Timeline - 1914
The First World War spanned four years and involved many nation states.
This section lists the landmark events of the year 1914, the first year of the war which began as the widely expected war of movement, but which inexplicably (to contemporary eyes) settled into stubborn trench warfare.
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For a day by day account click any given month using the sidebar to the right.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
 June 28 |
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austro-Hungarian empire, in Sarajevo, Bosnia |
| July 28 |
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia |
| July 29 - December 9 |
Austria-Hungary repeatedly invades Serbia but is repeatedly repulsed |
| August 1 |
Outbreak of war - Germany declares war on Russia |
| August 3 |
Germany declares war on France |
| August 4 |
Germany invades neutral Belgium |
| August 4 |
Britain declares war on Germany |
| August 4 |
US President Woodrow Wilson declares policy of US neutrality |
| August 14 |
Battle of the Frontiers begins |
| August 17-19 |
Russia invades East Prussia |
| August 23 |
Japan declares war on Germany |
| August 23 - September 2 |
Austria-Hungary invades Russian Poland (Galicia) |
| August 26-30 |
Battle of Tannenberg, which Russia loses; Germany's greatest success of the war on Eastern Front |
| September 5-10 |
First Battle of Marne, halts German advance, resulting in stalemate and trench warfare |
| September 9-14 |
First Battle of Masurian Lakes, which Russia loses |
| September 14 |
First Battle of Aisne begins |
| September 15 - November 24 |
The "race to the sea", trenches appear on September 15 |
| September 17-28 |
Austro-German attack on western Poland |
| October 14 - November 22 |
First Battle of Ypres |
| October 29 |
Turkey enters the war on the side of the Central Powers |
| December 8 |
Battle of the Falkland Islands |
| December 21 |
First German air raid on Britain |
| December 25 |
Unofficial Christmas truce declared by soldiers along the Western Front |
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"Hun" was a slang term used by the allies, to describe the Germans. "Boche" was another.
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