Timeline - 1914
The First World War spanned four years and involved many nation states.
This section lists the landmark events of the year 1914, the first year of the war which began as the widely expected war of movement, but which inexplicably (to contemporary eyes) settled into stubborn trench warfare.
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For a day by day account click any given month using the sidebar to the right.
Date | Event |
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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austro-Hungarian empire, in Sarajevo, Bosnia |
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Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia |
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Austria-Hungary repeatedly invades Serbia but is repeatedly repulsed |
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Outbreak of war - Germany declares war on Russia |
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Germany declares war on France |
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Germany invades neutral Belgium |
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Britain declares war on Germany |
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US President Woodrow Wilson declares policy of US neutrality |
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Battle of the Frontiers begins |
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Russia invades East Prussia |
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Japan declares war on Germany |
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Austria-Hungary invades Russian Poland (Galicia) |
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Battle of Tannenberg, which Russia loses; Germany's greatest success of the war on Eastern Front |
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First Battle of Marne, halts German advance, resulting in stalemate and trench warfare |
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First Battle of Masurian Lakes, which Russia loses |
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First Battle of Aisne begins |
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The "race to the sea", trenches appear on September 15 |
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Austro-German attack on western Poland |
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First Battle of Ypres |
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Turkey enters the war on the side of the Central Powers |
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Battle of the Falkland Islands |
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First German air raid on Britain |
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Unofficial Christmas truce declared by soldiers along the Western Front |
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"Hun" was a slang term used by the allies, to describe the Germans. "Boche" was another.
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