WOrld War I TImeline
June 28, 1914
Archduke Assassination: Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated in Sarajevo. His death is the event that sparks World War I.
Archduke Assassination: Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated in Sarajevo. His death is the event that sparks World War I.
July 30, 1914
Russia Mobilizes: Russia mobilizes its vast army to intervene against Austria-Hungary in favor of its ally, Serbia. This move starts a chain reaction that leads to the mobilization of the rest of the European Great Powers, and inevitably to the outbreak of hostilities.
Russia Mobilizes: Russia mobilizes its vast army to intervene against Austria-Hungary in favor of its ally, Serbia. This move starts a chain reaction that leads to the mobilization of the rest of the European Great Powers, and inevitably to the outbreak of hostilities.
August 4, 1914
World War I Begins: Germany invades Belgium, beginning World War I.
World War I Begins: Germany invades Belgium, beginning World War I.
May 7, 1915
Lusitania Sinks: A German submarine sinks the passenger liner Lusitania. The ship carries 1,198 people, 128 of them Americans.
Lusitania Sinks: A German submarine sinks the passenger liner Lusitania. The ship carries 1,198 people, 128 of them Americans.
February 25, 1917
Zimmerman Telegram: British intelligence gives Wilson the so-called Zimmermann Telegram, a message from German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmermann proposing that Mexico side with Germany in case of war between Germany and the United States. In return, Germany promises to return to Mexico the "lost provinces" of Texas and much of the rest of the American Southwest. Mexico declines the offer, but the outrage at this interference in the Western Hemisphere pushes American public opinion to support entering the war.
Zimmerman Telegram: British intelligence gives Wilson the so-called Zimmermann Telegram, a message from German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmermann proposing that Mexico side with Germany in case of war between Germany and the United States. In return, Germany promises to return to Mexico the "lost provinces" of Texas and much of the rest of the American Southwest. Mexico declines the offer, but the outrage at this interference in the Western Hemisphere pushes American public opinion to support entering the war.
April 6, 1917
U.S. Enters War: Congress authorizes a declaration of war against Germany. The United States enters World War I on the side of France and Britain.
U.S. Enters War: Congress authorizes a declaration of war against Germany. The United States enters World War I on the side of France and Britain.
March 3, 1918
Germany and Russia Peace: The Germans sign a peace treaty with the new Bolshevik government of Russia. The terms of the treaty give Germany huge tracts of land that had been the Ukraine and Poland, and peace on the Eastern Front allows Germany to shift soldiers to the Western Front, causing serious problems for the French, British, and Americans.
Germany and Russia Peace: The Germans sign a peace treaty with the new Bolshevik government of Russia. The terms of the treaty give Germany huge tracts of land that had been the Ukraine and Poland, and peace on the Eastern Front allows Germany to shift soldiers to the Western Front, causing serious problems for the French, British, and Americans.
May 28, 1918
Battle of Cantigny: The Battle of Cantigny is the first major American offensive of the war. Though small in scale, the Americans fight bravely and soon go on to larger attacks against German positions.
Battle of Cantigny: The Battle of Cantigny is the first major American offensive of the war. Though small in scale, the Americans fight bravely and soon go on to larger attacks against German positions.
June 6, 1918
Battle of Belleau Wood: The Battle of Belleau Wood begins as the U.S. Marine Corps attacks the Germans across an open field of wheat, suffering huge casualties.
June 26, 1918
Belleau Wood Ends: The Battle of Belleau Wood ends with the final expulsion of the Germans from the wood, which marks the farthest German advance on Paris. The area has changed hands six times during the three-week battle, which has caused nearly 10,000 American casualties.
Battle of Belleau Wood: The Battle of Belleau Wood begins as the U.S. Marine Corps attacks the Germans across an open field of wheat, suffering huge casualties.
June 26, 1918
Belleau Wood Ends: The Battle of Belleau Wood ends with the final expulsion of the Germans from the wood, which marks the farthest German advance on Paris. The area has changed hands six times during the three-week battle, which has caused nearly 10,000 American casualties.
November 9, 1918
Wilhelm Abdicates: Kaiser Wilhelm abdicates, ending all German hope for a victory. He and his retinue quietly slip over the border into the Netherlands where he lives out the remainder of his life in relative peace and writes a self-promoting memoir defending his actions in the war.
Wilhelm Abdicates: Kaiser Wilhelm abdicates, ending all German hope for a victory. He and his retinue quietly slip over the border into the Netherlands where he lives out the remainder of his life in relative peace and writes a self-promoting memoir defending his actions in the war.
November 11, 1918
Armistice Day: An Armistice is signed ending fighting on the Western Front.
Armistice Day: An Armistice is signed ending fighting on the Western Front.
Shmoop Editorial Team. "World War I Timeline of Important Dates." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 25 Mar. 2015. <http://www.shmoop.com/wwi/timeline.html>.