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Timeline of World War 1

This section provides a timeline of World War 1.

1914

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.
July 23 Austria-Hungary sends an ultimatum to Serbia. Serbia, counting on Russian support, rejects some points of the ultimatum and mobilizes.
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.
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 Ličge, Belgium.
August 6 Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia.
Serbia declares war on Germany.
August 7 The British Expeditionary Force arrives in France.
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.
August 16–August 19 The Serbs defeat the Austro-Hungarians at the Battle of Cer.
August 17 The Russian army enters East Prussia. Battle of Stalluponen.
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.
August 17–September 2 Battle of Tannenberg: the Russian army undergoes a heavy defeat by the Germans.
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
August 24–September 7 The Germans siege and capture the Maubeuge Fortress.
August 25 Japan declares war on Austria-Hungary.
August 26 British and French forces invade Togoland, a German protectorate in West Africa.
August 26–August 27 Battle of Le Cateau. Allied retreat.
August 26–September 11 Battle of Lemberg. The Russians capture Lviv.
August 27–November 7 Battle of Tsingtao: British and Japanese forces capture the German-controlled port of Tsingtao in China.
August 28 The Royal Navy wins the First Battle of Heligoland Bight, North Sea.
August 29–August 30 Battle of Saint Quentin, aka Battle of Guise. Orderly Allied retreat.
August 30 New Zealand occupies German Samoa (later Western Samoa).
September 3–September 11 Austro-Hungarian defeat at the Battle of Rava Russka.
September 5–September 12 First Battle of the Marne. The German advance on Paris is halted, marking the failure of the Schlieffen Plan. See photographs from the Batlle of the Marne
September 7–September 14 First Battle of the Masurian Lakes: The Russian Army of the Neman withdraws from East Prussia with heavy casualties.
September 8–September 17 Second Austro-Hungarian attempt at invading Serbia fails.
September 9 Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg lays out Germany's war aims.
September 11–September 21 Australian forces occupy German New Guinea.
September 13 South African troops begins invading German South-West Africa.
September 13–September 28 The First Battle of the Aisne ends in a substantial draw. The Race to the Sea begins.
September 14 Erich von Falkenhayn replaces Helmuth von Moltke the Younger as German Chief of Staff.
September 17 The Siege of Przemysl begins
September 28–October 10 The Germans siege and capture Antwerp, Belgium.
September 29–October 31 Battle of the Vistula, aka Battle of Warsaw.
October 16–October 31 Battle of the Yser. French and Belgian forces secure the coastline of Belgium.
October 19–November 22 The First Battle of Ypres ends the Race to the Sea. The Germans are prevented from reaching Calais and Dunkirk.
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.
November 2 The United Kingdom begins the naval blockade of Germany.
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.
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. Pictures of the Sinking of the Emden.
November 11–December 6 Battle of Lódz (Lviv).
December 3–December 15 Battle of Kolubara. The Serbs take Belgrade back.
December 8 Battle of the Falklands. Von Spee's German cruiser squadron is defeated by the Royal Navy.
December 16 The German fleet shells Scarborough and Hartlepool, England.
December 29–January 2, 1915 The Russians win the Battle of Sarikamis, Caucasia.

1915

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

1916

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

1917

January 9 Battle of Rafa. The British drive the Ottomans out of Sinai.
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.
February 1 Germany resumes unrestricted submarine warfare.
February 23 Second Battle of Kut. The British recapture the city.
February 23–April 5 The Germans withdraw to the Hindenburg Line.
March 1 Arz von Straussenberg replaces Conrad von Hötzendorf as Austro-Hungarian Chief of Staff.
March 8–March 11 The British capture Baghdad.
March 15 Russia: Czar Nicholas II abdicates. A provisional government is appointed.
March 26 First Battle of Gaza. The British attempt to capture the city fails.
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.
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.
April 19 Second Battle of Gaza. The Ottoman lines resist a British attack.
April 29–May 20 Series of mutinies in the French army.
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.
May 12–June 6 Tenth Battle of the Isonzo.
May 15 Philippe Pétain replaces Robert Nivelle as Commander-in-Chief of the French Army.
May 23 Battle of Mount Hermada in the Karst.
June 7–June 8 The British recapture Messines Ridge.
June 10–June 29 Battle of Mount Ortigara.
June 12 Greece: King Constantine I abdicates.
June 25 First American troops land in France.
July 1–July 19 The Kerensky Offensive fails. It is the last Russian initiative in the war.
July 6 Arab rebels led by Lawrence of Arabia seize the Jordanian port of Aqaba.
July 20 Corfu Declaration about the future Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
July 31 The Battle of Passchendaele (aka Third Battle of Ypres) begins.
August 6–August 20 Battle of Marasesti.
August 18–August 28 Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo.
September 8 Russia: General Kornilov's coup attempt fails.
September 27–September 28 Battle of Ramadi, Mesopotamia.
October 24–November 4 Battle of Caporetto. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans break through the Italian lines. The Italian army is defeated and falls back on the Piave River.
October 30 Italy: Vittorio Emanuele Orlando succeeds Paolo Boselli as Prime Minister.
October 31–November 7 Third Battle of Gaza. The British break through the Ottoman lines.
November 2 Balfour Declaration: the British government supports plans for a Jewish "national home" in Palestine.
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.
November 8 Armando Diaz replaces Luigi Cadorna as Commander-in-Chief of the Italian Army.
November 9–December 28 First Battle of the Piave: the Austro-Hungarians and Germans try unsuccessfully to cross the river.
November 10 The Battle of Passchendaele (aka Third Battle of Ypres) ends in a stalemate.
November 13 France: Paul Painleve is replaced by Georges Clemenceau as Prime Minister.
November 17 Second Battle of Heligoland Bight, North Sea.
November 20–December 3 Battle of Cambrai. A British attack fails and the battle results in a stalemate.
December 7 The United States declares war on Austria-Hungary. (The U.S. declared war in April, not December.)
December 8–December 26 Battle of Jerusalem. The British enter the city (December 11)
December 23 Russia signs an armistice with Germany.

1918

January 8 Woodrow Wilson outlines his Fourteen Points.
February 18 Fighting resumes on the Eastern Front.
February 21 The British capture Jericho.
February 25 German troops capture Estonia.
March 3 At Brest-Litovsk, Leon Trotsky signs the peace treaty with Germany.
March 21–March 25 First phase of the Spring Offensive (Operation Michael). The Germans obtain a Pyrrhic victory.
March 23–August 7 Artillery bombardment of Paris.
March 26 French Marshall Ferdinand Foch is appointed Supreme Commander of all Allied forces.
April 4–April 30 Second phase of the Spring Offensive (Operation Georgette). The results are disappointing for the Germans.
May 7 Treaty of Bucharest between Romania and the Central Powers. It will never be ratified.
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.
June 9–June 12 Final phase of the Spring Offensive (Operation Gneiseau). Although substantial territorial gains, the Germans do not achieve their strategic goals
June 13–June 23 Second Battle of the Piave: the Austro-Hungarian offensive is repelled.
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.
August 8–August 11 Battle of Amiens, first phase of the Hundred Days Offensive.
September 12 Battle of Havrincourt, a phase of the Hundred Days Offensive.
September 18–September 19 Battle of Doiran, The Bulgarians halt the British and Greek advance.
September 18–October 10 Battle of the Hindenburg Line, a phase of the Hundred Days Offensive. The Allies break through the German lines.
September 19–September 21 Battle of Megiddo. The British conquer Palestine.
September 26–November 11 Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the final phase of the Hundred Days Offensive and of World War One.
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.
October 20 Germany suspends submarine warfare.
October 24–November 4 Battle of Vittorio Veneto. The Austro-Hungarian army is routed. The Italians enter Trent and land at Triest.
October 29 Wilhelm Groener replaces Erich Ludendorff as Hindenburg's deputy.
October 29 Germany's Hochseeflotte mutinies.
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.
November 10 Austria-Hungary: Kaiser Charles I abdicates.
November 11 At 6 am, Germany signs the Armistice of Compičgne. End of fightings at 11 a.m..
November 12 Austria proclaimed a republic.
November 14 Czechoslovakia proclaimed a republic.
German U-boats interned.
3 days after the armistice, fighting ends in the East African theater when General von Lettow-Vorbeck agrees a cease-fire on hearing of Germany's surrender.
November 21 Germany's Hochseeflotte surrendered to the United Kingdom.
November 22 The Germans evacuate Luxembourg.
November 23 9 days after agreeing a cease-fire, General von Lettow-Vorbeck formally surrenders his undefeated army at Abercorn in present-day Zambia.
November 27 The Germans evacuate Belgium.
December 1 Yugoslav independence proclaimed.

1919

January 18 Treaty of Versailles between the Allies and Germany: the Peace Conference opens in Paris.
January 25 Proposal to create the League of Nations accepted.
June 21 German High Seas Fleet (53 ships) scuttled in Scapa Flow with nine deaths, the last casualties of the war.
July 8 Germany ratifies the Treaty of Versailles.
July 21 The United Kingdom ratifies the Treaty of Versailles.

1920

January 10 First meeting of the League of Nations held in London. Official end of World War One.
Free City of Danzig established.
January 21 The Paris Peace Conference ends.
February 10 A plebiscite returns Northern Schleswig to Denmark.
April 19–April 26 Conference of Sanremo, Italy, about League of Nations mandates in former Ottoman territories of the Middle East.
June 4 Treaty of Trianon between the Allies and Hungary.
August 10 Treaty of Sčvres between the Allies and the Ottoman Empire. The treaty is not recognized by the Turkish national movement, which consider the Istanbul government illegitimate.
September 8 Gabriele D'Annunzio proclaims in Fiume the Italian Regency of Carnaro.
November 1 League of Nations headquarters moved to Geneva, Switzerland.
November 12 Treaty of Rapallo between Italy and Yugoslavia. Zadar is annexed by Italy and the Free State of Fiume is established.
November 15 The League of Nations holds its first general assembly.