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Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were assassinated in Bosnia by the Black Hand on June 28th 1914 by Gavrilo Princip in response of being a threat to Serbian Independence. -
After the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, setting of a chain of alliance to enter the new world war. -
Russia, who was an ally of Serbia, started sending their army in defense of Serbia versus Austria-Hungary, making this worse and causing even further issues. -
In response to Russia declaring war onto Serbia, Germany is now declaring war onto Russia defending their allies. -
Germany, after declaring its war with Russia 2 days later declared war on France who was a Russian ally. -
Germanys invasion on Belgium was part of its strategy to attack France brought Britain into the war because Britain already had made a treaty to protect Belgian neutrality. Since Belgium is in between the 2 countries, Germans thought if they went through Belgium they would avoid French fortifications, but instead this worsened it for them creating another battle for them to fight. -
After Germanys invasion in Belgium, Britain then declared war on Germany now bringing war to the British Empire. -
September 5, 1914 marks the beginning of the Battle of the Marne, which was a critical allied victory that stopped the German invasion into France and marked the beginning of the use of trench warfare. -
Verdun was one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the WW1. Verdun was fought between French and German. The French successfully defended the city. -
The Battle of Jutland was the largest naval battle of World War I, fought between the British Royal Navy and the German Navy’s. This battle ensured British naval power and stopped Germany from breaking the British borders. -
Beginning of a major British and French war against Germany, resulting in high casualties on both sides with hardly any territorial gains. -
The U.S. declared war on Germany after German submarines targeted American ships and after the Zimmermann Telegram was intercepted, which was trying to recruit Mexico as an ally to fight the U.S. -
After the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 the new Soviet government led by Vladimir Lenin wanted to end Russia's involvement in World War I. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, signed on March 3, 1918, between Soviet Russia and the Central Powers, officially ended Russia's participation in the war, allowing Germany to shift its focus to the Western Front. -
The armistice was signed to officially end the fighting on the Western Front at 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918, after four years of brutal warfare. -
The Treaty of Versailles officially ended World War I give heavy consequences and territorial losses on Germany. The treaty meant to prevent future conflicts but also made Germany pay for the cost of the war. The treaty also established the League of Nations which the United States did not join.