World War I timeline

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The following tables list the main events happened during World War I.

Legend
Western Theater	Eastern Theater	Italian Theater
Caucasian Theater	Middle East Theater	Balkan Theater
Colonial Theater	Naval Theater	Diplomacy and politics

Contents 1 1914 2 1915 3 1916 4 1917 5 1918 6 1919 7 1920 8 Post-1920

[edit] 1914

Dates	Events
June 28	The Assassination in Sarajevo: Attempt at Sarajevo, Bosnia, on Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, who is killed along with his wife, Archduchess Sophie.	Details
July 23	Austria-Hungary sends an ultimatum to Serbia. Serbia, counting on Russian support, rejects some points of the ultimatum and mobilizes.	Details
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 1	Germany declares war on Russia and mobilizes.
	Italy declares her neutrality. Germany and the Ottoman Empire sign a secret alliance treaty.
August 2	Germany invades Luxembourg.	Details
August 3	Germany declares war on France and invades Belgium to outflank the French army.
	Britain protests for the violation of Belgian neutrality, guaranteed by a treaty; German Chancellor replies that the latter is just a chiffon de papier (a scrap of paper).
August 4	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 siege and then capture the fortresses of Liège, Belgium.	Details
August 6	Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia. Serbia declares war on Germany.
August 7	The British Expeditionary Force arrives in France.	Details
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.	Details
August 16–August 19	The Serbs defeat the Austro-Hungarians at the Battle of Cer.	Details
August 17	The Russian army enters East Prussia. Battle of Stalluponen.	Details
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.	Details
August 17–September 2	Battle of Tannenberg: the Russian army undergoes a heavy defeat by the Germans.	Details
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 Krasnik. The Austro-Hungarian First Army defeats the Russian Fourth Army	Details
August 24–September 7	The Germans siege and capture the Maubeuge Fortress.	Details
August 25	Japan declares war on Austria-Hungary.
August 26	British and French forces invade Togoland, a German protectorate in West Africa.	Details
August 26–August 27	Battle of Le Cateau. Allied retreat.	Details
August 26–September 11	Battle of Lemberg. The Russians capture Lviv.	Details
August 27–November 7	Battle of Tsingtao: British and Japanese forces capture the German-controlled port of Tsingtao in China.	Details
August 28	The Royal Navy wins the First Battle of Heligoland Bight, North Sea.	Details
August 29–August 30	Battle of Saint Quentin, aka Battle of Guise. Orderly Allied retreat.	Details
August 30	New Zealand occupies German Samoa (later Western Samoa).	Details
September 3–September 11	Austro-Hungarian defeat at the Battle of Rava Russka.	Details
September 5–September 12	First Battle of the Marne. The German advance on Paris is halted, marking the failure of the Schlieffen Plan.	Details
September 7–September 14	First Battle of the Masurian Lakes: The Russian Army of the Neman withdraws from East Prussia with heavy casualties.	Details
September 8–September 17	Second Austro-Hungarian attempt at invading Serbia fails.
September 11–September 21	Australian forces occupy German New Guinea.	Details
September 13	South African troops begins invading German South-West Africa.	Details
September 13–September 28	The First Battle of the Aisne ends in a substantial draw. The Race to the Sea begins.	Details
September 14	Erich von Falkenhayn replaces Helmuth von Moltke the Younger as German Chief of Staff.	Details
September 17	The Siege of Przemyśl begins	Details
September 28–October 10	The Germans siege and capture Antwerp, Belgium.	Details
September 29–October 31	Battle of the Vistula, aka Battle of Warsaw.	Details
October 16–October 31	Battle of the Yser. French and Belgian forces secure the coastline of Belgium.	Details
October 19–November 22	The First Battle of Ypres ends the Race to the Sea. The Germans are prevented from reaching Calais and Dunkirk.	Details
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.	Details
November 2	The United Kingdom begins the naval blockade of Germany.	Details
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.	Details
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.	Details
November 11–December 6	Battle of Łódź (Lviv).	Details
December 3–December 15	Battle of Kolubara. The Serbs take Belgrade back.	Details
December 8	Battle of the Falklands. Von Spee's German cruiser squadron is defeated by the Royal Navy.	Details
December 16	The German fleet shells Scarborough and Hartlepool, England.	Details
December 29–January 2, 1915	The Russians win the Battle of Sarikamis, Caucasia.	Details

