The complete chronicle of the Great War · 1914-1918
The Great War told through dates, events, orders and political decisions.
A chronological record of the whole conflict of 1914–1918, from the first crises to its end.
- Events
- 2760
- Battles
- 327
- Period covered
- VI 1914 – XII 1918
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On this day in the Great War
11 November
What happened on this day in each year of the war.
- 1914
- Military operations · Western FrontPrussian Guard attack at Nonne BosschenOn 11 November 1914 the Prussian Guard broke into the British line at Ypres. Gunners and an Oxfordshire counter-attack stopped the last great German attack.
- Military operations · Eastern FrontAlleged Russian capture of Memel
- Politics · Middle EastSheikh ul-Islam issues fatwas on holy war
- +1 more on this day →
- 1915
- 1916
- 1917
- 1918
- Military operations · Western FrontBritish retake MonsOn the morning of 11 November 1918 the Canadians entered Mons, where the British had fought their first battle in 1914. The war ended where it had begun.
- DiplomacyArmistice of Compiègne
- DiplomacyRecognition of Latvia and Estonia
- +2 more on this day →
People of the Great War
(290)The commanders, politicians and rulers who waged the war.
United KingdomAlfred Milner1854–1925Member of the British War Cabinet (1916–1918), Secretary of State for War (1918–1919), Colonial Secretary (1919–1921)
RussiaNikolai Krylenko1885–1938Commander-in-chief of the Russian Army by Bolshevik appointment (November 1917 – March 1918)
Ottoman EmpireDjemal Pasha1872–1922Minister of the navy (1914–1918), commander of the Fourth Army and governor of Syria (1914–1917)
BulgariaBoris III1894–1943Heir to the throne of Bulgaria (1894–1918), officer at Bulgarian General Headquarters, Tsar of Bulgaria (1918–1943)
RussiaAlexander Guchkov1862–1936Chairman of the Central War-Industries Committee (1915–1917), Minister of War and Navy of the Provisional Government (March–May 1917)
GermanyAlexander von Kluck1846–1934Commander of the German First Army (1914–1915), colonel general
The war years
(05)Five years, from Sarajevo to the Armistice.
- 1914
536 events
71 battlesThe Sarajevo assassination and an avalanche of declarations of war. The war of movement ends on the Marne, and by December the Western Front freezes in the trenches.
- 1915
591 events
78 battlesGas at Ypres, the Gallipoli landings and the breakthrough at Gorlice. Russia loses the Kingdom of Poland, and Italy and Bulgaria enter the war.
- 1916
490 events
53 battlesA year of great battles of attrition: Verdun, the Somme, Jutland and the Brusilov Offensive. The Act of 5 November opens the Polish question.
- 1917
438 events
52 battlesTwo revolutions in Russia and the United States enters the war. The mud of Passchendaele, the disaster at Caporetto and an armistice in the east.
- 1918
632 events
71 battlesBrest-Litovsk, Germany’s last great offensive and the Allies’ Hundred Days. Empires collapse, the guns fall silent on 11 November and Poland regains independence.
Turning points
(18)The days that changed the course of the war.
- 191428 June 1914Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated in SarajevoOn 28 June 1914 Gavrilo Princip shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, setting off the July Crisis.
- 28 July 1914Austria-Hungary declares war on SerbiaOn 28 July 1914 Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia by telegram. That same night Belgrade was shelled and the First World War began.
- 6 September 1914Battle of the Marne beginsOn 6 September 1914 the French armies and the British went over to the counter-offensive from Paris to Verdun. The battle that decided 1914 had begun.
- 191525 April 1915Allies land at GallipoliOn 25 April 1915 British, Australian, New Zealand and French troops landed at the Dardanelles. The Turks put up fierce resistance.
- 1 May 1915Start of the Battle of GorliceOn 1 May 1915 German and Austro-Hungarian guns began shelling the Russians at Gorlice, and on 2 May Mackensen's army attacked and broke through the front.
