Timeline
1914
JUNE
28 Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated in Sarajevo.
JULY
28 Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
AUGUST
1 Germany declares war on Russia.
3 Germany declares war on France.
4 German forces invade neutral Belgium.
4 Britain declares war on Germany.
4 USA declares neutrality.
6 First British casualties as HMS Amphion is sunk in North Sea.
6 First air raid sees nine killed as Liège is bombed by Zeppelins.
7 First British troops arrive in France.
9 Battle of the Frontiers begins as France attempts to regain Alsace and Lorraine.
12 Britain declares war on Austria-Hungary.
17 Russia invades East Prussia.
23 Battle of Mons begins as British Expeditionary Force (BEF) faces advancing German forces.
23 Japan declares war on Germany.
26 Battle of Tannenberg begins.
26 Battle of Le Cateau. Retreating British troops fight a rearguard action.
28 Battle of Heligoland Bight, the first naval engagement of the war.
SEPTEMBER
5 Battle of Marne begins.
15 Battle of Aisne begins.
22 British aircraft carry out first air raid on Germany.
OCTOBER
19 Battle of Ypres sees the Germans attempt to break through to Channel ports.
29 Turkish ships attack Russian ports in the Black Sea, heralding Turkey's entry into the war.
NOVEMBER
2 Russia declares war on Turkey.
5 Britain declares war on Turkey.
DECEMBER
3 Battle of Kolubra begins. Austro-Hungarian forces pushed out of Serbia.
8 Battle of the Falkland Islands.
16 Hartlepool, Scarborough and Whitby are shelled by German ships. 137 people are killed.
1915
JANUARY
19/20 First Zeppelin raid on Britain.
FEBRUARY
19 Campaign at Gallipoli begins with French and Royal Navy ships bombarding Turkish positions.
MARCH
10 Battle of Neuve Chapelle begins.
APRIL
22 Second Battle of Ypres begins.
25 Allied troops land at Gallipoli and face heavy Turkish resistance.
MAY
2 Germany and Austria-Hungary attack on the Eastern Front between Gorlice and Tarnów.
7 Lusitania is sunk by U-boat.
23 Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary.
SEPTEMBER
6 Bulgaria joins the war, signing a pact with Austria-Hungary and Germany.
25 Battle of Loos begins. British forces use chemical weapons for the first time.
OCTOBER
12 British nurse Edith Cavell is executed.
1916
JANUARY
9 Allied troops complete their evacuation from Gallipoli.
FEBRUARY
21 Germany launches large-scale attack at Verdun.
APRIL
29 British surrender at Kut.
MAY
31 Battle of Jutland. Only large-scale naval engagement of the war.
JUNE
4 Brusilov Offensive begins.
JULY
1 Battle of the Somme begins.
SEPTEMBER
15 Tanks are used for the first time at FlersCourcelette.
DECEMBER
18 Battle of Verdun ends.
1917
JANUARY
31 Germany restarts unrestricted U-boat warfare.
FEBRUARY
9 German troops begin withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line.
MARCH
15 Russia's Tsar Nicholas II abdicates in the face of civil unrest.
APRIL
6 USA declares war on Germany.
9 Battle of Arras begins.
16 Nivelle Offensive leads to heavy losses and French Army mutinies.
JUNE
7 Battle of Messines Ridge.
JULY
6 T. E. Lawrence 'of Arabia' takes the Red Sea port of Aqaba after a surprise raid.
31 Third Battle of Ypres begins.
OCTOBER
25 Russian Bolsheviks seize power in the October Revolution.
NOVEMBER
20 Battle of Cambrai begins.
DECEMBER
11 General Allenby enters Jerusalem.
1918
MARCH
3 Russia signs Brest-Litovsk treaty with Germany.
21 Germany launches its Spring Offensive on Western Front.
APRIL
23 British attempt to block the port at Zeebrugge with sunken ships.
JULY
18 Allies begin counteroffensive actions on Western Front.
AUGUST
8 Battle of Amiens begins the Hundred Days Offensive.
SEPTEMBER
29 Hindenburg Line breached by the Allies.
OCTOBER
1 Damascus taken by Arab and British forces.
29 German sailors mutiny. Unrest leads to the German Revolution.
30 Turkey ends its involvement in the war.
NOVEMBER
3 Austria signs its armistice.
11 Germany signs the armistice document ending the war.
