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On this day, Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria-Hungary, is assassinated by gunshot.

He and his wife are both killed in their car during a visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina, a province neighbouring the country of Serbia. Serbia had been wanting to take over Bosnia, and unrest and disdain for the Austrians grew in Serbia. Franz Ferdinand was a part of the Hapsburg empirical family and heavily involved in the Austria-Hungarian Army, so he was shot by a Pro-Serbian terrorist. This led to massive outrage among the people of Austria-Hungary, and anti-Serbian nationalism spread throughout the country.

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Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, which marks the start of the First World War.

Austria-Hungary starts attacking Serbia the next day.

Germany and the Allies (especially the United Kingdom) both still hope this conflict stays in the Balkans.

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Many European powers join the war.

On August 1st Germany declares war on Russia, and France mobilizes in response.

German troops travel to Luxembourg the next day, asking for passage to France via Belgium, and on August 3rd Germany officially declares war on France. After this passage was not accepted, German forces invaded Belgium.

The United Kingdom, which had previously been devided on whether they should join the war or not, officially declares war on Germany on the 4th of August, after the German bertayal of Belgian neutrality.

On August 10th, Austria-Hungary invades Russia, after it had declared war on August 5th.

During the rest of the war, different countries allied themselves with either the Allies or the Axis Powers.

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The First Battle of Mons, part of a series of battles called "The Battle of Frontiers," takes place.

This battle was the first battle of the war for the BEP (British Expeditionary Force), what was then a small but professionally trained army.

The BEP were to keep their position along a canal, which they at first succeeded, but after the German forces revised their strategy and used their greater numbers to their advantage, The BEP retreated.

This battle taught the British government it should recruit civilian soldiers to create a larger military force, which it later did.

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First Battle of The Marne, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

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The First Battle of the Marne takes place, which leads to the characteristic trench warfare of the First World War.

German powers were trying to take over Paris, as part of its Schlieffen plan. The Allied Powers succeeded in defending Paris, which meant France could continue to fight. This battle however also taught both sides how important defence was, which created the trench warfare and strategy we think of when we think of this war and made this war so much more complicated and long lasting.

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Germany starts attacking merchant ships and especially British Ships by U-boat.

The United Kingdom has held a blockade across the North Sea and the English Channel since 1914, to halt the supply of supplies going to Germany. In retaliation, the German forces created the U-boat, which was a submarine built to sink British ships.

On May 7th, a U-boat sank a passenger ship, which according to them had war material and thus a valid target: The Lusitania. On this ship were around 12 000 civilians, including 128 American citizens.

After this incident Germany stopped their U-Boat attacks, to prevent the United States joining the war.

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From the Archives - World War I U-Boat Footage

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British soldiers in a trench in Hill 60 during March 1915. - Imperial War Museum

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The Battle of Neuve Chapelle and the Battle of Hill 60 take place.

Both battles were significant in the show of British Power and created a dent in the German front at the hills near Lille and Ypres for the time being.

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Men of the Australian 1st Divisional Signal Company as they are towed towards Anzac Cove, 25th of April, 1915

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The Allies land on the Gallipoli Peninsula.

After bombardments in February, the Allies landed in Gallipoli to seize Constantinople and use the Dardanelles channel that flows towards the Black Sea.

This operation however turned out unsuccessful after a series of conflicts and led to a large loss of political prowess for the Allies and the British Prime minister, H.H. Asquith, who resigned early in December 1916.

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The recapture of Fort Douaumont - Photo Franck LALLEMAND

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The Battle of Verdun takes place.

The German forces plan to take the city of Verdun, an old city on the banks of the Meuse, without many German lives taken. Taking this city would damage the French nationalism.

The German forces managed to capture the city's largest Fort in February without much trouble, but they did suffer about as many losses as the French army when the German attacks slowly became less strategic, and the French increased their numbers. In May the effort was made to return to the original strategy of taking Verdun, which failed.

In the end the German troops suffered way a way greater loss than expected, which combined with the Battle of Somme, lead to a crisis of manpower within the German army.

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The Battle of Jutland takes place.

This battle takes place in the North Sea and was a show of power for the British navy, despite not having a decisive victory. This battle ensured the British blockade of supplies going to Germany.

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German prisoners carry British wounded during the assault on Trones Wood. - Vintage.es

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The Battle of the Somme takes place.

The Allies meant to get a decisive victory over Germany in the Western Front, which was made increasingly necessary as the war at Verdun continued. The French and British joined forces to advance into German occupied land.

