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1914
June 28
Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated in Sarajevo
July 5
Austria requests and receives Germany’s “blank check,” pledging unconditional support if Russia enters the war
July 23
Austria issues ultimatum to Serbia
July 25
Serbia responds to ultimatum; Austrian ambassador to Serbia immediately leaves Belgrade
France promises support to Russia in the event of war
July 28
Austria declares war on Serbia
July 30
Russia orders general mobilization of troops
August 1
Germany declares war on Russia
France and Germany order general mobilization
August 3
Germany declares war on France
German troops enter Belgium
August 4
Britain declares war on Germany
German troops enter Poland (Russian territory) and take three towns
August 5
Germans encounter first serious fighting at Liege, Belgium
August 10
France declares war on Austria-Hungary
August 12
First British troops cross English Channel into France
Britain declares war on Austria-Hungary
Austrian troops enter Serbia at Sabac
August 15
Liege in Belguim falls to the Germans
August 17
Russian troops enter East Prussia (Germany)
August 18
Russian troops enter Austria-Hungary
August 20
Germans enter Brussels, completing occupation of Belgium
August 23
Japan declares war on Germany
Battle of Mons commences; British and French troops begin 120-mile retreat
August 26
Battle of Tannenberg begins on eastern front
August 28
German-British naval engagement, Battle of the Bight
August 30
Russian forces under Samsonov defeated at Tannenberg
September 4
Allied retreat begun in the Battle of Mons halted at the river Marne
September 5
Battle of the Marne begins
September 9
Battle of the Masurian Lakes begins
Battle of Marne continues; Germans begin 45-mile retreat back to the river Aisne
September 14
Russian forces retreat after defeat at Masurian Lakes
September–October
Several British cruisers are sunk by German U-boats
October 29–30
Goeben and Breslau attack Russian ports on Black Sea
November 1
Battle of Coronel
Russia declares war on Ottoman Empire
November 4–5
France and Britain declare war on Ottoman Empire
November 5
British forces launch attack on Basra, Mesopotamia
December 8
Battle of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic
1915
March 18
Britain and France attack the Dardanelles
May–June
British forces in Mesopotamia advance up the Tigris
June 27
British forces begin attack on Nasariya
April 25
Invasion of Gallipoli begins
April 26
Italy signs secret “London Pact”
May 23
Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary
September 28
British forces occupy Kut
November 22
British forces attack Ctesiphon
November 25
British forces retreat after major defeat at Ctesiphon
December 10
British begin evacuation of Gallipoli
1916
January 9
Last British troops leave Gallipoli
February 21
Battle of Verdun begins
April 29
British forces surrender to Turks after being driven back to Kut
July 1
Battle of the Somme begins
August 18
Romania signs treaty with Allied Powers
August 27
Romania declares war on Austria-Hungary, invades Transylvania
September 1
Bulgaria declares war on Romania
September 5
Bulgarian invasion of Romania reaches Danube just south of Bucharest
October 21
French renew attack on Verdun
November 7
Woodrow Wilson reelected president on antiwar platform; begins diplomatic initiatives
November 18
Battles of Verdun, the Somme end
1917
February 1
Germany begins unrestricted submarine warfare
February 3
German U-boat sinks U.S. cargo ship Housatonic
United States breaks off diplomatic relations with Germany
February 24
United States learns of Zimmermann telegram
March 1
Zimmermann telegram published in American press
March 8
Riots in Petrograd develop into the beginning of the February Revolution
March 15
Tsar Nicholas II abdicates
April 2
Wilson asks Congress to declare war
April 6
United States declares war on Germany
April 16
Lenin arrives in Petrograd from Germany
May 24
First U.S. convoy to protect shipping to Europe departs
June 7
Battle of Messines Ridge
July 1
New Russian offensive opens on eastern front
Antiwar riot in Petrograd
July 2
Greece declares war on Central Powers
July 4
U.S. troops march through central Paris to Lafayette’s tomb
July 31
Battle of Passchendaele begins
September 4
First U.S. war fatalities
November 2–3
First U.S. combat mission
November 6
Canadian forces capture Passchendaele
November 6–7
Bolshevik (October) Revolution
November 8
Lenin declares peace, though sporadic fighting continues
November 26
Bolsheviks call for end to hostilities on all fronts
December 15
Russian cease-fire declared
1918
January 8
Wilson gives “Fourteen Points” speech before U.S. Congress
March 21
Germany launches spring offensive
March 23
German long-range guns begin shelling Paris
March 24
German forces cross the Somme
March 25
Allied front line is broken
March 30
Germans are stopped at Moreuil Wood
April 9–29
Battle of Lys
May 2
General Pershing compromises on sending U.S. troops to the front
May 7
Romania signs peace treaty with Central Powers
May 12
Germany and Austria sign pact to exploit the Ukraine
May 21
Mutinies begin in Austrian army
May 28
U.S. victory at Cantigny
July 18
Allies begin major counteroffensive
July 26
Allies foil German attack at Château-Thierry
September 19
Turkey defeated at Megiddo
September 29
Wilhelm II pressured into accepting parliamentary government
Bulgaria surrenders, signs armistice
October 3
Wilhelm II hands Parliament authority on military decisions
Prince Max von Baden named chancellor of Germany
October 7
Poland declares itself an independent state
October 12
Germany agrees to withdraw forces from France, Belgium
October 14
Provisional government formed in Czechoslovakia
Ottoman sultan requests peace terms for Turkey
October 25
Hungarian National Council established in Budapest
Allied leaders meet at Senlis to establish formal armistice terms
October 29
Yugoslavia proclaims itself an independent state
October 30
Germany announces end to submarine warfare
Turkey signs armistice
November 3
Austria signs armistice, begins to withdraw forces
November 9
German delegation begins formal armistice negotiations at Compiègne
Max von Baden announces abdication of Wilhelm II
November 11
Germany signs armistice, formally ending the war
1919
June 28
Treaty of Versailles signed
