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1914 WW1 Timeline
- June 28: Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is assassinated along with his wife by Bosnian Serb Gavrilo Princip.
- July 23: Austria-Hungary sends an ultimatum to Serbia demanding Serbia suppress all anti-Austrian propaganda and take measures to find and eliminate terrorist organizations within Serbia. Serbia refuses to comply.
- July 28: Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia and Russia begins to mobilize its army to defend Serbia.
- July 31: Tensions grow between Germany and Russia and Germany warns Russia to stop its mobilization against Austria-Hungary.
- August 1: Germany and Russia declare war on each other. A secret alliance is signed between Germany and the Ottoman Empire. Italy announces it is a neutral country.
- August 2: Germany occupies Luxembourg.
- August 3: Germany and France declare war on each other.
- August 4: Britain declares war on Germany after Germany invades Belgium.
- August 6: Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia and Serbia declares war on Germany.
- August 7: The Battle of the Frontiers consisting of five battles in August and September of 1914 begins with the Battle of Mulhouse.
- August 11: France declares war on Austria-Hungary.
- August 12: Britain declares war on Austria-Hungary.
- August 22: Austria-Hungary declares war on Belgium.
- August 23: Japan declares war on Germany.
- August 25: Japan declares war on the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
- August 26 - 30: Germany defeats Russia at the Battle of Tannenberg. This would be Germany's greatest victory of the entire war on the Eastern front.
- September 5 - 12: First Battle of the Marne. The German advance on Paris is halted, marking the failure of Germany's Schlieffen Plan.
- October 19: The First Battle of Ypres begins. It would end over a month later on November 22nd, 1914.
1915 WW1 Timeline
- February 4: Germany begins a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.
- March 10 - 13: The Battle of Neuve Chapelle is fought.
- April 22 - 25: The Second Battle of Ypres is fought in western Belgium. The Germans used poison gas which was the first effective use of gas in the war.
- April 25: The Gallipoli Campaign begins. This unsuccessful British and French offensive will last up until January 9th of 1916.
- May 7: The British ocean liner S.S. "Lusitania" is sunk by a German submarine. This event was a major factor influencing America to declare war on Germany in 1917.
- May 23: Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary, therefore entering World War One on the side of the Allies.
- September 1: Germany suspends their policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.
- October 14: Bulgaria declares war on Serbia and Serbia declares war on Bulgaria.
- October 15: The United Kingdom declares war on Bulgaria.
- October 16: France declares war against Bulgaria.
- October 19: Russia and Italy declare war against Bulgaria.
1916 WW1 Timeline
- February 21: The Battle of Verdun begins on the Western Front between the French and German armies. This battle would last until December of 1916.
- March 1: Germany resumes its policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.
- March 9: Germany declares war on Portugal due to Portugal's seizing of German ships anchored in Lisbon.
- May 10: Germany once again suspends unrestricted submarine warfare.
- May 31 - June 1: The largest naval battle of World War One, the Battle of Jutland, takes place in the North Sea off the coast of Denmark. There is no clear winner.
- July 1: The Somme Offensive (Battles of the Somme) begins. This series of battles, fought near the Somme River in France, would last up until November 1st of 1918.
- August 27: Romania declares war on Austria-Hungary.
- August 28: Germany declares war on Rumania and Italy declares war on Germany.
- August 30: Turkey declares war on Rumania.
- September 1: Bulgaria declares war on Rumania.
- September 15 -22: The Battle of Flers-Courcelette begins in northern France. This battle saw the first use of tanks in warfare.
1917 WW1 Timeline
- February 1: Germany once again begins a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.
- March 8: The Russian Revolution begins.
- March 15: Russia Czar Nicholas II is forced to abdicate the throne. A provisional government is set up.
- April 6: The United States of America enters World War 1 by declaring war on Germany.
- April 6: Austria-Hungary ends relations with the U.S.
- June 7 - 14: The Battle of Messines is fought. It is a British offensive on the Western Front near the village of Messines in Belgian West Flanders.
- June 30: Greece declares war on the Central powers.
- July 31: The Battle of Passchendaele, also called the Third Battle of Ypres, begins on the Western Front near the Belgian city of Ypres in West Flanders. The battle will last until November 1917.
- October 24 - November 4: Battle of Caporetto. The Austro-Hungarians reinforced by German soldiers break through the Italian front lines. Italian losses are enormous.
- November 7: The Russian October Revolution begins and the Bolsheviks seize power.
- December 7: The U.S. declares war on Austria-Hungary.
1918 WW1 Timeline
- March 21: The Second Battle of the Somme begins. The German offensive pushes towards Paris but within a week is halted by the Allies.
- May 27: The Third Battle of the Aisne, a huge German surprise attack, begins. This battle would mark the first time in the war American troops proved themselves in battle.
- June 9: The Battle of the Matz begins. At first the German attack is successful but is halted by the French on June 11th.
- July 15 - August 6: The Second Battle of the Marne, the last German offensive on the Western Front, is fought.
- July 17: Russia's Czar Nicholas II and his family were all shot in their palace by the Bolsheviks.
- August 8 - November 11: The Allies launched a series of attacks dubbed "The Hundred Days Offensive" beginning with the Battle of Amiens on August 8th.
- November 11: An armistice (cease fire agreement) is reached between the Allies and Germany.