- 7 May 1915Sinking of the LusitaniaOn 7 May 1915 U-20 torpedoed the British liner Lusitania off Ireland. Within 18 minutes almost 1,200 people died, including more than a hundred Americans.
- 191621 February 1916Start of the Battle of VerdunOn 21 February 1916 more than 1,200 German guns opened fire on the French positions at Verdun. A battle began that lasted until December 1916.
- 31 May 1916Start of the Battle of JutlandOn 31 May 1916 the Grand Fleet and the High Seas Fleet clashed off Jutland. By day the British lost three battlecruisers but cut off the Germans' way home.
- 4 June 1916Brusilov offensive beginsOn 4 June 1916 Russian guns opened fire from the Styr to Czernowitz. The Brusilov offensive had begun, and on the Dniester the Russians broke through at once.
- 1 July 1916First day on the SommeOn 1 July 1916 the British and French attacked on the Somme. The French and the British right succeeded, but the British Army lost 57,000 men.
- 191715 March 1917Abdication of Nicholas IILate on 15 March 1917 at Pskov Nicholas II gave up the throne for himself and his son in favour of his brother Michael. The next day Michael declined the crown.
- 6 April 1917United States declares war on GermanyOn 6 April 1917 the House of Representatives passed the war resolution and Wilson signed it. The United States was at war with Germany.
- 24 October 1917Battle of Caporetto beginsOn 24 October 1917, after a gas bombardment, Germans and Austrians struck on the upper Isonzo. By evening they had broken the Italian front and taken Caporetto.
- 7 November 1917October RevolutionOn 7 November 1917 the Bolsheviks seized Petrograd and overthrew the Provisional Government. The Winter Palace fell at night; the Soviet Congress took power.
- 19183 March 1918Treaty of Brest-LitovskOn 3 March 1918 Soviet Russia signed peace with the Central Powers at Brest. It lost Poland, Lithuania, Courland, Livonia, Estonia, Finland and Ukraine.
- 21 March 1918Operation Michael beginsOn 21 March 1918, after a five-hour bombardment and in thick fog, three German armies broke the British front on the Somme. The British lost over 38,000 men.
- 8 August 1918Battle of Amiens beginsOn 8 August 1918, in fog, Canadians, Australians and tanks broke the front at Amiens, taking over 15,000 prisoners. Ludendorff called it the "black day".
- 11 November 1918Armistice of CompiègneAt dawn on 11 November 1918 Germany signed an armistice with the Entente in Foch's railway carriage in the Forest of Compiègne. At 11 a.m. the guns fell silent.
Where to start
(08)The whole war in 8 articles.
about 70 min of reading
01Event8 minArchduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated in Sarajevo28 June 1914
02Battle8 minFirst Battle of the Marne6–12 September 1914
03Battle7 minLanding at Gallipoli25–26 April 1915
04Battle11 minBattle of Verdun21 February – 18 December 1916
05Battle15 minBattle of the Somme1 July – 18 November 1916
06Event7 minOctober Revolution7 November 1917
07Event8 minArmistice of Compiègne11 November 1918- 08Event5 minPoland regains independence11 November 1918
Topics
(13)The big questions about the Great War.
