Timeline of the First World War

187 Timeline Events

Dual Alliance signed by Germany and Austria-HungaryAustria-HungaryGermanyThe Way to War
1879/10/07
Triple Alliance signed by Germany, Austria-Hungary and ItalyAlliance System 1914Austria-HungaryGermanyItalyThe Way to War
1882/05/20
Franco-Russian Alliance drafted; finalized on 4 January 1894Alliance System 1914FranceRussian Empire
1892/08/17
1899/05/18
1901/09/07
Anglo-Japanese Alliance signedAlliance System 1914Great BritainJapan
1902/01/30
Russo-Japanese WarRusso-Japanese War
1904/02/08
“Entente Cordiale” signed between Great Britain and FranceFranceGreat BritainThe Way to War
1904/04/08
“Bloody Sunday” in St. PetersburgRevolution of 1905 (Russian Empire)
1905/01/22
Wilhelm II of Germany visits Tangier, Morocco; First Moroccan Crisis beginsMoroccan Crises 1905-1911Wilhelm II, German Emperor
1905/03/30
1907/06/15
Anglo-Russian Entente signedGreat BritainRussian EmpireThe Way to War
1907/08/31
1907/10/18
Austria-Hungary announces annexation of Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnian Crisis
1908/10/05
Treaty of Ciudad Juárez signed, forcing Porfirio Díaz to abdicateMexican Revolution
1911/05/21
Morocco-Congo Treaty ends Second Moroccan CrisisMoroccan Crises 1905-1911
1911/11/04
First Balkan WarBalkan Wars 1912-1913
1912/10/17
Austro-Hungarian Emperor passes War Requirement ActsFrancis Joseph I, Emperor of AustriaWar Requirement Acts
1912/12/26
Administration of the city of Skutari assigned to the Great PowersScutari crisis
1913/05/04
Redl Affair in ViennaEspionageRedl, Alfred
1913/05/24
Second Balkan WarBalkan Wars 1912-1913
1913/06/26
Sarajevo Incident: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife SophieBlack HandFranz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria-EsteSarajevo Incident
1914/06/28
The Hoyos Mission, Germany gives "blank cheque" to Austria-HungaryBallhausplatzGermany's Blank Cheque to Austria-HungaryJuly Crisis 1914
1914/07/05
Austria-Hungary gives Serbia ultimatumAustria-HungaryJuly Crisis 1914SerbiaThe Way to War
1914/07/23
1914/07/28
Pursuit of the cruisers Goeben and BreslauGoeben, SMS and Breslau, SMSNaval Warfare
1914/07/28
1914/08/01
1914/08/03
Approval of war credits by German Reichstag leads to cleavage in the Social Democratic Party in Germany (SPD)Burgfrieden/Union sacréeSocial Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)
1914/08/04
Declarations of “Burgfrieden” and „Union Sacrée” in Germany and France, announced by Kaiser Wilhelm II and French President Raymond PoincaréBurgfrieden/Union sacréePoincaré, RaymondWilhelm II, German Emperor
1914/08/04
1914/08/04
1914/08/04
1914/08/07
Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) passedCensorshipDefence of the Realm Act (DORA)Great Britain
1914/08/08
1914/08/21
1914/08/23
1914/08/26
Sea Battle of Heligoland BightNaval Warfare
1914/08/28
First Battle of the MarneMarne, Battles of theWestern Front
1914/09/05
1914/09/07
First Battle of the Aisne: “Race to the Sea”Marne, Battles of theWestern Front
1914/09/12
“Manifesto of the Ninety-Three" published in GermanyMaking Sense of the War (Germany)
1914/10/04
First Battle of YpresWestern FrontYpres, Battles of
1914/10/20
1914/10/29
1914/11/01
Battle of TangaTanga, Battle of
1914/11/03
1914/11/07
Declaration of Holy War (Jihad) against the Entente Powers by Caliph Mehmed V Reshad in ConstantinopleJihad, Holy War (Ottoman Empire)Reshid, Mehmed
1914/11/14
Battle of the Falkland IslandsFalklands, Battle of theNaval Warfare
1914/12/08
First Battle of ChampagneChampagne OffensivesWestern Front
1914/12/08
1914/12/22
Christmas Truce on the Western FrontChristmas TruceWestern Front
1914/12/24
Twenty-One Demands sent from Japanese Empire to ChinaChinaJapanTwenty-One Demands
1915/01/18
