World War I Timeline (1905-1918)

1905 Britain France Germany Russia Japan
Jan   Rouvier became prime minister   revolution started occupied Port Arthur
Feb          
Mar     William II visited Tangier Russia lost battle of Mukden to Japan
April Lansdowne FS opposed German ambition for a port in Morocco Delcassé FM resigned & withdrew      
May     Japan destroyed last Russian fleet at Tsushima
June   Delcassé resigned William II made Bülow a prince    
July   Rouvier PM agrees to German demand for a conference on Morc. William II & Nicholas II signed European defensive alliance at Björkö  
Aug renewed alliance with Japan     renewed alliance with Britain
Sept       made peace on US mediation, Japan controlled Korea
Oct          
Nov       revolution reached climax  
Dec Edward Grey, Foreign Secretary        
1906 Grey authorised conversations between Br & Fr general staffs Moroccan conference of the Powers at Algeçiras    
Feb        
Mar Algeçiras agreement, French control Moroccan police with Spain  
April     Bülow heart attack in Reichstag    
May       Izvolski became Foreign Minister  
June          
July          
Aug          
Sept British secretary for war Haldane visited German army on the anniversary of Sedan    
Oct   Clemenceau, Prime Minister Russian Foreign Minister Izvolski visited Berlin &refused to visit London  
Nov          
Dec          
1907 Britain France Germany Russia Japan
Jan          
Feb          
Mar          
April          
May          
June          
July   Jules Cambon went as ambassador to Berlin and sought entente Russia and Japan agreed on joint monopoly of Manchuria
Aug Britain and Russia agreement on spheres of influence in Persia, on Tibet and Afghanistan; Anglo-Russian entente  
Sept          
Oct William II visited England &offered share in Baghdad railway; Britain proposed discuss with France &Russia    
Nov     supplementary naval law (program of Dreadnought building)    
Dec        
1908 Britain France Germany Austria-Hungary Russia
Jan          
Feb Izvolski proposed Anglo-Russian attack Turkey
Mar increased naval estimates        
April          
May          
June Edward VII & Hardinge met Nicholas II & Izvolski at Reval; Russians refused urges to build her army; agreement on reform program in Macedonia
July

Chancellor of exchequer Lloyd George proposed that Germany cut down rate of naval building

Young Turk revolution; Izvolski offered support A-H annex B & H

Aug

Edward VII & Hardinge visited William II; Germany refused British proposal of reducing naval race

   
Sept    

secret contract for 2 battleships

Aehrenthal met Izvolski at Buchlov; bargain over B&H and Straits

Oct

Britain & France didn't support Izvolski抯 schemes on the Straits

Bülow supported A-H decision; Daily Telegraph interview affair

proclaimed annexation of B&H

PM Stolypin threatened resign

Nov        
Dec          
1909 Britain France Germany Austria-Hungary Russia
Jan    

Moltke promised A-H to mobilize whole army if Russia mobilizes

 
Feb

Edward VII visited Berlin

joint declaration of French political predominance in Morocco

   
Mar

4 battleships authorized

 

Germany forced Russia and Serbia to acknowledge A-H annexation of B&H; Bosnian crisis over

April

German Foreign Minister Kiderlen suggested Anglo-German naval convention on no-war promises

   
May          
June    

Bülow resigned; Bethmann Hollweg became Chancellor

   
July

4 "contingent" ships authorized

     
Aug

Britain and Germany started negotiations on cuts in naval program & on general political relations

   
Sept          
Oct        

Izvolski bargain with Italy at Racconigi on Straits & Tripoli

Nov        
Dec      

agreement with Italy on principle of non-intervention

 
1910        
Feb          
Mar          
April          
May          
June          
July          
Aug          
Sept        

Sazonov, new Foreign Minister

Oct          
Nov    

William II met Nicholas II & Sazonov at Potsdam; bargain on Anglo-Russian entente & Persia failed

Dec          
1911 Britain France Germany Austria-Hungary Russia
Jan          
Feb          
Mar

Grey offered Germany "a general political formula" and a deal over railways in Baghdad & Persia

   
April          
May  

occupied Fez in Morocco

     
June  

Secretary of state Kiderlen demanded compensation from France

   
July

fleet prepared for action

Caillaux became Prime Minister; secret negotiate with Germany

Panther anchored in Agadir

   
Aug  

Russia warned it wouldn't fight for France; Germany confirmed deal over Persia & Baghdad railway

Sept

uncommitted to Italy抯 war with Turkey at Tripoli

German secretary of state Kiderlen agreed to French protectorate over Morocco in return for territory in French Congo

   
Oct    
Nov  

France and Germany signed the agreement over Morocco

tried claim reward from France

"Charykov kite" offered t Turkey

Dec

Grey threatened to resign & to dissolve Anglo-Russian entente

     

Sazonov repudiated Izvolski-Charykov intrigue

1912

Caillaux replaced by Poincaré

   
Feb

Haldane visited Berlin & offered colonial concession if German naval program doesn't increase

 

consulted France on Balkan

Mar

Germany published new naval program and Anglo-German negotiations failed & never renewed

Serbia and Bulgaria signed alliance against Turkey

April

French ambassador proposed that Britain renew offer of alliance

   

economic crisis after Turks closed the Straits against Italy

May        
June    

William II met Nicholas II at Port Baltic

July  

France and Russia concluded a project of naval convention for co-operation in the Mediterranean

Aug  

Poincaré told Sazonov that England would aid France in case of German attack and urged Russian naval agreement with Britain

