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Triple Alliance formed
Triple Alliance, secret agreement between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy formed in May 1882 and renewed periodically until World War I. Germany and Austria-Hungary had been closely allied since 1879. Italy sought their support against France shortly after losing North African ambitions to the French. The treaty provided that Germany and Austria-Hungary were to assist Italy if it were attacked by France without Italian provocation; Italy would assist Germany if Germany was attacked by France -
Triple Entente formed
An alliance was formed between Russia and France in 1894. By 1904 Britain began talks with Russia and decided that it should come out of its 'splendid isolation', joining the Entente Cordiale ('Friendly Agreement'). By 1907, Foreign Minister Sir Edward Grey negotiated Britain into the Triple Entente, and united three old enemies. In contrast to the Triple Alliance, the terms of the Entente did not require each country to go to war on behalf of the others. -
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
This event sparks the outbreak of World War I:Archduke Franz Ferdinand, nephew of Emperor Franz Josef and heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, is assassinated along with his wife by a young Serbian nationalist,Gavrilo Princip, in Sarajevo, Bosnia, on this day in 1914. -
Kaiser Wilhelm II promises full aupport to Austro-Hungarian Emperor
In Berlin, Kaiser Wilhelm II , ruler of Germany, pledges his country's unconditional support for whatever action Austria-Hungary chooses to take in its conflict with Serbia.This marks a decisive moment in the chain of events leading up to the outbreak of the First World War in Europe during the summer of 1914. Without Germany's backing, the conflict in the Balkans might have remained localised. -
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia
On July 28, 1914, after a decision reached conclusively the day before in response to pressure from Germany for quick action - Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. In response, Russia formally ordered mobilization in the four military districts facing Galicia, its common front with the Austro-Hungarian Empire. That night, Austrian artillery divisions initiated a brief, ineffectual bombardment of Belgrade across the Danube River. -
Tsar Nicholas II orders mobilisation of Russian army
The Tzar signs the orders to fully mobilize the Russian army against Austria in retaliation for austrian attack on its ally Serbia.The Russian mobilization is quickly reported to the German Kaiser, who states that there exists " a state of danger of war." -
Andrew Fisher declares Australia's support for Britain
Labor leader Andrew Fisher makes his famous speech declaring Australia's support for Britain as part of the British Empire- “Should the worst happen, after everything has been done that honour will permit, Australia will stand behind the mother country to help and defend her to the last man and our last shilling.” -
Germany declares war on Russia
Germany, an ally of Austria-Hungary, mobilizes her armed forces and declares war on Russia and demands the neutrality of Russia's ally France; France refuses and mobilizes. -
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World War One begins
The spark that started World War I was the assassination of Austria's Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie. The assassination occurred on June 28, 1914 while Ferdinand was visiting the city of Sarajevo in the Austro-Hungarian province of Bosnia-Herzegovina. -
Germany declares war on France
On August 3, the first wave of German troops assembled on the frontier of neutral Belgium, which in accordance with the Schlieffen Plan would be crossed by German armies on their way to an invasion of France. -
Germany invades Belgium and Britain declares war on Germany
The first German troops cross the Belgian frontier at Gemmerich, 30 miles from the fortress city of Liege.This threat to Belgium, whose perpetual neutrality had been mandated by a treaty concluded by the European powers—including Britain, France and Germany—in 1839, united a divided British government in opposition to German aggression. -
Great Britain declares war on Germany.
