Timeline of Events, 1870-1914


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1890
1890 - "Ghost Dance" revival movement among American Plains Indians culminating in Battle of Wounded Knee on 28 December (1890); Pershing involved in campaign as junior officer
1890 - A.T. Mahan publishes "The Influence of Sea Power on History, 1660-1783" arguing that Britain's status rested on naval supremacy which controlled the Eurasian balance of power
1890 4 March - Caprivi becomes German Chancellor (until 28 October 1894)
1890 18 March - Dismissal/Resignation of Bismarck
1890 May - French unsuccessfully try to get Russians to join them in a military alliance against Germany
1890 18 June - Reinsurance Treaty lapses
1890 1 July - Heligoland Treaty; Germany gives up its claims to Zanzibar to Britain, in exchange for Heligoland
1890 October - Reichstag elections with S. P. D. holding 35 seats (out of 397)
1890 1 October - German anti-socialist laws not renewed

1891
1891 - Italian government agrees to a commercial treaty with Germany and Austria
1891 - Diplomatic relations with United States broken off by Italy following dispute over the murder of 11 Italians in New Orleans; indemnities paid the following year by the U.S. and relations resumed
1891 7 February - Schlieffen appointed Chief of German General Staff (until 1 Jan, 1906)
1891 July - French naval squadron visits Russian port of Kronstadt; greeted with cheers by Russians
1891 27 August - Franco-Russian Entente

1892
1892 1 February - Germany signs commercial treaties with Italy, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria-Hungary
1892 May - "Jackie" Fisher becomes Third Lord of the Admiralty for 5 and half years (ship design and construction)
1892 17 August - Franco-Russian Military Convention
1892 17 August - Schlieffen begins formulating concept of two-front war plan to counter Franco-Russian alliance

1893
1893 17 January - Franco-Russian Alliance signed
1893 18 February - Founding of Agrarian League in Germany
1893 13 July - Germany Army bill accepted
1893 August - Clemenceau runs for re-election from the Var district, but loses and is out of political office for the first time in almost 20 years
1893 30 August - Report reaches London that French ordered British vessels out of Gulf of Siam; creates war scare
1893 October - Russian naval visit to French port of Toulon
1893 19 October - General Bronsart v Schellendorf becomes German Minister of War (until 14 Aug 1896)
1893 December - Italian forces oppose Mahdists under Ahmad wad-Ali at Agordat

1894
1894 10 February - Russo-German commercial treaty signed
1894 12 May - Anglo-Congolese (Free State) treaty signed with Britain hoping to bar French from the Nile Valley
1894 July - German General Staff develops a new strategic plan for two-front war
1894 July - Italians capture Kassala
1894 September - Japan goes to war with China over Korea (First Korean War) with British attempts at intervention against Japan failing
1894 26 September - A French intelligence agent steals papers from the German Embassy in Paris that reveal a French officer is spying for the Germans, leading to the Dreyfus affair: repercussions throughout France's army and government; Dreyfus accused, tried and convicted on flimsy (and fabricated) evidence, and then sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island
1894 26 October - Hohenlohe becomes German Chancellor (until Oct 1900)
1894 1 November - Tsar Alexander II dies and Nicohlas II becomes Tsar

1895
1895 - Cuban Revolution led by Rizal against Spain ends in failure
1885 - British army Chitral Expedition
1895 April - Japanese and Chinese conclude Treaty of Shimonoseki among various European powers expressing self-interests and resulting in recognition of Korean independance and surrendering Port Arthur and Liaotung Peninsula to Japan; Russians upset over Japanese gains
1895 June - Opening of Kiel Canal in Germany
1895 21 June - Salisbury returns to power in Britain
1895 August - Kaiser Wilhelm visits England for Victoria's Golden Jubilee celebrations
1895 December - Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) arrested jailed in St Petersburg and exiled to Siberia for three years
1895 29 December - Jameson Raid into the Transavaal
1895 - Armenian massacres in Turkey, during the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II

