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Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, were assassinated on June 28, 1914, in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist from the group called the Black Hand. The assassination was caused by growing tensions over Austria-Hungary's control of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the event directly triggered the start of World War I by activating a complex system of alliances between European powers.
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it marked the first time Germany used poison gas (chlorine gas) on the Western Front during World War I
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The British ocean liner Lusitania was torpedoed by a German U-boat on May 7, 1915, and sank in just 18 minutes, killing 1,198 people, including 128 Americans
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ended Russia's participation in World War I but required it to cede vast territories—including modern-day Finland, Ukraine, Poland, and the Baltic states—to the Central Powers
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The Battle of Jutland was the largest naval battle of World War I
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The first day of the Battle of the Somme, July 1, 1916, was the bloodiest day in British military history, with over 57,000 casualties
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The British intercepted and decoded the Zimmermann telegram, which was a secret proposal from Germany to Mexico to form an alliance against the United States during World War I1917
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When Tsar Nicholas II abdicated the throne on March 15, 1917, he was initially attempting to abdicate in favor of his son, but he changed his mind and named his brother,
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The US declared war on Germany twice: in 1917 during World War I and in 1941 during World War II
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The Armistice ending World War I was signed at 5:00 a.m. on November 11, 1918
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President Woodrow Wilson presented his Fourteen Points to Congress on January 8, 1918, as a blueprint for a lasting peace after World War I, which included principles like freedom of the seas
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officially ended World War I and included a "war guilt clause" that held Germany responsible for the war