Britain declares war on Germany. Australia pledges a force of 20,000 (the First Australian Imperial Force AIF) be put at Britain's disposal, as well as vessels of the Royal Australian Navy. In Australia, the outbreak of WWI was greeted with considerable enthusiasm. Even before Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914, the nation pledged its support alongside other states of the British Empire and immediately began preparations to send forces overseas to participate in the conflict. -
Voluntary recruitment for AIF commences
With Britain now at war, all dominions of the British Empire were also at war with Germany – including Australia. The Prime Minister, Joseph Cook as well as opposition leader, Andrew Fisher – who would win the election and become the Prime Minister – both pledged Australia’s full support. The campaign to recruit volunteers for the Australian Imperial Force began straightaway. -
Britain and France declare war on Austria-Hungary
First British troops cross English Channel into France . Britain and France declare war on Austria-Hungary . Austrian troops enter Serbia at Sabac. -
Foundation of The Australian Red Cross
In the days after the outbreak of World War I, the wife of the then Governor-General, Lady Helen Munro Ferguson, established the first branch (as part of the British Red Cross Society) in Australia on 13 August 1914. She wrote to the wives of each State Governor to secure their support and Red Cross branches were quickly formed in each state. Australian women flocked to the cause. -
Andrew Fisher becomes Prime Minister of Australia
Labor wins federal election. Andrew Fisher becomes Prime minister and the First World War broke out only a month before he began his third term in office. His government raised the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) and sent Australian soldiers to fight in Gallipoli, the Middle East and the Western Front in Europe. It was Fisher who vowed to defend the 'Mother Country' to the last shilling. -
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First Battle of the Marne
The First Battle of the Marne was conducted between 6-12 September 1914, with the outcome bringing to an end the war of movement that had dominated the First World War since the beginning of August. Instead, with the German advance brought to a halt, stalemate and trench warfare followed. -
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Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force captures German New Guinea
In 1914 Australia responded quickly to remove the German threat from the Pacific. A mixed military force, called the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force, was raised and sent to seize German New Guinea. Units of the Royal Australian Navy escorted the force. On 11 September it landed at Rabaul, the capital of German New Guinea. The small garrison resisted briefly, and six Australians were killed. On 17 September a surrender was signed. -
Trench warfare begins on the Western Front
The Western Front was the name the Germans gave to a series of trenches that ran 700 kilometres from the Belgian coast to the Swiss border. The trenches were dug by soldiers during the World Wars as a place to hide from enemy fire while surveying the enemy, and a place to rest in between fighting. The soldiers would sometimes be holed up in the trenches, which were disease prone, for long periods. -
Turkey enters the war
Turkey brings the Ottoman Empire into the war on the side of the central powers (Austria_Hungary and Germany).Turkey joined the war on the side of the Central Powers on 29 October 1914, with a naval bombardment of Russian ports on the Black Sea. This had the immediate effect of denying the allies any access to Russia via the Dardanelles, preventing them from providing serious material aid to their ally. -
First Division of AIF sailed to Egypt
On 1st November the fleet totaling 36 ship carrying 29,500 men departed for Cairo, Egypt. The battalion strength was 1013 including officers. Training continued to improve the standard of soldiering and marksmanship and on the 4th April the battalion embarked on the “Minnewaska”. The ship carried about 1900 men and 500 horses plus a large quantity of timber to construct a wharf. The ships arrived in Lemnos on the 12th April where the battalion was practiced in small craft landings. -
Britain and France declare war on Turkey
Britain and France, Russia's allies, declared war on Turkey, because of the help given to the German attack on Russia. -
HMAS Sydney sinks German cruiser Emden in the Indian Ocean
On November 9, the Australian light cruiser Sydney surprised the Emden as the latter ship was raiding a British wireless communications station on the Cocos Islands. The attack killed 134 of the ship's crew members, while Muller and the other survivors were taken prisoner by the British. British newspapers at the time praised Muller for his chivalry towards the crews and passengers of the captured vessels. -
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First Battle of Ypres