[edit] 1915

Dates	Events
January 2	The Russian offensive in the Carpathians begins. It will continue until April 12.
January 19	First Zeppelin raid on Great Britain.	Details
January 24	Battle of Dogger Bank between squadrons of the British Grand Fleet and the German Hochseeflotte.	Details
January 28–February 3	The Ottomans fail to capture the Suez Canal.	Details
February 4	Germany begins submarine warfare against merchant vessels.	Details
February 7–February 22	Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes. The Russian X Army is defeated.	Details
February 19	British and French naval attack on the Dardanelles. The Gallipoli Campaign begins.	Details
March 10–March 13	Battle of Neuve Chapelle. After an initial success, a British offensive is halted.	Details
March 22	The Siege of Przemyśl ends. The Russians capture the fortress.	Details
April 22–May 25	At the Second Battle of Ypres, the Germans use chemical weapons (gas) for the first time.	Details
April 25	Allied forces land on Gallipoli.	Details
	London Pact between the Entente and Italy.	Details
April 28	First Battle of Krithia. The Allied advance is repelled.	Details
May 1–May 3	Battle of Gorlice-Tarnów: the German troops under General Mackensen break through the Russian lines in Galicia.	Details
May 6–May 8	Second Battle of Krithia. The Allied attempts at advancing are thwarted again.	Details
May 7	The British liner Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat.	Details
May 10	The Hungarians rout the Russians at Jaroslaw. Lviv is again in Austrian hands.
May 12	Windhoek, capital of German South-West Africa, is occupied by South African troops.	Details
May 23	Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary.
June 4	Third Battle of Krithia. Yet another Allied failure.	Details
	The Russians leave Przemyśl.	Details
June 22	Mackensen breaks again through the Russian lines in the Lviv area.	Details
June 23–July 7	First Battle of the Isonzo.	Details
June 27	The Austro-Hungarians re-enter Lviv.	Details
June 28–July 5	The British win the Battle of Gully Ravine.	Details
July 9	The German forces in South-West Africa surrender.	Details
July 18–August 3	Second Battle of the Isonzo.	Details
August 5	The Germans occupy Warsaw.	Details
August 6–August 29	Battle of Sari Bair, aka the August Offensive. Last and unsuccessful attempt by the British to seize the Gallipoli peninsula.	Details
September 1	Germany suspends unrestricted submarine warfare.	Details
September 8	Nicholas II removes Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolayevich as Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, personally taking that position.	Details
September 19	The Germans occupy Vilnius. The Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive ends.	Details
September 25–September 28	Battle of Loos. A British major offensive fails.	Details
October 6	Serbia is invaded by Germany, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria.	Details
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	Details
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	Details
November 22–November 25	Battle of Ctesiphon, in present-day Iraq.	Details
November 27	The Serbian army collapses. It will retreat to the Adriatic Sea and be evacuated by the Italian and French Navies.	Details
December 7	The siege of Kut, Mesopotamia, by the Ottomans begins.	Details
December 19	Douglas Haig replaces John French as commander of the British Expeditionary Force.	Details

