World War 1 Timeline - Haden Doore by Haden Doore

June 28, 1914 - Assassination of Franz Ferdinand

hadend — 2025-04-07 12:19:28 UTC

June 28, 1914, the event that started World War 1 occurred. Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were in Sarajevo. While in Sarajevo, a Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Principe, shot both Ferdinand and his wife, killing them both. The Archduke was the heir to the Austria-Hungary empire which lead to Austria-Hungary blaming Serbia for the assassination.

July 28, 1914 - Austria-Hungary declares war

hadend — 2025-04-07 12:24:18 UTC

After the assassination, A-H gave Serbia a list of demands. Serbia completed all except one, but were more than willing to come to a compromise. A-H was angered by the refusal and declared war, declaring war on multiple other countries while doing so, due to secret alliances.

August 2, 1914 - Germany's Ultimatum to Belgium

hadend — 2025-04-07 12:25:56 UTC

After declaring war on Serbia, Germany (an ally of A-H) decided to take out the other allies (allies of Serbia) while they were at it. They gave Belgium an ultimatum, stating that they must allow German troops to pass through to invade France. Belgium refused to grant passage.

August 4, 1914 - German Invasion of Belgium and Britain Declaration of War

hadend — 2025-04-07 12:29:33 UTC

Following Belgium's refusal to grant passage for German troops, Germany decided to invade Belgium. Belgium was a neutral party, therefore, Germany was asked to remove their troops from neutral Belgium. When they refused to remove their troops, Britain declared war on Germany.

August 6, 1914 - A-H Declares War on Russia

hadend — 2025-04-07 12:35:15 UTC

Many secret alliances were formed during these times. One of which was between Russia and Serbia. Because Russia saw itself as the protector of Serbia, Austria declared war on Russia as well.

August 10, 1914 - Ottoman Empire Helps Germany

hadend — 2025-04-07 12:41:31 UTC

The Ottoman Empire has control of an are of water called the Dardanelles. Having these in your territory was an extreme advantage. As Germany wanted to gain this advantage, The Ottoman Empire opened the Dardanelles to German troops, now adding them to the Central Powers.

August 30, 1914 - The Battle of Tannenberg

hadend — 2025-04-07 12:44:32 UTC

This battle within the World War 1 was a German victory. They had defeated the Russian army, gaining the upper hand. This resulted in the suicide of the Russian commander, General Alexander Samsonov.

September 10, 1914 - First Battle of the Marne

hadend — 2025-04-08 11:35:08 UTC

The Battle of Marne was German execution of the Schlieffen Plan. The plan failed due to multiple reasons. Belgium had refused German passage, halting part of their plan to invade France and most significant piece of this day, France and Russia full stopped German invasion, causing them to retreat. This was a major turning point in the war.

November 22, 1914 - Establishment of Trench Warfare

hadend — 2025-04-08 11:37:47 UTC

World War 1 was a front for new ways of battle. New weapons were made such as submarines with torpedoes and tanks. One of the new "inventions" was trench warfare. The army's dug massive trenches along the borders of their territories and used them for cover among heavy artillery battles.

December 25, 1914 - Christmas Truce

hadend — 2025-04-08 12:13:32 UTC

On December 25, 1914 a miraculous event occurred. A spontaneous truce was formed for one day. British and German troops put down their weapons for Christmas day, and celebrated the holiday together.

April 22-May 25, 1915 - The Second Battle of Ypres

hadend — 2025-04-08 12:17:40 UTC

Another major battle in this war. It took place in Belgium, a neutral country. This battle was the first time that the Germans made use of the poison gas they had developed. They specifically used chlorine gas during this battle. Chlorine gas would cause difficulty breathing, leading to anyone who inhaled to slowly suffocate.

April 24, 1915 - Armenian Genocide

hadend — 2025-04-08 12:21:17 UTC

One of the Central Powers, the Ottoman Empire, committed a heinous act on April 24, 1915. The authorities in the Ottoman Empire gather 240 Armenian leaders and brought them to Constantinople. The Ottoman Empire stated that the Armenians were helping the Allies, therefore they gathered them and arrested them, bringing them to Asia minor.

April 25, 1915 - Beginning of the Gallipoli Campaign

hadend — 2025-04-08 12:24:52 UTC

The Gallipoli Campaign was a strategy of the Allies. They recruited Anzacs (Australian and New Zealand Troops). On April 25, 1915, the Anzacs landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula within the Ottoman Empire. It was ultimately a military failure for the Allies.

May 7, 1915 - Sinking of the Lusitania

hadend — 2025-04-08 12:28:24 UTC

The Lusitania was a passenger ship. It was leaving America to head back to England with passengers and military supplies on board. A German U-Boat shot the Lusitania with a torpedo, no warning, sinking the ship. Ultimately, around 1,100 people died. This was a major factor in America joining the war.

May 23, 1915 - Italy Declares War on Austria

hadend — 2025-04-08 12:32:45 UTC

Italy, at the start of the war, was a Central Power. Not long after they declared neutrality. After a year of neutrality, the Allies offered them land, bringing them out and into the Allies, declaring war on Austria with Italy as well.

