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Timeline of World War 1

Timeline of World War 1

This section provides a timeline of World War 1.

1914

  • June 28 The Assassination in Sarajevo: Attempt at Sarajevo, Bosnia, on Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, who is killed along with his wife, Archduchess Sophie.
  • July 23 Austria-Hungary sends an ultimatum to Serbia. Serbia, counting on Russian support, rejects some points of the ultimatum and mobilizes.
  • July 28 Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. Russia mobilizes. The Great War begins.
  • July 31 Germany enjoins Russia to stop mobilizing. Russia says mobilization is against Austria-Hungary only.
  • August 1 Germany declares war on Russia and mobilizes.
  • Italy declares her neutrality.
  • Germany and the Ottoman Empire sign a secret alliance treaty.
  • August 2 Germany invades Luxembourg.
  • August 3 Germany declares war on France and invades Belgium to outflank the French army.
  • Britain protests for the violation of Belgian neutrality, guaranteed by a treaty; German Chancellor replies that the latter is just a chiffon de papier (a scrap of paper).
  • August 4 The United Kingdom declares war on Germany.
  • August 5 Montenegro declares war on Austria-Hungary.
  • The Ottoman Empire closes the Dardanelles.
  • August 5–August 16 The Germans siege and then capture the fortresses of Liège, Belgium.
  • August 6 Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia.
  • Serbia declares war on Germany.
  • August 7 The British Expeditionary Force arrives in France.
  • August 9 Montenegro declares war on Germany.
  • August 11 France declares war on Austria-Hungary.
  • August 12 The United Kingdom declares war on Austria-Hungary.
  • August 14–August 24 Battle of the Frontiers. The Germans obtain a victory against the British Expeditionary Force and France's Fifth Army.
  • August 16–August 19 The Serbs defeat the Austro-Hungarians at the Battle of Cer.
  • August 17 The Russian army enters East Prussia. Battle of Stalluponen.
  • August 20 The Germans attack the Russians in East Prussia. The attack is a failure in addition to being a violation of the Schlieffen Plan.
  • August 17–September 2 Battle of Tannenberg: the Russian army undergoes a heavy defeat by the Germans.
  • August 20 The Germans occupy Brussels.
  • August 22 Austria-Hungary declares war on Belgium.
  • August 23 Japan declares war on Germany.
  • August 23–August 25 Battle of Krasnik. The Austro-Hungarian First Army defeats the Russian Fourth Army
  • August 24–September 7 The Germans siege and capture the Maubeuge Fortress.
  • August 25 Japan declares war on Austria-Hungary.
  • August 26 British and French forces invade Togoland, a German protectorate in West Africa.
  • August 26–August 27 Battle of Le Cateau. Allied retreat.
  • August 26–September 11 Battle of Lemberg. The Russians capture Lviv.
  • August 27–November 7 Battle of Tsingtao: British and Japanese forces capture the German-controlled port of Tsingtao in China.
  • August 28 The Royal Navy wins the First Battle of Heligoland Bight, North Sea.
  • August 29–August 30 Battle of Saint Quentin, aka Battle of Guise. Orderly Allied retreat.
  • August 30 New Zealand occupies German Samoa (later Western Samoa).
  • September 3–September 11 Austro-Hungarian defeat at the Battle of Rava Russka.
  • September 5–September 12 First Battle of the Marne. The German advance on Paris is halted, marking the failure of the Schlieffen Plan. See photographs from the Batlle of the Marne
  • September 7–September 14 First Battle of the Masurian Lakes: The Russian Army of the Neman withdraws from East Prussia with heavy casualties.
  • September 8–September 17 Second Austro-Hungarian attempt at invading Serbia fails.
  • September 9 Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg lays out Germany's war aims.
  • September 11–September 21 Australian forces occupy German New Guinea.
  • September 13 South African troops begins invading German South-West Africa.
  • September 13–September 28 The First Battle of the Aisne ends in a substantial draw. The Race to the Sea begins.
  • September 14 Erich von Falkenhayn replaces Helmuth von Moltke the Younger as German Chief of Staff.
  • September 17 The Siege of Przemysl begins
  • September 28–October 10 The Germans siege and capture Antwerp, Belgium.
  • September 29–October 31 Battle of the Vistula, aka Battle of Warsaw.
  • October 16–October 31 Battle of the Yser. French and Belgian forces secure the coastline of Belgium.
  • October 19–November 22 The First Battle of Ypres ends the Race to the Sea. The Germans are prevented from reaching Calais and Dunkirk.
  • November 1 Russia declares war on the Ottoman Empire.
  • Battle of Coronel. Von Spee's German cruiser squadron defeats a Royal Navy squadron under Christopher Cradock.
  • November 2 The United Kingdom begins the naval blockade of Germany.
  • November 3 Montenegro declares war on the Ottoman Empire.
  • November 3–November 5 Von Lettow-Vorbeck's German colonial forces defeat the British at the Battle of Tanga, German East Africa.
  • November 5 France and the United Kingdom declare war on the Ottoman Empire.
  • November 6 The Austro-Hungarians enter Belgrade.
  • November 9 Battle of Cocos, northeast Indian Ocean. The Australian cruiser Sydney destroys the German cruiser Emden. Pictures of the Sinking of the Emden.
  • November 11–December 6 Battle of Lódz (Lviv).
  • December 3–December 15 Battle of Kolubara. The Serbs take Belgrade back.
  • December 8 Battle of the Falklands. Von Spee's German cruiser squadron is defeated by the Royal Navy.
  • December 16 The German fleet shells Scarborough and Hartlepool, England.
  • December 29–January 2, 1915 The Russians win the Battle of Sarikamis, Caucasia.

