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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and wife.
On June 28, 1914 the Archduke and his wife of Austria-Hungary were shot and killed. This event is widley thought to embark the start of World War I. The gunman who was most responsible for this tradegy was Gravillo Princip. He happened to be loitering around the area while the Duke and his wife were touring Sarajevo. Seeing the opportnnity that they were in an open car, Princip fired at point-blank range. As bystanders attacked Princip, the Archduke and his wife (Sophie), lay wounded and dying. -
Austria-Hungary delares war on Serbia
This event occured exactly one month after the assassination of the Archduke and his wife. The gunman was a Serbian nationalist, so the Austria-Hungarians declared war because they felt threatened and angry. -
Germany declares war on Russia
On the same day as France orders a general mobilization, Russia and Germany declare war against eachother. -
Germany declares war on France
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Germany invades Belgium
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Great Britain declares war on Germany
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Battle of Marne
The battle of Marne was the first battle of World War I. The french commander and chief Joseph Joffre ordered an offensive attack against German troops.This battle was fought to the north and east of Paris. The Anglo-French victory had been due to the fact that the Germans had outrun their logistics and used all of their artillery to a huge advantage in earlier battles. This battle was from September 5 to September 12 of 1914. -
Sinking of Lusitania
On May 7th, a German U-boat sank the RMS Lusitania, a British ocean liner on a route from New York to Liverpool, England. More than 1,200 people died, inlcuding 120 Americans. The sinking of the Lusitania played a major part in the role in turning public opinion against Germany, both in the United States and other countries. Many Americans in the U.S began to turn against Germany because of the 120 Americans who died on that boat. The United States had a good trading relationship with Britain. -
Battle of Verdun
German General Erich von Falkenhayn wanted to elict major bloodshed from the French defense fortress complex. The German force kept advancing toward the French. They took many strong advances but failed as they did as many casualties as hoped. On July 14, the Germans called off their offensive. Falkenhayn was shortly dismissed for his failure at Verdun. This was another French victory. The battle ended on December 16th of 1916. -
Pledge of Sussex
The Sussex pledge was a promise from the German Government to the United States of America relating to the conduct of the First World War. On March 24, a German submarine in the English channel attacked what they thought was a minelaying ship. However, it was actually a French passenger steamer ship called "the Sussex." Many Americans were injured and President Wilson adressed the issue: Germany should end attacks on passenger vessels, or face America 'breaking off'' diplomatic realtions. -
Battle of Somme
This battle was one of the largest battles of the World War I. It was fought between July 1 and November 1 of 1916. It took place near the Somme River in France. On July 1, the British attacked north of the Somme with 14 divisions, while the French attacked the south of Somme with 5 divisons. As a defense the Germans sent 7 divisions.This 1 battle had a marked effect on overall casualty figures and seemed to represent the failure of trench warfare. Allies attepmt to break through german W fronts -
The Zimmerman Note ins Intercepted
Arthur Zimmerman sent a message propsing a Mexican-German alliance in the case of war between the U.S. and Germany. This angered the United States. The telegram was intercepted by British intelligence in January of 1917. Zimmerman offered many promses to Mexico if they agreed such as: finicial aids and restorement of the territories. -
Russian Revolution
The Revolution started with people rioting over food prices in the capital Petrograd. When the soldiers wouldn't fire on the demonstrators, things got out of hand and it turned into a spontaneous uprising. The result of the Revolution was that Tsar Nicholas II was forced to resign from office. He was very unpopular. The First World War was going very badly for Russia and people blamed the Tsar. After the Russian Revolution in March, Russia got a new government called the Provisional Government. -
U.S. declares War against Germany
On the evening of April 2, 1917, President Wilson appreared before a joint session of Congress and asked for a decalration of war against Germany in order to "make the world safe for democracy." On April 6th Congress granted the request and the United States was formally at war with Germany. -
Batte of Argonne Forest
The Battle of Argonne Forest was the largest battle of World War 1. It took place from September 26th to November 11th 1918. It was the fianl allied offense of WWI. The German forces were now at a stall, and the French and American forces saw an opportunity too end the war. The French Marshal Ferdinand Foch, supreme commander of the Allied forces, ordered massive attacks against the Germans all along the western front. The Americans launched the most massive attack in American history.