Topic 01 · Causes of the First World WarWhy did the First World War break out?The war was triggered by the crisis after Sarajevo, but alliances, imperialism, the arms race, war plans and Balkan nationalism made it possible.7 sections31 datesabout 16 minRead →Topic 02 · Consequences of the First World WarWhat were the consequences of the First World War?The war killed millions, toppled four empires and redrew the map of Europe. It left debts, inflation, many invalids, new ideologies and the League of Nations.7 sections37 datesabout 13 minRead →Topic 03 · The Polish question in the First World WarHow did Poland regain its independence?A war between the three partitioning powers led to Poland's rebirth: from the Legions and the Act of 5 November to Versailles and 11 November 1918.8 sections38 datesabout 16 minRead →Topic 04 · New weapons of the First World WarWhat new weapons changed the First World War?Machine guns and artillery drove armies into trenches, and attempts to break the deadlock brought gas, tanks, air combat and unrestricted submarine warfare.8 sections35 datesabout 13 minRead →Topic 05 · The war on Polish soilWhat was the war like on Polish soil?The front swept across Galicia and the Kingdom several times, the retreating Russians burned and deported, and occupiers took the food. The damage was immense.8 sections52 datesabout 16 minRead →Topic 06 · The Russian revolutions of 1917How did tsarism fall and the Bolsheviks take power?How the war brought down tsarism: from the Petrograd garrison's mutiny and Nicholas II's abdication through Kerensky's rule to the Bolshevik coup and Brest.8 sections60 datesabout 17 minRead →Topic 07 · The submarine war 1914–1918Why did Germany wage unrestricted submarine warfare?Germany hoped that by sinking ships bound for Britain without warning it would starve Britain into peace before America could help. Convoys defeated it.8 sections40 datesabout 13 minRead →Topic 08 · Why Germany lost the warWhy did Germany lose the First World War?Germany failed to win the war quickly and lost the long one. Blockade, attrition and US entry tipped the balance, and in 1918 its army and allies collapsed.8 sections49 datesabout 13 minRead →Topic 09 · The Central Powers and the EntenteWho fought whom in the First World War?Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria fought the Entente, that is France, Russia, Britain and more than twenty states that joined them.7 sections129 datesabout 14 minRead →Topic 10 · The Armenian genocideWhat happened to the Armenians in the First World War?In 1915–1916 the Ottoman authorities deported the Armenians to the Syrian deserts and killed them en masse. Between about 600,000 and over a million died.8 sections27 datesabout 16 minRead →Topic 11 · Life in the trenchesWhat was life like for a soldier in the trenches?A soldier spent a few days at a time in the front line, in mud, among rats and lice, under fire, and then rested in reserve and behind the lines.8 sections36 datesabout 15 minRead →Topic 12 · Women in the First World WarHow did the war change women's lives?Women replaced men in factories, offices and on the land, nursed the wounded and bore the hunger of the home front. In many countries they won the vote.8 sections36 datesabout 14 minRead →Topic 13 · Polish military formations 1914–1918Which Polish formations fought in the First World War?Poles fought in their own units on both sides of the front: in the Legions alongside Austria, in corps in Russia and in the Polish Army in France.7 sections41 datesabout 15 minRead →
- 01Why did the First World War break out?
- 02What were the consequences of the First World War?
- 03How did Poland regain its independence?
- 04What new weapons changed the First World War?
- 05What was the war like on Polish soil?
- 06How did tsarism fall and the Bolsheviks take power?
- 07Why did Germany wage unrestricted submarine warfare?
- 08Why did Germany lose the First World War?
- 09Who fought whom in the First World War?
- 10What happened to the Armenians in the First World War?
- 11What was life like for a soldier in the trenches?
- 12How did the war change women's lives?
- 13Which Polish formations fought in the First World War?
Fronts
(08)War on every continent and ocean.
Poland in the Great War
(11)From three partitions to independence.
The Eastern Front rolled across Polish lands, and Poles fought in the three armies of the partitioning powers and in formations of their own. A war that began without Poland ended with its rebirth.
- 191414 AugGrand Duke Nicholas issues a proclamation to the PolesOn 14 August 1914 the Russian commander-in-chief urged the Poles to fight Germany, promising to unite the Polish lands under the Tsar with autonomy.
- 19151 MayStart of the Battle of GorliceOn 1 May 1915 German and Austro-Hungarian guns began shelling the Russians at Gorlice, and on 2 May Mackensen's army attacked and broke through the front.
- 19155 AugGermans occupy WarsawOn 5 August 1915 troops of the German Ninth Army entered Warsaw, abandoned by the Russians overnight. Russian rule, in place since 1815, came to an end.
