TIMELINE
1914
June
28th
Austrian
Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated at Sarajevo
July
5th
Kaiser
William II promised German support for Austria in war against Serbia
July
28th
Austria
declared war on Serbia
August
1st
Germany
declared war on Russia
August
2nd
Germany
invaded Luxembourg
August
3rd
Germany
declared war on France and invaded Belgium. Germany had to implement the
Schlieffen Plan.
August
4th
Britain
declared war on Germany
August
6th
Austria-Hungary
declared war on Russia, Serbia declared war on Germany
August
7th
British
Expeditionary Force (BEF) arrived in France
August
11th
France
declared war on Austria-Hungary
August
23rd
BEF
started retreated from Mons. Germany invaded France. Japan declared war on
Germany
August
25th
Japan
declared war on Austria-Hungary
August
26th
Russian
army defeated at Tannenburg and Masurian Lakes.
September
6th
Battle
of the Marne started
October
18th
First
Battle of Ypres
October
29th
Turkey
entered the war on Germany’s side. Trench warfare started to dominate the
Western Front.
December
24th -25th
Unofficial
Christmas truce between German and British forces on the Western Front
1915
January
19th
The
first zeppelin (airship) raid on Britain
February
19th
Britain
bombarded Turkish forts in the Dardanelles
April
25th
Allied
troops landed in Gallipoli, Turkey
May
7th
The
British liner “Lusitania” was sunk by
a German U-boat (submarine)
May
23rd
Italy
declared war on Germany and Austria
August
5th
Germany
captured Warsaw (Poland) from the Russians
September
25th
Start
of the Battle of Loos
December
19th
The
Allies started the evacuation of Gallipoli
1916
January
27th
Conscription
introduced in Britain
February
21st
Start
of the Battle of Verdun
April
29th
British
forces surrendered to Turkish forces at Kut in Mesopotamia
May
31st
Battle
of Jutland (Denmark)
June
4th
Beginning
of the Brusilov Offensive
July
1st
Beginning
of the Battle of the Somme
August
10th
End
of the Brusilov Offensive
September
15th
Tank
used en masse at the battle of the Somme
December
7th
David
Lloyd George became British Prime Minister
1917
April
6th
USA
declared war on Germany
April
16th
France
launched an offensive on the Western Front
July
31st
Beginning
of the Third Battle at Ypres
October
24th
Battle
of Caporetto – the Italian Army was heavily defeated
November
6th
Britain
launched a major offensive on the Western Front
November
20th
British
tanks won a victory at Cambrai (France)
December
5th
Armistice
(truce) between Germany and Russia signed
December
9th
Britain
captured Jerusalem from Turkey
1918
March
3rd
Treaty
of Brest-Litovsk signed between Russia and Germany.
March
21st
Germany
broke through on the Somme
March
29th
Marshall
Foch was appointed Allied Commander on the Western Front
April
9th
Germany
started an offensive in Flanders, Belgium
July
15th
Second
Battle of the Marne began. German army starts to fall apart
August
8th
The
advance of the Allies was successful
September
19th
Turkish
forces collapsed at Megiddo
October
4th
Germany
asked the Allies for an armistice
October
29th
Germany’s
navy mutinied
October
30th
Turkey
made peace
November
3rd
Austria
made peace
November
9th
Kaiser
William II abdicated
November
11th
Germany
signed an armistice with the Allies – the official date of the end of World
War One.
Post-war
– 1919
January
4th
Peace
conference met at Paris
June
21st
The
surrendered German naval fleet at Scapa Flow was scuttled.
June
28th
The
Treaty of Versailles was signed by the Germans.