Strategically located along the roads leading to the Channel ports in Belgian Flanders, the Belgian city of Ypres had been the scene of numerous battles since the sixteenth century. With the German failure at the Battle of the Marne in September 1914 and the subsequent Allied counter attacks, the "Race to the Sea" began. -
First AIF arrives in Egypt / Suez Canal
The outbreak of war was greeted in Australia, as in many other places, with great public enthusiasm. In response to the overwhelming number of volunteers, the authorities set exacting physical standards for recruits. Yet, most of the men accepted into the army in August 1914 were sent first to Egypt, not Europe, to meet the threat which a new belligerent, the Ottoman Empire, posed to British interests in the Middle East and the Suez Canal. -
Second Battle of Ypres
The Second Battle of Ypres, as it is known in British military history, encompassed four battles in the northern sector of the Ypres Salient. The first of these began on 22nd April 1915 as a surprise attack by the German 4th Army on the French sector of the Allied Front Line. This attack witnessed the first use of a new German weapon on the Western Front: a cloud of poisonous gas. -
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Anzacs at Gallipoli
On the 25th of April 1915, Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula. These became know as Anzacs and the pride they took in that name continues to this day. the Anzacs set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula in order to open the Dardanelles to the allied navies. The aim was to capture Constantinople in Turkey), the capital of the Ottoman Empire, and an ally of Germany. Over 8,000 Australian soldiers were killed. -
Sinking of the British liner, the Lusitania
The British ocean liner RMS Lusitania, which primarily ferried people and goods across the Atlantic Ocean between the United States and Great Britain, was torpedoed by a German U-boat and sunk. Of the 1,959 people on board, 1,198 died, including 128 Americans. The sinking of the Lusitania enraged Americans and hastened the United States' entrance into World War I. -
Acronym ANZAC used
Australian war historian C.E.W. Bean attributes the acronym ANZAC to a Lieutenant A.T. White, one of General Birdwood’s ‘English clerks’. The first official sanction for its use was at Birdwood’s request to denote where the Corps had established a bridgehead on the Gallipoli Peninsula. However, there is little argument that ANZAC was first used as a simple code in Egypt. -
Private John Simpson Kirkpatrick dies
Just three weeks after the landing, Simpson was killed by a Turkish bullet during one of his morning journeys up Monash Valley to retrieve wounded men. Widely believed to have already achieved a measure of fame during his brief time at the front, it now appears more likely that the Simpson legend only grew after his death. -
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Lance Corporal Albert Jacka becomes first Australian to win the Victoria Cross
Being the first can bring rewards. For being the first soldier in the Australian Imperial Force to receive a Victoria Cross Lance-Corporal Albert Jacka, 14th Battalion, also received a gold medal and a purse of £500 from Melbourne business identity John Wren. Jacka gained the award for a brave and determined bit of soldiering at Anzac during the night of 18-19 May 1915. -
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Battle of Lone Pine, Gallipoli
ne of the most famous assaults of the Gallipoli campaign, the Battle of Lone Pine was originally intended as a diversion from attempts by New Zealand and Australian units to force a breakout from the ANZAC perimeter on the heights of Chunuk Bair and Hill 971. The Lone Pine attack, launched by the 1st Brigade AIF in the late afternoon of 6 August 1915 pitched Australian forces against formidable entrenched Turkish positions, sections of which were securely roofed over with pine logs. -
Battle of the Sari Bair / Bettle of the Nek / Charge of the Light Brigade, Galliopli
The Battle of Sari Bair (also known as the Battle of the Nek), launched on 6 August 1915, was timed to coincide with a further major Allied landing of troop reinforcements at Suvla Bay on the Aegean coastline north of Anzac Cove. The battle formed part of Allied Mediterranean Commander-in-Chief Sir Ian Hamilton's three-plank Suvla Offensive. -
William 'Billy' Hughes becomes Prime Minister of Australia
When the First World War began, Australia was in the midst of a federal election campaign. Labor won the election under the leadership of Andrew Fisher, but his attorney general, William Morris Hughes, was the most active and vocal member of the ministry. When Fisher resigned as prime minister in October 1915, Hughes was unanimously chosen as his successor. A man who had as many bitter enemies as admirers, Hughes was strongly committed to the war. -
Anzacs withdraw from Gallipoli
After the failure of the August 1915 offensives at Suvla and ANZAC, Allied forces on the Gallipoli peninsula had few options remaining but to dig in for a difficult winter. In October 1915 the British Government began to consider the need for evacuation. After several weeks of debate and delay, ANZAC and Suvla were finally relinquished on 19 December, with Helles following suit on 9 January 1916. -
