Heritage Blog: World War One - 1914 to 1919

Timeline of WWI From 1914 to 1919

World War 1 (WWI) was sparked by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 and ended with the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.

1914

June 28 - Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to Austria-Hungary's throne, and his wife, Sophie, are assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip while the couple were visiting Sarajevo.
July 28 - Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
August 1 - Germany declares war on Russia.
August 3 - Germany declares war on France.
August 4 - The United Kingdom declares war on Germany, after Germany invades Belgium.
August 6 - Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia and Serbia declares war on Germany.
August 26 - The Battle of Tannenberg begins.
August 19 - U.S. President Woodrow Wilson announces the U.S. will remain neutral.
September 5 - The First Battle of the Marne begins. Trench warfare begins as soldiers on both sides dig in.
October 19 - Battle of Ypres begins.
November 3 - The United Kingdom announces that the North Sea is a military area, effectively creating a blockade of goods into Germany.
December 24 The unofficial Christmas truce is declared.

1915

February 4 - Germany declares a "war zone" around Great Britain, essentially effecting a submarine blockade where even neutral merchant vessels were to be potential targets.
February 19 - The Dardanelles Campaign begins.
April 22 - The Second Battle of Ypres begins. It is during this battle that the Germans first use poison gas.
April 25 - The Battle of Gallipoli begins.
May 7 - The British ocean liner RMS Lusitania is sunk by German U-boat, U-20
September 5 - Tsar Nicholas II takes personal control over Russia's armies.

1916

February 21 - The Battle of Verdun begins. The Battle of Verdun was the longest battle of World War I and was one of the bloodiest.
May 31 - The Battle of Jutland, the major naval battle of the war, begins.
July 1 - The Battle of the Somme begins. During the Battle of the Somme, tanks are first introduced into battle.

1917

January 19 - Germany sends the secret Zimmerman Telegram to Mexico in an effort to entice Mexico to join the war. The British intercept and decipher the coded message.
March 15 - Russian Tsar Nicholas II abdicates.
April 6 - The United States declares war on Germany.
July 31 - The Battle of Passchendaele (also known as the Third Battle of Ypres) begins.
November 7 - The Bolsheviks successfully overthrow the Russian government.
December 17 - The armistice agreed upon between the new Russian government and the Central Powers goes into effect.

1918

January 8 - U.S. President Woodrow Wilson issues his Fourteen Points to peace.
March 3 - Russia signs the Treaty of Brest Litovsk, which is a peace treaty between Russia and the Central Powers.
March 21 - Germany launches the Spring Offensive.
April 21 - German flying ace, Baron Manfred von Richthofen (more commonly known as the Red Baron), is shot down.
July 15 - The Second Battle of the Marne begins.
November 9 - German Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates and flees Germany.
November 11 - Germany signs the armistice at Compiegne, France. Fighting ends on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

1919

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