World War 1 Events

1900 Apr 11 U.S. Navy Acquires Its First Submarine
On April 11, 1900, the U.S. Navy acquired its first submarine, designed by Irish immigrant John P. Holland. Propelled by gasoline while on the surface and by electricity when submerged, ...
1904 Apr 8 Signing of the Entente Cordiale
The Entente Cordiale was the culmination of the policy of Théophile Delcassé, France’s foreign minister from 1898, who believed that a Franco-British understanding would give France some ...
1907 Aug 31 Signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente
The Anglo-Russian Entente or the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 was an accord signed on 31 August 1907 in St. Petersburg by Count Alexander Izvolsky, Foreign Minister of the Russian Emp...
1914
to 1918
Adolf Hitler serves in World War I
Hitler, by all accounts, was an unusual soldier with a sloppy manner and unmilitary bearing. But he was also eager for action and always ready to volunteer for dangerous assignments even ...
1914 Jun 28 Assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand
The Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria, with his wife, the Duchess of Hohenberg, was paying a visit of state to Bosnia, then a subject province of Austria, peopled ...
1914 Jul 24 Telegrams and Letters Circulated on Friday July 24 1914
Serbia. M. Strandtman, Russian Chargé d'Affaires at Belgrade, telegraphed to M. Sazonof, Minister for Foreign Affairs at Petrograd, that Pashitch, Prime Minister of Serbia, had returned t...
1914 Jul 25 Serbia's Reply to the Austro-Hungarian Note
A few minutes before 6 p. m., July 25, 1914, the Serbian Government made its reply to the Austrian note. This declared that no attempts had been made, or declarations uttered, by respo...
1914 Jul 25 Telegrams and Letters Circulated on Saturday July 25 1914
Austria-Hungary. Count Berchtold, Austro-Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs, telegraphed from Lembach to his Under-Secretary, Baron von Macchio, that Russia through Prince Koudacheff,...
1914 Jul 28 Austria-Hungary Declares War on Serbia
When the full text of the Austria's ultimatum to Serbia was published, public opinion was incensed at the severity of the demand. A feverish week of diplomatic effort followed among the n...
1914 Jul 28 Germany's 10 Million Dollar Gold Ship Escapes
The fast German merchant ship, the Kronprinzessin Cecilie, left New York harbor on July 28, 1914, carrying a cargo of $10,000,000 in gold, and was in mid-ocean when England declared war. ...
1914 Aug 1 Germany Declares War on Russia
Presented by the German Ambassador to St. Petersburg The Imperial German Government have used every effort since the beginning of the crisis to bring about a peaceful settlement. In co...
1914 Aug 2 Germany Invades and Occupies Luxembourg
The first overt act of war on the Western front occurred at 1:30 o'clock on the morning of Sunday, August 2, 1914, when a detail of German officers in motor cars crossed the Moselle River...
1914 Aug 3 Germany Declares War on France
On the afternoon of this day in 1914, two days after declaring war on Russia, Germany declares war on France, moving ahead with a long-held strategy, conceived by the former chief of staf...
1914 Aug 3 Germany Invades Belgium
King Albert of Belgium exerted himself to repel the invaders. By his orders nearly all the bridges, roads and tunnels in the Ardennes district, were at once destroyed at a total loss of $...
1914 Aug 4 Battle of Liege
THE FALL OF LIEGE Liege was a kind of natural key-hole into Belgium and France. It was a point at which many great railroad lines converged, including the line leading directly to Pari...
1914 Aug 4 Great, Britain, France and Russia Declare War on Germany, and Germany Declares War on Belgium
Germany, on August 3, while refusing to promise not to trample down Belgium, would agree not to attack France by sea if Britain should remain neutral. Belgium, on the same day, heroica...
1914 Aug 4 Liberia Declares War on Germany
At the outbreak of World War I, President Howard attempted to maintain the country's neutrality, though he tended to support the Allies, whose colonial territories in Africa surrounded Li...
