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Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
On a trip to Sarajevo, Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated by a Serbian revolutionary. This angered Austria-Hungary, who would soon declare war on Serbia. -
Austria declares war on Serbia
Greatly offended by the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, Austria declares war on Serbia, whom they blame for his death. Little did Austria know that by picking a fight with little old Serbia, they would launch "the war to end all wars." -
First Battle of the Marne
Not only was it one of the first major battles of the war, the Battle of the Marne set the stage for the trench warfare that would cover the western front for the next four years. In the end, it was an allied victory over the Germans. -
First Zeppelin raid on Britain
In an effort to gain advantages even away from the front lines, Germany flew zeppelins, normally used for observation, into England airspace and dropped bombs on the Allied country. Although not very effective, it showed an innovation in the Germans that was frightening. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
Germany practiced "unrestricted submarine warfare," which means they would sink any non-German boats they found. The Lusitania was one of the unlucky passenger ships to be sunk because of this, and it became famous in America and inspired many to hate Germany and want to join the war. -
Italy declares war on Austria and Germany
Up until this point, Italy had sided with the Central Powers since the beginning of the war. Their turning to the Allies represented a large swing in momentum in favor of the Allied powers. -
Britain introduces conscription
after two years in the war, England's forces were beginning to dwindle and so a draft was instituted to ensure a steady flow of soldiers to bolster the front lines. This is a significant step that highlights the enormity of the task of holding the western front. -
first major use of tanks
Over two months had passed since the beginning of the battle of the Somme and no clear winner had emerged yet. Britain decided to test out their new weapons, tanks, in an offensive maneuver to drive back the Germans. Although their full potential had not yet been found, they proved to be an efficient tool for the Allies in this battle. -
Grigori Rasputin assassinated
Although not directly tied into World War 1, the killing of Rasputin, an extremely important politician and decision maker in Russia, paved the way for the Russian Revolution, which will soon force Russia to withdraw from the war entirely. -
Germany starts unrestricted submarine warfare
In an effort to push for advantages in places other than the trenches, Germany decided to sink any and all enemy ships with their technologically advanced u-boats. This worked very well, but angered many people including the United States. -
America declares war on Germany
After a few major events that seriously angered the American people, including the sinking of the Lusitania and the Zimmerman notes, Germany finally crossed the line and forced the US to declare war. -
Armistice between Germany and Russia
Because of the rising revolution in Russia, the Russian leaders felt it was best to stop the war with Germany and focus on their own problems. This let Germany focus on the western front and send in reinforcements. -
Second battle of the Marne
Germany has been on their back foot since America declared war on them in the previous year. After a defeat here, they begin to collapse and the war looks won for the Allies. -
Allied advance succeeds
After the Second battle of the Marne, the allied forces began an advance to end the war once and for all, after a few hard weeks of pushing against the German army, the Allies had all but won the war with their successful advance. -
Armistice is signed
After years of fighting the deadliest war in history, Germany, along with the rest of the Central Powers, finally surrendered to America and the Allies. The War to end all wars had finally ended itself.