Sea Battle of Dogger BankNaval Warfare
1915/01/24
Singapore Mutiny
1915/02/15
Beginning of unrestricted submarine warfare by GermanySubmarines and Submarine WarfareWarfare 1914-1918 (Germany)
1915/02/22
Second Battle of YpresWestern FrontYpres, Battles of
1915/04/21
First use of poison gas by German armyGas WarfareWarfare 1914-1918 (Germany)
1915/04/22
Landing of British, ANZAC, and French troops on the Gallipoli PeninsulaAnzac (Australia)Gallipoli, Campaign and Battle of
1915/04/25
1915/05/02
Sinking of British passenger liner „Lusitania“ by a German submarineLusitania, Sinking ofSubmarines and Submarine Warfare
1915/05/07
1915/05/23
Ottoman Parliament passes the Tehcir LawArmenian Genocide
1915/05/27
1915/06/23
1915/07/09
Zimmerwald ConferenceZimmerwald Conference
1915/09/05
Beginning of the Second Battle of ChampagneChampagne OffensivesWestern Front
1915/09/22
1915/10/14
Main withdrawal of British and ANZAC units from GallipoliAnzac (Australia)Gallipoli, Campaign and Battle of
1915/12/20
Obersten Affair in SwitzerlandOberstenaffäreSwitzerland
1916/01/19
1916/01/23
Conscription of all unmarried men aged 18-41 introduced in Great Britain (in May extended to married men)Recruitment to the Army (Great Britain and Ireland)
1916/01/27
Hugo Ball opens Cabaret Voltaire in ZurichDada
1916/02/05
1916/02/21
Germany declares war on PortugalGermanyPortugalWarfare 1914-1918 (Germany)
1916/03/09
Germany sinks French steam ship Sussex, resulting in temporary halt of German submarine warfareSubmarines and Submarine WarfareSussex Pledge
1916/03/24
1916/04/24
British Expeditionary Force capitulate to the Turks at Kut al-AmaraBritish Expeditionary ForceKut al-Amara
1916/04/29
1916/05/04
Sykes-Picot Agreement signedSykes-Picot Agreement
1916/05/16
Speech by US president Woodrow Wilson: „Peace without victors and vanquished“Wilson, Woodrow
1916/05/27
Sea Battle of JutlandJutland, Battle ofNaval Warfare
1916/05/31
1916/06/04
1916/06/05
1916/07/01
Russo-Japanese Convention is signed in St. Petersburg
1916/07/03
1916/07/04
1916/08/04
1916/08/27
1916/09/15
"Hindenburg-programme" announced in GermanyHindenburg, Paul vonWarfare 1914-1918 (Germany)
1916/09/30
So-called Judenzählung (Jewish census) ordered by Prussian War Minister Adolf Wild von HohenbornJudenzählung (Jewish Census)Wild von Hohenborn, Adolf
1916/10/11
Proclamation of a "Kingdom of Poland" dependent on the Central PowersDmowski, RomanPiłsudski, JózefPoland
1916/11/05
Emperor Francis Joseph I. of Austria-Hungary diesCharles I, Emperor of AustriaFrancis Joseph I, Emperor of Austria
1916/11/21
Hilfsdienst law approved in German ReichstagGermanyOberste Heeresleitung (OHL)Warfare 1914-1918 (Germany)
1916/12/05
1917/01/10
Zimmermann Telegram sent to German minister in MexicoZimmermann Telegram
1917/01/19
Woodrow Wilson gives "Peace without victory" speechWilson, Woodrow
1917/01/22
1917/03/08
Fall of BaghdadFall of Baghdad
1917/03/11
1917/03/15
1917/03/26
1917/04/06
1917/04/07
Third Battle of ChampagneChampagne OffensivesWestern Front
1917/04/17
The first day-time raid of London by German ZeppelinsLondon, Bombing ofZeppelin (Airship)
1917/06/13
Arthur Hoffmann resigns from the Federal Council of Switzerland as a result of the Grimm-Hoffmann AffairGrimm, RobertGrimm-Hoffmann AffairZimmerwald Conference
1917/06/19
1917/06/29
Beginning of Kerenskii-OffensiveEastern FrontKerenskii, Aleksandr Fedorovich
1917/07/01
1917/07/16
Signing of Corfu DeclarationCorfu Declaration
1917/07/20
Third Battle of YpresWestern FrontYpres, Battles of
1917/07/31
1917/08/14
1917/09/08
La Courtine’s MutinyLa Courtine, Mutiny of
1917/09/16
1917/10/24
Attack by Canadian units at PasschendaeleYpres, Battles of
1917/10/26
1917/10/26
British government issues Balfour DeclarationBalfour DeclarationBalfour, Arthur James Balfour, Earl of