1914 Aug 5 Montenegro Declares War on Austria-Hungary
Montenegrin Army, 40,000 General Yukovitch King Nicholas Austrian Army, 60,000 General Ermolli General Koevess MONTENEGRO, the poorest kingdom in the Balkans, had declared war a...
1914 Aug 6 Austria-Hungary Declares War on Russia
Opening hostilities Confusion among the Central Powers The strategy of the Central Powers suffered from miscommunication. Germany had promised to support Austria–Hungary’s invasion ...
1914 Aug 6 Serbia Declares War on Germany
Setting the stage On July 23, Austria-Hungary demanded Serbia comply with its March 1909 declaration to the Great Powers to maintain good neighborly relations with Austria-Hungary and ...
1914 Aug 7
to 1914 Dec 20
 Germany Loses Vast Empire in Africa to the British
Allied Forces, 50,000 Loyal Boer Leaders General Louis Botha General J. C. Smuts General Lukin Colonel Brits Major Bouwer British Leaders Major General Stewart Brigadier Gene...
1914 Aug 7
to 1914 Aug 10
 The Battle of Mulhouse
The Battle of Mulhouse (or Mülhausen), which began on August 9, 1914, was the opening attack of World War I by the French army against Germany. The battle was part of a French attempt to ...
1914 Aug 8
to 1914 Sep 20
 German Atrocities in Belgium Horrify Humanity
"In Vendre, all the inhabitants without exception were brought out and shot. This shooting was heartbreaking, as they all knelt down and prayed." —The Diary of Eitel Anders
1914 Aug 8 Montenegro Declares War on Germany
Under Nicholas I, the Principality of Montenegro vastly advanced and enlarged several times in the Montenegro-Turkish Wars and achieved recognition of independence in 1878. Modernization ...
1914 Aug 9
to 1914 Sep 28
 Russia Grapples with Germany and Austria on 1000-Mile Front - The Longest Battle Line in History
Russian Forces, 500,000 Grand Duke Nicholas, Generalissimo Army of the Niemen, Gen. SamsonoíT Army of the Narew, Gen. Rennenkampf Cavalry Corps, Gen. Basil Gurko German Force...
1914 Aug 10
to 1914 Sep 3
 Russians Drive Austrians Out of Galicia and Across Carpathians
Russian Forces, 1,500,000 Grand Duke Nicholas, Generalissimo General Yanushkevitch, Chief-of-Staff First Army Group General Ivanoff General Ewerts General Plehve Second Army ...
1914 Aug 12 Battle of Haelen (1914)
First Field Battle in Belgium The first field battle of the war in Belgium took place northwest of Liege, on August 12, when a force of 5000 German cavalry, supported by artillery and ...
1914 Aug 12 Great Britian and France Declare War on Austria-Hungary
A circular sent to US consuls throughout Germany giving general instructions with regard to the treatment of Americans "AMERICAN EMBASSY, BERLIN, August 12, 1914 "To the Consu...
1914 Aug 14
to 1914 Aug 23
 Battle of Lorraine
On the morning of August 15, 1914, General de Castelnau's Second French army moved rapidly toward the Lorraine border on a front extending from the Grand Cauronne to the Vosges. In the ...
1914 Aug 14
to 1914 Aug 19
 Battles of Loznitsa, Jadar and Shabatz
Two Austro-Hungarian armies, 400,000 strong, under the command of Gen. Potiorek, were secretly concentrating at six points along the Western and Northern Serbian frontiers, 340 miles in e...
1914 Aug 14
to 1914 Dec 20
 Conquest of the German Kameruns
Anglo-French Forces, 50,000 Maj. Gen. Dobell Brig. Gen. Aymerich Brig. Gen. Cunliffe Lieut. Col. MacLear German-Native Forces, 6,000 Unidentified German Officers The conquest ...
1914 Aug 17 Battle of Stallupönen
On August 17 Rennenkampf started the invasion of Prussia, marching the First Army directly westward towards the German lines. Although he faced no resistance, Rennenkampf stopped his adva...
1914 Aug 17
to 1914 Aug 26
 Two Russian Armies Invade East Prussia
Russian Northwest Forces, 450,000 General Gilinsky, Commander-in-Chief First Army—General Rennenkampf, Commander General Pflug General Ratkevitch General Niloflf General Meeshtc...
