This article will give you a brief World War 1 timeline. This was one of the greatest wars ever fought, and was aptly known as the war to end all wars.
History is full of bloody wars and gruesome instances of genocide, but there are two wars that stick out clearer than most others, and these are aptly called the World Wars simply due to the vast number of nations that participated in the carnage, and the worldwide repercussions of the battles fought. This World War 1 timeline will give you a brief sequence of events of this very war.
Please remember that this does not tell the entire story, and there are many more events that shaped the outcome of the war. There was no one particular reason that led to the war, nor was there one factor that led to its end. A confluence of various uncontrollable events led to the war taking place in the manner in which it did.
A Brief World War 1 Timeline
Though the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the Archduke of Austria, by a Serbian nationalist student was the catalyst of the war, the causes of World War 1 had been building for quite some time. This is something that was bound to happen sooner or later because of the rising conflicts and tensions in the world.
| Date | Event |
| June 28, 1914 | Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated. |
| July 28, 1914 | Austria declared war on Serbia, and Germany offered support to Austria. The Russians and French supported Serbia. |
| August 1, 1914 | Germany then declared war on Russia. |
| August 3, 1914 | Germany declared war on France and invaded Belgium. |
| August 4, 1914 | Britain declared war on Germany for invading neutral Belgium. |
| August 1914 | Battle of Tannenberg fought between Germany and Russia. |
| August 13, 1914 | Japan declared war on Germany in support of Britain. |
| September, 1914 | Battle of Masurian Lakes fought between Russia and Germany. |
| October 29, 1914 | Turkey entered the war to support Germany. |
| November 2, 1914 | Russia declared war on Turkey. |
| November 5, 1914 | France and Britain declared war on Turkey. |
| February 1915 | German Zeppelins attacked the English coast |
| April 1915 | Zeppelins began an assault on London. |
| May 7, 1915 | A German U-boat sunk the Lusitania, with many Americans on board. America was enraged. |
| May 23, 1915 | Italy entered the war and sided with Russia, Britain and France. |
| November 15, 1915 | Winston Churchill resigned as First Lord of Admiralty. |
| February 21 – November 1916 | The Battle of Verdun between Germany and France. |
| April 1916 | Romania entered the war but were easily defeated by Germany and Austria. |
| May 31, 1916 | The naval battle of Jutland between Germany and Britain. |
| November 28, 1916 | First German air raid on Britain. |
| December 1916 | Lloyd George became the Prime Minister of the war time coalition. |
| 1917 | Winston Churchill was appointed the Minister of Munitions by Lloyd George. |
| 1917 | The German U-boat campaign intensified. |
| April 6, 1917 | The United States of America declared war on Germany for sinking many American ships. |
| December 1917 | Russia withdrew from the war because of the Bolshevik revolution. |
| April 1918 | The Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service combined to form the Royal Air Force (RAF). |
| October 1918 | All of France and most of Belgium was recovered from Germany. |
| October 30, 1918 | Armistice with Turkey was signed. |
| November 9, 1918 | Kaiser Wilhelm II, the last German emperor was abdicated. |
| November 11, 1918 | The war was ended with the signing of an Armistice in the French town Redonthes, at 11 am. |
As mentioned before, this World War 1 timeline does not take into account all the events that occurred in this time. To list out such a detailed analysis would be next to impossible. The limitations of this World War 1 summary are present simply due to the large scale of the battle and the number of participants. One of the most well known World War 1 facts is that around 9 million combatants lost their lives due to this battle, and the aftermath of the war also led to the birth of the League of Nations, which is known as the United Nations (U.N.) today.
This World War 1 timeline also does not take into account all the suffering and misery that the participants went through, and how it led to the crumble of many once great nations. The repercussions of the war were deep and long lasting, and sadly, it also started the chain of events that led to World War 2, which was even deadlier.