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1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939
1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949
18 Jan 1914
Germany
- Adolf Hitler, who had registered as a stateless person in order to aviod military service in Austria-Hungary, was arrested by a München (Munich) police official and taken to the Austrian Consulate, from where he was deported to Salzburg in Austria to enter the army.
» In-depth article
5 Feb 1914
- Upon examination in Salzburg, Austria, Adolf Hitler was rejected by the Austro-Hungarian Army; army doctors deemed him unfit for service even for auxiliary units.
» In-depth article
1 Mar 1914
- Erwin Rommel was posted to the 4th Battery of the 49th Artillery Regiment of the Wüttemberg Army.
» In-depth article
14 Mar 1914
China
- The Japanese-controlled Ryojun Naval District (previously known as Port Arthur; now Lushunkou, Liaoning Province, China), Kwantung Leased Territory in northeastern China was downgraded to a third echelon military port.
16 Mar 1914
United States
- The keel of battleship Arizona was laid down at Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York, United States.
» In-depth article
20 Mar 1914
- The Curragh mutiny took place when the commanding officer and 56 officers of the British 3rd Cavalry Brigade, stationed at the Curragh near Dublin, Ireland, opted for dismissal from the British Army rather than being forced to coerce the Ulster Protestants into accepting Irish Home Rule. The incident might partially explain why the government was not prepared to force Ulster to accept home rule. The secretary for war, J. E. B. Seely (later 1st Baron Mottistone, 1868-1947), and the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Sir John French, indicated that the officers should not be required to serve against the north; the Cabinet disagreed and Seely and French resigned their offices.
23 Mar 1914
Photo(s) dated 23 Mar 1914
28 Mar 1914
Photo(s) dated 28 Mar 1914
1 Apr 1914
China
- Vice Admiral Reijiro Kawashima succeeded Vice Admiral Hajime Sakamoto as the commanding officer of the Ryojun Military Port (previously known as Port Arthur; now Lushunkou, Liaoning Province, China), Kwantung Leased Territory in northeastern China.
17 Apr 1914
Korea
- Lieutenant General Gencho Furumi was named the chief of staff of the Japanese Chosen Army in occupied Korea.
20 Apr 1914
- Max Wünsche was born.
» In-depth article
- US Naval Aviation's first combat action began when the base detachment, including three aircraft and three pilots under Lieutenant J. H. Towers, left Pensacola, Florida, United States in the battleship USS Mississippi to assist forces at Vera Cruz, Mexico, where they flew observation and photographic sorties.
1 May 1914
- Douglas MacArthur arrived at Veracruz, Mexico as a member of the headquarters staff.
» In-depth article
8 May 1914
China
- Rear Admiral Masaki Nakamura was named the chief of staff of Vice Admiral Reijiro Kawashima (Ryojun Military Port, northeastern China).
Photo(s) dated 8 May 1914
28 Jun 1914
- The Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo.
1 Jul 1914
- The British Royal Naval Air Service was established.
17 Jul 1914
France
- USS Idaho arrived at Villefranche-sur-Mer, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France.
» In-depth article
23 Jul 1914
- Austria delivered an ultimatum to Serbia which the Serbian government, desperate for peace, accepted.
26 Jul 1914
- Russia announced that she would pass to the "Period Preparatory to War." This unfortunately-phrased term, which in fact meant only that the army would prepare to mobilize rather than actually do so, laid itself wide open to misinterpretation.
- France canceled all military leave.
27 Jul 1914
- The French Government ordered the embarkation of the 100,000-strong North African Garrison.
28 Jul 1914
- Franz Josef declared war on Serbia.
29 Jul 1914
- Two Austrian monitors steamed down stream from the Austrian frontier and opened fire on Belgrade. Serbian guns immediately returned fire and with the brief demonstration completed the Austrian monitors withdrew.
- The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei D. Sazonov received a telegram from the German Chancellor, Bethmann-Hollweg. It implied that "further progress of Russian mobilization measures" would compel Germany also to mobilize.
30 Jul 1914
- Russia, feeling that she had let Serbia down in the Bosnian crisis of 1908, began to mobilize.
- The French Covering Force (that part of the army kept on a permanent war footing) was ordered to deploy along the Franco-German frontier, but 10 kilometers short of it to avoid any incidents.
United States
- USS Idaho was transferred to the Greek Navy and was renamed Lemnos.
» In-depth article
31 Jul 1914
- Germany began to mobilize.
