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The assassination
the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, Serbia. The Austro-Hungarian empire wanted to extradite the killer, but Serbia refused. Once the spark of the Archduke's assassination had lit the fuse, war became virtually inevitable due to the alliance system that the major powers had set up - they literally tumbled into war. -
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World War 1
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Austria declared 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. -
Russia at war
Germany declared war on Russia -
Germany declared 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. -
British declaration of war
British declaration of war
Germany did not withdraw from Belgium and Britain declared war on Germany. -
Japan at war against Germany
Japan declared war on Germany through her alliance with Great Britain, signed in 1902 -
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Battle of Tannenberg
The Russian army marched into Prussia. However, because of the differences in railway gauge between Russia and Prussia it was difficult for the Russians to get supplies through to their men. The Germans, on the other hand, used their railway system to surround the Russian Second army at Tannenberg before it's commander could realise what was happening. The ensuing battle was a heavy defeat for the Russians with thousands of men killed and 125,000 taken prisoner. Although the Germans won the batt -
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Battle of Masurian Lakes
Having defeated the Russian Second army, the Germans turned their attention to the Russian First army at Masurian Lakes. Although the Germans were unable to defeat the army completely, over 100,000 Russians were taken prisoner. -
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battle of Ypres
First World War battle fought for the strategically important town of Ypres in western Belgium in October and November 1914. The German and Western Allied attempts to secure the town from enemy occupation included a series of further battles in and around the West Flanders Belgian municipality. -
turkey on war
Turkey entered the war on the side of the central powers and gave help to a German naval bombardment of Russia. -
Russia declared war on Turkey
Russia declared war on Turkey
Because of the help given by Turkey to the German attack of Russia, Russia declared war on Turkey. -
Britain and France declared war on Turkey
Britain and France, Russia's allies, declared war on Turkey, because of the help given to the German attack on Russia. -
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Early stages of the war
The German advance through Belgium to France did not go as smoothly as the Germans had hoped. The Belgians put up a good fight destroying railway lines to slow the transport of German supplies.
Despite a French counter-attack that saw the deaths of many Frenchmen on the battlefields at Ardennes, the Germans continued to march into France. They were eventually halted by the allies at the river Marne.
British troops had advanced from the northern coast of France to the Belgian town of Mons. -
Second battle of Ypres
Poison gas was used for the first time during this battle. The gas, fired by the Germans claimed many British casualties. -
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Dardenelles/ Gallipoli
Despite the loss of several ships to mines, the British successfully landed a number of marines in the Gallipoli region of the Dardenelles. Unfortunately the success was not followed up and the mission was a failure. -
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. -
Italy at war
Italy entered the war on the side of the Allies. -
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Battle of Verdun
The Germans mounted an attack on the French at Verdun designed to 'bleed the French dry'. Although the fighting continued for nine months, the battle was inconclusive. Casualties were enormous on both sides with the Germans losing 430,000 men and the French 540,000. -
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battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland is considered to be the only major naval battle of World War One. Jutland witnessed the British Navy losing more men and ships but the verdict of the Battle of Jutland was that the German Navy lost and was never in a position again to put to sea during the war. -
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Battle of the Somme
The battle was preceded by a week long artillery bombardment of the German line which was supposed to destroy the barbed wire defences placed along the German line but only actually succeeded in making no mans land a mess of mud and craters. The five month long battle saw the deaths of 420,000 British soldiers (60,000 on the first day), 200,000 French soldiers and 500,000 German soldiers all for a total land gain of just 25 miles. -
first airplane raid
The Battle of Jutland is considered to be the only major naval battle of World War One. Jutland witnessed the British Navy losing more men and ships but the verdict of the Battle of Jutland was that the German Navy lost and was never in a position again to put to sea during the war. -
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Reinforcements sent to Italy
The Italians had lost many men trying to hold the line between Italy and the Central Powers. British and French reinforcements were sent to hold the line. -
USA decleares war on Germany
The United States of America declared war on Germany in response to the sinking, by German U boats, of US ships. -
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Battle of Vimy Ridge
The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a military engagement fought primarily as part of the Battle of Arras, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the Canadian Corps, of four divisions, against three divisions of the German Sixth Army. The battle, which took place from 9 to 12 April 1917, was part of the opening phase of the British-led Battle of Arras, a diversionary attack for the French Nivelle Offensive. -
First turning point
The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a military engagement fought primarily as part of the Battle of Arras, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the Canadian Corps, of four divisions, against three divisions of the German Sixth Army. The battle, which took place from 9 to 12 April 1917, was part of the opening phase of the British-led Battle of Arras, a diversionary attack for the French Nivelle Offensive. -
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Battle of Passchendaele
The operation commanded by the French General, Nivelle, went wrong and caused the loss of many French soldiers. Haig protested to the British government and advocated trying his own scheme for a breakthrough. At the resulting battle of Passchendale, Haig broke his promise to call off the battle if the first stage failed because he did not want to lose face with the government. -
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Battle of Cambrai
The British took a large force of tanks across the barbed wire and machine gun posts at Cambrai. -
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. -
RAF formed
The Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service were merged to form the Royal Air Force. -
Battle of Marne (second turning point)
The second turning point was the June 1918 March Offensive, also known as the Battle of the Marne, in which German General Erich von Ludendorff advanced too far and too fast ahead of his artillery and allowed the Allies to win the battle by depleting his forces. -
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Battle of Amiens
The British general, Haig, ordered the attack of the German sector at Amiens. At the same time the news came through that the allies had broken through from Salonika and forced Bulgaria to sue for peace. -
Third turning point
The third turning point occurred in September 1918 when Allied forces breached the Hindenburg Line and forced the German troops to retreat. As the Central Forces experienced growing battlefield shortages and dwindling support on the home front, Germany was left with no option but to call for an armistice and end the war in November 1918. -
Allies recover France and Belgium
The allies had taken almost all of German-occupied France and part of Belgium. -
Armistice with Turkey
The allies had successfully pushed the Turkish army back and the Turks were forced to ask for an armistice. The terms of the armistice treaty allowed the allies access to the Dardenelles. -
Armistice signed
At 11 am, in the French town of Redonthes, the Armistice was signed bringing the war to an end.
