World War I: Causes and Timeline

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HISTORY: World War I Battles, WWI Timeline

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World War I Battles: Timeline

For four years, from 1914 to 1918, World War I raged across Europe’s western and eastern fronts after growing tensions and then the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria ignited the war. Trench warfare and the early use of tanks, submarines and airplanes meant the war’s battles were devastatingly bloody, claiming an estimated 40 […]

Outbreak of World War I

Europe by 1914 Almost exactly a century before, a meeting of the European states at the Congress of Vienna had established an international order and balance of power that lasted for almost a century. By 1914, however, a multitude of forces was threatening to tear it apart. The Balkan Peninsula, in southeastern Europe, was a […]

Lusitania

Prelude to Lusitania: Germany Announces Unrestricted Submarine Warfare When World War I erupted in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson (1856‑1924) pledged neutrality for the United States, a position that the vast majority of Americans favored. Britain, however, was one of America’s closest trading partners, and tension soon arose between the United States and Germany over the […]

Battle of the Somme

Battle Begins – July 1, 1916 Prior to the attack, the Allies launched a week‑long heavy artillery bombardment, using some 1.75 million shells, which aimed to cut the barbed wire guarding German’s trench defenses and destroy the enemy’s positions. On the morning of July 1, 11 divisions of the British 4th Army—many of them volunteer […]

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World War I Alliances

In the years leading up to WWI, a series of agreements between the powers of Europe helped determine where and when battlelines were drawn.

The Harlem Hellfighters

The Harlem Hellfighters were an African‑American infantry unit in WWI who spent more time in combat than any other American unit. Despite their courage, sacrifice and dedication to their country, they returned home to face racism and segregation from their fellow countrymen.

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