- General Joffe, the French Chief of the General Staff, warned the cabinet that a delay in calling out the reservists could result in an initial abandonment of French territory.
1 Aug 1914
- Erwin Rommel was posted to the 124th Infantry Regiment of the Wüttemberg Army.
» In-depth article
- Germany declared war on Russia while its troops violated the neutrality of Luxembourg.
2 Aug 1914
- German troops crossed the frontier into France.
- In France, the Law of Siege gave the army the power to requisition goods, to control the press, and to apply military law to civilians. It even subordinated the police to military control.
3 Aug 1914
- Erwin Rommel, as a member of the 124th Infantry Regiment of the Wüttemberg Army, departed Germany for the Western Front.
» In-depth article
- Germany declared war on France.
4 Aug 1914
- The United Kingdom declared war on Germany.
7 Aug 1914
Taiwan
- Rear Admiral Shigeushi Nakagawa was named the Chief of Staff of the Mako naval port at Pescadores islands, Taiwan.
8 Aug 1914
- Wilhelm Keitel was promoted to the rank of Hauptmann.
» In-depth article
- Despite being outgunned Captain Howard Kelly on the British light cruiser HMS Gloucester opened fire on the German cruiser Breslau in order to delay the flight of the battlecruiser Goebern (Rear Admiral W. Souchon) to enable the pursuing British battlecruisers, under the flag of Admiral Sir Berkeley Milne, to catch up with their prey. The engagement had to be called off when the Gloucester ran short of coal.
- The Defence of the Realm Act, although primarily designed to protect Britain's Ports and Railways from sabotage or espionage, permitted the trial of Civilians by court martial.
12 Aug 1914
- The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) consisting of four Infantry Divisions and a Cavalry Division under the command of Sir John French began to cross the English Channel into France.
13 Aug 1914
- British Lieutenant H. D. Harvey-Kelly flew a No. 2 Squadron B.E.2a aircraft from Dover, England, United Kingdom to Amiens, France in 1 hour 55 minutes. This was the first RFC aircraft to arrive in France.
17 Aug 1914
- The Germans set up a Committee for the liberation of Russian Jews.
- Lieutenant-General Sir James Grierson, GOC 11 Corps of the BEF, died unexpectedly of a heart attack shortly after arriving in France.
18 Aug 1914
Japan
- Prince Hiroyasu was named the commandant of the Japanese Navy Academy.
» In-depth article
19 Aug 1914
- Franklin Roosevelt's son Franklin D., Jr. was born.
» In-depth article
- The first war sortie of the British Royal Flying Corps took place with a reconnaissance patrol in support of the ground troops.
21 Aug 1914
- Erwin Rommel saw his first WW1 action in the Meuse Valley on the Western Front.
» In-depth article
- The First British troops in action were C Squadron, 4th Dragoon Guards who clashed with a German cyclist/cavalry patrol in the village of Soignies, France. Corporal Thomas of that squadron was credited with firing the first British shot in anger of the war.
23 Aug 1914
- The Battle of Mons was the first major action of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in the First World War. It was a subsidiary action of the Battle of the Frontiers, in which the Allies clashed with Germany on the French borders. At Mons, the British army attempted to hold the line of the Mons-Condé Canal against the advancingGerman First Army. Although the British fought well and inflicted disproportionate casualties on the numerically-superior Germans, they were eventually forced to retreat due both to the greater strength of the Germans and the sudden retreat of the French Fifth Army, which exposed the British right flank.
24 Aug 1914
Photo(s) dated 24 Aug 1914
25 Aug 1914
- The first German aircraft to be forced down during WW1 was a two-seat reconnaissance aircraft involved in a confrontation with three unarmed British aircraft of No. 2 Squadron RFC.
- The German wireless station at Kamina in Togoland which linked Germany's African colonies with Nauen in Germany was destroyed following a British invasion by the Gold Coast Regiment.
26 Aug 1914
- The British II Corps (Lieutenant General Horace Smith-Dorrien) consisting of the 3rd and 5th Divisions plus elements of 4th Division turned at bay at La Cateau and after a sharp battle forced the German advance to pause.
29 Aug 1914
- General Aleksandr Samsonov, the commander of the Russian 2nd Army, committed suicide following his army's defeat in battle.
Japan
- Prince Hiroyasu was assigned to the Japanese Naval General Staff.
» In-depth article
30 Aug 1914
France
- Paris, France was bombed for the first time, by a German Taube flown by Lieutenant Ferdinand von Hiddessen.
