The Great War – A Timeline

1914

28 June		Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, assassinated by Gavrilo Princip of the Black Hand gang
1-4 August		Declarations of War by the major players 4 August Germany, putting the Schlieffen Plan into operation, invades Belgium. Britain declares war
7-18 August		The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) arrive on mainland Europe
23 August		The Battle of Mons and the retreat to the Marne begins
26 August		Battle of Tannenberg begins on the Eastern Front
6 September		Allied counter attack on the Marne followed by German retreat. Stalemate
15 September		‘Race to the Sea’ begins; trenches form along the Western Front
19 October		First Battle of Ypres begins
29 October		Turkey enters the war on the side of the Central Powers
25 December		The famous informal Christmas truce occurred on some sections of the Western Front

1915

1  January		Allied offensive in Artois and Champagne begins
19 January		First zeppelin raids on England
4 February		German U-boat attacks on Allied and neutral shipping and declared blockade of Britain begins
19 February		Allied attack at the Dardanelles and Gallipoli begins
10 March		Battle of Neuve Chapelle begins
11 March		Britain begins blockade of German ports
22  April		Second Battle of Ypres begins; first use on the Western Front of poison gas by Germany
7  May		RMS Lusitania is sunk
23 May		Italy enters the war on the Allied side
25 May		Asquith forms a coalition government in Britain
25 September		Battle of Loos. French engage in Champagne offensive
19 December		Sir John French relieved of command; Sir Douglas Haig becomes Commander-in-Chief of the BEF
26 December		Allies begin withdrawal from Gallipoli

1916

21 February		The Battle of Verdun begins
24 April		Easter Rebellion begins in Ireland
31  May		Battle of Jutland
4  June		The Brusilov Offensive begins; Russia come close to total victory over Austria-Hungary. Germany now ‘shackled to a corpse’
5 June		T.E. Lawrence leads Arab revolt against the Turks in the Hejaz
1 July		First Day of the Battle of the Somme
27  August		von Falkenhayn relieved of command; Hindenburg and Ludendorff appointed to replace him
31 August		Germany suspends U-boat attacks
15 September		Tanks on the Somme at Battle of Flers-Courcelette
15 October		Germany resumes U-boat attacks
24 October		Fort Douaumont back in French hands at Verdun
18 November		The Battle of the Somme ends
7 December		Asquith government ends; David Lloyd George becomes Prime Minister
12 December		Germany proposes peace 18 December The Battle of Verdun ends

1917

1 February		German full unrestricted submarine warfare
3 February		USA cuts diplomatic ties with Germany
24 February		Britain pass intercepted Zimmermann Telegram to the USA – details German proposal to Mexico to form an alliance against the USA
12 March		Russian Revolution begins
17 March		Germany withdraw to the Hindenburg Line
6 April		Following the Zimmermann Telegram scandal and resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare, the USA declares war on Germany
9 April		Battle of Arras; Vimy Ridge captured by the Canadian Corps and attached British formations
16 April		French mauled on the Chemin des Dames, part of the Nivelle Offensive. Mutinies follow
7 June		Messines Ridge offensive begins
26 June		First US troops arrive in France
31 July		Third Battle of Ypres begins
4 October		Second Battle of Passchendaele, part of Third Ypres
7 November		Allied Supreme War Council established in order to better co-ordinate Allied action
10 November		Third Battle of Ypres ends
17 November		Armistice between Russia and the Central Powers
20 November		The Battle of Cambrai begins, tanks used en masse
22 December		Russia enters peace negotiations with Germany (Brest-Litovsk)

1918

3  March		Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed between Russia and Central Powers
21  March		Germany’s last gamble begins: Operation Michael, The Kaiser’s Offensive
26  March		Foch Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Armies, appointment confirmed on 3 April
9  April		German advance in Ypres
27  May		German advance on the Aisne
15  July		German advance on the Marne
18  July		Foch counter offensive
8  August		Haig commands successful Amiens offensive, Germans driven back to the Hindenburg Line. “Black Day” of the German Army 12 September The Americans advance in St Mihiel
27 September		Haig’s forces break through the Hindenburg Line
3 October		Germany sues for peace
21 October		Germany end unrestricted submarine warfare
27 October		Ludendorff resigns
2 November		Allied assault along the Western Front
3 November		Austrian armistice; German fleet mutinies at Kiel
9 November		The Kaiser abdicates
11 November		BEF advance into Mons, back where they first saw action in 1914. Armistice at 110

1919

18 January		Start of Paris peace negotiations
28 June		The Treaty of Versailles is signed. The war with Germany is legally over