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June 18, 1914-Archduke Francis Ferdinand is assassinated.

July 28, 1914
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, beginning World War I.

August 2-7, 1914
Germany invades Luxembourg and Belgium. France invades Alsace. British forces arrive in France. Nations allied against Germany were eventually to include Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Rhodesia, Romania, Greece, France, Belgium, United States, Canada, Serbia, India, Portugal, Montenegro, and Poland.

August 10, 1914
Austria-Hungary invades Russia.

September 9, 1914
Allied forces halt German advance into France during First Battle of the Marne.

February 18, 1915
Germany begins naval blockade of Great Britain.

April 25, 1915
Allied forces land on the Gallipoli Peninsula of the Ottoman Empire.

May 7, 1915
German submarine sinks the passenger liner Lusitania during crossing from New York to Liverpool, England, killing 128 Americans.

May 23, 1915
Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary.

February 21, 1916
Germany begins the attack on Verdun.

May 31, 1916
Naval Battle of Jutland takes place between British and German fleets.

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July 1, 1916
Allied offensive begins the Battle of the Somme.

December 18, 1916
Battle of Verdun ends with 550,000 French and 450,000 German casualties.

February 1, 1917
Germany returns to unrestricted submarine warfare halted after the sinking of the Lusitania.

February 3, 1917
United States severs diplomatic relations with Germany.

April 6, 1917
The United States declares war on Germany.

June 24, 1917
American combat forces arrive in France.

December 15, 1917
Russia signs armistice with Germany.

January 8, 1918
President Woodrow Wilson presents to Congress his outline of Fourteen Points required for peace.

February 8, 1918
The Stars and Stripes begins publication with a first issue of one thousand copies. Second Lieutenant Guy T. Viskniskki is the first managing editor of the newspaper.

November 19, 1919
United States Senate fails to ratify Treaty of Versailles.

January 10, 1920
Treaty of Versailles takes effect.

March 19, 1920
United States Senate fails to ratify Treaty of Versailles for the second time.

August 24-29, 1921
United States signs separate peace treaties with Germany, Austria, and Hungary.