Chronology of WW1 (Part 1)
World War 1- Timeline (June-August 1914)
~June~
* 28th- Assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife at Sarajevo, Bosnia.
~July~
* 28th- Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
* 29th- Russian mobilization ordered.
~August~
* 1st- Germany declares war on Russia.
* 1st- France orders mobilization.
* 2nd- Germany demands free passage through Belgium.
* 3rd- Germany declares war on France.
* 3rd- Belgium rejects Germany's demand.
* 4th- Germany at war with Belgium but halted at Liege.
* 4th- Great Britain at war with Germany.
* 5th- President Wilson tenders good offices of United States interests of peace.
* 6th- Austria-Hungary at war with Russia.
* 7th- French forces invade Alsace.
* 7th- Montenegro at war with Austria.
* 7th- Great Britain's Expeditionary Force lands at Ostend, Calais and Dunkirk.
* 8th- Serbia at war with Germany.
* 12th- Great Britain at war with Austria-Hungary.
* 12th- Montenegro at war with Germany.
* 17th- Belgian capital removed from Brussels to Antwerp.
* 19th- Canadian Parliament authorises raising expeditionary force.
* 20th- Germans occupy Brussels.
* 23th- Japan at war with Germany. Begins attack on Tsingtau.
* 24th- Germans enter France near Lille.
* 25th- Austria at war with Japan.
* 28th- Austria declares war on Belgium.
* 30th- Amiens occupied by Germans.
* 31th- Russian army of invasion in East Prussia defeated at Tannenberg by Germans under Von Hindenburg.
September-December 1914
~September~
* 3rd- Paris placed in state of siege: Government transferred to Bordeaux.
* 6th-10th- Battle of Marne. Von Kluck is beaten by Gen. Joffre, and the German army retreats from Paris to the Soissons-Rheims line.
* 14th- French reoccupy Amiens and Rheims.
* 29th- Antwerp bombardment begins.
~October~
* 2nd- British Admiralty announces intention to mine North Sea areas.
* 9th- Antwerp surrenders to Germans. Government removed to Ostend.
* 13th- British occupy Ypres.
* 14th- Canadian Expeditionary Force of 32,000 men lands at Plymouth.
* 15th- Germans occupy Ostend. Belgian government removed to Havre, France.
~November~
* 5th- Great Britain and France declare war on Turkey.
* 5th- Cyprus annexed by Great Britain.
~December~
* 8th- Off the Falkland Isles, British squadron under command of Rear-Admiral Sturdee, sinks three of the German cruisers which had destroyed the Good Hope and Monmouth on Nov. 1. The Dresden escapes.
* 16th- German squadron bombards Hartlepool, Scarborough and Whitby on east coast of England.
January-August 1915
~February~
* 10th- Prussians defeated by Germans in Battle of Masurian Lakes.
* 18th- German submarine 'blockade' of British Isles begins.
* 25th- Allied fleet destroys outer forts of Dardanelles.
~March~
* 2nd- Allied troops land at Kum-Kale, on Asiatic side of Dardanelles.
* 10th- British take Neuve Chapelle in Flanders battle.
* 22nd- Austrian fortress of Przmysl surrenders to Russians.
~April~
* 22nd- Poison gas first used by Germans in attack on Canadians at Ypres, Belgium.
~May~
* 1st- American steamer Gulflight torpedoed off Scilly Isles by German submarine; 3 lives lost.
* 2nd- British South Africa troops under General Botha capture Otymbingue, German Southwest Africa.
* 7th- Germans capture Libau, Russian Baltic port.
* 7th- Lusitania, Cunard liner, sunk by German submarine off Kinsale Head, Irish coast, with loss of 1152 lives; 102 Americans.
* 23th- Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary and begins invasion on a 60 mile front.
* 31st- German Zeppelins bombard suburbs of London.
~June~
* 4th-6th- German aircraft bomb English towns.
* 15th- Allied aircraft bombs Karlsruhe, Baden, in retaliation.
* 22nd- Lemberg recaptured by Austrians.
* 26th- Montenegrins enter Scutari, Albania.
~July~
* 9th- German Southwest African surrenders to British South African troops under Gen. Botha.
~August~
* 5th- Warsaw captured by Germans.
* 6th- Gallipoli Peninsula campaign enters a second stage with the debarkation of a new force of British troops in Suvla Bay, on the west of the peninsula.
* 8th- Russians defeat German fleet of 9 battleships and 12 cruisers at entrance of Gulf of Riga.
* 19th- Arabic, White Star liner, sunk by submarine off Fastnet; 44 lives lost; 2 Americans.
* 25th- Brest-Litovsk, Russian fortress, captured by Austro-Germans.
* 30th- British submarine attacks Constantinople and damages the Galata Bridge.
* 31st- Lutsk, Russian fortress, captured by Austrians.
September-December 1915
~September~
* 6th- Czar Nicholas of Russia assumes command of Russian armies. Grand Duke Nicholas is transferred to the Caucasus.
* 25th- Allies open offensive on Western front and occupy Lens.
~October~
* 5th- Franco-British force lands at Salonika and Greek ministry resigns.