- 19165 NovAct of 5 NovemberOn 5 November 1916 a manifesto of the German and Austrian emperors was proclaimed in Warsaw and Lublin, promising a Kingdom of Poland without a king or borders.
- 191722 JulArrest of PiłsudskiOn the night of 21–22 July 1917 the Germans arrested Józef Piłsudski and Kazimierz Sosnkowski in Warsaw. The Commandant spent over a year in Magdeburg.
- 191815 FebBattle of RarańczaOn the night of 15–16 February 1918 Colonel Haller's Second Brigade of the Legions broke through the Austrian front at Rarańcza in protest at the Ukraine peace.
- 191811 MayFighting at KaniówIn the night of 10/11 May 1918 the Germans attacked the Polish II Corps at Kaniów. The Poles held out all day, but short of ammunition they capitulated.
- 191831 OctLiberation of KrakówOn 31 October 1918 Polish soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian army disarmed the Kraków garrison without a shot. The Austrian command handed power to the Poles.
- 19181 NovFighting for Lviv beginsOn the night before 1 November 1918 Ukrainian soldiers seized Lviv and proclaimed it the capital of a Ukrainian state. That same day its Poles took up arms.
- 191811 NovPoland regains independenceOn 11 November 1918 the Regency Council handed Piłsudski command of the army, while Warsaw disarmed the Germans. The day became Independence Day.
- 191827 DecOutbreak of the Greater Poland UprisingOn 27 December 1918, after a German march in Poznań, shots rang out by the Bazar hotel. Poles attacked police headquarters and took the station and post office.
Series
(08)Threads of the war, one article after another.
All series →- 1914 · 16 articlesSummer 1914 →
- 1914–1918 · 15 articlesThe Polish Legions →
- 1914–1918 · 18 articlesThe road to independence →
- 1914–1915 · 15 articlesThe war on Polish soil →
- 1916 · 16 articlesVerdun 1916 →
- 1915–1916 · 17 articlesThe Battle of the Somme →
- 1917–1918 · 17 articlesRussia 1917 →
- 1918 · 16 articles1918: The Last Year of the War →
Battles from the archive
(327)Three battles from the chronicle, picked at random.
- Western FrontBattle of the Soissonnais and of the Ourcq23 July – 2 August 191823 July – 2 August 1918 the British 15th and 34th Divisions fought in Mangin's army south of Soissons until the Germans fell back behind the Vesle.France, United Kingdom and United States vs German EmpireAllied victory, won slowly and at heavy costRead →
- Italian FrontBattle of Mount Ortigara10–29 June 1917In June 1917 the Italians attacked on the Asiago plateau. The Alpini took the summit of Ortigara, but on 25 June an Austrian night counter-attack retook it.Italy vs Austria-HungaryAustro-Hungarian victoryRead →
- Middle EastBattle of Mecca10 June – 9 July 1916In June 1916 Sharif Hussein's rebels attacked the garrison of Mecca. They took the city in three days; the fort and barracks fell in July under Egyptian guns.Rebels of the Sharif of Mecca, supported by Egyptian artillery vs Ottoman EmpireRebel victoryRead →
Pages from the chronicle
(2760)Days torn from the calendar of 1914–1918.
- March231917Military operations · Balkan FrontEnd of the March offensive in MacedoniaAt the end of March 1917 the French attacks at Bitola died down. They took Hill 1248 and about 2,000 prisoners, but the town was still within enemy gun range.Read →
- December101915Military · Western FrontCastelnau becomes Joffre's chief of staff
- October111914Military operations · War at seaSinking of the cruiser Pallada
- October141914Military operations · AfricaBritish capture Yabassi
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About the project
A Polish chronicle of the Great War, written day by day.
We describe the events of 1914–1918 in the order in which they really happened: battles, political decisions, orders and the fates of people. Every fact is checked against several sources, and where they disagree we say so openly. We pay particular attention to the Polish lands, across which much of the fighting on the Eastern Front was fought.
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