Commencement of the Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun in 1916 was the longest single battle of World War One. The casualties from Verdun and the impact the battle had on the French Army was a primary reason for the British starting the Battle of the Somme in July 1916 in an effort to take German pressure off of the French at Verdun. The Battle of Verdun started on February 21st 1916 and ended on December 16th in 1916. It was to make General Philippe Pétain a hero in France. -
AIF joins the fight at the Western Front
By now the AIF was a much larger force. Following the Gallipoli campaign, the two battle-worn infantry divisions had returned to the camps in Egypt. There they were joined by large numbers of fresh reinforcements and more men arriving from Australia. The two divisions were expanded to four, while a further division (the 3rd Australian Division) was raised in Australia and sent straight on to Britain. From March 1916 the first of the divisions from Egypt began arriving in France. -
Australian soldiers take up positions on the Western Front
In March 1916, the Australian Imperial Force moved to France, and by July and August, the Australians were heavily involved on the Western Front. The 5th Division was the first to encounter the Germans on 19 July 1916 in a small but bloody engagement at Fromelles in Northern France. -
First commemoration of Anzac Day
ANZAC Day – 25 April – is probably Australia's most important national occasion. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. It was first commeorated on this day in 1916. -
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland is considered to be the only major naval battle of World War One. Jutland witnessed the British Navy losing more men and ships but the verdict of the Battle of Jutland was that the German Navy lost and was never in a position again to put to sea during the war. Admiral John Jellicoe's tactics were criticised by some, but after the battle the British Navy remained a powerful fighting force whereas the German High Seas fleet was not. -
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Battle of the Somme
The Somme battle was the bloodiest of the whole war, with soldiers enduring unimaginable horrors and fought by the armies of the British (including the Australians) and French empires against the German Empire. It was the beginning of modern all-arms warfare with the first use of tanks as well as trench warfare. It was the worst artillery shelling that the Australians experienced in the entire war."Somme. The whole history of the world cannot contain a more ghastly word."—Friedrich Steinbrecher -
Battle of Fromelles
Fromelles was the first major battle fought by Australian troops on the Western Front. Directed against a strong German position known as the Sugar Loaf salient, the attack was intended primarily as a feint to draw German troops away from the Somme offensive then being pursued further to the south. A seven-hour preparatory bombardment deprived the attack of any hope of surprise, and ultimately proved ineffective in subduing the well-entrenched defenders. -
Australian Light Horse Brigade in Battle of Romani
In the summer of 1916, Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein began pushing Turkish troops across the Sinai with the goal of attacking the Suez Canal. Aware of Turkish intentions, British forces led by Sir Archibald Murray began preparing defensive positions in the area. As water in the southern Sinai desert was scarce, Murray's line only blocked the northern route across the peninsula and ran from the Mediterranean coast south to Romani. -
First referendum on conscription is held in Australia
Australian troops fighting overseas in World War I enlisted voluntarily. As the enormity of Australian casualties on the Western Front became known in Australia and no quick end to the war seemed likely the number of men volunteering fell steadily. There was sustained British pressure on the Australian Government to ensure that its divisions were not depleted. -
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Fighting on the Western Front continues
During The First World War of 1914-1918 the Allied Forces of Belgium, France, Great Britain, the Dominion Forces of the British Empire (Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Newfoundland and South Africa), Portugal and the United States (from April 1918) made a stand against the Imperial German Army's advance and occupation of Belgium from 4th August 1914 and north-eastern France from 6th August 1914. -
Abdication of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia
During the February Revolution, Czar Nicholas II, ruler of Russia since 1894, is forced to abdicate the throne on this day in 1917, after strikes and general revolts break out in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg).In 1914, Nicholas led his country into World War I and discontent in Russia grew as food became scarce, ill-equipped soldiers became war-weary and devastating defeats on the Eastern Front demonstrated the czar's incompetent leadership. -
