WWI course dates

Britain was the only Great Power without conscription; did not need to introduce it due to the ‘will to war’ which led many to volunteer

1914

Britain introduced conscription, followed by New Zealand and Canada

1916

France passed the “Three Year Law” which would allow it to extend conscription so it could have enough soldiers to match the German army

1913

Italy entered war of the Allied side

23 May 1915

Romania entered the war on the Allied side; mobilised 800,000 people which was a quarter of its population

17 August 1916

Italian army grew from 560 to 693 battalions

1916

US entered the war; mobilised 100,000 soldiers and 5 dreadnoughts

6 April 1917

The US mobilised 300,000 soldiers to France; would eventually increase to 3 million

by March 1918

Britain’s Defence of the Realm Act allowed the government to claim any land or building necessary for the war effort

1914

The ‘Shell Crisis’ led to British military failures on the Western Front due to a shortage of artillery → Ministry of Munitions was created, 800 tons of cordite per day

1915

German production levels were falling → Ludendorff and Hindenburg formed the Supreme War Office to coordinate all war time production

1916

Germany’s Auxiliary Service Law allowed the government to employ and relocate any adult males for the war effort → 2 million workers shifted from agriculture to arms → good for the military but food shortages in winter

1916

French used the private sector to produce artillery → they produced 1000 guns, 260,000 shells and six million bullets per month

by 1918

Number of aircraft held by the French military increased from 162 to 11,800

1914 to 1918

In Russia over 1,500,000 artillery shells were produced per month

By November 1915

The mobilisation of women in France led to 100,000 shells being produced per day

By 1915

Trenches began as simple shelters but developed into complex defensive networks

By 1915

Over 200,000 soldiers are estimated to have died in trenches on the Western front

During the war

Tear gas grenades were used first by the French

August 1914

Germany came up with its own variation of gas ammunition

By October 1914

Germany was the first country to employ the use of lethal poison gasses such as chlorine

January 1915

Britain developed gas masks and protective gear, only 3,000 British soldiers died from gas

1914-1918

Tanks were introduced by the British in the Battle of Somme

1916

The French used their tanks in the Nivelle Offensive

1917

Germany focused on the production of anti-tank guns such as the 13mm Mauser and Rader-Lafette

1916

The Lewis gun (developed in 1911) was introduced to the war and could be produced more quickly

1916

Planes were first successfully fitted with machine guns

April 1915

Planes slowed German advances

1918

Zeppelin planes raided London and caused of 550 civilian casualties

1915

Handley Page four-engined bomber planes were introduced; successfully bombed the Ruhr and Saar zones of Germany

late 1916

The British Royal Navy had a victory against Germany at Heligoland in the North Sea

August 1914

German battle cruisers shelled British east coast towns

1914

Germany had few ships in the Pacific; gained an early victory off the coast of Chile

November 1914

The British Royal Navy sent ships to destroy German ships around the Falkland Islands

December 1914

Only ships in German ports remained

By 1915

German U-boats sank the liner Lusitania; killed 1000 passengers

May 1915

Britain lost 500,000 tons of shipping to German U-boat attacks

By 1917

The indecisive Battle of Jutland between the British Royal Navy and Imperial German Navy was the largest battle between navies in the war

1916

Brussels fell to Germany

August 1914

The Battle of Marne confirmed the failure of the Schlieffen Plan as Paris was saved

September 1914

Christmas Day truce

1914

First Battle of Ypres began after the end of the ‘Race to the Sea’; was indecisive

October 1914

Germany defeated Russia in the Battle of Tannenberg

August 1914

The French attacked the Germans at Champagne, 10,000 French died or were wounded by German machine guns

January 1915

The Germans attacked Ypres and used poison gas for the first time, they failed to make a breakthrough

April 1915

The Battle of Gallipoli began

March 1915

Allied troops evacuated from Gallipoli

December 1915

Germany launched an attack on Verdun which was strategically important to France; Germany planed that this would lead to a final offensive and victory in the war

February 1916

Germany abandoned the Battle of Verdun; France lost 315,000 men; Germany lost 280,000 men and gained no territory

June 1916

The Battle of Somme; Allies made limited advances; German morale decreased as 650,000 troops died; Asquith resigned

July to November 1916

Russia advanced 100 miles against Austria and took 400,000 prisoners

June 1916

Romania invaded Austria; Germany occupied all of Romania

June 1916

Germany did not launch any offensives as it was exhausted by Verdun and the Somme

1917

A French offensive in Champagne made no gains, caused mutiny in the French army

April to June 1917

Third Battle of Ypres, also known as Passchendaele; 324,000 British died, 200,000 Germans died; minimal territorial changes

June to November 1917

Tanks were used effectively for the first time in the Battle of Cambrai

1917

Germany attacked and sank 430 British ships in unrestricted submarine warfare; PM Lloyd George insisted all British ships travel in convoy with military escorts

1917

Russia withdrew from the war

December 1917

Within 8 weeks, Germany sank 8 American ships leaving the UK

Early 1917

Germany sent the Zimmerman telegram, proposing a military alliance with Mexico

January 1917

The US issued Germany with an ultimatum; it would break off diplomatic relations if Germany did not abandon submarine warfare against passenger and freight ships

Apri 1917

American loans to the Allies totalled $2.5 billion; American loans to Germany were $27 million

By 1917

Russia signed a peace treaty with Germany

March 1918

German offensive on the Western Front began; later: France’s counter attack led by Marshal Foch near Amiens forced Germany to retreat back

March 1918

Second Battle of the Marne

July 1918

Battle of Amiens as a French counter attack led by Marshal Foch, forced Germany back

August 1918

Hindenburg line was attacked; Wilhelm II pressured into accepting a parliamentary government; Bulgaria surrendered and signed an armistice

29 September 1918

Prince Max von Baden became Chancellor of Germany, in charge of military decisions

3 October 1918

Poland declared independence

7 October 1918

Germany agreed to withdraw its forces from France and Belgium

12 October 1918

Yugoslavia proclaimed independence

29 October 1918

Germany announced an end to submarine warfare; Turkey signed an armistice

30 October 1918

Austria signed an armistice and began to withdraw its forces

3 November 1918

Germany began formal armistice negotiations; Max von Baden announced the abdication of Wilhelm II

9 November 1918

Germany signed an armistice, formally ending the war

11 November 1918

The first joint German-Austrian diplomatic notes was sent to Wilson requesting an armistice and for hostilities to end without penalties for either side

3-4 October 1918

Wilson rejected the German-Austrian diplomatic notes due to the continued war efforts of the central powers

8 October 1918

Germany announced it would withdraw its forces in France and Belgium per Wilson’s instructions but fighting continued

12 October 1918

Austria independently approached the allies for an armistice; ordered its army to retreat

27 October 1918

Austria surrendered unconditionally in Italy; Hungary declared independence; the Ottoman signed an armistice

30 October 1918

Terms of the Austrian armistice were in place; the next day Austria Hungary ceased to exist

3 November 1918