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The Spark of World War I: The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, by Princip of Serbia
Serbia had a deep resentment towards Austria-Hungary due to their powerful control over Bosnia and the Slavic people. The great build up in tension caused Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian, to murder the Austro-Hungarian heir, Archduke Franz-Ferdinand. On the day of his assassination, Ferdinand and his wife Sophie had been in Sarajevo to check out the imperial armed forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina. When their car took a wrong turn, Princip saw his opportunity and killed the couple. -
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia: World War I officially begins.
The death of Archduke Ferdinand caused the final decline of peace between the European powers. With its terrible loss, Austria-Hungary finally declared war on Serbia after the confirmation from the German leader, Kaiser Wilhelm, that Germany would side with them during the fighting. Russia allied with Serbia, causing France and Britain to also join the war. Great Britain, France, and Russia formed the Triple Entente Alliance, while Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Italy formed the Triple Alliance. -
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World War I
Fighting began in the Balkan Peninusla July 1914 and ended in November 1918 with the singing of the Armistice of Compiègne. The results of the war came in 1919 at the meeting that established the Treaty of Versailles. -
The Introduction of Trench Warfare
The introduction of trench warfare is associated with the First World War battle, the Battle of the Marne that resulted in Ally victory against Germany. The trench system stretched 25,000 miles from the North Sea coast in Belgium to Alsace on the Western Front. This form of combat included soldiers digging ditches for protection from enemy fire. Sanitation was very limited and many soldiers died of disease and "trench foot." The technique has continued to be used throughout following wars. -
February Revolution: Start of the Russian Revolution
March 3rd-4th, workers in Petrograd went on strike after being denied a 50% wage increase. March 8th, 30,000 employees were fired so they were unable to buy food. March 9th the riots increase. Tsar refuses the pleas of the Duma to release food supplies. March 10th, rioters free prisoners and Tsar orders the Duma not meet again to discuss the plan for the riots. March 11th, the Duma disobeyed Tsar. Kerensky formed the Provisional Government. Tsar was forced to abdicate from the throne March 12th. -
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Russian Revolution
Began with rioting in Petrograd and ended with the start of the Russian Civil War. The Civil War marked the result of the Revolution. -
The United States enters World War I
The United States declared war on Germany after a series of events that targeted them. On May 7, 1915, the RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat. Americans (120+) aboard died. These submarine attacks by Germany built tension between the two countries. On February 24, 1917, the United States government became aware of the Zimmerman Telegram written by German secretary Arthur Zimmerman. The note was addressed to the Mexican government and proposed an overthrow of the American government. -
Russian Civil War
Vladimir Lenin came to power establishing a radical communist government in Russia and abolishing Kerensky's previous rule. The followers of the new government became known as Bolsheviks. Many monarchists and militarists opposed the rule. The constant debate over communism sparked a civil war. Those against Lenin were referred to as the White Army. The Bolsheviks were known as the Red Army. After several years of fighting, Lenin closed the war in 1920 after using extreme terror tactics. -
Bolshevik Russians sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and officially withdraw from WWI
Russians signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the Triple Alliance that officially withdrew them from WWI. Leon Trotsky, the representative for Russia, negotiated with Germany the grant of independence to the lands it controlled in Eastern Europe. The withdrawal of Russian troops from the war caused an immense decrease to the morale of European troops in 1917-1918. The Triple Entente feared this loss of numbers would put them at a disadvantage. However, America would soon join the war effort. -
Tsar Nicholas II and his family are killed in Ekaterinburg
Tsar Nicholas II, after being forced to abdicate from the throne in 1917, was held captive near St. Petersburg with his family. In 1918, the Romanov family had been transported to Ekaterinburg. They were imprisoned in the home of N. N. Ipatiev, a merchant who had been seized by the Bolsheviks for the sole purpose of using his property as a hideaway for the royal family. On July 17, Tsar and his family met their fate and were shot in the basement of the house they were held prisoners in. -
Result of WWI: Treaty of Versailles
Although the armistice occurred in 1918, the Treaty officially ended WWI. Germany was to pay $2.7 trillion for all war damages caused under the war guilt clause. They were revoked of their militarism rights and were forced to return Alsace to France and other colonies they controlled to the Allies. An attempted "League of Nations" constructed by Woodrow Wilson failed without support from the U.S. Senate who wished to return to isolation. It failed to resolve prewar issues and led to WWII. -
The Stock Market Crash of 1929: The Great Depression is launched
