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Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
In an event that is widely acknowledged to have sparked the outbreak of World War I, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, nephew of Emperor Franz Josef and heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is shot to death along with his wife by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Bosnia. -
The Great War Begins
Also called World War I, The War to End All Wars, and The War of Nations. Although there are many factors that contribute to the start of WWI, many historians agree that the assassination of Franz Ferdinand triggered the chain of events that led up to the war. -
Kaiser declares “open season” on ships
Kaiser Wilhelm proclaimed the North Sea a war zone where all merchant ships including those who are from neutral countries could be sunk without warning. On February 4, 1915, Kaiser announced that Germany wanted to sink all ships sailing under the flags of Britain, Russia, or France found in the British waters. He warned neutral countries that it was not safe traveling around the British Isles but if they chose to enter after February 18, they would be doing so at their own risk. -
Lusitania sank
A German U-boat torpedoed and sank the RMS Lusitania, a British ocean liner en route from New York to Liverpool, England. Of the more than 1,900 passengers and crew members on board, more than 1,100 perished, including more than 120 Americans.The sinking of the Lusitania played a significant role in turning public opinion against Germany, both in the United States and abroad. -
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Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, was one of the largest battles of the First World War. Fought between July 1 and November 1, 1916, near the Somme River in France, it was also one of the bloodiest military battles in history. On the first day alone, the British suffered more than 57,000 casualties, and by the end of the campaign the Allies and Central Powers would lose more than 1.5 million men. -
Wilson Re-elected
Woodrow Wilson became the first Democratic president since Andrew Jackson to be elected to two consecutive terms of office when he defeated Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes in the 1916 Presidential Election. -
Zimmerman Note Intercepted
In the telegram, intercepted and deciphered by British intelligence in January 1917, Zimmerman instructed the ambassador, Count Johann von Bernstorff, to offer significant financial aid to Mexico if it agreed to enter any future U.S-German conflict as a German ally. If victorious in the conflict, Germany also promised to restore to Mexico the lost territories of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. -
US declares war on Germany
President Woodrow Wilson went before a joint session of Congress to request a declaration of war against Germany. Wilson cited Germany’s violation of its pledge to suspend unrestricted submarine warfare in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean, as well as its attempts to entice Mexico into an alliance against the United States, as his reasons for declaring war. -
Select Service Act
The Select Service Act gave the U.S. president the power to draft all soldiers. -
Convoy system
driven by the spectacular success of the German U-boat submarines and their attacks on Allied and neutral ships at sea, the British Royal Navy introduces a newly created convoy system, whereby all merchant ships crossing the Atlantic Ocean would travel in groups under the protection of the British navy. -
Espionage Age passed
the Espionage Act essentially made it a crime for any person to convey information intended to interfere with the U.S. armed forces prosecution of the war effort or to promote the success of the country’s enemies. Anyone found guilty of such acts would be subject to a fine of $10,000 and a prison sentence of 20 years. -
Flu Epidemic
The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide and killed an estimated 20 million to 50 million victims. The 1918 flu started in Europe, the United States and parts of Asia before swiftly spreading around the world. There were no effective drugs or vaccines to treat this flu strain. Citizens were ordered to wear masks; schools, theaters and businesses were shuttered and bodies piled up in makeshift morgues before the virus ended. -
14 Points Speech
In his speech, Woodrow Wilson itemized 14 strategies to ensure national security and world peace. Several points addressed specific territorial issues in Europe, but the most significant sections set the tone for postwar American diplomacy and the ideals that would form the backbone of U.S. foreign policy as the nation achieved superpower status in the early 20th century. -
Russia makes a separate peace
Bolshevik Russia signs the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the Central Powers, abandoning the Allied war effort and granting independence to its Polish and Baltic territories, the Ukraine, and Finland. -
Sedition Act
The Sedition Act was orchestrated largely by A. Mitchell Palmer, the United States attorney general under President Woodrow Wilson. The Act penalized anyone making false statements that interfered with the war; insulting the U.S. government, the flag, the Constitution or the military; stopping the production of war materials; or advocating, teaching or defending any of these acts. Those who were found guilty were punished by a fine of $10,000 or imprisonment for 20 years, or both. -
Germany Signs Armistice
At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the Great War ended. At 5 a.m. that morning, Germany signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside Compiégne, France. The First World War left nine million soldiers dead and 21 million wounded, with Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, France, and Great Britain each losing nearly a million or more lives. In addition, at least five million civilians died from disease, starvation, or exposure.
