlieffen plan in case of a two-front war. German troops would defeat France in the East and then travel back west to fight Russia. This plan was quickly put into effect and Germany invaded Belgium to get to France. Great Britain declared war with Germany on August 4 because of this. -
First Battle of the Marne
The Allies attacked the German northeast of Paris in the valley of the Marne river. This made the Germans retreat and ruined the Schlieffen plan. Now Germany had to fight a 2-front war. -
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The Battle of Limanowa
Back in Septemeber, the Russian forces had invaded Austria-Hungary. In the 17-day battle of Limanowa, Austrian forces defeated the Russians and drove them back towards Russia. This was a turn of events and a major victory for the Central Powers on the Eastern Front. -
The Gallipoli Campaign
The Allies used the Gallipoli Campaign to try to end the stalemate. The Gallipoli Campaign was the plan to attack a part of the Ottoman Empire called the Dardanelles Strait. With this area, the Allies thought they could take Constantinople, defeat the Turks, establish a supply line to Russia, and even mount an offensive into the Austrian heartland. This started on February 1915. However, the Gallipoli Campaign turned into another stalemate by May. -
The Battle of Verdun
Starting during February, Germany delivered a huge attack on the French near Verdun. Each side lost more than 300,000 troops and the land gain for the Germans was miniscule. -
The Battle of the Somme
The British attempted to help the French by attacking the German northwest of Verdun in the valley of the Somme. When the battle had ended in November, each side lost more than half a million troops. The British gained about 5 miles. -
Germany Declares Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
Germany declared that it would sink any ship in the water of Britain without warning. This action blocked Britain's exports and imports and influence the US to enter the war on the Allies' side. -
The US Enters the War
Because of the unrestricted sub warfare and the Zimmerman telegram, the US decided to enter the war on the Allies' side. This gave the Allies a major advantage. -
Russia Surrenders
There was a second revolution in Russia and Vladimir Ilyich Lenin took power. The first thing he wanted to do was to end Russia's involvement in the war. Later in March, he would make the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany so the two countries could be at peace. However, this treaty gave Germany a lot of Russian land. -
The Second Battle of the Marne
The Germans and the Allies fought at the Marne River again. However, the Allies had 350 tanks and 2 million American troops. The Allies defeated the Germans easily. This defeat was one of the events that lead to the Allies winning the war. -
Armistice is Signed and WWI Comes to an End
On November 9th, Germany had become a republic. A representative of the German governement met with Marshal Foch to sign an armistice (an agreement to stop fighting). WWI had officialy come to an end. -
The Treaty of Versailles is Created
At the Paris Peace Conference, the Treaty of Versailles was created between Germany and the Allies. The treaty punished Germany by forcing Germany to pay reparations, exclusion from the League of Nations, territorial losses, and military restrictions.