1917/11/02
Lansing-Ishii-Agreement signedIshii-Lansing Agreement 1917Lansing, Robert
1917/11/02
1917/11/07
1917/11/07
Lenin’s "Decree On Peace" passed by the Second Congress of the Soviet of Workers', Soldiers', and Peasants' DeputiesDecree on PeaceLenin, Vladimir Il’ichRevolutions (Russian Empire)
1917/11/08
1917/12/06
1917/12/15
Woodrow Wilson presents his Fourteen-Point programFourteen PointsWilson, Woodrow
1918/01/08
1918/01/27
1918/01/28
Mutiny of CattaroCattaro, Mutiny of
1918/02/01
“Bread Peace” between Ukraine and the Central Powers concluded at Brest-LitovskBrest-Litovsk, Treaty ofUkraine
1918/02/09
Peace Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signedBrest-Litovsk, Treaty of
1918/03/03
1918/03/08
Opening Session of Trabzon Peace ConferenceEnver Pasha, Ismail
1918/03/14
Beginning of the German spring offensives on the Western FrontGerman Spring Offensives 1918Warfare 1914-1918 (Germany)Western Front
1918/03/21
1918/03/23
1918/04/07
Peace of Bucharest between Romania and the Central PowersAustria-HungaryBulgariaGermanyOttoman Empire/Middle EastRomania
1918/05/07
Conference and Treaty of BatumBatum, Conference and Treaties of
1918/05/11
Georgia declares independenceGeorgia
1918/05/26
Armenia declares independenceArmenia
1918/05/28
Azerbaijan declares independenceAzerbaijan
1918/05/28
1918/06/15
Second Battle of the MarneMarne, Battles of theWestern Front
1918/07/15
British-French offensive at AmiensAmiens, Battle ofWestern Front
1918/08/08
1918/08/26
Fifth Battle of YpresWestern FrontYpres, Battles of
1918/09/28
Japanese Prime Minister Terauchi Masatake abdicates as a result of the rice riotsJapanTerauchi, Masatake
1918/09/29
1918/10/24
1918/10/28
Armistice of MudrosMudros, Armistice of
1918/10/31
Polish Ukrainian Conflict over East GaliciaPolish-Ukrainian Conflict over Eastern Galicia
1918/11/01
Beginning of Kiel MutinyKiel MutinyRevolutions (Germany)
1918/11/03
1918/11/05
Double Proclamation of a German republic by Philipp Scheidemann and Karl LiebknechtLiebknecht, Karl Paul August FriedrichRevolutions (Germany)Scheidemann, Philipp
1918/11/09
1918/11/09
Cease-fire treaty signed in the Forest of CompiègneErzberger, MatthiasFoch, FerdinandWestern Front
1918/11/11
1918/11/11
1918/11/21
1918/12/14
1918/12/15
1919/01/18
A series of demonstrations for Korean independence from Japan beginJapanKorea
1919/03/01
1919/04/13
Paris Peace Conference approves the League of Nations covenantLeague of NationsLeague of Nations and JapanThe Paris Peace Conference and its Consequences
1919/04/28
1919/04/29
Student demonstrations in Beijing form the beginning of May Fourth MovementChinaMay Fourth Movement (China)
1919/05/04
Referendum in Vorarlberg to join the Swiss FederationSwitzerlandVorarlberg Referendum
1919/05/11
Beginning of the Greco-Turkish War: Occupation of Smyrna by GreeksGreeceOttoman Empire/Middle East
1919/05/15
1919/06/19
German foreign minister Hermann Müller signs Treaty of VersaillesThe Paris Peace Conference and its ConsequencesVersailles, Treaty of
1919/06/28
Allied blockade against Germany lifted
1919/07/12
1919/09/10
1919/11/27
1920/01/10
1920/03/12
1920/04/25
1920/06/04
1920/08/10
First League of Nations meeting held in GenevaLeague of NationsLeague of Nations and Japan
1920/11/15
Government of Ireland Act is signedGreat BritainIrelandIrish Home Rule
1920/12/23
Treaty of RigaRiga, Treaty of
1921/03/18
Leipzig War Crime TrialsLeipzig War Crimes Trials
1921/05/23
1921/12/13
“Die letzten Tage der Menschheit” by Karl Kraus is publishedKraus, KarlLiterature (Austria-Hungary)Literature (Germany)The Last Days of Mankind (play)
1922/05/01
1923/07/24
1929/01/29
“The Forty Days of Musa Dagh” is publishedArmenian GenocideThe Forty Days of Musa Dagh (novel)
1933/11/15