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Britain won against the German army near the river Marne in northern France.
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A Serbian nationalist assassinated Archduke Franz Fedinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, in Sarajevo.
Germany violated Belgium neutrality in order to attack France, so Britain declared war. -
A German submarine sank the British passenger liner Lusitania and many people died, including Americans. The US president Woodrow Wilson sent diplomatic protests to Germany.
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Italy declared war on Austria and joined France and Britain in the conflict.
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The bloodiest battle in British history took place on the Somme, in northern France. The Somme was a perfect example of the war of attrition.
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The Italian army collapsed at the Battle of Caporetto against Austria and the Bolsheviks seized power in Russia.
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The United States joined the war.
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By October the Germans ware retreating along the Western Front, thanks to the British artillery that dropped shells on the Hindenburg Line.
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Germany asked president Woodrow Wilson for an armistice which would bring about German withdrawal from occupied territory, but included no punishment for the country: France and Britain agreed.
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The peace treaty was signed at Versailles by the Allied powers.
President Woodrow Wilson presented a plan to set up the League of Nations and proposed "Fourteen Points" to prevent future wars. -
The 2nd World War began and the UK sent British troops to aid in the defence of France.
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The Battle of Britain saw English and German bombers fighting in the skies over Sussex and Kent. The Battle was won by Britain but Hitler ordered an intense bombing of civilian targets in London.
King George VI and his wife Elizabeth remained in Buckingham Palace, becoming symbols of resistance. -
Hitler invaded Norway and Denmark by sea and air.
In May there was a sudden German attack on Holland and Belgium, while German tank corps were heading for Paris. -
Hitler decided to declare war on the Soviet Union because he wanted to get oilfields in the Caucasus region.
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Japan bombed the US fleet in Pearl Harbour, Hawaii. President Roosevelt declared war on Japan, and Germany declared war on America.
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The US fleet sank four Japanese aircraft carriers, weakening the Japanese position in the Pacific.
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In July the Allies entered in Sicily led by general George Patton and a long fight up Italian territory began. Germany's advance eastward was stopped by their defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad.
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The Allies entered in Rome and decided to open a western front in France.
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On the beaches of Normandy the Germans retreated across France.
General Patton's forces went across the Rhine River and into Germany. -
The Soviet Red Army liberated Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia and Austria.
Hitler committed suicide and Berlin fell on the 2nd of May.
At the Yalta Conference in Crimea, US President Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Churchill and Soviet Premier Stalin made important decision concerning the post-war world. -
Victory only came with the explosion of two atomic bombs on the Japanese town of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
A new age began.