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Archduke Assassination
The death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo sparked the World War I.
Article over the assassination -
Russian Mobilized
Russia mobilizes its army to step in against Austria-Hungary in favor of Serbia. This started a chain reaction that leads to the mobilization of the rest of the European Great Powers. -
Beginning of World War I
Germany invades Belgium which then begun World War I. -
Germans Fire
The Germans fire shells filled with chlorine gas at the Allies. First time that large amounts of gas were used in battle, and the result is that the French lines almost fall. -
Lusitania Sinks
A German submarine sinks the passenger liner Lusitania which carried 1,198 people with 128 of them being American. -
Germany Limits Submarines
It was an attempt to keep the United States out of the war, but it interfered with German efforts to prevent American supplies from reaching France and Britain. -
First Tanks
The British use the first tanks ever in battleat Delville Wood. Tanks were useful at breaking through barbed wire and clearing a path for the infantry but they were still simple and failed to be the decisive weapon their designers thought they would be. -
Submarines Brought Back
Germany started unrestricted submarine warfare in European waterways again. It drew the United States into the war and causes the eventual defeat of Germany. -
Zimmerman Telegram
British gives Wilson the Zimmermann Telegram, a message from German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmermann proposing that Mexico side with Germany in case of war between Germany and the United States. Which then had Germany promise to return to Mexico the "lost provinces" of Texas and much of the rest of the American Southwest. Mexico declines the offer but the outrage at this interference in the Western Hemisphere pushes American public opinion -
Wilson Wants War
President Wilson outlines his case for war to Congress. -
U.S. Enters War
Congress confirms a declaration of war against Germany. The United States enters World War I on the side of France and Britain. -
Selective Services Act
Congress passes the Selective Service Act authorizing the draft. AIt was criticized for destroying democracy at home while fighting for it abroad, -
Germany and Russia Peace
Germans sign a peace treaty with Bolshevik government of Russia. The treaty gives Germany huge tracts of land that had been the Ukraine and Poland and peace on the Eastern Front allows Germany to shift soldiers to the Western Front, causing serious problems for the French, British, and Americans. -
Battle of Cantigny
The Battle of Cantigny was the first major American offensive of the war. It was small but the Americans fight bravely and soon go on to larger attacks against German positions. -
Chateau-Thierry
The Americans attack the Germans at Chateau-Thierry. The battle morphed into the larger Battle of Belleau Wood. -
Battle of Belleau Wood
The Battle of Belleau Wood began as the U.S. Marine Corps attacked the Germans across an open field of wheat, suffering huge casualties. -
Belleau Wood Ends
The Battle of Belleau Wood ended with the final expulsion of the Germans from the wood, which marked the farthest German advance on Paris. The area changed hands six times during the three-week battle which has caused nearly 10,000 American casualties. -
Battle of St. Mihiel
The Battle of St. Mihiel began when 300,000 American troops under the command of General Pershing flung themselves into the German lines. -
Wilhelm Abdicates
Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated which ending all German hope for a victory. He and his retinue quietly slipped over the border into the Netherlands wto live his life. -
Armistice Day
An Armistice is signed ending fighting on the Western Front.