1915

  • January 2 The Russian offensive in the Carpathians begins. It will continue until April 12.
  • January 19 First Zeppelin raid on Great Britain.
  • January 24 Battle of Dogger Bank between squadrons of the British Grand Fleet and the German Hochseeflotte.
  • January 28–February 3 The Ottomans fail to capture the Suez Canal.
  • February 4 Germany begins submarine warfare against merchant vessels.
  • February 7–February 22 Second Battle of the Mazurian Lakes. The Russian X Army is defeated.
  • February 19 British and French naval attack on the Dardanelles. The Gallipoli Campaign begins.
  • March 10–March 13 Battle of Neuve Chapelle. After an initial success, a British offensive is halted.
  • March 22 The Siege of Przemysl ends. The Russians capture the fortress.
  • April 22–May 25 At the Second Battle of Ypres, the Germans use chemical weapons (gas) for the first time.
  • April 25 Allied forces land on Gallipoli.
  • London Pact between the Entente and Italy.
  • April 28 First Battle of Krithia. The Allied advance is repelled.
  • May 1–May 3 Battle of Gorlice-Tarnów: the German troops under General Mackensen break through the Russian lines in Galicia.
  • May 6–May 8 Second Battle of Krithia. The Allied attempts at advancing are thwarted again.
  • May 7 The British liner Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat.
  • May 10 The Hungarians rout the Russians at Jaroslaw. Lviv is again in Austrian hands.
  • May 12 Windhoek, capital of German South-West Africa, is occupied by South African troops.
  • May 23 Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary.
  • June 4 Third Battle of Krithia. Yet another Allied failure.
  • The Russians leave Przemysl.
  • June 22 Mackensen breaks again through the Russian lines in the Lviv area.
  • June 23–July 7 First Battle of the Isonzo.
  • June 27 The Austro-Hungarians re-enter Lviv.
  • June 28–July 5 The British win the Battle of Gully Ravine.
  • July 9 The German forces in South-West Africa surrender.
  • July 18–August 3 Second Battle of the Isonzo.
  • August 5 The Germans occupy Warsaw.
  • August 6–August 29 Battle of Sari Bair, aka the August Offensive. Last and unsuccessful attempt by the British to seize the Gallipoli peninsula.
  • September 1 Germany suspends unrestricted submarine warfare.
  • September 8 Nicholas II removes Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolayevich as Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, personally taking that position.
  • September 19 The Germans occupy Vilnius. The Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive ends.
  • September 25–September 28 Battle of Loos. A British major offensive fails.
  • October 6 Serbia is invaded by Germany, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria.
  • October 14 Bulgaria declares war on Serbia
  • October 15 The United Kingdom declares war on Bulgaria.
  • October 16 France declares war on Bulgaria.
  • October 18–November 4 Third Battle of the Isonzo
  • October 19 Italy and Russia declare war on Bulgaria.
  • October 27 A French army lands in Salonika and, with the help of British and Italian troops, sets up a Balkan Front.
  • November 10–December 2 Fourth Battle of the Isonzo
  • November 22–November 25 Battle of Ctesiphon, in present-day Iraq.
  • November 27 The Serbian army collapses. It will retreat to the Adriatic Sea and be evacuated by the Italian and French Navies.
  • December 7 The siege of Kut, Mesopotamia, by the Ottomans begins.
  • December 19 Douglas Haig replaces John French as commander of the British Expeditionary Force.