1896
1896 - Philippine Revolution led by Aguinaldo against Spain begins
1896 - Charles E. Callwell, British Army, publishes Small Wars - Their Principles and Practice as a practical treatise on guerrilla and 'small wars' conflict
1896 3 January - Wilhelm II sends telegram to Kruger congratulating him on preserving independance of Transvaal
1896 1 March - Italian disaster at Battle of Adowa (Ethiopia); Italians appeal for British aid unsuccessfully
1896 13 March - British Government decides to retake Khartoum and Sudan and funding voted (British decision to keep Egypt and not evacuate soon followed)
1896 14 August - Gossler becomes German Minister of War (until 15 Aug 1903)

1897
1897 Greco-Turkish War
1897 22 January - Waldersee's memorandum on coup d`état for Wilhem II against the Reichstag
1897 January-February - Russian attempt to set up anti-German coalition with British in Far East and attempt fails
1897 17 March - Russians formally demand lease of Port Arthur
1897 5 May - Austro-Russian "agreement"to maintain status-quo in Balkans for next ten years
1897 15 June - Tirpitz nominated State Secretary for the I.G. Navy
1897 20 October - Bülow nominated State Secretary in the German Foreign Office
1897 November - Germans occupy Chinese port of Kaio-Chow for coaling station following murder of two German missionaries there
1897 December - Zwartberg Hottentots revolt against Germans and are suppressed
1897 25 December - Italians hand Kassala over to Egyptian Army

1898
1898 25 March - British demand China leases Wei-hai-wei for port facilities; beginning of Chinese partition. Increasing Russian concerns over Far East/China (and becomes a feature of each springtime over the next half-dozen years)
1898 26 March - Germany's "Naval Bill" passes the Reichstag
1898 1 April - Chamberlain suggests an alliance with Germany
1898 8 April - Battle of the Atbara
1898 10 April - Reichstag ratifies First Navy Law
1898 25 April - Spanish American War begins
1898 30 April - German Navy League Founded
1898 13 August - U.S. Army captures Manila
1898 30 August - Anglo-German agreement over Portuguese colonies
1898 September-November - Fashoda Crisis (Anglo-French confrontation and possibility of war over French attempts to claim Sudan)
1898 4 September - Funeral of Gordon at Khartoum
1898 9 September - Kitchener starts for Fashoda
1898 22 September - Battle of Gedaref
1898 24 September - Kitchener returns from Fashoda
1898 October - Wilhem II pays second visit to Ottoman Empire and suggests building the Bagdad railway
1898 November - Spanish American War ends with Treaty of Paris; U.S. gains Philippines, the Sulus, and Guam in return for payment of $20 million to Spain; Cuban independance
1898 December - Moro revolt against U.S. occupation of Philipines, lasts until 1903, with sporadic fighting until 1914

1899
1899 4 February - Aguinaldo leads Philipine Insurrection against U.S. forces in Philipines
1899 16 February - French President Faure suffers a heart attack during a tryst with the wife of a French painter (Steinheil); his wife called - Faure dies later that evening
1899 April - Anglo-French agreement on Mediterranean spheres on influence
1899 May-July - First Hague Peace Conference
1899 Summer - Churchill runs for Parliament and loses
1899 September - Dreyfus pardoned after French Army yields to public pressure but repercussions continued with the public being suspicious of the army's role in the matter; French Army funds are subsequently cut back over the years
1899 November - The Hay 'Open Door' Note on China
1899 12 October - Boer War begins
1899 20-29 November - Wilhelm II visits England
1900
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1900 January - 'Bunderesrath' Affair
1900 29 July - King Humbert of Italy assasinated by Bresci (Italian anarchist); Victor Emmanuel III becomes king
1900 February - Relief of Ladysmith
1900 8 March - Landsdowne asks Germany to join Britain in imposing on France a localisation of any Russo-Japanese War
1900 May - Relief of Mafeking
1900 Spring-Summer - Peasant uprisings in China leading to Boxer Rebellion
1900 14 June - Reichstag accepts Second Navy Law as proposed by Tirpitz (supplementals in 1906, 1908, and 1912)
1900 June-August - Boxer Rebellion spreads
1900 1 October - Churchill elected to Parliament by a margin of 22 votes during the "Khaki Election"
1900 16 October - Anglo-German agreement over China
1900 17 October - Bülow becomes Reich Chancellor (until 14 Jul 1909)
1900 December - Delcassé offers Italians pledge that French would not encroach in Tripoli
1900 31 December - Murder of English missionary in China

