1914
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June 28
| Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne,by Gavril Princip in Sarajevo.
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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.
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August 15
| Austro-Hungarian troops march into Russia.
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August 17
| Russia invades East Prussia.
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August 23
| British and German troops face each other at the Battle of Mons.
Japan declares war on Germany.
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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.
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October 19
| First battle of Ypres begins.
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October 29
| Turkey joins the War on the side of the Central Powers.
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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.
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December 25
| Spontaneous and unauthorised truce takes place in some sectors of the Western Front.
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1915 |
January 19
| First Zeppelin raid on England.
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January 31
| First time that gas is used against humans when the Germans use it to attack Russian forces in Poland.
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February 18
| Germany starts to treat British coastal waters as a war zone and warns neutral ships to enter at their own risk.
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March 11
| British naval blockade of Germany begins.
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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.
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April 22
| Second Battle of Ypres begins. Germans use chlorine gas against the British for the first time.
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April 25
| 70,000 Allied troops land at Gallipoli on ill-fated mission to knock Turkey out of the war.
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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.
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May 23
| Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary.
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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.
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October 12
| The British nurse, Edith Cavell, is executed by the Germans for being a spy. The incident causes international outrage.
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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.
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December 19
| Sir Douglas Haig replaces Sir John French as commander of the British Expeditionary Force.
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December 20
| Allied troops start to withdraw from Gallipoli.
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1916 |
January 24
| Conscription introduced in Britain.
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February 21
| Germany’s attack on Verdun starts. It eventually becomes the longest battle in the War and results in many casualties.
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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.
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June 24
| A week-long bombardment of the German trenches starts ahead of the Battle of the Somme.
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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.
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August 29
| Hindenberg becomes chief of the German staff.
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August 31
| Germany suspends submarine assaults. They resume on October 15.
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September 15
| Tanks used for the first time on a battlefield.
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October 24
| French troops recapture Douaumont, saving Verdun.
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November 7
| Woodrow Wilson is re-elected as American President. He had stated that he would keep America out of the war.
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November 18
| End of the Battle of the Somme.
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November 21
| The death of the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Josef. His successor, Kaiser Karl, is more liberal and has a French wife.
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November 28
| First German air-plane attack on Britain.
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December 7
| David Lloyd George becomes Prime Minister.
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December 12
| Germany sends a peace note to the Allies. It is rejected.
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December 18
| Woodrow Wilson invites both sides to state their aims and objectives.
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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).
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February 1
| Germany embarks on a campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare.
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February 3
| US breaks of diplomatic ties with Germany.
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March 1
| Details of the Zimmermann telegram are published in the American press.
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March 7-12
| The first Russian Revolution. Nicholas II abdicates and is replaced by a provisional government.
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March 20
| American war cabinet votes to go to war.
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April 6
| America declares war on Germany.
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April 9
| Canadian troops win the Battle of Vimy Ridge.
Start of the Arras offensive.
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July 2
| The commander of the American Expeditionary Force, John Pershing, asks for 1 million men. This is later revised to 3 million men.
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July 16
| Start of the Third Battle of Ypres, also known as Passchendaele.
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November 7
| Bolshevik Revolution in Russia results in Lenin assuming power.
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November 20
| British use tanks successfully for the first time at Cambrai.
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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.
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1918 |
March 3
| Russia and Germany sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.
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March 21
| Germany launches a major offensive against British and French forces, starting with the Battle of Picardy.
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April 14
| Marshal Foch becomes Commander in Chief of all Allied Forces on the Western Front.
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July
| Allies start mounting a counter-attack to ther German offensive.
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August 8
| The Amiens Offensive. Allied troops force the Germans back to the Hindenberg line
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September-October
| Haig is able to break through the Hindenberg line at various points.
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September 30
| Bulgaria enters into an armistice with the Allied forces.
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October 4
| Germany and Austria send notes to Woodrow Wilson requesting an armistice.
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October 29
| The mutiny at Kiel. German sailors mutiny after being ordered to engage the British fleet.
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November 3
| Austria-Hungary concludes the terms of an armistice.
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November 9
| Kaiser Wilhelm abdicates. Germany becomes a republic.
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November 11
| German representatives sign the armistice. It comes into effect at 11am.
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