The Great War 1914-1918

Memoirs of the War

Cavalry Culture

Trench Warfare

Gordon Muriel Flowerdew

Battles of the Play

WWI Timeline
 All bold terms are linked to a Wikipedia article on the subject.

1914

June 28 - Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, presumptive heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, who is killed in Sarajevo along with his wife, Archduchess Sophie.

July 23 - Austria-Hungary sends an ultimatum to Serbia. Serbian response is seen as unsatisfactory.

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 1Germany declares war on Russia and mobilizes.
                  Italy declares its neutrality.
                  Germany and the
Ottoman Empire sign a secret alliance treaty.

August 2 - Germany invades Luxembourg.

August 3 - Belgium refuses German ultimatum.
                   Germany declares war on
France.

August 4 - Germany invades Belgium to outflank the French army.
                    Britain protests the violation of Belgian neutrality, guaranteed by a treaty;
                   German Chancellor replies that the treaty is just a chiffon de papier (a scrap of paper).
                   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 besiege 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 Kraśnik. 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.

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 - Troops from South Africa begin 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 Przemyśl 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.

November 11–December 6 - Battle of Łódź 

November 11 - Sultan Mehmed V declares Jihad on the Allies.

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 24-December 25 - An unofficial Christmas truce is declared between large numbers of German and French forces.

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 Masurian 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 Przemyśl 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 - Troops from Hungary rout the Russians at Jarosław. 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 Przemyśl.

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 - Battles for Longueval and Delville Wood (Initial phase of the Battle of the Somme)
                Battle of Bazentin Ridge (Initial phase of the Battle of the Somme)

July 23–August 7 - Battle of Pozières (Initial phase 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 final stages of the Battle of the Somme)

September 26–September 28 - Battle of Thiepval Ridge (part of the final stages of the Battle of the Somme)

October 1–November 5 - Battle of Le Transloy (part of the final stages 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 (closing phase of the Battle of the Somme)

November 18 - The Battle of the Somme ends with enormous casualties and no winner.

November 21 - HMHS Britannic sinks because of a German mine
                           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 Iaşi.

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 Roof. 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 of America declares war on Germany.

April 9–April 12 - The Canadians obtain a significant 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 31The Battle of Passchendaele (aka Third Battle of Ypres) begins.

August 6–August 20 - Battle of Mărăşeşti.

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 Painlevé 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.

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 1- Royal Air Force founded by combining the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service.

April 4 - 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 Blücher-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 15 - The Allies break through the Bulgarian lines at Dobro Polje.

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 I.

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 fighting 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 I.
                      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.


Post-1920

1921

October 13 - Treaty of Kars between Bolshevik Russia and Turkey.

1922

February 6 - Washington Naval Treaty, limiting naval tonnage, signed by France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

April 10–May 19 - Genoa Conference. Representatives of 34 countries discuss economics in the wake of the Great War.

April 16 - Treaty of Rapallo between Germany and Bolshevik Russia to normalize diplomatic relations.

September 11 - Treaty of Kars ratified in Yerevan, Armenia.

1923 


July 24 - Treaty of Lausanne between the Allies and Turkey, successor State to the Ottoman Empire. It supersedes the Treaty of Sèvres.

1924

January 27 - Treaty of Rome between Italy and Yugoslavia. Fiume is annexed by Italy and the neighboring town of Sušak is assigned to Yugoslavia.