1901
1901 - Germans develop plans for the submarine U-1
1901 20 January - Kaiser Wilhelm arrives in London to visit Queen Victoria as she was dying
1901 22 January - Death of Queen Victoria; Edward VII becomes King of Great Britain
1901 24 March - Japanese demand withdrawal of proposed agreement between Russia and China; Russians back off
1901 31 May - European troops begin landing in China to suppress the Boxers
1901 20 June - Siege of European legations by Boxers begins
1901 September - U.S. President McKinley shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz, while attending Pan-American Exposition and dies eight days later
1901 October-December - Collapse of Anglo-German alliance negotiations and also Russo-Japanese talks
1901 November - "British Foreign Policy;" article by "A.B.C." published in The National Review
1901 18 November - Hay-Pauncefote Treaty, providing the United States with powers of exclusive regulation and management for the proposed Panama Canal
1901 December - Oberst Alfred Redl begins spying on his government for the Russians

1902
1902 30 January - Anglo-Japanese Alliance formed giving Japanese greater prestige in Far East
1902 20 March - Franco-Russian declaration on China (intentions of Franco-Russian protectorate)
1902 June - Fisher returns to the Admiralty as Second Sea Lord (staffing ships with officers and men)
1902 28 June - Triple Alliance renewed
1902 September - Turks allow Russians to send four torpedo-boats north through Straits of Mamarra renewing the "Straits Question" and creates ending of the Mediterranean Entente
1902 November - Franco-Spanish plans to divide Morocco ruined by British meddling and exposure of treaty terms
1902 November - German discussions with Turks over Bagdad railway increase and military aid to Turkey begun
1902 22 November - Friedrich Krupp suicides amid charges of homosexuality; business goes to his daughter Bertha
1902 December - Widespread revolt in Turkey against Sultan Abdul Aziz marking; revolt suppressed but Sultan's power diminished afterwards
1902 25 December - Reichstag accepts higher agricultural tariffs

1903
1903 April - Bezobrazov becomes Sec. of State in Russia and his hard-line policies make Far Eastern compromise impossible; Japanese begin to see talks with Russians as futile
1903 May - Edward VII visits Paris
1903 16 June - Reichstag elections with gains for S.P.D.
1903 July - Loubet of France visits London
1903 July until April 1904 Anglo-French talks settling territorial claims between the countries (Siam, Newfoundland, Egypt, West Africa, Morocco, etc.) eventually leading to the British joining the Entente in April 1904
1903 15 August - Gen Karl v Einem becomes German Minister of War (until Aug. 1909)

1904
1904 Kaiser tells Leopold II of Belgium that a war between France and Germany would involve Belgium; during another visit in 1910, the Kaiser says otherwise.
1904 4 February - Russo-Japanese War begins; Japanese attack Port Arthur
1904 31 March - Kaiser makes his Tangiers speech addressing the Morocan problem
1904 8 April - Entente Cordiale between France and Britain (sponsored by Landsdowne, British Foreign Secretary, 1900-1905)
1904 May - Fisher becomes First Sea Lord of the Admiralty (director of operations) until fall of 1906
1904 28 July - Russo-German commercial treaty signed
1904 3 October - French and Spanish agreement on Morrocco and city of Fez
1904 3 October (until 1908) Herrero and Hottentot insurrection in German South-West Africa
1904 21 October - Dogger Bank Incident (Russian fleet fires on British fishing-vessels)
1904 November - Theodore Roosevelt elected President of the United States
1904 23 November - Russo-German alliance negotiations following Dogger Bank incident break-down