* 9th- Belgrade again occupied by Austro-Germans.
* 12th- Edith Cavell, English nurse, shot by Germans for aiding British prisoners to escape from Belgium.
* 13th- London bombarded by Zeppelins; 55 persons killed; 114 injured.
* 14th- Bulgaria at war with Serbia.
* 15th- Great Britain declares war on Bulgaria.
* 17th- France at war with Bulgaria.
* 19th- Italy and Russia at war with Bulgaria.
* 29th- Briand becomes premier of France, succeeding Viviani.
~November~
* 5th- Nish, Serbian war capital, captured by Bulgarians.
* 24th- Serbian government transferred to Scutari, Albania.
~December~
* 4th- Henry Ford, with large party of peace advocates, sails for Europe on chartered steamer Oscar II, with the object of ending the war.
* 13th- Serbia in hands of enemy, Allied forces abandoning last positions and retiring across Greek frontier.
* 15th- Gen. Sir Douglas Haig succeeds Field Marshal Sir John French as Commander-in-Chief of British forces in France.
* 20th- Dardanelles expedition ends; British troops begin withdrawal from positions on Suvla Bay and Gallipoli Peninsula.
* 22nd- Henry Ford leaves his peace party at Christiania and returns to the United States.
January-June 1916
~January~
* 1st- Greek island of Corfu occupied by French.
* 13th- Cettinje, capital of Montenegro, occupied by Austrians.
* 29th-31st- German Zeppelins bomb Paris and towns in England.
~February~
* 10th- British conscription law goes into effect.
* 19th- Kamerun, German colony in Africa, conquered by British forces.
* 21st- Battle of Verdun begins. Germans take Haumont.
* 25th- Fort Douaumont falls to Germans in Verdun battle.
~March~
* 9th- Germany declares war on Portugal on the latter's refusal to give up seized ships.
* 15th- Austria-Hungary at war with Portugal.
* 24th- Sussex, French cross-channel steamer, with many Americans aboard, sunk by submarine off Dieppe. No Americans lost.
* 31st- Melancourt taken by Germans in Verdun Battle.
~April~
* 19th- President Wilson publicly warns Germany not to pursue submarine policy.
* 20th- Russian troops landed at Marseilles for service on Frenchfront.
* 24th- Irish rebellion begins in Dublin. Republic declared. Patrick Pearse announced as first President.
* 29th- British force of 9000 men, under Gen. Townshend, besieged in Kut-el-Amara, surrenders to Turks.
* 30th- Irish rebellion ends with unconditional surrender of Pearse and other leaders, who are tried by court-martial and executed.
~May~
* 8th- Cymrio, White Star liner, torpedoed off Irish coast.
* 14th- Italian positions penetrated by Austrians.
* 15th- Vimy Ridge gained by British.
* 26th- Bulgarians invade Greece and occupy forts on the Struma.
* 31st- Jutland naval battle; British and German fleets engaged;heavy losses on both sides.
~June~
* 5th- Kitchener, British Secretary of War, loses his life when the cruiser Hampshire, on which he was voyaging to Russia, is sunk off the Orkney Islands, Scotland.
* 6th- Germans capture Fort Vaux in Verdun attack.
* 21st- Allies demand Greek demobilization.
* 27th- King Constantine orders demobilization of Greek army.
July-December 1916
~July~
* 1st- British and French attack north and south of the Somme.
* 14th- British penetrate German second line, using cavalry.
* 15th- Longueval captured by British.
* 25th- Pozieres occupied by British.
~August~
* 3rd- French recapture Fleury.
* 27th- Roumania declares war on Austria-Hungary.
* 28th- Italy at war with Germany.
* 28th- Germany at war with Roumania.
* 31th- Bulgaria at war with Roumania. Turkey at war with Roumania.
~September~
* 2nd- Bulgarian forces invade Roumania along the Dobrudja frontier.
* 13th- Italians defeat Austrians on the Carso.
* 15th- British capture Flers, Courcelette, and other Germans positions on Western front, using tanks.
* 26th- Combles and Thiepval captured by British and French.
* 29th- Roumanians begin retreat from Transylvania.
~October~
* 24th- Fort Douaumont recaptured by French.
~November~
* 2nd- Fort Vaux evacuated by Germans.
* 7th- Woodrow Wilson re-elected President of the United States.
* 13th- British advance along the Ancre.
* 21st- Britannic, mammoth British hospital ship, sunk by mine in Aegean Sea.
* 22nd- Emperor Franz Josef of Austria-Hungary, dies. Succeeded by Charles I.
* 23th- German warships bombard English coast.
* 28th- Roumanian government is transferred to Jassy.
~December~
* 1st- Allied troops enter Athens to insist upon surrender of Greek arms and munitions.
* 6th- Bucharest, capital of Roumania, captured by Austro-Germans.
* 7th- David Lloyd George succeeds Asquith as Prime Minister.
* 15th- French complete recapture of ground taken by Germans in Verdun battle.
* 18th- President Wilson makes peace overtures to belligerents.
* 26th- Germany replies to President's note and suggests a peace conference.