5 Sep 1914
France
- In late Aug 1914 five German armies surged forward into France from Amiens to Verdun, starting Battle of the Marne. They were confronted by French forces and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). After the French withdrew to defend Paris, the Allies retreated to a line south of the Seine.
8 Sep 1914
France
- During Battle of the Marne, a change in the German attack exposed their flank and the French 6th Army, under General Michel-Joseph Maunoury, commandeered 600 Paris taxis to make an opportunist attack. The other Allied forces did not hear of the tactical switch and continued to fall back. A German counterattack at the centre of the line threw back the French under Marshal Foch.
9 Sep 1914
France
- Upon receiving word that the French 6th Army was on the offensive near Paris, France, British troops reversed from their retreat to join the offensive. German forces began to fall back, and the Allied pursuit would be slow.
11 Sep 1914
Australian New Guinea
- Australian forces landed near Rabaul, Bismarck Islands and captured the wireless station after a brief but fierce firefight. The 5 Australians killed during this action were the Australian casualties of WW1.
12 Sep 1914
Australian New Guinea
- Australian troops captured the town of Rabaul, Bismarck Islands.
13 Sep 1914
- Battle of the Marne drew to a close with 800,000 German and over a million French and British casualties.
- Allied armies under General Joffre conducted a frontal assault along the Aisne River in France. The troops crossed the river by pontoon bridges and assaulted strong German positions, but were then flung back to their starting point.
14 Sep 1914
- Having failed to dislodge German troops on the far bank of the Aisne River in France on the previous day, the battle dwindled out into the trench warfare that would characterise WW1.
- Kaiser William II appointed Lieutenant General Falkenhayn, the German Minister of War, to the post of Chief of the General Staff of the Army.
15 Sep 1914
China
- Lieutenant General Akira Nakamura succeeded Lieutenant General Yasumasa Fukushima as the Governor-General of Kwantung Leased Territory in northeastern China.
16 Sep 1914
Australian New Guinea
- All German troops in the Bismarck Islands surrendered to the Australians.
18 Sep 1914
- The Irish Home Rule Act reached the British statute books but was suspended for the duration of the war with Germany.
24 Sep 1914
- Erwin Rommel, wielding a rifle without any ammunition, fought three French soldiers, catching a ricocheting bullet in the left thigh.
» In-depth article
27 Sep 1914
- In West Africa, the British captured Douala, the Cameroons principle port and wireless station, without a shot being fired.
- The first French bomber groupe was formed with Voisin biplanes.
Japan
- Chuichi Nagumo studied an advanced course at the mine warfare school.
» In-depth article
28 Sep 1914
- Franklin Roosevelt's bid for US Senate was defeated in the Democratic primary.
» In-depth article
30 Sep 1914
- Erwin Rommel was hospitalized for the thigh wound he sustained in action on 24 Sep. He was awarded the Iron Cross Second Class medal for the action.
» In-depth article
7 Oct 1914
Czechoslovakia
- Josef Frantisek was born in Otaslavice, Austria-Hungary (later Czechoslovakia).
» In-depth article
8 Oct 1914
- Prodded by Winston Churchill, the Admiralty had agreed to the plan masterminded by Wing Commdander Charles Rumney Sampson of the Eastchurch Squadron, RNAS, for a bombing raid on the Zeppelin sheds in Cologne and Dusseldorf in Germany. Flying from Antwerp, Belgium, the two Sopwith Tabloid aircraft, piloted by Squadron Leader D. A. Spenser Grey and Flight Lieutenant L.G. "Reggie" Marix, flew a distance of 112 miles and 104 miles respectively on this, which the first air raid against a target on German soil. Grey, unable to find the target because of poor visibility, became frustrated and dropped his bombs on Cologne Railway Station. Marix however was more successful. Locating the Zeppelin sheds, he attacked with bombs from a height of around 600 feet. Inside the sheds, the recently completed and fully inflated Zeppelin Z.IX airship LZ 25 was destroyed as were the adjoining workshops in the resulting fire.
- The French claimed their first air victory in combat when a Voisin Type LA of Escadrille V24 shot down a German Aviatik B.1.
20 Oct 1914
- German troops under General von Falkenhayn began an offensive at the British Expeditionary Force at Ypres, Belgium, starting the First Battle of Ypres.
21 Oct 1914
- Near Ypres, Belgium, British commanders ordered the troops to fall back in the evening.