1905
1905 22 January -Russian procession to Winter Palace attacked by troops and police (Bloody Sunday)
1905 1 February - German commercial treaties with Russia and Austria-Hungary ratified mid-February Grand Duke Serge assasinated in Moscow
1905 31 March - Wilhelm II visits Tangiers (concurrent with this, the British General Staff was holding theoretical war games on maps -- assuming the Germans might invade France through Belgium)
1905 William Haywood and others found the International Workers of the World labour union ('Wobblies')
1905 30 April - Anglo-French military conversations begin
1905 27 May - Battle of Tsushima (Russian Navy routed)
1905 6 June - Declassé falls from power
1905 23 July - Treaty of Björkö
1905 28 September - Morocco Conference agreed
1905 5 October - H.M.S. Dreadnought keel laid down
1905 October - (middle) Russia affected by a general strike
1905 30 October - Tsar issues Imperial Manifesto creating a semi-constitutional monarchy
1905 1 November - Rasputin first meets the Romanov family
1905 December - Schlieffen plan developed
1905 December - Churchill becomes under secretary in British Colonial Office
1905 5 December - Campbell-Bannerman forms Liberal ministry

1906
1906 1 January - von Moltke succeeds Schlieffen as Chief of German General Staff (until 14
September 1914)
1906 12 January Landslide victory of Liberals in British elections
1906 16 January Algerciras Conference opens
1906 31 January Anglo-French military conversations authorised by Grey (who at this time thinks England has a moral obligation to France against Germany); Wilson sent to France; Cabinet not informed of these talks until 1911
1906 March - London Daily Mail begins serializing "The Invasion of 1910" by William Le Queux (plot: Germans invade England and win); the story is made into a play that runs for 18 months
1906 5 April - Bülow has heart attack in Reichstag and is unable to work for several months
1906 8 April - Algecrias Act signed
1906 1 May beginning of Eulenberg scandal in German (Kaiser's close friend accused of homosexuality); accusations by Hardin
1906 May - Tax reform passes Reichstag
1906 May - Russian Duma meets for the first time
1906 5 June - Third German Navy Law (Novelle 1906) ratified
1906 7 July - Tsar asks Stolypin to become Prime Minister and shortly thereafter he dissolves the Duma
1906 August - Bertha Krupp marries Gustav (Krupp) von Bohlen und Halbach, he taking part of her surname to maintain firm's continuity
1906 8 September - Churchill meets the Kaiser while undersecretary at Colonial Office, discussing German colonial affairs in southern Africa
1906 13 December - Bülow dissolves Reichstag

1907
1907 (Sinn Féin founded in Dublin)
1907 1 January Eyre Crowe's (British Foreign Office) memorandum on English interest in preserving balance of power and joining 2nd most powerful country in Europe (France); comments on German foreign policy and confrontation possible
February - Russian Second Duma meets for the first time; dissolved three months later by the Tsar
1907 25 January Reichstag elections
1907 February - Bülow Bloc formed
1907 April - Eulenberg scandal spreads, Hardin accuses three of the Kaiser's aides-de-camp of homosexuality
1907 15 June - Second Hague Peace Conference Opens
1907 30 July - Russo-Japanese War ends; Russia begins focusing on Balkans instead of Far East for influence peddling
1907 31 August - Anglo-Russian Entente; agreement over Persia, Afghanistan, and Tibet
1907 23 October - Trial of Hardin (Moltke-Hardin trial) for libel begins in Berlin (dropped on technicality); Kaiser upset by trial and implications
1907 11 November - Kaiser reluctantly visits England during Eulenberg scandal and interviewed by Haldane of the Daily Telegraph

1908
1908 3 January Hardin's second trial ends with a conviction for libel; ordered to prison but set
free on bond
1908 16 February - Wilhelm II writes to Lord Tweedmouth
1908 8 April - Asquith becomes Prime Minister and shortly after Churchill is part of Cabinet
1908 8 June - Eulenberg charged with perjury in Hardin case and arrested
1908 14 June - Fourth German Navy Law (Novelle 1908) ratified
1908 29 June - Hardin's second libel trial begins but is suspended in September, resumed the summer of 1909 and then postponed indefinitely again due to Eulenberg being too ill to stand trial
1908 July - Young Turks come to power and offer to become allies with Britain but are rebuked by Churchill
1908 2 July - Izvolski of Russia offers to support Austria annexation of Bosnia and Hercegovina if Austria would support Russian intentions on the "Straits"
1908 12-13 August - Hardinge visits Wilhelm II at Kronberg
1908 19 August - Austrian Government decides to annex Bosnia and Hercegovina
1908 15 September - Meeting at Buchlau (Buchlov) between Izvolski and Aehrenthal (of Austria) to discuss Balkans and Straits
1908 2 October - Details of Buchlau Agreement given to Russian Council of Ministers; Council upset
1908 5 October - Bulgaria declares itself independent publishes interview with Kaiser
1908 6 October _ Austria proclaims annexation of Bosnia and Hercgovina; Izvolsky feels humiliated following blunt German diplomatic rebuttals that follow
1908 6 October _ Haldane's Daily Telegraph publishes interview with Kaiser
1908 28 October - Daily Telegraph interview of Wilhelm II published creates backlash in Germany
1908 10-11 November - Reichstag debates on Daily Telegraph Affair