1914 Aug 19 Battle and Destruction of Louvain (Leuven) Belgium
A brave stand was made in front of Louvain, on August 19, by the right wing of the Belgian army, acting as a rear guard, while the center fell back on Antwerp, but so superior in numbers ...
1914 Aug 20 Battle of Gumbinnen
The Battle of Gumbinnen, initiated by forces of the German Empire on August 20, 1914, was the first major German offensive on the Eastern Front during the First World War. Due to the hast...
1914 Aug 20 Germany Occupies Brussels
Leaving a garrison of 3000 behind to guard Louvain, the German army swept forward toward Brussels. The Belgians had thought to defend their capital, but now, fearing its destruction by bo...
1914 Aug 21 Battle Of Charleroi
The Battle of Charleroi (French: Bataille de Charleroi), or the Battle of the Sambre (1914), was fought on 21 August 1914, between French and German forces and was part of the Battle of t...
1914 Aug 21
to 1914 Aug 23
 Battle of the Ardennes
The Battle of the Ardennes was one of the opening battles of World War I. It took place from August 21-23, 1914, part of the Battle of the Frontiers. Background French commander-in-...
1914 Aug 21 French Defeated at Neufchateau
Still unaware of the vastly superior forces which the Germans had assembled, the French forces, on August 21, 1914 confidently advanced to give them battle. Namur had not yet fallen, and ...
1914 Aug 21 Germany Captures Namur
While von Kluck's army was investing Liege and its fortresses, von Buelow's army, 280,000 strong, was advancing up the valley of the Meuse toward Namur. The villagers fled from their home...
1914 Aug 22 Battle of Charleroi
The French army of Gen. Lanrezac, on the day following the battle of Neufchateau, met with defeat, because that general had failed to carry out his instructions, which were: To occupy the...
1914 Aug 23 Battle of Mons
Although the French armies on his right were in full retreat from the Belgian frontier on August 23, 1914 following their defeat first at Neuf chateau and then at Charleroi, Gen. Sir John...
1914 Aug 23
to 1914 Aug 30
 Battle Of Tannenberg
The Battle of Tannenberg was in August 1914 a decisive engagement between the Russian Empire and the German Empire in the first days of World War I, fought by the Russian First and Second...
1914 Aug 23 German Troops Capture Dinant, Executing 674 of Its Inhabitants
On 23 August 1914, 674 inhabitants of Dinant were summarily executed by German troops. It was one of the biggest atrocities committed by the Germans during 1914. A series of German wa...
1914 Aug 23 Japan Declares War on Germany
Japanese Army, 22,980 Lieut. General Kamio Major General Horiuchi General Yamada General Johogi Vice-Admiral Kamimura English Force, 1369 Col. N. W. Barnanlisten German ...
1914 Aug 24 Battle of Nancy Trouve de Charmes
Sunday, August 23, 1914 found the armies of Castelnau and Dubail standing in battle formation in front of the Trouvée de Charmes, the 20-mile gap opening in the side of France, near Nancy...
1914 Aug 24
to 1914 Sep 7
 Siege of Maubeuge
Skilful Retreat Conducted by Foch De Castelnau's Lorraine army was still in peril, however, and a further withdrawal across the Seille and Meurthe rivers and thence into France, was de...
1914 Aug 25 Japan Declares War on Austria-Hungary
Japan Declares War A Time-limit of nine days had been fixed by Japan for Germany's acceptance of her ultimatum, but Germany scornfully ignored the mandate. Accordingly, on the day a...
1914 Aug 26
to 1914 Sep 6
 Battle of Landrecies and the British Disaster at Le Cateau
At Maroilles, Haig's First Corps was so hard pressed that aid was urgently asked from the French. Two reserve French divisions responded, and by diverting the attention of the enemy they ...
1914 Aug 26 Battle Of Le Cateau
The Battle of Le Cateau was fought on 26 August 1914, after the British, French and Belgians retreated from the Battle of Mons and had set up defensive positions in a fighting withdrawal ...