1916

  • January 8–January 16 Austro-Hungarian offensive against Montenegro, which capitulates.
  • January 9 The Gallipoli Campaign ends in an Allied defeat and an Ottoman victory.
  • January 11 Corfu occupied by the Allies.
  • January 24 Reinhard Scheer is appointed commander of Germany's Hochseeflotte.
  • January 27 Conscription introduced in the United Kingdom by the Military Service Act.
  • February 13–February 16 Battle of Erzurum.
  • February 21 The Battle of Verdun begins.
  • February 28 German Kamerun (Cameroon) surrenders.
  • March 1 Germany resumes unrestricted submarine warfare.
  • March 1–March 15 Fifth Battle of the Isonzo.
  • March 8 Battle of Dujaila: a British attempt to relieve Kut fails.
  • March 18–April Lake Naroch offensive.
  • April 23 Easter Rising by Irish rebels against the United Kingdom.
  • April 29 The British forces under siege at Kut surrender to the Ottomans.
  • May 10 Germany suspends unrestricted submarine warfare.
  • May 15–June 10 Austro-Hungarian Strafexpedition in Trentino.
  • May 31–June 1 Battle of Jutland between Britain's Grand Fleet and Germany's Hochseeflotte.
  • June 4 The Brusilov Offensive begins.
  • June 5 The Arab Revolt in Hejaz begins.
  • The HMS Hampshire is sunk off the Orkneys; Lord Kitchener dies.
  • June 10 Italy: Paolo Boselli succeeds Antonio Salandra as Prime Minister.
  • July 1 The Battle of the Somme begins.
  • July 2 Battle of Erzincan.
  • July 14 Battle of Bazentin Ridge (second phase of the Battle of the Somme)
  • July 23–August 7 Battle of Pozières (middle phases of the Battle of the Somme)
  • August 3–August 5 Battle of Romani. Ottoman attack on the British in the Sinai peninsula fails.
  • August 3–August 17 Sixth Battle of the Isonzo. The Italians capture Gorizia (August 9).
  • August 18–September 5 Battle of Guillemont (intermediate phase of the Battle of the Somme)
  • August 27 Italy declares war on Germany.
  • Romania enters the war on the Entente's side. Her army is defeated in a few weeks.
  • August 29 Paul von Hindenburg replaces Erich von Falkenhayn as German Chief of Staff.
  • September 6 The Central Powers create a unified command.
  • September 9 Battle of Ginchy (intermediate phase of the Battle of the Somme)
  • September 10–November 19 Allied offensive on the Salonika Front.
  • September 14–September 17 Seventh Battle of the Isonzo
  • September 15 Battle of Flers-Courcelette (last offensive of the Battle of the Somme). The British use armored tanks for the first time in history.
  • September 20 The Brusilov Offensive ends with a substantial Russian success.
  • September 25 Battle of Morval (part of the Battle of the Somme)
  • September 26–September 28 Battle of Thiepval Ridge (part of the Battle of the Somme)
  • October 1–November 5 Battle of Le Transloy (part of the Battle of the Somme)
  • October 9–October 12 Eighth Battle of the Isonzo.
  • October 24 The French recapture Fort Douaumont near Verdun.
  • November 1–November 4 Ninth Battle of the Isonzo.
  • November 13–November 15 Battle of the Ancre (final phase of the Battle of the Somme)
  • November 18 The Battle of the Somme ends with enormous casualties and no winner.
  • November 21 Francis Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, dies and is succeeded by Charles I.
  • November 25 David Beatty replaces John Jellicoe as commander of the Grand Fleet. Jellicoe becomes First Lord of the Sea.
  • December 5–December 7 United Kingdom: Prime Minister Henry Asquith resigns and is succeeded by David Lloyd George.
  • December 6 The Germans occupy Bucharest. The capital of Romania moved to Iasi.
  • December 13 Robert Nivelle replaces Joseph Joffre as Commander-in-Chief of the French Army.
  • December 23 Battle of Magdhaba in the Sinai peninsula.
  • December 27 Togoland is divided in British and French administrative zones.
  • December 29 Grigori Rasputin, Russia's éminence grise, is assassinated.

1917

  • January 9 Battle of Rafa. The British drive the Ottomans out of Sinai.
  • January 16 The German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann sends a telegram to his ambassador in Mexico, instructing him to propose the Mexican government an alliance against the United States.
  • February 1 Germany resumes unrestricted submarine warfare.
  • February 23 Second Battle of Kut. The British recapture the city.
  • February 23–April 5 The Germans withdraw to the Hindenburg Line.
  • March 1 Arz von Straussenberg replaces Conrad von Hötzendorf as Austro-Hungarian Chief of Staff.
  • March 8–March 11 The British capture Baghdad.
  • March 15 Russia: Czar Nicholas II abdicates. A provisional government is appointed.
  • March 26 First Battle of Gaza. The British attempt to capture the city fails.
  • April 6 The United States declares war on Germany.
  • April 9–April 12 The Canadians obtain a significative victory in the Battle of Vimy Ridge.
  • April 16–May 9 The Second Battle of the Aisne (aka Nivelle Offensive) ends in disaster for both the French army and its commander Robert Nivelle.
  • April 19 Second Battle of Gaza. The Ottoman lines resist a British attack.
  • April 29–May 20 Series of mutinies in the French army.
  • May 5–May 15 Allied offensive on the Salonika Front.
  • May 9–May 16 Battle of Arras. The British attack a heavily fortified German line without obtaining any strategic breakthrough.
  • May 12–June 6 Tenth Battle of the Isonzo.
  • May 15 Philippe Pétain replaces Robert Nivelle as Commander-in-Chief of the French Army.
  • May 23 Battle of Mount Hermada in the Karst.
  • June 7–June 8 The British recapture Messines Ridge.
  • June 10–June 29 Battle of Mount Ortigara.
  • June 12 Greece: King Constantine I abdicates.
  • June 25 First American troops land in France.
  • July 1–July 19 The Kerensky Offensive fails. It is the last Russian initiative in the war.
  • July 6 Arab rebels led by Lawrence of Arabia seize the Jordanian port of Aqaba.
  • July 20 Corfu Declaration about the future Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
  • July 31 The Battle of Passchendaele (aka Third Battle of Ypres) begins.
  • August 6–August 20 Battle of Marasesti.
  • August 18–August 28 Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo.
  • September 8 Russia: General Kornilov's coup attempt fails.
  • September 27–September 28 Battle of Ramadi, Mesopotamia.
  • October 24–November 4 Battle of Caporetto. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans break through the Italian lines. The Italian army is defeated and falls back on the Piave River.
  • October 30 Italy: Vittorio Emanuele Orlando succeeds Paolo Boselli as Prime Minister.
  • October 31–November 7 Third Battle of Gaza. The British break through the Ottoman lines.
  • November 2 Balfour Declaration: the British government supports plans for a Jewish "national home" in Palestine.
  • November 5 The Allies agree to establish a Supreme War Council at Versailles.
  • November 7 The October Revolution begins in Russia. The Bolsheviks seize power.
  • November 8 Armando Diaz replaces Luigi Cadorna as Commander-in-Chief of the Italian Army.
  • November 9–December 28 First Battle of the Piave: the Austro-Hungarians and Germans try unsuccessfully to cross the river.
  • November 10 The Battle of Passchendaele (aka Third Battle of Ypres) ends in a stalemate.
  • November 13 France: Paul Painleve is replaced by Georges Clemenceau as Prime Minister.
  • November 17 Second Battle of Heligoland Bight, North Sea.
  • November 20–December 3 Battle of Cambrai. A British attack fails and the battle results in a stalemate.
  • December 7 The United States declares war on Austria-Hungary. (The U.S. declared war in April, not December.)
  • December 8–December 26 Battle of Jerusalem. The British enter the city (December 11)
  • December 23 Russia signs an armistice with Germany.

1918

  • January 8 Woodrow Wilson outlines his Fourteen Points.
  • February 18 Fighting resumes on the Eastern Front.
  • February 21 The British capture Jericho.
  • February 25 German troops capture Estonia.
  • March 3 At Brest-Litovsk, Leon Trotsky signs the peace treaty with Germany.
  • March 21–March 25 First phase of the Spring Offensive (Operation Michael). The Germans obtain a Pyrrhic victory.
  • March 23–August 7 Artillery bombardment of Paris.
  • March 26 French Marshall Ferdinand Foch is appointed Supreme Commander of all Allied forces.
  • April 4–April 30 Second phase of the Spring Offensive (Operation Georgette). The results are disappointing for the Germans.
  • May 7 Treaty of Bucharest between Romania and the Central Powers. It will never be ratified.
  • May 27–June 6 Third Battle of the Aisne (aka Operation Blucher-Yorck, third phase of the Spring Offensive). After initial gains, the German advance is halted.
  • June 9–June 12 Final phase of the Spring Offensive (Operation Gneiseau). Although substantial territorial gains, the Germans do not achieve their strategic goals
  • June 13–June 23 Second Battle of the Piave: the Austro-Hungarian offensive is repelled.
  • July 15–August 5 Second Battle of the Marne and last German offensive on the Western Front, which fails when the Germans are counterattacked by the French.
  • August 8–August 11 Battle of Amiens, first phase of the Hundred Days Offensive.
  • September 12 Battle of Havrincourt, a phase of the Hundred Days Offensive.
  • September 18–September 19 Battle of Doiran, The Bulgarians halt the British and Greek advance.
  • September 18–October 10 Battle of the Hindenburg Line, a phase of the Hundred Days Offensive. The Allies break through the German lines.
  • September 19–September 21 Battle of Megiddo. The British conquer Palestine.
  • September 26–November 11 Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the final phase of the Hundred Days Offensive and of World War One.
  • September 29 The Allies break through the Bulgarian lines at Dobro Polje.
  • September 30 Bulgaria signs an armistice with the Allies.
  • October 1 The British enter Damascus.
  • October 20 Germany suspends submarine warfare.
  • October 24–November 4 Battle of Vittorio Veneto. The Austro-Hungarian army is routed. The Italians enter Trent and land at Triest.
  • October 29 Wilhelm Groener replaces Erich Ludendorff as Hindenburg's deputy.
  • October 29 Germany's Hochseeflotte mutinies.
  • October 30 The Ottoman Empire signs the Armistice of Mudros.
  • November 3 Austria-Hungary signs the armistice with Italy, effective November 4.
  • November 9 Germany: Kaiser William II abdicates; republic proclaimed.
  • November 10 Austria-Hungary: Kaiser Charles I abdicates.
  • November 11 At 6 am, Germany signs the Armistice of Compiègne. End of fightings at 11 a.m..
  • November 12 Austria proclaimed a republic.
  • November 14 Czechoslovakia proclaimed a republic.
  • German U-boats interned.
  • 3 days after the armistice, fighting ends in the East African theater when General von Lettow-Vorbeck agrees a cease-fire on hearing of Germany's surrender.
  • November 21 Germany's Hochseeflotte surrendered to the United Kingdom.
  • November 22 The Germans evacuate Luxembourg.
  • November 23 9 days after agreeing a cease-fire, General von Lettow-Vorbeck formally surrenders his undefeated army at Abercorn in present-day Zambia.
  • November 27 The Germans evacuate Belgium.
  • December 1 Yugoslav independence proclaimed.

1919

  • January 18 Treaty of Versailles between the Allies and Germany: the Peace Conference opens in Paris.
  • January 25 Proposal to create the League of Nations accepted.
  • June 21 German High Seas Fleet (53 ships) scuttled in Scapa Flow with nine deaths, the last casualties of the war.
  • July 8 Germany ratifies the Treaty of Versailles.
  • July 21 The United Kingdom ratifies the Treaty of Versailles.

1920

  • January 10 First meeting of the League of Nations held in London. Official end of World War One.
  • Free City of Danzig established.
  • January 21 The Paris Peace Conference ends.
  • February 10 A plebiscite returns Northern Schleswig to Denmark.
  • April 19–April 26 Conference of Sanremo, Italy, about League of Nations mandates in former Ottoman territories of the Middle East.
  • June 4 Treaty of Trianon between the Allies and Hungary.
  • August 10 Treaty of Sèvres between the Allies and the Ottoman Empire. The treaty is not recognized by the Turkish national movement, which consider the Istanbul government illegitimate.
  • September 8 Gabriele D'Annunzio proclaims in Fiume the Italian Regency of Carnaro.
  • November 1 League of Nations headquarters moved to Geneva, Switzerland.
  • November 12 Treaty of Rapallo between Italy and Yugoslavia. Zadar is annexed by Italy and the Free State of Fiume is established.
  • November 15 The League of Nations holds its first general assembly.