1909
1909 January Conrad (of Austria) writes Moltke asking what Germany would do if Austria attacked Serbia and Russians intervened over Bosnia
1909 21 January Moltke writes Conrad, replying if Russia mobilises, Germany will as well, using Bosnia as justification
1909 9 February - H.M.S. Dreadnaught launched
1909 9 February Franco-German Agreement over Morocco recognizing French political and German economic rights there
1909 26 February - French Ambassador to Russia tells Russian Government that the Bosnian situation should not be any of Russia or France's concern
1909 12 March - British Navy bill accepted after "Navy Scare"
1909 24 March - Collapse of Bülow Bloc
1909 12 June - Hansabund founded
1909 24 June - Bülow tax reform bill defeated
1909 14 July - Theobold v Bethmann-Hollweg becomes German Chancellor (until July 1917)
1909 25 July - Louis Bleriot first man to fly across the Channel from France to England
1909 11 August - von Herringen becomes German Minister of War (until 7 Jun 1913)
1909 December - British General Wilson visits Foch and listens to lectures followed by private talks; invites Foch to London; Wilson tours Franco-German border for 10 days by train and bicycle and concludes Germans would invade France through Belgium
1910
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1910 January General Wilson goes back to France and revisits Foch in Paris for further talks; Foch visits Wilson and General Staff in London later in the year. (Wilson asks Foch what the smallest British military force that would be of value to France if Germany attacked, prompting the reply of "one British soldier")
1910 15 January British general elections
1910 14 February - Churchill becomes Home Secretary
1910 6 May - Edward VII dies suddenly and is succeeded by George V
1910 27 May - Reform of Prussian three-class voting system fails
1911
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1911 9 February - Churchill speech declaring British fleet a necessity and a German fleet a luxury
1911 March - British plans for B.E.F. mobilisation in event of British intervention in general continental war ready (schedule of mobilisation)
1911 21 May - French occupy Fez (Morocco)
1911 30 June - Messiny named French War Minister
1911 July - during the Agasir crisis, Joseph Cailloux (then French Premier) begins secret negotiations with the Germans concurrent with Cambon's public ones; these private negotiations are discovered by the French who have broken one of the German diplomatic codes (the "Green Dispatches") and Cailloux is forced to resign when Poincare is alerted to this information
1911 1 July - Panther at port of Agadir
1911 July - Asquith appoints Churchill to Cabinet's Committee of Imperial Defense (formed
1904)
1911 20 July - Dubail-Wilson agreement signed agreeing to British mobilisation following intervention, specifying 150,000 men and 67,000 horses to be landed at Havre, Boulogne and Rouen between 4th-12th day of mobilisation and be sent to Mauberge region and ready for action on 13th day
1911 21 July - Lloyd George warns Germany in his "Mansion House speech", stiffening German opinion towards his ideas; speech primarily meant as support for the French; during "crisis" period British make some preparations for war against Germany
1911 13 August - Churchill sends Asquith a memorandum analyzing a European war in which Germany attacks France through Belgium and recommends use of British Army to aid France
1911 23 August - Asquith calls a secret meeting of Imperial Defense Committee asking for preparation of war plans (Grey, Lloyd George and Churchill present among others) Gen. Henry Wilson discusses Anglo-French "plans" against German invasion of Belgium and France
1911 6 September - Stolypin assasinated in the Kiev Opera House in front of the Tsar
1911 29 September Tripoli War between Italy and Turkey begins
1911 10 October - (until 1912) Chinese Revolution begins at Wuhan
1911 25 October - Churchill becomes First Lord of the Admiralty and invites Fisher to meet him
1911 (until 1914) Mexican Revolution; fighting begins in November
1911 4 November - Morocco Agreement signed
1911 4 November - Charykov (of Russia) offers Turks a guarantee of the status quo if Straits open to Russian warships
