World War One (jun 1, 1914 – nov 11, 1918)

Description:

On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated by a Serbian nationalist. This greatly angered Ferdinand’s uncle emperor Franz Joseph, who deemed it necessary to investigate and root out the Serbian organization responsible for the murder of military officers on Serbian soil. Serbia would not allow this, and Franz Joseph mobilized his army for invasion. Russia stepped into the conflict voicing support for Serbia and threatening Austria-Hungary with war if Serbia was harmed. Soon Germany got into the mix and told Russia that they would also go to war if Austria-Hungary were harmed. Germany sent an ultimatum to Russia telling them to stop mobilizing their military, and one to France telling them to remain neutral, as France and Russia were allies and therefore France could get involved. Both of these requests were denied and Germany prepared for a massive preemptive strike on France to knock them out of the war before it really got going. Germany was mostly successful in this invasion, wearing away the French and Belgian defenses, until the first battle of The Marne when a determined force of French troops drove back the German invasion. Russia advanced into German Poland and East Prussia until combined Austro-Hungarian and German forces pushed them back pushed them back with many dead left behind. The war wasn't just fought on land though, Germany developed a strategy of picking off the more numerous British ships, as well as any vessel trading with Britain. This came to a point where they sunk a US vessel, causing the US to get involved, and subsequently end the war.

Added to timeline:

Date: