WORLD WAR ONE TIMELINE: 1914 Jun 28: Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated in Sarajevo Jul 28: Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia Aug 01: Germany declares war on Russia Aug 03: Germany declares war on France Aug 04: Germany invades Belgium, Britain declares war on Germany Aug 06: Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia Aug 12: Britain and France declare war on Austria-Hungary Aug 13: Austro-Hungarian forces invade Serbia Aug 14: Battle of Frontiers between French and German forces Aug 23: Battle of Mons. Japan declares war on Germany Aug 26: Battle of Tannenberg, Battle of Le Chateau Sep 06: Battle of the Marne Sep 13: Battle of Aisne Sep 19: First battle of Ypres Nov 01: Naval battle at Coronel Nov 02: Russia declares war on Turkey Nov 05: Britain and France declare war on Turkey Nov 06: British and Indian troops land in Mesopotamia Dec 08: Battle of Falkland Islands 1915 Jan 24: Battle of Dogger Bank Mar 10: Battle of Neuve Chapelle Mar 18: Allied naval attempt to force passage of Dardanelles Apr 22: Start of second battle of Ypres. Germans use poison gas for first time in Western Front peninsula Apr 25: British and ANZAC troops land on Gallipoli May 02: Austro-German offensive against Russian forces in Galicia May 07: Lusitania sunk by U20 May 09: Allied offensive in Artois May 23: Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary May 31: First German airship raid on London Jun 23: First battle of Isonzo begins on Italian front Aug 05: Warsaw falls to Central Powers Aug 06: British landings at Gallipoli Sep 25: Allied offensive in Flanders and Champagne. Battle of Loos. Oct 06: Final Austro-German invasion of Serbia begins Oct 11: Bulgaria enters the war by invading Serbia Dec 07: Siege of Kut begins Dec 19: Haig leads French as Commander-in-Chief of British Expeditionary Forces 1916 Jan 09: Evacuation of Gallipoli completed Jan 25: First Military Service Bill passed in Britain, includes conscription of single men between 18 and 41 years Feb 21: Battle of Verdun Apr 24: Easter Rising in Dublin Apr 29: Kut falls to Turkish forces May 14: Austrian offensive in Trentino begins May 16: BritainÕs second Military Service Bill extends conscription to married men May 31: Battle of Jutland Jun 04: Start of major Russian offensive under General Brusilov Jul 01: Battle of the Somme Aug 27: Romania enters struggle, declaring war on Austria-Hungary Aug 29: Hindenberg succeeds Falkenhayn as Chief of German General Staff Sep 15: Tanks used for first time by British forces on the Somme Nov 21: Emperor Franz Josef of Austria-Hungary dies Dec 06: Bucharest falls to Central Powers Dec 07: Lloyd George succeeds Asquith as British Prime Minister 1917 Feb 01: Germany begins unrestricted submarine warfare Mar 11: Baghdad captured by British forces Mar 15: Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicates Mar 16: Germans begin main withdrawal to Hindenberg Line Mar 26: First battle of Gaza Apr 06: U.S. declares war on Germany Apr 16: Start of French offensive on Aisne Apr 17: Second battle of Gaza Jun 07: Battle of Messines Jul 31: Third battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) begins Oct 24: Start of Austro-German offensive against Italians Oct 31: Third battle of Gaza Nov 06: Bolshevik coup dÕetat in Petrograd Nov 20: Battle of Cambrai begins Dec 02: Suspension of hostilities between Russian and German armies Dec 09: Jerusalem surrenders to British forces 1918 Feb 18: Hostilities resumed on Eastern Front Mar 03: Peace treaty signed between Russia and Central Powers Mar 21: German offensive in Picardy begins Apr 14: Foch named as General-in-chief of Allied armies in France Apr 23: Naval raid on Zeebrugge and Ostend May 27: German offensive on the Aisne begins Jul 15: Start of German Champagne-Marne offensive Jul 18: Allied counter-offensive at Marne Aug 08: Battle of Amiens begins Sep 19: Battle of Megiddo Sep 26: Start of Franco-American offensive in Meuse-Argonne sector Sep 28: British Dominion troops begin main attack on Hindenberg Line Sep 29: Bulgaria signs armistice with Allies Oct 01: Damascus falls to British and Arab forces Oct 24: Battle of Vittorio Veneto begins Oct 30: Turkey signs armistice with the Allies Nov 03: Austria-Hungary signs armistice with the Allies Nov 09: Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany abdicates Nov 11: Armistice between Allies and Germany ends hostilities on Western Front 1919 Jun 28: Peace treaty signed with Germany at Versailles OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION: The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand provoked a European crisis which escalated rapidly. Between July 26 and August 1, 1914 Austria-Hungary, Russia, Germany and France gathered their troops, and by August 4 all the major European powers, including Britain, were at war. While the assassination was the act that triggered the war, GermanyÕs expansionist plans, national, economic, colonial and naval rivalries and the growth of opposing alliance systems were deeper underlying causes. In response to Lord KitchenerÕs appeal for volunteers, 2.5 million men joined the British army before the end of 1915. The Cenotaph was unveiled in Whitehall on Armistice Day, 1920 Ð on the same day the body of an unidentified soldier from the Western Front was interred in Westminster Abbey in the presence of King George V. In later years national memorials were built to commemorate the dead in Wales, Scotland and Ireland.