World war 1

A Timeline of 1914 June 28 - Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to Austria-Hungary's throne, and his wife, Sophie, are assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavril Principe while the couple were visiting Sarajevo, Bosnia. July 28 - Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. August 1 -- Germany declares war on Russia. August 3 - Germany declares war on France. August 4 - The United Kingdom declares war on Germany, after Germany invades Belgium. August 6 - Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia and Serbia declares war on Germany. August 26 - The Battle of Dannenberg begins. August 19 - U.S. President Woodrow Wilson announces the U.S. will remain neutral. September 5 - The First Battle of the Marne begins. Trench warfare begins as soldiers on both sides dig in. October 19 - Battle of Ypres begins. November 3 - The United Kingdom announces that the North Sea is a military area, effectively creating a blockade of goods into Germany. December 24 The unofficial Christmas truce is declared.

A timeline of 1915 February 4 - Germany declares a "war zone" around Great Britain, essentially effecting a submarine blockade where even neutral merchant vessels were to be potential targets. February 19 - The Dardanelles Campaign begins. April 22 - The Second Battle of Ypres begins. It is during this battle that the Germans first use poison gas. April 25 - The Battle of Gallipoli begins. May 7 - The British ocean liner RMS Lusitania is sunk by German U-boat, U-20 September 5 - Tsar Nicholas II takes personal control over Russia's armies.

A timeline of 1916 February 21 - The Battle of Verdun begins. The Battle of Verdun was the longest battle of World War 1 and was one of the bloodiest. May 31 - The Battle of Jutland, the major naval battle of the war, begins. July 1 - The Battle of the Somme begins. During the Battle of the Somme, tanks are first introduced into battle.

A timeline of 1917 January 19 - Germany sends the secret Zimmerman Telegram to Mexico in an effort to entice Mexico to join the war. The British intercept and decipher the coded message. March 15 - Russian Tsar Nicholas II abdicates. April 6 - The United States declares war on Germany. July 31 - The Battle of Passchendaele (also known as the Third Battle of Ypres) begins. November 7 - The Bolsheviks successfully overthrow the Russian government. December 17 - The armistice agreed upon between the new Russian government and the Central Powers goes into effect.

A timeline of 1918 January 8 - U.S. President Woodrow Wilson issues his Fourteen Points to peace. March 3 - Russia signs the Treaty of Brest Liatos, which is a peace treaty between Russia and the Central Powers. March 21 - Germany launches the Spring Offensive. April 21 - German flying ace, Baron Manfred von Richthofen (more commonly known as the Red Baron), is shot down. July 15 - The Second Battle of the Marne begins. November 9 - German Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates and flees Germany. November 11 - Germany signs the armistice at Compiegne, France. Fighting ends on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month (i.e. 11 a.m. on November 11).

A timeline of 1919 June 28 - The Treaty of Versailles officially ends World War 1.

Random facts Germans were the first to use flamethrowers in WWI. Their flamethrowers could fire jets of flame as far as 130 feet (40 m). More than 65 million men from 30 countries fought in WWI. Nearly 10 million died. The Allies (The Entente Powers) lost about 6 million soldiers. The Central Powers lost about 4 million. There were over 35 million civilian and soldier casualties in WWI. Over 15 million died and 20 million were wounded.

Nearly 2/3 of military deaths in WWI were in battle Nearly 2/3 of military deaths in WWI were in battle. In previous conflicts, most deaths were due to disease. During WWI, the Spanish flu caused about 1/3 of total military deaths. Russia mobilized 12 million troops during WWI, making it the largest army in the war. More than 3/4 were killed, wounded, or went missing in action. In August 1914, German troops shot and killed 150 civilians at Earshot. The killing was part of war policy known as Schrecklichkeit (“frightfulness”). Its purpose was to terrify civilians in occupied areas so that they would not rebel. During WWI, British tanks were initially categorized into “males” and “females.” Male tanks had cannons, while females had heavy machine guns.

“Little Willie” was the first prototype tank in WWI “Little Willie” was the first prototype tank in WWI. Built in 1915, it carried a crew of three and could travel as fast as 3 mph (4.8 km/h) Artillery barrage and mines created immense noise. In 1917, explosives blowing up beneath the German lines on Messines Ridge at Ypres in Belgium could be heard in London 140 miles (220 km) away. The Pool of Peace is a 40-ft (12-m) deep lake near Messines, Belgium. It fills a crater made in 1917 when the British detonated a mine containing 45 tons of explosives. During WWI, dogs were used as messengers and carried orders to the front lines in capsules attached to their bodies. Dogs were also used to lay down telegraph wires.

Tanks were initially called “landslips Tanks were initially called “landslips.” However, in an attempt to disguise them as water storage tanks rather than as weapons, the British decided to code name them “tanks.” The most successful fighter of the entire war was Rittmeister von Richthofen (1892-1918). He shot down 80 planes, more than any other WWI pilot. He died after being shot down near Amiens. France's René Funk (1894-1953) was the Allies’ most successful fighter pilot, shooting down 75 enemy planes. Margareta Zell (1876-1917), also known as Mata Hair, was a Dutch exotic dancer accused of being a double agent. Though she always denied being a spy, the French executed her in 1917. French Second Lieutenant Alfred Jobsite wrote in his diary about WWI just before he died that “Humanity is mad! It must be mad to do what it is doing. What a massacre. What scenes of horror and carnage! I cannot find words to translate my impressions. Hell cannot be so terrible! Men are mad!” Some Americans disagreed with the United States’ initial refusal to enter WWI and so they joined the French Foreign Legion or the British or Canadian army. A group of U.S. pilots formed the Lafayette Escadrille, which was part of the French air force and became one of the top fighting units on the Western Front. In early 1917, British cryptographers deciphered a telegram from German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann to Germany's minister in Mexico. The telegraph encouraged Mexico to invade U.S. territory. The British kept it a secret from the U.S. for more than a month. They wanted to show it to the U.S. at the right time to help draw the U.S into the war on their side.

by Kevin o Grady