A massacre ensued. Over one million men were killed from both sides, and the infamous bloodiest day in British military history took place on July 1st, in which the United Kingdom suffered 57 000 casualties and 19 500 fatalities. A truly black day in British History.

After many months of fighting, the British forces had only advanced seven miles, and decided to call of the offence.

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Germany returns to using the U-boats unrestricted.

Despite still having worries about the United States joining the war, Germany starts torpedoing ships again, including passenger ships.

The United States did decide to break its ties with Germany formally but did not join the war yet.

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The United States declares war on Germany and mobilizes its troops.

After Russia suffering much inner political turmoil which led to a revolution, the Allies were losing manpower, and their luck was starting to turn. American citizens were starting to side with joining the war.

And then the Zimmerman Telegram happened, a message from Germany to Mexico that was intercepted by the British. In the telegram Germany said that Mexico could have the states it lost in the Mexican wars if they sided with Germany.

This and the unrestricted U-boat usage led to the United States officially declaring war on Germany on April 6th.

In June, the American troops arrived in France.

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Soviet Russia signs the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, agreeing to losing big parts of its territory, and peace with Germany.

This treaty meant that Soviet Russia would distance themselves from Ukraine, Georgia, Finland, and some of its territory in what is now Poland and the Balkan. Some of these states, like Ukraine, even became independent.

A ceasefire had already been reached by December 1917, but many negotiations had to take place to finally reach an agreement on Soviet Russia's part.

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Treaties of Brest-Litovsk, peace treaties signed at Brest-Litovsk (now in Belarus) by the Central Powers with the Ukrainian Republic (Feb. 9, 1918) and with Soviet Russia (March 3, 1918), which concluded hostilities between those countries during World War I. Peace negotiations, which the Soviet government had requested on Nov. 8, 1917, began on December 22. They were divided into several sessions, during which the Soviet delegation tried to prolong the proceedings and took full advantage of its opportunity to issue propaganda statements, while the Germans grew increasingly impatient.

Brest-Litovsk, treaties of George Grantham Bain Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (digital file no. 26094)

When no substantial progress had been made by January 18, the German general Max Hoffmann firmly presented the German demands, which included the establishment of independent states in the Polish and Baltic territories formerly belonging to the Russian Empire and in Ukraine. Leon Trotsky, head of the Soviet delegation since January 9, called for a recess (January 18-30). He returned to Petrograd where he persuaded the reluctant Bolsheviks (including Lenin) to adopt a policy under which Russia would leave the war but sign no peace treaty ("neither war nor peace").

When negotiations resumed, the Soviet delegation again tried to stall; but after the Central Powers concluded a separate peace with the nationalist Ukrainian delegation (February 9), Trotsky announced the new Soviet policy. Negotiations came to a halt on February 10. But when the Germans renewed their military offensive (February 18), the Russians immediately requested that talks be resumed. On February 23, the Germans responded with an ultimatum allowing the Russians two days to open talks and three more to conclude them. Lenin, realizing that the new Soviet state was too weak to survive a continuation of the war, threatened to resign if the German terms were not met.

On March 3 the Soviet government accepted a treaty by which Russia lost Ukraine, its Polish and Baltic territories, and Finland. (Ukraine was recovered in 1919, during the Russian Civil War.) The treaty was ratified by the Congress of Soviets on March 15. Both the Ukrainian and Russian treaties were annulled by the Armistice on Nov. 11, 1918, which marked the Allied defeat of Germany.

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Treaties of Brest-Litovsk, peace treaties signed at Brest-Litovsk (now in Belarus) by the Central Powers with the Ukrainian Republic (Feb. 9, 1918) and with Soviet Russia (March 3, 1918), which concluded hostilities between those countries during World War I. Peace negotiations, which the Soviet

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Germany begins the Spring Offensive, its final offensive.

The goal was to break through the weakest point in the British defence. In part this succeeded, but in the end both sides lost more than 300 000 men during this offensive.

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The Great Spring Offensive (Kaiserschlacht 1918)

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Poster print of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive

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The last offensive at Meuse-Argonne of the Allied powers starts.

This offensive was one of the battles that lead to the end of the war. More than a million American soldiers battled in this offensive.

The offensive was an enormous success and the allies quickly gained ground in the Western front.

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The Armistice is signed, effectively ending the First World War in the Western front.

This Armistice was not the only one signed during this year, but it is the one that made the most impact. The war was finally over for most.

This Armistice also annulled the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

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Treaty of Versailles is signed.

The Treaty of Versailles is one of a few treaties signed between the Allied and Central Powers. It put the blame for the war with the Central Powers and especially Germany, and its consequences are often seen as one of the main causes for the Second World War.