1911 9-10 November - Reichstag debates Morocco Agreement
1912
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1912-1913 Irish Home Rule problem occupies British domestic politics
1912-1913 Krupp "Kornwalzer" stolen - secret military documents scandal emerges and trials; Krupp not penalised
1912 January British War Staff established
1912 January Caillaux ousted in France and followed by Poincaré
1912 - French Army General Staff makes the offensive à outrance official French military doctrine in its Regulations for the Conduct of Large Units
1912 January - French Senate initiates an investigative committee into Cailloux's role in the Agadir Crisis and suspicions about Calloux's "Germanophilia" became widespread; these sentiments led to the fall of the "Cailloux" government during 1912; Cailloux still maintained enough political power that he was back in his "old" post of Minister of Finance
1912 January - Reichstag elections with S.P.D. emerging as the strongest party
1912 February - Joffre tells (French) Supreme War Council that he was counting on British for 6 infantry and 1 cavalry divisions to be ready for action in Mauberge area by 15th day of mobilisation
1912 7 February - Kaiser announces Army and Navy Bills
1912 8 February - Haldane arrives in Berlin for talks
1912 March - Churchill announces enlarging the RN, and removal of fleet from Malta to home waters (and with the French realigning their fleet)
1912 13 March - Balkan League between Serbia and Bulgaria formed
1912 22 March - New German naval program begun marking failure of Anglo-German talks on naval forces
1912 April - (2 week period) Turks close Straits fearing Italian attack with economic results in southern Russia creating tensions there
1912 15 April - Cambon proposes to Nicholson a renewal of Landsdowne's "May 1905 offer" of an alliance; Grey writes Cambon with promises but no formal arrangement
1912 21 May - Military bills and Lex Bassermann-Erzberger passed by Reichstag
1912 29 May - Greece joins Balkan League
1912 17 August - Poincaré tells Sazonov (of Russia) of verbal agreement by England to aid France if Germany attacked France (possibly posturing)
1912 15 October - Peace between Italy and Turkey completed
1912 17 October - First Balkan War begins; Montenegro declares war on Turkey, soon joined by Bulgaria, Greece, and Serbia
1912 17 November - Poincaré tells Izvolski that France will back Russia in a war against Austria (which he said was backed by Germany)
1912 December - Haldane tells German Ambassador that England would aid France if attacked by Germany and could not allow the balance of power to be changed
1912 8 December - Wilhelm II calls military conference at Potsdam (over Haldane's comment) note: Some scholars (i.e., Fisher) see this as the turning point when Germany formulated plans for a war with Britain, but there was no follow-up on this.
1913 Go to WWI/WWW Primary Documents, Pre - 1914
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1913 - Edison develops first talking motion pictures
1913 - Wilson visits French General Staff every other month and reviews Foch's manoeuvres of XX Corp guarding the border
1913 5 January Jagow succeds Kidelen-Wächter in the German Foreign Office
1913 February - Russian celebrations for 300 years of Romanovs
1913 26 March - Churchill proposes Naval Holiday
1913 May - Treaty of London ending First Balkan War and Albania given international recognition; various territorial adjustments
1913 May - French General Staff adopts Plan 17
1913 24 May - Oberst Alfred Redl, Deputy Chief of the Austrian Intelligence Bureau commits suicide prior to being arrested as a Russian spy
1913 4 June - Prussian Diet elections
1913 7 June - Erich v Falkenhayn becomes German Minister of War (until 21 Jan 1915)
1913 30 June - Second Balkan War begins with Bulgarian attack on Greece and Serbia
1913 30 June - German Army Bill and Tax Compromise accepted
1913 29 July - Anglo-Turkish understanding supporting German efforts in Turkey to build Bagdad railway
1913 August - Lusitania undergoes extensive modifications permitting guns to be mounted and ammunition holds and ammo elevators installed prior to registration as a Reserve RN cruiser
1913 7 August - French Army bill ratified ("Three Year Law")