[edit] 1916

Dates	Events
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.	Details
January 11	Corfu occupied by the Allies.	Details
January 24	Reinhard Scheer is appointed commander of Germany's Hochseeflotte.	Details
January 27	Conscription introduced in the United Kingdom by the Military Service Act.	Details
February 13–February 16	Battle of Erzurum.	Details
February 21	The Battle of Verdun begins.	Details
February 28	German Kamerun (Cameroon) surrenders.	Details
March 1	Germany resumes unrestricted submarine warfare.	Details
March 1–March 15	Fifth Battle of the Isonzo.	Details
March 8	Battle of Dujaila: a British attempt to relieve Kut fails.	Details
March 18–April	Lake Naroch offensive.	Details
April 23	Easter Rising by Irish rebels against the United Kingdom.	Details
April 29	The British forces under siege at Kut surrender to the Ottomans.	Details
May 10	Germany suspends unrestricted submarine warfare.	Details
May 15–June 10	Austro-Hungarian Strafexpedition in Trentino.	Details
May 31–June 1	Battle of Jutland between Britain's Grand Fleet and Germany's Hochseeflotte.	Details
June 4	The Brusilov Offensive begins.	Details
June 5	The Arab Revolt in Hejaz begins.	Details
	The HMS Hampshire is sunk off the Orkneys; Lord Kitchener dies.	Details
June 10	Italy: Paolo Boselli succeeds Antonio Salandra as Prime Minister.	Details
July 1	The Battle of the Somme begins.	Details
July 2	Battle of Erzincan.	Details
July 14	Battle of Bazentin Ridge (second phase of the Battle of the Somme)	Details
July 23–August 7	Battle of Pozières (middle phases of the Battle of the Somme)	Details
August 3–August 5	Battle of Romani. Ottoman attack on the British in the Sinai peninsula fails.	Details
August 3–August 17	Sixth Battle of the Isonzo. The Italians capture Gorizia (August 9).	Details
August 18–September 5	Battle of Guillemont (intermediate phase of the Battle of the Somme)	Details
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.	Details
September 6	The Central Powers create a unified command.
September 9	Battle of Ginchy (intermediate phase of the Battle of the Somme)	Details
September 10–November 19	Allied offensive on the Salonika Front.
September 14–September 17	Seventh Battle of the Isonzo	Details
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.	Details
September 20	The Brusilov Offensive ends with a substantial Russian success.	Details
September 25	Battle of Morval (part of the Battle of the Somme)	Details
September 26–September 28	Battle of Thiepval Ridge (part of the Battle of the Somme)	Details
October 1–November 5	Battle of Le Transloy (part of the Battle of the Somme)	Details
October 9–October 12	Eighth Battle of the Isonzo.	Details
October 24	The French recapture Fort Douaumont near Verdun.	Details
November 1–November 4	Ninth Battle of the Isonzo.	Details
November 13–November 15	Battle of the Ancre (final phase of the Battle of the Somme)	Details
November 18	The Battle of the Somme ends with enormous casualties and no winner.	Details
November 21	Francis Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, dies and is succeeded by Charles I.	Details
November 25	David Beatty replaces John Jellicoe as commander of the Grand Fleet. Jellicoe becomes First Lord of the Sea.	Details
December 5–December 7	United Kingdom: Prime Minister Henry Asquith resigns and is succeeded by David Lloyd George.	Details
December 6	The Germans occupy Bucharest. The capital of Romania moved to Iaşi.	Details
December 13	Robert Nivelle replaces Joseph Joffre as Commander-in-Chief of the French Army.	Details
December 23	Battle of Magdhaba in the Sinai peninsula.	Details
December 27	Togoland is divided in British and French administrative zones.	Details
December 29	Grigori Rasputin, Russia's éminence grise, is assassinated.	Details