March 24, 1929 (Black Thursday), the stock market, or Dow Jones Industrial Average, fell 11%. Frantic Wall Street bankers bought shares to raise the decrease to 2%. On Black Monday, the Dow continued to decrease and dropped 13% to 260.64. Finally on Black Tuesday, the Dow dropped 12% to 230.07, signifying a 25% decrease total. Over 16 million shares were made on the New York Stock Exchange and billions of dollars were lost. America and the industrial world spiraled into the Great Depression. -
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The Great Depression
The Great Depression began with the stock market crash of 1929 and initially ended with the start of WWII. -
Franklin Delano Roosevelt becomes the 32nd President of the United States
American citizens elected Franklin Delano Roosevelt to be their new president in hopes he would turn the Great Depression around. Under his presidency, the American federal government partook in new powerful roles in economy. He established the "New Deal," which was a collective program aimed to fix prosperity and economic problems in the American lives. He initially decreased the unemployment rates from 25% to 14.3% in 1937 convincing citizens he was a president that delivered promises made. -
FDR takes the United States off the Gold Standard
FDR takes America off the gold standard due to the Keynesian economic theory that stated the best way to fight off an economic crisis was to inflate money supply; increasing the amount of gold obtained by the Federal Reserve would do just this. Citizens in possession of gold coins, bullions, and certificates were to give them to the Federal Reserve. Under this action, by 1934 the price of gold per ounce increased to $35 and the gold on the Federal Reserve's balance sheets had increased to 69%. -
The Munich Agreement
Britain, Italy, and France made an agreement with Germany, specifically Hitler, that it would be given the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia if they agreed not to take more land. Chamberlain granted Hitler land in hopes to prevent war ultimately because Britain was not prepared for fighting. The Czechoslovakian government was unaware of this promise and felt betrayed by the Allies. This caused dispute, and in the end Hitler broke his promise made at the meeting. -
The Invasion of Poland: WWII Begins
Hitler and Nazi Germany ignore their previous promises made at the Munich Agreement and invade Poland. This event is often referred to as the "Lightening War" (Blitzkrieg). Upon the invasion, the prime minister of Britain, Neville Chamberlain, declared war on Germany after promising his country he would take action against Hitler the moment he invaded Poland. This action is the start of the Second World War. -
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World War II
WWII began with the Invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. Fighting ended on VJ Day August 15, 1945, and the war officially came to a close on September 2, 1945 when Japan formally surrendered aboard the U.S.S Missouri. -
The Battle of Pearl Harbor
On December 7th, Japanese kamikaze pilots bombed the Unites States territory of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Kamikaze pilots are aircraft pilots that make deliberate suicidal crashes and fly planes loaded with bombs and other explosives. The surprise military strike was made by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service against the United States naval site. This attack sparked U.S. entry into WWII, and FDR declared war on Japan and Germany. -
The Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway marked the first success of America and the Allies over the Japanese army in the Pacific war. The victory at Midway was the turning point of the war in the Pacific and put the Japanese on the defensive side and America on the offensive side. Commander Nimitz decoded Japanese war plans that included a surprise naval attack on the ships that escaped from the previous Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor; with this information, he was capable of producing the victory at Midway. -
D-Day: Surprise Invasion of the Allies off the coast of Normandy, France
General Eisenhower gave the order for the Invasion of Normandy, France also known as "Operation Overlord" on June 6th, 1944.
It was a surprise invasion of France that became the turning point of the war and the start of the end of WWII. Allied troops stormed Normandy beach and fought with Nazi's occupying the land until August; the liberation of Paris marked the defeat of the Germans and put them on the defensive side. -
The Yalta Conference
Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin meet at the Yalta Conference to discuss the postwar world and to demand the unconditional surrender of Germany. Roosevelt wished to have a quick USSR entry into the Pacific war. Churchill discussed having a strong Germany as a buffer for the USSR, where as Roosevelt and Stalin wanted a weak Germany. Roosevelt also bargained for a United Nations, a peace-keeping league that would prevent future war (United Nations was a major success after WWII and exists today). -
Victory in Europe Day: VE Day
VE Day symbolized victory in Europe or the Western Theater for the Allies. The war came to an official end in Europe. The Germans had surrendered to the Soviets in Prague and celebration spread all throughout the world. -
The Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and VJ Day
The U.S. drops the atomic bombs Little Boy in Hiroshima, Japan and Fat Man in Nagasaki, Japan. The bombs affected many people and stretched across a long radius. Over 110,000 people total were killed during these attacks, and many people today are still affected by the bombs through cancer or radiation poisoning. The development of the atomic bombs changed warfare forever and launched the nuclear age. VJ Day or Victory in Japan Day symbolized the war ending in the Pacific area with Ally victory.