October 12, 1915 - Execution of Edith Cavell

hadend — 2025-04-08 12:35:11 UTC

Edith Cavell was a British Nurse in Belgium during the war. She aided Allied soldiers escape German occupied Belgium. This lead to her execution by German firing squad.

February 21-December 18, 1916 - Battle of Verdun

hadend — 2025-04-08 12:39:35 UTC

The Battle of Verdun was one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the war. This battle resulted in 700,000 casualties, 300,000 of those being deaths. German troops executed major fire on French troops, but France ultimately reclaimed lost territory and the Germans ceased fire.

July 1-November 18, 1916 - Battle of the Somme

hadend — 2025-04-08 12:43:28 UTC

July 1, 1915 was the first day of another major battle. The Battle of the Somme lasted until November of the same year. British and French forces played an offensive battle against German troops. This battle ended in 57,000 casualties.

November 7, 1916 - Re-election of Woodrow Wilson

hadend — 2025-04-09 11:31:27 UTC

Woodrow Wilson was re-elected as president of the US on November 7, 1916. Wilson ran against former supreme court justice, Charles Evans Hughes. He narrowly won, serving his second presidency.

January 19, 1917 - Zimmerman Telegram

hadend — 2025-04-09 11:36:27 UTC

The Zimmerman Telegram was one of the main reasons that the US joined WWI. This letter was encrypted and sent by Arthur Zimmerman, on the German side, to Mexico in hopes of recruiting them to attack the US, keeping them out of the war. The plan ultimately failed, the US found out and Mexico refused to help Germany.

March 15, 1917 - Abdication of Russian Throne

hadend — 2025-04-09 11:39:23 UTC

Tsar Nicholas II of Russia was the ruler during most of World War I. Around this time when he stepped down from the throne, ending the Romanov dynasty, Russia began to pull out of the war. They had their own internal war occurring between Russia in it's entirety and the Bolsheviks.

April 6, 1917 - US Officially Declares War

hadend — 2025-04-09 11:42:42 UTC

Many events had occurred leading up to this point. The sinking of the Lusitania, the Zimmerman Telegram, and more. All of this finally led up to the US joining WWI alongside the Allies.

July 31-November 10, 1917 - Third Battle of Ypres

hadend — 2025-04-09 12:36:10 UTC

Yet another battle that occurred in Belgium. This resulted in hundreds of thousands of casualties on both sides. This battle was also considered one of the most difficult ones of the war because of the muddy conditions that made battle extremely difficult.

November 2, 1917 - Balfour Declaration

hadend — 2025-04-09 12:40:03 UTC

The Balfour Declaration was a statement made by the British Government and Arthur Balfour. This became a critical event in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This declaration was about Britain's support for creating a safe home for the Jewish in Palestine.

January 8, 1918 - Woodrow Wilson's 14 Points

hadend — 2025-04-09 12:42:43 UTC

Woodrow Wilson came up with 14 steps to achieving peace once the war was over. Only one of his points actually survived. The League of Nations, one of the 14 points, was the only one that Europe accepted, but congress never accepted it and put the US back into isolationism.

March 3, 1918 - Treaty of Brest Litovsk

hadend — 2025-04-09 12:45:08 UTC

This was the official succession of Russia from WWI. They had internal conflicts within their country, leading them to back out. As they did so, the Central Powers were able to gain a significant amount of land.

May 31, 1918 - Sinking of the USS President Lincoln

hadend — 2025-04-09 12:48:04 UTC

Yet another ship was shot down by Germany. The USS President Lincoln was a ship being used to transport troops. It was torpedoed and sunk by Germans, just like the Lusitania was.

November 9, 1918 - Kaiser Wilhelm II Abdicates

hadend — 2025-04-09 13:17:06 UTC

The German Empire ends as the end of the war begins to near. Kaiser Wilhem II is forced to abdicate his throne. This leads to the proclamation of the Weimar Republic.

November 10, 1918 - Discussion of an Armistice

hadend — 2025-04-09 13:23:04 UTC

With Germany under new rule, the war begins to slow. As the new government begins to take place, discussion of an Armistice with the Allies begins to take place. They were also beginning to plan for an election of a new National Assembly.

November 11, 1918 - WWI Officially Ends

hadend — 2025-04-09 13:31:09 UTC

On November 11, 1918, WWI officially ended. At 5 am the armistice that ended the war was officially signed. All cease fire had begun at 11 am the same day.

June 28, 1919 - Treaty of Versailles

hadend — 2025-04-09 13:36:18 UTC

The Treaty of Versailles formally ended the war. It was signed in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles. The Treaty essentially placed all blame on Germany and had several ultimatums that the Central Powers, mostly Germany, had to meet.

August 10, 1920 - Treaty of Sévres

hadend — 2025-04-09 13:38:52 UTC

The Treaty of Sévres was a treaty between the Allies and the Ottoman Empire. This was the treaty that split the Ottoman Empire. The treaty didn't last very long as it was rejected by the Turkey Nationalist Regime.