22 Oct 1914
- British troops near Ypres, Belgium fell back 2.5 miles to a newly prepared defensive line, but the British 12th Brigade was able to hold ground against a German attack at Le Gheer, Belgium 5 miles to the south. The village of Langemarck was completely destroyed in the fighting on this day.
23 Oct 1914
- German troops attacked the towns of Escobecques, Englos, and Capingham in Belgium south of Ypres.
24 Oct 1914
- French 7th Division advanced between Zonnebeke and Langemarck, Belgium just east of Ypres as the Germans launched a renewed offensive supported by heavy siege guns.
25 Oct 1914
- German troops captured Dixmude, Belgium.
26 Oct 1914
- The Allies, front line troops exhausted, decided to flood to the canal and waterways of the Yser River in Belgium should German troops continue to advance.
Russia
- Boris Shaposhnikov was awarded the Order of St. Anna, 4th Class.
» In-depth article
29 Oct 1914
- After sundown, as German troops continued to advance in Belgium, eight flood gates of the Noordervaart Canal were opened by the Allies.
30 Oct 1914
- The Turkish navy made a pre-emptive strike against Russia. The ex-German battlecruiser Goeben shelled Sevastopol, the cruiser Breslau shelled Novorossiisk, and the Turkish cruiser Hamidieh shelled Odesssa.
31 Oct 1914
- Russia and the United Kingdom declared war on Turkey as the response to the previously day's attacks by the Turkish Navy.
- Sepoy Kuda Dad Khan (129th Baluchis) became the first Indian Amy soldier to win the Victoria Cross. At Hollebeke, Belgium he kept his machine gun firing even when his detachment had been overrun, and his comrades killed all around him.
2 Nov 1914
- In German East Africa, the Indian Expeditionary Force B went ashore at an undefended beach near Tanga at the northern end of the Northern Railway.
- The United Kingdom extended the blockade by declaring the North Sea to be a military area.
Russia
- Boris Shaposhnikov was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th Class with Swords and Bow.
» In-depth article
4 Nov 1914
- The Indian Expeditionary Force fought its way into Tanga in German East Africa but the single German company stationed there put up only a token resistance before slipping away into the bush.
11 Nov 1914
- Lieutenant General Falkenhayn, Chief of the General Staff of the German Army, seeing no immediate prospect of success, called off the battle on the Yser and around Ypres on the Western Front.
12 Nov 1914
- German troops attacked Ypres, Belgium.
13 Nov 1914
- British 8th Division arrived in Ypres, Belgium, which was currently under German attack.
14 Nov 1914
- Sheikh-ul-Islam, the Ottoman Sultan, declared Jihad (Holy War) against Britain, France, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro.
17 Nov 1914
- Battleship HMS Royal Oak was launched.
20 Nov 1914
- German troops began to withdraw from Ypres, Belgium, abandoning the offensive which began on 20 Oct 1914.
21 Nov 1914
- Three British RNAS Avro 504 aircraft led by Wing Commander E. F. Briggs bombed the Zeppelin sheds at Friedrichshafen, Germany.
22 Nov 1914
- All German troops were evacuated from the Ypres, Belgium region, ending the First Battle of Ypres. Although the British managed to hold on to the ruins of Ypres, they had suffered 58,000 casualties (80% of the original British Expeditionary Force), while the French suffered 50,000. The Germans suffered over 130,000 casualties. The end of this battle would mark the last major offensive of 1914.
27 Nov 1914
Japan
- Nobutake Kondo graduated from the Japanese Navy gunnery school.
» In-depth article
1 Dec 1914
- Chuichi Nagumo was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and was assigned to battleship Kirishima.
» In-depth article
11 Dec 1914
- Hiroaki Abe was promoted to the rank of sub-lieutenant and was transferred out of battlecruiser Kongo.
» In-depth article
17 Dec 1914
Taiwan
- Vice Admiral Rinroku Eguchi was named the commanding officer of the Mako naval port at Pescadores islands, Taiwan.
20 Dec 1914
France
- Jean de Lattre de Tassigny was made a Chevalier of the Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur.
» In-depth article
21 Dec 1914
- Britain was bombed for the first time when a German Taube dropped two bombs near the Admiralty Pier in Kent, England, United Kingdom.
25 Dec 1914
- The British seaplane carriers HMS Empress, HMS Engadine and HMS Riviera operating off Heligoland, Germany launched a force of nine Short seaplanes to attack the Zeppelin sheds at Cuxhaven. Fog prevented the target being located, and only three aircraft located their parent ships on their return.
Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis
