This World War 1 timeline covers all the key WW1 dates, all the way from the start, to the end of the war.
1914
28 June: Franz Ferdinand (Archduke of Austria) is assassinated in Sarajevo.
28 July: Austria declares war with Serbia.
1 August: Germany declares war with Russia.
3 August: Germany declares war with France. On the same day the country’s armed forces invade Belgium.
4 August: Britain declares war with Germany.
7 August: The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) arrives in France. Two weeks later they are defeated by the German Army at the Battle of the Frontiers.
18 October: the first Battle of Ypres begins
29 October: trench warfare is beginning to dominate across the Western Front. Turkey enter the war on the German side.
1915
25 April: Allied forces land in Gallipoli (Turkey)
23 May: Italy declares war on German and Austrian and enters the war on the side of the Allies.
5 August: Germany captures Warsaw (the Polish capital) from Russian forces.
19 December: the Allies begin their evacuation of Gallipoli. The campaign is a disaster and more than 44,000 Allied soldiers are killed.
1916
27 January: Britain introduces military conscription.
1 July: The Battle of the Somme begins. In just 4 months the British suffered around 420,000 casualties the French had 200,000 but the Germans suffered the most coming away with 500,000 casualties.
7 December: David Lloyd George becomes the new Prime Minister of Britain.
1917
6 April: the United States enter the conflict by declaring war on Germany.
16 April: A major French offensive on the Western Front is unsuccessful.
6 November: Britain launches a major offensive on the Western Front and their forces begin to make some progress. Later that month British tanks are victorious at the Battle of Cambrai.
5 December: Germany and Russia sign armistice agreement.
9 December: British troops capture Jerusalem from Turkish forces.
1918
3 March: The treaty of Brest-Litovsk is signed with officially brings an end to the war between Russia and Germany.
21 March: German forces make a breakthrough on the Somme.
9 April: A German offensive begins at Flanders.
8 August: A crucial Allied advance is successful.
4 October: Germany ask the Allies to sign an armistice agreement.
30 October: Turkey surrender by signing the Armistice of Mudros.
3 November: Austria-Hungary make peace.
9 November: Kaiser William II of Germany abdicates and Germany is declared a republic.
11 November: Germany sign armistice agreement and the First World War is officially ended. Fighting on the Western Front ceases at 11 am.
