History Timeline

Archduke Francis Ferdinnand Assassinated

Jun 28, 1914

1. He was shot by Gavrilo Princip.
2. Him and his wife died while in a car.

Germany Declares War on France

Jul 28, 1914

1.The conflict was originally centered in the tumultuous Balkans region with the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
2.Many countries became embroiled within the war's first month; others joined in the ensuing four years, with Honduras announcing hostilities with Germany as late as 19 July 1918

Austria-Hungary Declares War on Serbia

Jul 28, 1914

1. It was one month to the day after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were killed by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo.
2. The major result of the war was a shift in power among the German states

Germany Declares War on Russia

Aug 1, 1914

1.It resulted in the deaths of some 20 million soldiers and civilians and the physical devastation of much of the European continent.
2.The event that was widely acknowledged to have sparked the outbreak of World War I

Germany Invades Belgium

Aug 4, 1914

1. King Albert took personal command of the armed forces and although outnumbered, decided to resist the German invasion that began on 4th August. 2.The German Army quickly overwhelmed Belgian defences and King Albert was forced to move his government to Le Havre in France.

German U-Boats Sink the Lusitania

May 7, 1915

1.Two days later, Wilson announced that the U.S. was breaking diplomatic relations with Germany; the same day, the American liner Housatonic was sunk by a German U-boat.
2. Wilson subsequently sent a strongly worded note to the German government—the first of three similar communications—demanding that it cease submarine warfare against unarmed merchant ships.

The Zimmerman Note is Discovered

Jan 11, 1917

1. It was an internal diplomatic communication issued from the German Foreign Office in January, 1917 that proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico.
2. Was created by German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann.

Germany Announces Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

Feb 1, 1917

1.Unrestricted submarine warfare was first introduced in World War I in early 1915, when Germany declared the area around the British Isles a war zone.
2.The incident prompted U.S. President Woodrow Wilson to send a strongly worded note to the German government demanding an end to German attacks against unarmed merchant ships.

The Russian Monarchy is Overthrown

Mar 18, 1917

1.Workers in Petrograd and Moscow were striking and rioting for higher food rations.
2.In March the soviet demanded peace. Milyukov, the foreign minister, was forced to resign in May after demonstrations against his insistence on continuing the war.

The United States Declares War on Germany

Apr 2, 1917

1.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."
2.The “Zimmerman Telegram’s” implied threat of a German attack on the United States, which swayed U.S. public opinion in support of a declaration of war.