WWI Timeline

Assasination

Jun 28, 1914

Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, and his wife, visit Sarajevo in Bosnia. A bomb is thrown at their auto but misses. Undaunted, they continue their visit only to be shot and killed a short time later by a lone assassin. Believing the assassin to be a Serbian nationalist, the Austrians target their anger toward Serbia.

The United States declares its neutrality.

Aug 4, 1914

Great Britain declares war on Germany. The declaration is binding on all Dominions within the British Empire including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa.

Protests Germany

May 7, 1915

A German U-Boat torpedoes the British passenger liner Lusitania off the Irish coast. It sinks in 18 minutes, drowning 1,201 persons, including 128 Americans. President Woodrow Wilson subsequently sends four diplomatic protests to Germany.

President Woodrow Wilson

Nov 7, 1916

American voters re-elect President Woodrow Wilson who had campaigned on the slogan, "He kept us out of war."

Germany and Mexico Against the U.S.

Jan 19, 1917

The British intercept a telegram sent by Alfred Zimmermann in the German Foreign Office to the German embassies in Washington, D.C., and Mexico City. Its message outlines plans for an alliance between Germany and Mexico against the United States.

U.S. and Germany Go to War.

Apr 6, 1917

The United States of America declares war on Germany.

America lands in France.

Jun 25, 1917

The first American troops land in France.

The Sedition Act of 1918

May 16, 1918

The Sedition Act covered a broader range of offenses, notably speech and the expression of opinion that cast the government or the war effort in a negative light or interfered with the sale of government bonds.

Armistice Ends Fighting

Nov 11, 1918

Fighting continues all along the Western Front until precisely 11 o'clock, with 2,000 casualties experienced that day by all sides. Artillery barrages also erupt as 11 am draws near as soldiers yearn to claim they fired the very last shot in the war.

Treaty of Versailles

Jun 28, 1919

At the Palace of Versailles in France, a German delegation signs the Treaty formally ending the war. Its 230 pages contain terms that have little in common with Wilson's Fourteen Points as the Germans had hoped. Germans back home react with mass demonstrations against the perceived harshness, especially clauses that assess sole blame for the war on Germany.