|
 |
|
|
|
|
| Germany promises to support Austria-Hungary in any action it undertakes against Serbia. |
|
|
|
|
| Austria-Hungary sends a harshly worded ultimatum to Serbia. |
|
|
|
|
| Serbia asks Russia for help in its confrontation with Austria-Hungary. |
|
|
|
|
| Russia calls up its reserves. |
|
|
|
|
| Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. |
|
|
|
|
| Austro-Hungarian fortress of Zemun bombards Belgrade. |
|
|
|
|
| Britain starts reinforcing its positions on the Suez Canal in anticipation of an attack by Turkey. |
|
|
|
|
| Germany declares war on Russia. |
|
|
|
|
| Germany declares war on France. |
|
|
|
|
Germany invades neutral Belgium.
Britain declares war on Germany.
United States affirms its policy of neutrality. |
|
|
|
|
| The first Austro-Hungarian troops cross into Russian Poland. |
|
|
|
|
| Russia invades East Prussia. |
|
|
|
|
| German troops massacre 400 Belgian civilians at Tamines. |
|
|
|
|
| Battle of Mons: British troops confront a significantly larger German force. |
|
|
|
|
| Japan declares war on Germany. |
|
|
|
|
| German cruiser Magdeburg runs aground in the Baltic, and the Russians seize a copy of the German naval codebook . |
|
|
|
|
| Germans defeat Russians at Tannenberg, halting their advance into East Prussia. |
|
|
|
|
| Japanese troops land at Lungkow to start besieging the German colony of Tsingtao. |
|
|
|
|
| German cavalry advance to within eight miles of Paris. |
|
|
|
|
| Germany declares war on Russia. |
|
|
|
|
| British cruiser HMS Pathfinder is sunk by U-boat U-21 as the former leaves Rosyth harbour. |
|
|
|
|
| Paris is saved when French and British troops repulse the Germans at the Battle of the Marne. Germany is now committed to fighting a war on two fronts. |
|
|
|
|
| First Russian siege of Przemysl (an Austro-Hungarian fortress in present-day Hungary) begins. Lasts until 3 October. |
|
|
|
|
Indian port of Madras is attacked by German cruiser Emden. Allied shipping in the Bay of Bengal is severely disrupted.
U-9 sinks three British cruisers (HMS Hogue, HMS Aboukir, HMS Cressy) of the 'Live Bait Squadron', off the coast of Holland. Following these losses, Admiral Jellicoe starts withdrawing his ships to ports outwith the U-boats' range. |
|
|
|
|
| Italian Prime Minister Salandra articulates his policy of Sacro Egoismo (sacred self-interest). |
|
|
|
|
| Pro-German Boers led by Manie Maritz rebel against British authority in South Africa. Maritz declares war against Britain and proclaims South African independence. Ultimately, he will be joined by 10,000 Boers. |
|
|
|
|
| The British receive a copy of the German naval codebook seized from the Magdeburg. |
|
|
|
|
| 1st Battle of Ypres begins. |
|
|
|
|
| Turkey enters the war on the side of the Central Powers when its ships attack Russian ports on the Black Sea. |
|
|
|
|
| British naval forces defeated at Cape Coronel off the coast of Chile. Two ships and 1,600 sailors are lost. The German navy can now enter the South Atlantic and attack Allied shipping. |
|
|
|
|
| German troops rout British-commanded Indian forces at the Battle of Tanga in German East Africa. |
|
|
|
|
| Japanese and British forces capture Tsingtao. |
|
|
|
|
| Russians begin second siege of Przemysl. |
|
|
|
|
| Turkish sultan calls on all Muslims to rise in jihad (holy war) against British, French and Russian authority. |
|
|
|
|
| Allied troops occupy Basra in Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) to protect the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf. |
|
|
|
|
| German commander Falkenhayn orders German troops on the Western Front to dig into defensive positions on high ground. |
|
|
|
|
| Britain avenges the defeat at Cape Coronel by sinking four German ships at the Battle of the Falklands. Germany's naval threat to the South Atlantic is nullified. |
|
|
|
|
| German warships bombard Hartlepool and Scarborough, killing 122 civilians. |
|
|
|
|
| Spontaneous and unofficial truces develop among British, German and French soldiers serving in some sectors of the Western Front. Similar unofficial truces will be observed at Easter on the Eastern Front by German, Austro-Hungarian and Russian troops in subsequent years, especially in 1917. |
|
|
|
|
| Turkish forces try to recapture Sarikamish in the Caucasus, but the offensive (ending January 4) fails when large numbers of Turkish soldiers die of exposure in the mountains. |
|
