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Assassination of Franz Ferdinand.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, and his wife, had decided to inspect Austro-Hungarian troops in Bosnia. The date chosen for the inspection was a national day in Bosnia. The Black Hand supplied a group of students with weapons for an assassination attempt to mark the occasion. A Serbian nationalist student, Gavrilo Princip, assassinated the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, when their open car stopped at a corner on its way out of the town. -
Germany offers support to Austria-Hungary.
Kaiser Wilhelm II promised German support for Austria-Hungary against Serbia. -
Findings of the Assassination
Friedrich von Wiesner, an official of the Austro-Hungarian Foreign Office, reports back to Foreign Minister Leopold von Berchtold the findings of an investigation into the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, and his wife Sophie. There was little evidence to support the Serbian government was accessory to the plot. The only evidence that could be found was that Princip and his cohorts had been aided by individuals with ties to the government. -
Austria-Hungary deliver a warning.
Austria-Hungary, with the backing of Germany, delivers an ultimatum to Serbia. The Serbs offer to submit to arbitration, but also begin to mobilize their army. -
Beginning for an upcoming war.
Austria-Hungary cuts diplomatic ties with Serbia and begins to mobilize. -
Trying to politely prevent WW1
Britain tries to convene a conference of the major European powers to resolve the situation. France, Italy and Russia agree to take part. Germany says no. -
Austria-Hungary declare war on Serbia.
The Austrian government blamed the Serbian government for the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife and declared war on Serbia. Although Russia was allied with Serbia, Germany did not believe that she would mobilise and offered to support Austria if necessary. However, Russia did mobilise and, through their alliance with France, called on the French to mobilise. -
Germany declare war on Russia.
Germany declared war on Russia. France and Belgium begin full mobilization. -
Germany declare war on France.
Germany declared war on France. German troops poured into Belgium as directed under the Schleiffen Plan, drawn up in 1905. The British foreign secretary, Sir Edward Grey, sent an ultimatum to Germany demanding their withdrawal from the neutral Belgium. Extra: Britain enacts the Defense of the Realm Act (DORA) granting unprecedented powers to the government to control the economy and daily life. -
Great Britain declare war on Germany
Germany did not withdraw from Belgium and Britain declared war on Germany. The declaration is binding on the British Empire, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa. -
The United States declare their neutrality.
The United States declares its neutrality. -
The Austro-Hungarian Empire declare war on Russia.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire declares war on Russia. -
Great Britain and France declare war on Austria-Hungary.
Great Britain and France declare war on Austria-Hungary. Serbia is invaded by Austria-Hungary. -
Japan declare war to Germany
Japan declares war on Germany through her alliance with Great Britain, signed in 1902. The Japanese then prepare to assist the British in expelling the Germans from the Far East. German possessions in the South Pacific include a naval base on the coast of China, part of New Guinea, Samoa, and the Caroline, Marshall and Mariana Islands. -
Period: to
Battle of Tannenberg
The Russian army marched into Prussia. But due to the differences in railway gauge between Russia and Prussia it was difficult for the Russians to get supplies. The Germans used their railway system to surround the Russian army at Tannenberg before it’s commander noticed. The battle was a defeat for the Russians with thousands killed and 125,000 imprisoned. Soon, the Germans drive the Russians out of Prussia. This victory elevates Hindenburg and Ludendorff to the status of heroes in Germany. -
First Battle of the Marne begins.
The Germans had advanced to within 30 miles of Paris, but over the next two days, the French are reinforced by 6,000 infantrymen who are transported to the front by hundreds of taxis. The Germans dig in north of the Aisne River, and the trench warfare that is to typify the Western Front for the next four years begins. -
Turkey joins WW1
Turkey entered the war on the side of the central powers and gave help to a German naval bombardment of Russia. -
Russia declare war on Turkey
Because of the help given by Turkey to the German attack of Russia, Russia declared war on Turkey. -
Great Britain and France declare war on Turkey.
Britain and France, Russia’s allies, declared war on Turkey, because of the help given to the German attack on Russia. -
Poison gas first used
Poison gas is used for the first time in the war as Germans on the Eastern Front attack Russian positions west of Warsaw. Although the Germans fire 18,000 gas shells, they have little effect on the Russians as frigid temperatures prevent the gas from vaporizing. -
U-Boat Warfare Begins
The first German U-Boat campaign of the war begins with unrestricted attacks against merchant and passenger ships in the waters around the British Isles. Within six months, Allied shipping losses at sea surpass the number of new ships being built. However, the unrestricted attacks also arouse the anger of the neutral United States as Americans are killed. -
Lusitania sunk
There outraged protests from the United States at the German U-boat campaign, when the Lusitania, which had many American passengers aboard, was sank. The Germans moderated their U-boat campaign. -
Romania enters WW1
Romania joined the war on the side of the Allies. But within a few months was occupied by Germans and Austrians. -
Process of the Fourteen Points
President Woodrow Wilson caps off a year-long effort to organize a peace conference in Europe by asking the combatants to outline their peace terms. -
Russian Revolution
A mass protest by Russian civilians in Petrograd (St. Petersburg) erupts into a revolution against Czar Nicholas II and the war. Within days, Russian soldiers mutiny and join the revolution. -
USA declare war on Germany
The United States of America declared war on Germany in response to the sinking, by German U boats, of US ships. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Following the successful revolution by the Bolsheviks, the Russians signed an Armistice with Germany at Brest-Litovsk. The terms of the treaty were harsh: Russia had to surrender Poland, the Ukraine and other regions. They had to stop all Socialist propaganda directed at Germany and pay 300 million roubles for the repatriation of Russian prisoners. -
Allied Counter-Offensives
A combined French and American attack along the Marne marks the first in a series of coordinated Allied counter-offensives on the Western Front. Three French armies accompanied by five American divisions cross the Marne River. In the face of this assault, the German 7th and 9th Armies begin a withdrawal from the Marne. -
Armistice Signed
At 11 am, in the French town of Redonthes, the Armistice was signed bringing the war to an end. Germany and the Allies conclude an armistice based largely on Wilson’s Fourteen Points. This would do much to propel the ascent of Adolf Hitler to power in 1933. -
Treaty of Versailles
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.