USA enters the war
On April 6, 1917, the U.S. joined its allies--Britain, France, and Russia--to fight in World War I. Under the command of Major General John J. Pershing, more than 2 million U.S. soldiers fought on battlefields in France. Many Americans were not in favor of the U.S. entering the war and wanted to remain neutral. However, the U.S. eventually did enter the war. -
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Battle of Vimy Ridge
Many historians and writers consider the Canadian victory at Vimy a defining moment for Canada, when the country emerged from under the shadow of Britain and felt capable of greatness. Canadian troops also earned a reputation as formidable, effective troops because of the stunning success. But it was a victory at a terrible cost, with more than 10,000 killed and wounded. -
First Battle of Bullecourt
Bullecourt, a village in northern France, was one of several villages to be heavily fortified and incorporated into the defences of the Hindenburg Line in 1917. In March 1917, the German army had withdrawn to the Hindenburg Line in order to shorten their front and thus make their positions easier to defend. This move was rapidly followed up by the British and empire forces, and they launched an offensive around Arras in early April 1917. -
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Battle of Messines
Precipitated by the detonation of 19 enormous mines under the German front lines (made famous in the Australian feature film Beneath Hill 60), the Battle of Messines has historical significance for the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) as it was the first time that the 3rd Australian Division saw service on the Western Front. -
Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele)
The Battle of Passchendaele, fought July 1917, is sometimes called the Third Battle of Ypres. For the soldiers who fought at Passchendaele, it was known as the 'Battle of Mud'. Few battles encapsulate World War One better than the Battle of Passchendaele. The attack at Passchendaele was Sir Douglas Haig's attempt to break through Flanders. Haig had thought about a similar attack in 1916, but the Battle of the Somme occupied his time in that year. -
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Third Battle of Ypres
The Third Battle of Ypres was the major British offensive in Flanders in 1917. It was planned to break through the strongly fortified and in-depth German defences enclosing the Ypres salient, a protruding bulge in the British front line, with the intention of sweeping through to the German submarine bases on the Belgian coast. -
Communist revolution in Russia
In 1917, two revolutions completely changed the fabric of Russia. First, the February Russian Revolution toppled the Russian monarchy and established a Provisional Government. Then in October, a second Russian Revolution placed the Bolsheviks as the leaders of Russia, resulting in the creation of the world's first communist country. -
Charge of Light Horse at Beersheba
Brigadier General William Grant responded by ordering light horsemen of the 4th and 12th Regiments to charge at the unwired Turkish trenches. The light horsemen did not carry swords or lances, so they held their bayonets in their hands and used them as "swords". -
Bolsheviks take power in Russia
When the Bolsheviks seized power in Petrograd in November 1917, they faced many problems. Not least was the fact that the Bolsheviks only controlled a very small part of Russia – basically the land between Petrograd and Moscow, a rectangular band of territory 30 miles by 400 miles. Outside of this territory, there were many groups that were opposed to the Bolsheviks. Some areas broke away from Russia to become semi-autonomous regions. -
Russia signs armistices with the Central Powers
A day after Bolsheviks seize control of Russian military headquarters at Mogilev, a formal ceasefire is proclaimed throughout the battle zone between Russia and the Central Powers. -
Second conscription referendum in Australia
In 1917 Britain sought a sixth Australian division for active service. Australia had to provide 7000 men per month to meet this request. Volunteer recruitment continued to lag and on 20 December 1917 Prime Minister Hughes put a second referendum to the Australian people. The referendum asked:
Are you in favour of the proposal of the Commonwealth Government for reinforcing the Commonwealth Forces overseas?' -
US President Woodrow Wilson announces his Fourteen Points
Fourteen Points were first outlined in a speech Wilson gave to the American Congress in January 1918. Wilson's Fourteen Points became the basis for a peace programme and it was on the back of the Fourteen Points that Germany and her allies agreed to an armistice in November 1918. -
Russia signs the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk brought about the end of the war between Russia and Germany in 1918. The German were reminded of the harshness of Brest-Litovsk when they complained about the severity of the Treaty of Versailles signed in June 1919. -