[edit] 1917

Dates	Events
January 9	Battle of Rafa. The British drive the Ottomans out of Sinai.	Details
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.	Details
February 1	Germany resumes unrestricted submarine warfare.	Details
February 23	Second Battle of Kut. The British recapture the city.	Details
February 23–April 5	The Germans withdraw to the Hindenburg Line.	Details
March 1	Arz von Straussenberg replaces Conrad von Hötzendorf as Austro-Hungarian Chief of Staff.	Details
March 8–March 11	The British capture Baghdad.	Details
March 15	Russia: Czar Nicholas II abdicates. A provisional government is appointed.	Details
March 26	First Battle of Gaza. The British attempt to capture the city fails.	Details
April 6	The United States declares war on Germany.
April 9–April 12	The Canadians obtain a significative victory in the Battle of Vimy Ridge.	Details
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.	Details
April 19	Second Battle of Gaza. The Ottoman lines resist a British attack.	Details
April 29–May 20	Series of mutinies in the French army.	Details
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.	Details
May 12–June 6	Tenth Battle of the Isonzo.	Details
May 15	Philippe Pétain replaces Robert Nivelle as Commander-in-Chief of the French Army.	Details
May 23	Battle of Mount Hermada in the Karst.	Details
June 7–June 8	The British recapture Messines Ridge.	Details
June 10–June 29	Battle of Mount Ortigara.	Details
June 12	Greece: King Constantine I abdicates.	Details
June 25	First American troops land in France.	Details
July 1–July 19	The Kerensky Offensive fails. It is the last Russian initiative in the war.	Details
July 6	Arab rebels led by Lawrence of Arabia seize the Jordanian port of Aqaba.	Details
July 20	Corfu Declaration about the future Kingdom of Yugoslavia.	Details
July 31	The Battle of Passchendaele (aka Third Battle of Ypres) begins.	Details
August 6–August 20	Battle of Mărăşeşti.	Details
August 18–August 28	Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo.	Details
September 8	Russia: General Kornilov's coup attempt fails.	Details
September 27–September 28	Battle of Ramadi, Mesopotamia.	Details
October 24–November 4	Battle of Caporetto. The Austro-Germans break through the Italian lines. The Italian army is defeated and falls back on the Piave River.	Details
October 30	Italy: Vittorio Emanuele Orlando succeeds Paolo Boselli as Prime Minister.	Details
October 31–November 7	Third Battle of Gaza. The British break through the Ottoman lines.	Details
November 2	Balfour Declaration: the British government supports plans for a Jewish "national home" in Palestine.	Details
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.	Details
November 8	Armando Diaz replaces Luigi Cadorna as Commander-in-Chief of the Italian Army.	Details
November 9–December 28	First Battle of the Piave: the Austro-Germans try unsuccessfully to cross the river.	Details
November 10	The Battle of Passchendaele (aka Third Battle of Ypres) ends in a stalemate.	Details
November 13	France: Paul Painleve is replaced by Georges Clemenceau as Prime Minister.	Details
November 17	Second Battle of Heligoland Bight, North Sea.	Details
November 20–December 3	Battle of Cambrai. A British attack fails and the battle results in a stalemate.	Details
December 7	The United States declares war on Austria-Hungary.
December 8–December 26	Battle of Jerusalem. The British enter the city (December 11)	Details
December 23	Russia signs an armistice with Germany.