* 30th- French government on behalf of Entente Allies replies to President Wilson's note and refuses to discuss peace till Germany agrees to give restitution, reparation and guarantees.
January-March 1917
~January~
* 1st- Turkey declares its independence of suzerainty of European powers.
* 1st- Ivernia, Cunard liner, is sunk in Mediterranean.
~February~
* 3rd- United States severs diplomatic relations with Germany. Count Von Bernstorff is handed his passports.
* 7th- California, Anchor liner, is sunk off Irish coast.
* 13th- Afric, White Star liner, sunk by submarine.
* 17th- British troops on the Ancre capture German positions.
* 25th- Laconia, Cunard liner, sunk off Irish coast.
* 26th- Kut-el-Amara recaptured from Turks by new British Mesopotamian expedition under command of Gen. Sir Stanley Maude.
* 28th- United States government makes public a communication from Germans to Mexico proposing an alliance, and offering as a reward the return of Mexico's lost territory in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.
* 28th- Submarine campaign of Germans results in the sinking of 134 vessels
~March~
* 3rd- British advance on Bapaume.
* 3rd- Mexico denies having received an offer from Germany suggesting an alliance.
* 10th- Russian Czar suspends sittings of the Duma.
* 11th- Bagdad captured by British forces under Gen. Maude.
* 14th- China breaks with Germany.
* 15th- Czar Nicholas abdicates. Prince Lvoff heads new cabinet.
* 17th- Bapaume falls to British. Roye and Lassigny occupied by French.
* 18th- Peronne, Chaulnes, Nesle and Noyon evacuated by Germans, who retire on an 85-mile front.
* 18th- City of Memphis, Illinois, and Vigilancia, American ships, torpedoed.
* 19th- Alexander Ribot becomes French premier, succeeding Briand.
* 21st- Healdton, American ship, bound from Philadelphia to Rotterdam, sunk without warning; 21 men lost.
* 26th-31st- British advance on Cambrai.
April-June 1917
~April~
* 1st- Aztec, American armed ship, sunk in submarine zone.
* 5th- Missourian, American steamer, sunk in Mediterranean.
* 6th- United States declares war on Germany.
* 7th- Cuba and Panama at war with Germany.
* 8th- Austria-Hungary breaks with United States.
* 9th- Germans retreat before British on long front.
* 9th- Bolivia breaks with Germany.
* 13th- Vimy, Givenchy, Bailleul and positions about Lens taken by Canadians.
* 20th- Turkey breaks with United States.
* 22th- President Wilson suggests to the belligerents a peace without victory.
* 31st- Germany announces intention of sinking all vessels in war zone around British Isles.
~May~
* 9th- Liberia breaks with Germany.
* 11th- Russian Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates demands peace conference.
* 15th- Gen. Petain succeeds Gen. Nivelle as Commander-in-Chief of French armies. Gen. Foch is appointed Chief of Staff.
* 16th- Bullecourt captured by British in the Arras battles.
* 17th- Honduras breaks with German.
* 18th- Conscription bill signed by President Wilson.
* 19th- Nicaragua breaks with Germany.
* 22nd-26th- Italians advance on the Carso.
~June~
* 5th- Registration day for new draft army in United States.
* 7th- Messines-Wytschaete ridge in English hands.
* 8th- Gen. Pershing, Commander-in-Chief of American expeditionary force, arrives in England en route to France.
* 18th- Haiti breaks with Germany.
July-September 1917
~July~
* 1st- Russians begin offensive in Gallicia, Kerensky, Minister of War, leading in person.
* 3rd- American expeditionary force arrives in France.
* 6th- Canadian House of Commons passes Compulsory Military Service Bill.
* 12th- King Constantine of Greece abdicates in favour of his secondson, Alexander.
* 16th-23rd- Retreat of Russians on a front of 155 miles.
* 20th- Alexander Kerensky becomes Russian premier, succeeding Lvoff.
* 20th- Drawing of draft number for American conscript army begins.
* 22nd- Siam at war with Germany and Austria.
* 31st- Franco-British attack penetrates German lines on a 20-mile front.
~August~
* 1st- Pope Benedict XV makes plea for peace on a basis of no annexation, no indemnity.
* 7th- Liberia at war with Germany.
* 8th- Canadian Conscription Bill passes its third reading in Senate.
* 14th- China at war with Germany and Austria-Hungary.
* 15th- Canadian troops capture Hill 70, dominating Lens.
* 19th- Italians cross the Isonzo and take Austrian positions.
* 28th- Pope Benedict's peace plea rejected by President Wilson.
~September~
* 3rd- Riga captured by Germans.
* 14th- Paul Painleve becomes French premier, succeeding Ribot.
* 16th- Russia proclaimed a republic by Kerensky.
* 20th- Costa Rica breaks with Germany.
* 21st- Gen. Tasker H. Bliss named Chief of Staff of the United States Army.
* 26th- Zonnebeke, Polygon Wood and Tower Hamlets, east of Ypres, taken by British.
* 29th- Turkish Mesopotamian army, under Ahmed Bey, captured by British.