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Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand Assassinated
Franz Ferdinand was born on the 18th of December, 1863, and in 1889 his cousin committed suicide, leaving Ferdinand's father as heir to the throne. However, his father abdicated almost immediately, giving the throne to Ferdinand.
On the 28th of June at roughly 10:45am, he was assassinated along with his wife Sofie by Gavrilo Princip who was 19 years old.
Princip was a member of Young Bosnia (An extremist group) and was part of a group of assassins chosen by The Black Hand (an extremist group) -
War is declared between Austria-Hungary and Serbia
Austria-Hungary decide that the appropriate retaliation to the Archduke being assassinated is to invade Serbia.
Austria-Hungary then declares war on Serbia, essentially starting World War 1.
This is a picture of an Austrian newspaper, stating that war has been declared. -
Germany Declares War on Russia
When Austrian-Hungarian troops began to move into Serbia, Russia tried to help Serbia by mobilising their troops, and Germany ordered them to stop (Since they were allied with Austria-Hungary). Russia refused, and Germany was left to choose between an alliance with Russia and an alliance with Austria-Hungary.
Germany chose to value their alliance with Austria-Hungary, and so declared war on Russia.
This is a picture of the Russian flag during World War 1. -
Germany Declares War on France
After Germany's declaration of war on Russia, France values its alliance with Russia and begins to mobilise troops against Germany. Germany is now facing a war on both fronts. Germany declares war on France and sends their army through Belgium to attack France and ultimately take Paris as stated by the already organised 'Schlieffen Plan'.
This is a picture of a News Bringer who is advertising his newspaper by telling people that war has been declared. -
Germany Invades Belgium
Once Germany has declared war on France, they follow the 'Schlieffen Plan' and go through Belgium to get to France. However, Belgium is neutral.
This is a picture of the German Imperial Flag, which was used throughout World War 1. -
Britain Declares War on Germany
Once Germany has invaded neutral Belgium to get to France, Britain orders Germany to withdraw its troops from Belgium. Germany refuses, and Britain responds by declaring war on Germany and therefore Austria-Hungary.
This is a newspaper from 1914, which clearly says "Britain Declares War". -
Germany Invades France
By following the Schlieffen Plan to win the war in 6 weeks, Germany invades France in an attempt to put France out of the war. Germany hoped that once France was defeated (Allied with Russia and Britain) that neither of its allies would become involved, and the war would be won.
This is a picture of German soldiers marching into France. -
Battle of Marne Begins
Still following the Schlieffen Plan, Germany was determined to capture Paris. However, British and French armies kept fighting to get rid of the German troops. The Germans troops split into 2 groups, attempting to take Paris from 2 different angles. The Allies noticed this tactical error and took advantage of it, attaking the troops on the 6th of September, just as Germany realised their mistake and tried to lead their army further west.
This is a picture of troops fighting during the battle. -
Turkey Joins the War on Germany's Side
Turkey joined the war and signed the Turco-German alliance because of the pressure from the Germans and its constant friction with the Triple Entente (Britain, France and Russia).
This is a picture of the Turkish flag during World War 1. -
Allied Troops Land at Gallipoli
Russia began to feel threatened by the Turkish armies, and had its wheat ships stopped in the Black Sea by Turkey. Russia's alliances stepped in and attempted to take Constantinople (Now Istanbul), however were defeated after many of their ships were destroyed by heavy gun fire. They then decided that they could distract the guns by sending troops to fight along the coastline.
The troops were met with heavy gun fire from the Turkish troops, and many died before even making it to land. -
Italy Declares War on Germany and Austria
Italy had always been allied with both Germany and Austria-Hungary, but when the war began decided to wait for what happened. But on the 23rd of May, Italy decided to enter the war, fighting on the side of the Triple Entente (Britain, France and Russia). Germany and Austria-Hungary had lost a powerful ally.