Ludendorff Offensive begins
On March 21st, 1918, Luderndorff launched the offensive. In just five hours, the Germans fired one million artillery shells at the British lines held by the Fifth Army – over 3000 shells fired every minute. The artillery bombardment was followed by an attack by elite storm troopers. These soldiers travelled lightly and were skilled in fast, hard-hitting attacks before moving on to their next target. -
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Battle of Villers-Bretonneux
After the March offensive was launched, German forces continued to push on to Villers-Bretonneux. Instructed to halt this advance, and to replace the badly divided and depleted British forces, Australian troops were commanded to take position and to protect the vital areas of Dernancourt and Villers-Bretonneux from German capture. The gallant Australians inspired the retreat of the second day and the germans loss of heart. Villers wasn't a great battle in the war, but it was a very decisive one. -
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The Battle of Le Hamel
The capture of the town of Hamel and its surrounding areas was thought to be a significant and strategic boon to the Allied cause in 1918. Capture of these areas would provide an important foothold around the Somme area, as well as adding depth to defences on Hill 104 - the Villers-Bretonneux plateau. Perhaps most importantly, this area was the key to the defence of nearby Amiens. Unless they gained control over this area, Allied movements would be blocked between Villers-Bretonneux and Somme. -
Battle of Amiens
The Battle of Amiens, which started on August 8th 1918, proved to be the most decisive battle against the Germans on the Western Front. The Battle of Amiens was the first to incorporate an all-armed co-ordinated attack, bringing together artillery, tanks, infantry and aircraft. -
Austria signs armistice with Allies
By the end of October 1918, while its definitive defeat was being perpetrated at the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, the Austro-Hungarian Army found itself in such a state that its commanders were forced to seek a ceasefire at any cost. -
Abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany
In 1918, the United States' full scale entry into the war, combined with severe German shortages of men and materials from years of attrition-based trench warfare, led to Germany's military collapse. Wilhelm was forced to abdicate and went into exile in the Netherlands. Attempts by the victorious allies to extradite and try him for war crimes came to nothing. -
The Armistice is signed; World War One ends
The last day of World War One was November 11th 1918, known as Armistice Day. Despite it being the last day of the war, on many parts of the Western Front fighting continued as normal. The terms of the agreement called for the cessation of fighting along the entire Western Front to begin at precisely 11 AM that morning. After over 4years of bloody conflict, the Great War was at an end. -
Start of Peace Negotiations in Paris
The Paris Peace Conference, led by David Lloyd George of the UK, Woodrow Wilson of the U.S., and George Clemenceau of France, set the peace terms for the Central Powers and reshaped the map of Europe. -
Peace Conference accepts principle of League of Nations
The League of Nations was an international organization, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, created after the First World War to provide a forum for resolving international disputes. It was first proposed by President Woodrow Wilson as part of his Fourteen Points plan for an equitable peace in Europe, but the United States was never a member. -
Draft Covenant of League of Nations completed
The covenant was originally drafted by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson and submitted on 14 February 1919. While the League was accepted by many nations the U.S. Congress refused to accept American membership of the League. -
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The Treaty of Versailles drafted and signed
The Paris Peace Conference resulted in the Treaty of Versailles. This treaty contained a punitive war-guilt clause, declaring Germany guilty of initiating the war, requiring the German government to pay the cost of the war to the victors, and severely crippling the German military. -
Peace Conference disposes of German colonies
The Treaty of Versailles disbanded the Austro-Hungarian empire and created a League of Nations. -
The League of Nations is founded
The League of Nations formally comes into being when the Covenant of the League of Nations, ratified by 42 nations in 1919, takes effect. An international organization founded as a result of the Treaty of Versailles, which ended the first World War. Proposed by Wilson, its goals included disarmament, preventing war through collective security, settling disputes between countries through negotiation, diplomacy, and improving global quality of life. The U.S. never joined the League.
