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Assassination in Sarajevo of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, and his wife. THE BEGINNING OF WORLD WAR I.
The Sarajevo attack is the name given to a series of events that included the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who represented conservative and feudal Austria, and his wife, Duchess Sophie Chotek, in Sarajevo, the capital of the imperial province of Bosnia and Herzegovina. -
Russian Mobilization
General mobilization in Russia, an ally of Serbia. They were against the Austro-Hungarian Empire. -
Germany implements the Schlieffen Plan
The Schlieffen Plan consisted of quickly outflanking the French troops to the north by launching a rapid attack through the Netherlands, before Russia—an ally of the Triple Entente—could mobilize its forces and go on the offensive, forcing Germany to fight on two fronts. -
Battle of Tannenberg
The battle resulted in the almost total destruction of the 2nd Russian Army, and a series of battles that followed immediately afterward also destroyed most of the 1st Russian Army, which left Russia in a very bad military situation. -
Germany conquers Belgium
The German invasion of Belgium was a military campaign that began on August 4, 1914. Earlier, on July 24, the Belgian government had announced that if war broke out, it would maintain its historic neutrality. -
The First Battle of the Marne
The First Battle of the Marne, fought between September 6 and 12, 1914, is considered by many historians as the turning point when the German Empire began to lose World War I. It marked the end of Germany's hope for a quick victory on the Western Front. Two million French, British, and German soldiers took part. -
Christmas Truce
They agreed that the truce would remain in effect on Christmas Day, so they could meet again and bury the dead. Each side helped the other to dig graves and hold ceremonies in memory of the fallen. In one of these ceremonies, a Scottish chaplain read a psalm in both languages. The soldiers exchanged food and gifts sent from their homes, uniform buttons to keep as souvenirs, and even played football. -
Beginning of the Gallipoli Battle
The British tried to take the Gallipoli Peninsula in the Dardanelles Strait, but the fierce Turkish resistance turned the campaign into an unprecedented failure, resulting in the loss of the Balkans. -
Germany counterattacks with toxic gas
The French troops saw a yellow-green cloud of chlorine gas. In ten minutes, thousands of soldiers suffocated. With this attack, the Germans violated international agreements that prohibited the use of lethal gas. -
The Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide occurred between 1915 and 1923 under the Ottoman Empire. During this period, around 1.5 million Armenians were systematically killed through mass executions, forced deportations, starvation, and other forms of violence. The Ottoman government targeted the Armenian population, and many intellectuals, political leaders, and ordinary civilians were arrested and executed. -
Italy enters the war
The Kingdom of Italy declared war on the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Germany, the Kingdom of Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire. -
Bulgaria enters the war
Bulgaria entered the war on the side of the Central Powers, invading Serbia. -
Beginning of the Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme was one of the longest and bloodiest battles of World War I, with over one million dead and wounded.
For five months, British and French armies fought the Germans in a brutal war of attrition along a 24-kilometer front. -
Romania enters the war
Romania allied with Great Britain, France, Russia, and Italy, entering the war with the goal of unifying the Romanian provinces under Austro-Hungarian rule—including parts of Transylvania—with the Old Kingdom of Romania. -
End of the Battle of Verdun
From late October and in the following months, the Germans were pushed back as they were overwhelmed. Finally, the Battle of Verdun ended on December, as one of the worst battles of World War I: over 700,000 casualties and almost no territorial gains.