World War 1 Timeline
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Timeline
Summary
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28 June 1914
Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
The Balkan states of Bosnia and Herzegovina, had been annexed from Turkey and taken into the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This was strongly resented by many Serbs and Croats and a nationalist group, The Black Hand, was formed.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, and his wife, had decided to inspect Austro-Hungarian troops in Bosnia. The date chosen for the inspection was a national day in Bosnia. The Black Hand supplied a group of students with weapons for an assassination attempt to mark the occasion.
A Serbian nationalist student, Gavrilo Princip, assassinated the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, when their open car stopped at a corner on its way out of the town.
28 July 1914
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.
1 Aug 1914
Germany declared war on Russia
Germany declared war on Russia.
3 Aug 1914
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.
4 Aug 1914
British declaration of war
Germany did not withdraw from Belgium and Britain declared war on Germany.
Aug 1914
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 its 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 battle, 13,000 men were killed.
13 Aug 1914
Japan declared war on Germany
Japan declared war on Germany through her alliance with Great Britain, signed in 1902
Sept 1914
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.
29 Oct 1914
Turkey
Turkey entered the war on the side of the central powers and gave help to a German naval bombardment of Russia.
2 Nov 1914
Russia declared war on Turkey
Because of the help given by Turkey to the German attack of Russia, Russia declared war on Turkey.
5 Nov 1914
Britain and France declared war on Turkey
Britain and France, Russias allies, declared war on Turkey, because of the help given to the German attack on Russia.
late 1914
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. Although they initially held off the Germans, they were soon forced to retreat.
The British lost a huge number of men at the first battle of Ypres.
By Christmas, all hopes that the war would be over had gone and the holiday saw men of both sides digging themselves into the trenches of the Western Front.
Dec 1914
Zeppelins
The first Zeppelins appeared over the English coast.
7 May 1915
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.
23 May 1915
Italy
Italy entered the war on the side of the Allies.
2 Apr 1915
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.
Feb 1915
Zeppelin bombing
Zeppelin airships dropped bombs on Yarmouth.
Feb 1915
Dardanelles
The Russians appealed for help from Britain and France to beat off an attack by the Turkish. The British navy responded by attacking Turkish forts in the Dardanelles
Apr – Aug 1915
Dardanelles
/ Gallipoli
Despite the loss of several ships to mines, the British successfully landed a number of marines in the Gallipoli region of the Dardanelles
. Unfortunately the success was not followed up and the mission was a failure.
after Feb 1915
Winston Churchill resigns
Winston Churchill, critical of the Dardanelles
campaign, resigned his post as First Lord of the Admiralty. He rejoined the army as a battalion commander.
April 1915
Zeppelins
The use of airships by the Germans increased. Zeppelins began attacking London. They were also used for naval reconnaissance, to attack London and smaller balloons were used for reconnaissance along the Western Front. They were only stopped when the introduction of aeroplanes shot them down.
early 1916
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill served in Belgium as lieutenant colonel of the Royal Scots Fusiliers.
April 1916
Romania enter the war
Romania joined the war on the side of the Allies. But within a few months was occupied by Germans and Austrians.
31 May 1916
Battle of Jutland
This was the only truly large-scale naval battle of the war. German forces, confined to port by a British naval blockade, came out in the hope of splitting the British fleet and destroying it ship by ship. However, the British admiral, Beatty, aware that the