On June 26, 1914, the actions of one man would change the world forever.
Chronology of Main Events of the War for Liberty
Battles That Have Marked the Greatest Struggle in the World’s History
Four Years of Bitter Warfare Before the Defeat of Autocratic Attempts to Rule the World Could Be Assured- Progress of the Titanic Contest Practically as It Went On From Day to Day.
From June 28, 1914, when the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, and his wife, at Sarajevo, Bosnia, gave Emperor William of Germany his excuse for beginning war which he believed would result in his gaining practical control of the world through military domination, the main events of the struggle are told in the following chronicle:
JUNE
| 28 – | Archduke Ferdinand and wife assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia |
JULY
| 28 – | Austria-Hungary declares war on Servia |
AUGUST
| 1 – | Germany declares war on Russia and general mobilization is under way in France and Austria-Hungary |
| 2 – | German troops enter France at Cirey; Russian troops enter Germany at Schwidden; German army enters Luxemburg over protest and Germany asks Belgium for free passage of her troops |
| 3 – | British fleet mobilizes; Belgium appeals to Great Britain for diplomatic aid and German ambassador quits Paris |
| 4 – | France declares war on Germany; Germany declares war on Belgium; Great Britain sends Belgium neutrality ultimatum to Germany; British army mobilizes and state of war between Great Britain and Germany is declared. President Wilson issues neutrality proclamation |
| 5 – | Germans begin fighting on Belgian frontier; Germany asks for Italy’s help |
| 6 – | Austria declares war on Russia |
| 7 – | Germans defeated by French in Altkirch |
| 9 – | Germans capture Liege. Portugal announces it will support Great Britain; British land troops in France |
| 10 – | France declares war on Austria-Hungary |
| 12 – | Great Britain declares war on Austria-Hungary; Montenegro declares war on Germany |
| 15 – | Japan sends ultimatum to Germany to withdraw from Japanese and Chinese waters and evacuate Klaochow; Russia offers autonomy to Poland |
| 20 – | German army enters Brussels |
| 23 – | Japan declares war on Germany; Russia victorious in battles in East Prussia |
| 24 – | Japanese warships bombard Tsingtao; Japan and Austria break off diplomatic relations |
| 28 – | English win naval battle over German fleet near Helgoland |
| 29 – | Germans defeat Russians at Allenstein; occupy Amiens; advance to La Fero, 65 miles from Paris |
SEPTEMBER
| 1 – | Germans cross Marne; bombs dropped on Paris; Turkish army mobilizes; Zeppelins drop bombs on Antwerp |
| 2 – | Government of France transferred to Bordeaux; Russians capture Lemberg |
| 4 – | Germans cross the Marne |
| 5 – | England, France and Russia sign pact to make no separate peace |
| 6 – | French win battle of Marne; British cruiser Pathfinder sunk in North sea by a German submarine |
| 7 – | Germans retreat from the Marne |
| 14 – | Battle of Aisne starts; German retreat halted |
| 15 – | First battle of Soissons fought |
| 20 – | Russians capture Jaroslau and begin siege of Przemysl |
OCTOBER
| 9-10 | Germans capture Antwerp |
| 12 – | Germans take Ghent |
| 20 – | Fighting along Yser river begins |
| 29 – | Turkey begins war on Russia |
NOVEMBER
| 7 – | Tsingtao falls before Japanese troops |
| 9 – | German cruiser Emden destroyed |
DECEMBER
| 11 – | German advance on Warsaw checked |
| 14 – | Belgrade recaptured by Serbians |
| 16 – | German cruisers bombard Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby on English coast, killing 50 or more persons; Austrians said to have lost upward of 100,000 men in Serbian defeat |
| 25 – | Italy occupies Aviona, Albania |
Historical events timeline transcribed from The Hilton Record, December 23, 1918, Page 2.
Addition of World War I Veterans by Tammy M. Mullen
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