1914
|
June
28
|
Assassination
of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne,by
Gavril Princip in Sarajevo.
|
July 6
|
Germany agrees to support Austria-Hungary in any action
against Serbia.
|
July 24
|
Serbia asks Russia for support against Austria-Hungary.
|
August 1
|
Germany
declares war on Russia. |
August 3
|
Germany declares war on France.
|
August 4
|
Germany
invades neutral Belgium.
Britain declares war on Germany.
American President, Woodrow Wilson, states that the United States
will remain neutral.
|
August
15
|
Austro-Hungarian
troops march into Russia.
|
August
17
|
Russia
invades East Prussia.
|
August
23
|
British
and German troops face each other at the Battle of Mons.
Japan declares war on Germany.
|
September
5-10
|
British
and French troops repulse Germans at the Battle of the Marne.
The Germans are now committed to fighting a war on two fronts.
Stalemate quickly develops.
|
October
19
|
First
battle of Ypres begins.
|
October
29
|
Turkey
joins the War on the side of the Central Powers.
|
December
16
|
Hartlepool
bombarded by German war ships. Over one hundred people are killed.
They are the first casualties on British soil during the War.
|
December
25
|
Spontaneous
and unauthorised truce takes place in some sectors of the Western
Front.
|
| |
|
1915 |
January
19
|
First
Zeppelin raid on England.
|
January
31
|
First
time that gas is used against humans when the Germans use it to
attack Russian forces in Poland.
|
February
18
|
Germany
starts to treat British coastal waters as a war zone and warns
neutral ships to enter at their own risk.
|
March
11
|
British
naval blockade of Germany begins.
|
March
18
|
British
and French navies bombard Turkish positions on the Dardenelles
but the Turks respond in kind. Three battleships are sunk, three
are crippled and four others are less seriously damaged.
|
April
22
|
Second
Battle of Ypres begins. Germans use chlorine gas against the British
for the first time.
|
April
25
|
70,000
Allied troops land at Gallipoli on ill-fated mission to knock
Turkey out of the war.
|
May
7
|
A
German u-boat sinks the passenger liner, Lusitania off
the coast of Ireland. Approximately 1200 people are killed, including
128 Americans. The incident sparks international outrage.
|
May
23
|
Italy
declares war on Austria-Hungary.
|
September
25
|
Battle
of Loos begins. British attempt to use chlorine gas on Germans
but wind changes direction and it blows back over allied trenches.
|
October
12
|
The
British nurse, Edith Cavell, is executed by the Germans for being
a spy. The incident causes international outrage.
|
October-November
|
Serbia
is invaded by Germany, Bulgaria and Austria-Hungary. The Serbian
Army and many Serbs try to escape by crossing the mountains into
Albania. Many people die on the journey.
|
December
19
|
Sir
Douglas Haig replaces Sir John French as commander of the British
Expeditionary Force.
|
December
20
|
Allied
troops start to withdraw from Gallipoli.
|
| |
|
1916 |
January
24
|
Conscription
introduced in Britain.
|
February
21
|
Germany's
attack on Verdun starts. It eventually becomes the longest battle
in the War and results in many casualties.
|
May
31 - June 1
|
The
Battle of Jutland. The British Navy lose more ships and men than
the Germans in this great naval battle but the German navy is
forced to return to its home ports where it remains for the rest
of the war.
|
June
24
|
A
week-long bombardment of the German trenches starts ahead of the
Battle of the Somme.
|
July
1
|
Battle
of the Somme commences. 20,000 British soldiers are killed on
the first day and a further 40,000 are injured. The Battle continues
until mid-November when it is called off.
|
August
29
|
Hindenberg
becomes chief of the German staff.
|
August
31
|
Germany
suspends submarine assaults. They resume on October 15.
|
September
15
|
Tanks
used for the first time on a battlefield.
|
October
24
|
French
troops recapture Douaumont, saving Verdun.
|
November
7
|
Woodrow
Wilson is re-elected as American President. He had stated that
he would keep America out of the war.
|
November
18
|
End
of the Battle of the Somme.
|
November
21
|
The
death of the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Josef. His successor,
Kaiser Karl, is more liberal and has a French wife.
|
November
28
|
First
German air-plane attack on Britain.
|
December
7
|
David
Lloyd George becomes Prime Minister.
|
December
12
|
Germany
sends a peace note to the Allies. It is rejected.
|
December
18
|
Woodrow
Wilson invites both sides to state their aims and objectives.
|
| |
|
1917 |
January
|
Allies
respond to US request. Germany urges their Mexican ambassador
to incite war between Mexico and the United States in a telegram
(the Zimmermann telegram).
|
February
1
|
Germany
embarks on a campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare.
|
February
3
|
US
breaks of diplomatic ties with Germany.
|
March
1
|
Details
of the Zimmermann telegram are published in the American press.
|
March
7-12
|
The
first Russian Revolution. Nicholas II abdicates and is replaced
by a provisional government.
|
March
20
|
American
war cabinet votes to go to war.
|
April
6
|
America
declares war on Germany.
|
April
9
|
Canadian
troops win the Battle of Vimy Ridge.
Start of the Arras offensive.
|
July
2
|
The
commander of the American Expeditionary Force, John Pershing,
asks for 1 million men. This is later revised to 3 million men.
|
July
16
|
Start
of the Third Battle of Ypres, also known as Passchendaele.
|
November
7
|
Bolshevik
Revolution in Russia results in Lenin assuming power.
|
November
20
|
British
use tanks successfully for the first time at Cambrai.
|
December
7
|
An
armistice is concluded between Russia and Germany and Austria-Hungary.
Fighting on the Eastern Front ceases, releasing 1 million German
soldiers to fight on the Western Front.
United States declares war on Austria-Hungary.
|
| |
|
1918 |
March
3
|
Russia
and Germany sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.
|
March
21
|
Germany
launches a major offensive against British and French forces,
starting with the Battle of Picardy.
|
April
14
|
Marshal
Foch becomes Commander in Chief of all Allied Forces on the Western
Front.
|
July
|
Allies
start mounting a counter-attack to ther German offensive.
|
August
8
|
The
Amiens Offensive. Allied troops force the Germans back to the
Hindenberg line
|
September-October
|
Haig
is able to break through the Hindenberg line at various points.
|
September
30
|
Bulgaria
enters into an armistice with the Allied forces.
|
October
4
|
Germany
and Austria send notes to Woodrow Wilson requesting an armistice.
|
October
29
|
The
mutiny at Kiel. German sailors mutiny after being ordered to engage
the British fleet.
|
November
3
|
Austria-Hungary
concludes the terms of an armistice.
|
November
9
|
Kaiser
Wilhelm abdicates. Germany becomes a republic.
|
November
11
|
German
representatives sign the armistice. It comes into effect at 11am.
|
