When war broke out in 1914, their was public and political support from within almost every belligerent nation. The Germans, who faced enemies to their east and west, relied on their Schlieffen plan, a strategy demanding a swift and decisive invasion of France so all forces could then be send east to defend against Russia; however, France and Russia planned invasions of their own.
• June 28: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary assassinated in Sarajevo by a Serbian activist.
• July 28: Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
• July 29: Russia, Serbia's ally, orders the mobilisation of troops.
• August 1: Germany, an ally of Austria-Hungary, declares war on Russia and demands the neutrality of Russia's ally France; France refuses and mobilises.
• August 3: Germany declares war on France.
• August 4: Germany invades neutral Belgium, as per the Schlieffen plan to knock-put France; Britain responds by declaring war on Germany.
• August: Britain begins a 'Distant Blockade' of Germany, cutting off vital resources; declarations continue throughout the month, with the British, French and Russian Empires on one side (the Entente Powers, or 'Allies'), and the German and Austro-Hungarian on the other (the Central Powers), until everyone is officially at war with their opponents.
• August 10 - September 1: Austrian invasion of Russian Poland.
• August 15: Russia invades East Prussia.
• August 18: The USA declares itself neutral.
• August 18: Russia invades Eastern Galicia, makes fast progress.
• August 23: Hindenburg and Ludendorff given command of the German Eastern Front.
• August 23/24: Battle of Mons, where British slow German advance.
• August 26 - 30: Battle of Tannenberg - Germany shatter the invading Russians.
• September 4 - 10: First Battle of the Marne halts German invasion of France.
• September 7 - 14: First Battle of the Masurian Lakes - Germany beats Russia again.
• September 9 - 14: The Great Retreat (1, WF), where German troops retreat back to the river Aisne; the German commander, Moltke, replaced by Falkenhayn.
• September 12 - October 24: First Battle of Aisne followed by the 'Race to the Sea', where Allied and German troops continually outflank each other to the north-west until they reach the North Sea coastline. (WF)
• September 15: Cited, maybe legendarily, as the day trenches are first dug on the Western Front.
• October 4: Joint German/Austro-Hungarian invasion of Russia.
• October 14: First Canadian Troops arrive in Britain.
• October 18 - November 12: First Battle of Ypres (WF).
• November 2: Russia declares war on Turkey.
• November 5: Turkey joins the Central Powers; Britain and France declare war on her.
• December 1 - 17: Battles of Limanowa, in which Austrian forces save their lines and prevent Russia attacking Vienna.
• December 21: First German air raid on Britain.
• December 25: Troops share an unofficial Christmas Truce in the Western Front trenches.
The corrupted Schlieffen plan had failed, leaving the belligerents in a race to outflank each other; by Christmas the stagnated Western Front comprised over 400 miles of trench, barbed wire and fortifications. There were already 3.5 million casualties. The East was more fluid and home to actual battlefield successes, but nothing decisive and Russia's massive manpower advantage remained. All thoughts of a quick victory had gone: the war was not over by Christmas.
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Citation And Footnotes:
Title: The First World War: A Short Timeline
Author: Robert Wilde
Date: 2003
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