[edit] 1918

Dates	Events
January 8	Woodrow Wilson outlines his Fourteen Points.	Details
February 18	Fighting resumes on the Eastern Front.
February 21	The British capture Jericho.
March 3	At Brest-Litovsk, Leon Trotsky signs the peace treaty with Germany.	Details
March 21–March 25	First phase of the Spring Offensive (Operation Michael). The Germans obtain a Pyrrhic victory.	Details
March 23–August 7	Artillery bombardment of Paris.	Details
March 26	French Marshall Ferdinand Foch is appointed Supreme Commander of all Allied forces.	Details
April 4–April 30	Second phase of the Spring Offensive (Operation Georgette). The results are disappointing for the Germans.	Details
May 7	Treaty of Bucharest between Romania and the Central Powers. It will never be ratified.	Details
May 27–June 6	Third Battle of the Aisne (aka Operation Blucher-Yorck, third phase of the Spring Offensive). After initial gains, the German advance is halted.	Details
June 9–June 12	Final phase of the Spring Offensive (Operation Gneiseau). Although substantial territorial gains, the Germans do not achieve their strategic goals	Details
June 13–June 23	Second Battle of the Piave: the Austro-Hungarian offensive is repelled.	Details
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.	Details
August 8–August 11	Battle of Amiens, first phase of the Hundred Days Offensive.	Details
September 12	Battle of Havrincourt, a phase of the Hundred Days Offensive.	Details
September 18–October 10	Battle of the Hindenburg Line, a phase of the Hundred Days Offensive. The Allies break through the German lines.	Details
September 19–September 21	Battle of Megiddo. The British conquer Palestine.	Details
September 26–November 11	Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the final phase of the Hundred Days Offensive and of World War One.	Details
September 29	The Allies break through the Bulgarian lines at Dobro Polje.
September 30	Bulgaria signs an armistice with the Allies.
October 1	The British enter Damascus.	Details
October 20	Germany suspends submarine warfare.	Details
October 24–November 4	Battle of Vittorio Veneto. The Austro-Hungarian army is routed. The Italians enter Trent and land at Triest.	Details
October 29	Wilhelm Groener replaces Erich Ludendorff as Hindenburg's deputy.	Details
October 29	Germany's Hochseeflotte mutinies.	Details
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.	Details
November 10	Austria-Hungary: Kaiser Charles I abdicates.	Details
November 11	At 6 am, Germany signs the Armistice of Compiégne. End of fightings 11am.
November 12	Austria proclaimed a republic.
November 14	Czechoslovakia proclaimed a republic.	Details
	German U-boats interned.
November 21	Germany's Hochseeflotte surrendered to the United Kingdom.
November 23	12 days after the armistice, General von Lettow-Vorbeck surrenders his undefeated army at Abercorn in present-day Zambia.	Details
November 27	The Germans evacuate Belgium.
December 1	Yugoslav independence proclaimed.	Details

[edit] 1919

Dates	Events
January 3	Faisal-Weizmann Agreement between Arabs and Jews on Palestine and the Middle East.	Details
January 18	The Peace Conference opens in Paris.	Details
January 25	Proposal to create the League of Nations accepted.	Details
June 21	The German Hochseeflotte is scuttled at Scapa Flow.	Details
June 28	Treaty of Versailles between the Allies and Germany.	Details
July 8	Germany ratifies the Treaty of Versailles.	Details
July 21	The United Kingdom ratifies the Treaty of Versailles.	Details
September 10	Treaty of Saint-Germain between the Allies and Austria.	Details
November 27	Treaty of Neuilly between the Allies and Bulgaria.	Details

[edit] 1920

Dates	Events
January 10	First meeting of the League of Nations held in London. Official end of World War One.	Details
	Free City of Danzig established.	Details
January 21	The Paris Peace Conference ends.	Details
February 10	A plebiscite returns Northern Schleswig to Denmark.	Details
April 19–April 26	Conference of Sanremo, Italy, about League of Nations mandates in former Ottoman territories of the Middle East.	Details
June 4	Treaty of Trianon between the Allies and Hungary.	Details
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.	Details
September 8	Gabriele D'Annunzio proclaims in Fiume the Italian Regency of Carnaro.	Details
November 1	League of Nations headquarters moved to Geneva, Switzerland.	Details
November 12	Treaty of Rapallo between Italy and Yugoslavia. Zadar is annexed by Italy and the Free State of Fiume is established.	Details
November 15	The League of Nations holds its first general assembly.	Details

[edit] Post-1920

Dates	Events
1921
October 13	Treaty of Kars between Bolshevik Russia and Turkey.	Details
1922
February 6	Washington Naval Treaty, limiting naval tonnage, signed by France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.	Details
April 10–May 19	Genoa Conference. Representatives of 34 countries discuss ecomomics in the wake of the Great War.	Details
April 16	Treaty of Rapallo between Germany and Bolshevik Russia to normalize diplomatic relations.	Details
September 11	Treaty of Kars ratified in Yerevan, Armenia.	Details
1923
July 24	Treaty of Lausanne between the Allies and Turkey, successor State to the Ottoman Empire. It supersedes the Treaty of Sèvres.	Details
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.	Details