This is an article from an Italian newspaper published in English, stating that Italy has declared war. -
The Battle of Loos Begins
The goal of the Battle of Loos was to give the Allies a morale boost, and to hit the Germans where they would feel their losses. The plan was that troops were spread out along the front line and armed with poisonous Chlorine gas. However, weather conditions had to be perfect. Finally on the 25th of September, poisonous gas was released along the front line. However, communication was not good and many of the Allied troops were poisoned (Some fatally). -
The Allies Begin to Evacuate Men from Gallipoli
The Allies began evacuating their troops from Gallipoli, realising what a mistake they had made by sending them there. The Allies had roughly 265,000 casualties, and the Turkish troops suffered roughly 218,000.
This is a picture of men waiting for commands about their evacuation. -
Battle of Verdun Begins
The Battle of Verdun began on the 21st of February, because the German General, Von Falkenhayn, wanted to completely destroy France's armies and input in the war. He decided that if he could devastate the French army enough, then that would alter the outcome of the war, and since the Verdun area was heavily guarded, the French troops would be too proud to back down and accept defeat. France and Germany began their battle.
This is a picture of troops running up the rough terrain at Verdun. -
Battle of Jutland Begins
The Battle of Jutland was a navy battle that was fought between German and British navy ships. Britain had a reputation of having the strongest naval force in the world, and so Germany decided to ruin that reputation by beating the British at naval combat.
This is a picture of one of the destroyed boats from the navy battle. -
Battle of Somme Begins
In an attempt to help out the French armies, the British troops attacked Germany just north of where the Battle of Verdon was being fought in an attempt to distract the German armies.
This is a picture of a soldier running up a hill at the Battle of Somme. -
USA Declares War on Germany
After a German U-Boat sinks an American cargo ship, America decided to end any alliance they might have had with Germany. The war needs to end. America declared war on Germany on the 6th of April.
This is an article from a newspaper published during the First World War. It shows the front page which says "War With Germany". -
Russia and Germany Sign an Armistice
Once Germany realised that they were not going to win the war, they begged Russia to sign an armistice with them. Russia agreed that an armistice should be made, and so agreed to stop fighting - temporarily.
This is a picture of a newspaper declaring that an armistice has been signed. -
Second Battle of the Marne Begins - German Armies Begin to Collapse
The German troops decided that the only way to invade France was through Flanders (An area in the north of France and part of Belgium), and to send some of their troops further south to distract the Allies' armies. The troops were sent south to Marne, and were fought off by the Allies. This was the beginning of the Second Battle of the Marne.
This is a painting of troops during the Second Battle of the Marne. You can see a tank in the background, which shows the mechanical aspects of war. -
Germany Asks the Allies for an Armistice
Germany finally realised that they were going to lose the war, and so decided that they would have to ask for an armistice. They had lost roughly 2,000,000 people during the war, and knew that they could not let the death toll continue to climb.
These are German soldiers, happy that an armistice is being asked for. They have fought long enough. -
Germany's Navy Mutinies
German soldiers aboard naval ships refused to launch another attack of British naval ships. They refused to attack because of the rumours that the war was coming to an end.
This is a picture of German Naval ships, sailing out into the ocean. This is what the ships would have looked like. -
Austria Makes Peace
Austria-Hungary - much like Germany - decided that they had lost too many, and that they had nothing to gain from an ongoing war.
This is a picture of Austrian-Serbian officials after discussing peace with the Allies. -
Kaiser Wilhelm II Abdicates
Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated the German throne on the 9th of November, due to extreme pressure from the German population and other countries involved in the war. This truly meant that the war was ending.
This is a picture of Kaiser Wilhelm II, just after he became the Kaiser of Germany. -
Germany Signs an Armistice with the Allies
Finally the Allies agree to end the war, on the conditions that Germany has lost, and that everything that happened in the war was Germany's fault. This harmed Germany's pride, and would lead to Hitler's rise to power and later - the second world war.
This is a picture of American citizens holding newspapers that say that "The Great War Has Ended".
