More of this Feature • Pre-1914 • 1914 • 1915 • 1916 • 1917 • 1918 • 1919-20 Related Resources • WW1 101 • Glossary of WW1 • WW1 Casualty Lists • Countries Involved • WW1 Directory

Consequently, this short timeline gives a page to each year of the war, with bookends from the years before and after. The closing dates of battles are given alongside starting dates for faster access and, because some people use timelines to quickly and easily grasp the range and spacing of events, I've added more explanatory detail than is usual for the war years.

Where the reference books disagree over a particular date, I have cited Colin Nicholson's excellent Longman Companion to the First World War, Europe 1914 - 1918; I also favour the dates people/plans started moving, rather than when they were first signed off by commanders. For example, the British government decided to withdraw from the Gallipoli Landings on December 7th, but I have noted December 10th as the start, because this was when troops first began to leave.

The Timeline
• Pre-1914
• 1914
• 1915
• 1916
• 1917
• 1918
• 1919-20

Abbreviations
WF: Western Front
EF: Eastern Front
IF: Italian Front
SF: Southern Front
The following are used when the region is not immediately obvious:
BEF: British Expeditionary Force
CEF: Canadian Expeditionary Force
USW: Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

Next page > Pre-1914 > Page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Recommended books featuring detailed timelines:

Longman Companion to the First World War, Europe 1914 - 1918 by Colin Nicholson
Chronology of the Great War 1914-1918 edited by Lord Edward Gleichen

Citation And Footnotes:

Title: The First World War: A Short Timeline
Author: Robert Wilde
Date: 2003