Sept

Anglo-Russia naval agreement

fleet at Brest moved to Toulon

     
Oct      

Austro-Russian warned Balkan league. First Balkan War

Nov

Grey & Cambon exchanged letters on consultation & cooperation

urged co-op on Br & Fr to keep Russia out of Constantinople

Insists on independent Albania

threatened war vs. Bulgaria

Dec

Balkan peace conference

 

Balkan states armistice with Turkey

1913

Britain

France

Germany

Austria-Hungary

Russia

Jan  

Poincaré became President

prepared a new army bill

   
Feb      

An Austrian prince visited Russia and appealed to solidarity

Mar    

army bill created mass-army

Balkan war renewed; Turkey lost Adrianople

April

Great Powers agreed on a naval demonstration and forced Montenegro out of Scutari, which they had resolved should go to Albania but was seized by Montenegro

May

Treaty of London ended the 1stBalkan war; Albania gained international existence; Turkey asked for a German mission to reorganize her armed forces

June

Britain and Germany revived a 1898 agreement over Portuguese colonies in Africa but didn't sign it

Bulgaria attacked Greece & Serbia and was defeated

July

wrote off share in Turkey抯 debt

       
Aug  

extended army service to 3 yrs

 

Peace of Bucharest ended 2nd Balkan war

Sept          
Oct      

sent an ultimatum and forced Serbia to withdraw from Albania

 
Nov

an admiral reorganized the Turkish navy

 

General Liman von Sanders was in charge of Turkish army

 
Dec

Russian Prime Minister visited

 

plan a vast increase in forces

1914

Britain

France

Germany

Austria-Hungary

Russia

Jan    

Liman won Sanders crisis over

 

Sazonov thinks to revive Poles

Feb  

agreed over Baghdad railway; William II said Russia is enemy

   
Mar          
April

George V & Grey visited Paris; Grey uncommitted about Russia

     
May    

concluded they must strike before Russian army expands

a Turkish delegation visited

June

naval talks with Russia

Viviani became Prime Minister

William II met Francis Ferdinand

Ferdinand is killed in Sarajevo

Nicholas II visited Rumania

July

cabinet overruled commitment

Poincaré & Viviani visited Russia

encouraged A-H to fight Serbia

declared war on Serbia

decided on general mobilization

Aug demand respect neutral Belgium

Delcassé, new foreign minister

declared war on Russia &France

 

promised free Polish nation

Sept

Agreed with France, Russia not to make separate peace

German army was halted on the Marne and driven back in defeat

 

Turkey closed Straits to trade

Oct  

2 cruisers attacked Black Sea

 

promised Rumania Transylvania

Nov

announced to annex Egypt

a line of trenches running from Switzerland to the sea

was driven from Belgrade

 
Dec    

offer to withdraw from Belgium

 

appealed to allies for assistance

1915

Britain

France

Germany

Austria-Hungary

Russia

Jan

propose to attack Dardanelles

acquiesced British attack

     
Feb          
Mar

agreed to Russian demand

     

demanded Straits & territory

April  

agreed to Russian demand

     
May    

Germany and Austria-Hungary army broke through at Gorlice

 
June    

Germany and Austria-Hungary drove Russian army out of Galicia

 
July          
Aug          
Sept    

Germany and Austria-Hungary army took Poland and Lithuania

 
Oct  

Joffre foresaw long period of war

 

Bulgaria entered the war against Serbia

Nov          
Dec

agreed to remain in Salonica

       

1916

Britain

France

Germany

Austria-Hungary

Russia

Jan

Sykes-Picot agreement allotted Syria to Fr, Mesopotamia to Britain

     
Feb

Grey-House agreement on the offer of American mediation

German attack on the fortress of Verdun started

   
Mar

French prime minister Briand proposed that allies should guarantee Russia抯 promises to Poland; Sazonov warned him off Poland

April          
May        

offensive back to Galicia

June  

German attack on the fortress of Verdun ended

   
July

launched Battle of the Somme

       
Aug  

accepted Rumanian terms for entering the war

Hindenberg & Ludendorff

 

accepted Rumanian terms

Sept  

Italy declared war on Germany

 

was allotted Armenia & Kurdistan

Oct          
Nov

Lansdowne urged negotiations

 

William II & Francis Joseph promised independent Poland

 
Dec  

rejected German announcement

announced willing to negotiate

   
1917 Britain France Germany Austria-Hungary Russia
Jan

Entente defined war-aims

Entente defined war-aims

unrestricted submarine warfare

 

Entente defined war-aims

Feb

allied conference at Petrograd to co-ordinate strategy and resources; Franco-Russian agreement on Saar, Alsace, Lorraine for France & Poland for Russia

Mar        

revolution dethroned the tsar

April

St. Jean de Maurienne agreement offers Italy Smyrna & Koniah

Bethmann underwrote High Command抯 peace terms

   
May        
June          
July     Reichstag pass peace resolution  

fought last battle & was defeated

Aug

declined papal mediation

 

Kühlmann, secretary of state

   
Sept    

declined papal mediation

   
Oct

made recovery of Alsace & Lorraine essential war-aim

 

Kühlmann announced never to surrender Alsace & Lorraine

   
Nov Clemenceau, new prime minister defeated Italy at Caporetto Bolsheviks seized power
Dec         Bolsheviks published secret treaties
1918 Britain France Germany Austria-Hungary Russia
Jan        
Feb          
Mar     Bolsheviks made a peace of surrender with Germany at Brest-Litovsk; Russia lost the Baltic provinces and the Ukraine
April    
May          
June          
July          
Aug     Allied attack at Amiens    
Sept          
Oct conquered Jerusalem &Damascus occupied Beirut   informed US to sue for peace  
Nov     German Republic was proclaimed & signed armistice Emperor resigned and the empire disintegrated