1913 10 August - Peace of Bucharest ends Second Balkan War and marked by territorial adjustments
1913 23 August - Churchill prepares contingency plans paper for Britain to send troops to aid France in war against Germany
1913 28 August - "Kartell der schaffenden Stände" proclaimed
1913 30 August - Churchill writes Grey that Britain should aid Russia and France in a war with Germany
1913 1 October - Greatest German Army increase since 1871; peace strength increased by 136,000 to 760,908 NCO's and men
1913 18 October - Churchill again proposes a Naval Holiday
1913 18 October - Berchtold (Austria) sends an ultimatum to Serbia demanding withdrawal of forces that crossed into Albania; Serbs withdrew
1913 26 October - Kaiser meets Berchtold (Austrian Foreign Minister) in Vienna discussing possible Germanic-Slav (Serb) confrontation
1913 October-November - Zabern Affair in Germany
1913 October - French Army adopts new field regulations calling for offensive
1913 November - Miguel Almereyda begins publication of Le Bonnet Rouge, a weekly newspaper for the militant left in France; during 1914 it begins to appear daily
1913 November - Liman von Sanders given total command of Turkish army and in charge at Istanbul resulting in open Russian animosity towards Germans in Turkey; Russia becoming increasingly more anti-German and belligerent
1913 November - King Albert of Belgium invited to Berlin; Kaiser tells King that he feels war with France inevitable; similar statements by Moltke
1913 9 December - Liman von Sanders Commission to Turkey seen off by Kaiser
1913 14 December - Liman von Sanders arrives in Constantinople
1914
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1914 5 January - Gaston Calmette, editor of Le Figaro begins running a series of political and personal exposés on Cailloux
1914 20 January - Sazonov and Tsar discuss Liman von Sanders in Turkey and competing with Austria over binding Poles to the Russian state
1914 February - Durnovo (Russian State Council member) writes memo to Tsar regarding Russian role in war against Germany; assumes that Britain wouldn't be able to help much and territorial gains wouldn't be worthwhile and predicted a war would lead to social revolution
1914 16 March - French Finance Minister Joseph Caillaux's wife, Henriette Caillaux buys a Browning automatic pistol in the morning and late that afternoon shoots Gaston Calmette the editor of Le Figaro; Cailloux resigns his political post in the Cabinet; Calmette dies that evening
1914 April - (until March 1916) U.S. troops stationed on U.S./Mexico border during Mexican Civil War; Villa's raid on Columbus, N.M., 1916, and subsequent U.S. incursion into Mexico; 1916-1917; U.S. forces begin Veracruz expedition in April, lasts until November 1914.
1914 Spring; according to Tuchman, the Anglo-French military arrangements are completed even to point of details on billeting arrangements for British troops)
1914 May - Anglo-Russian naval talks begin attempting to determine co-operation between fleets
1914 12 May - Moltke and Conrad (of Austria) meet in Karlsbad)
1914 13 June - Kaiser Wilhelm II and Franz Ferdinand meet for the last time at Konopischt, Serbia and Russia discussed
1914 28 June - Assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife at Sarajevo
1914 30 June - German Ambassador in Vienna advises Austrians against taking hasty steps
1914 July - Trial of Madame Cailloux for the murder of Gaston Calmette; French public absorbed and distracted by details of the trial and surrounding scandals; on July 28th, the verdict of "not guilty" was rendered
1914 4 July - Hoyos mission to Berlin taking two notes; one being Austrian plans for Balkans (primarily Roumania) and a note from Franz Josef
1914 5 July - Austrian Ambassador in Berlin delivers handwritten note from Franz Josef to Kaiser, over luncheon; the Kaiser`s 'blank cheque'
1914 6 July - German Ambassador informs Grey that the crisis would be serious since Austria with German support was planning to act against Serbia
1914 6 July - Wilhelm talks with Krupp and says he will not "chicken out" this time
1914 6 July - Wilhelm II leaves for Norwegian cruise (until 27 July)
1914 7 July - Austro-Hungarian Ministerial Council meets
1914 8 July - Ultimatum to Serbia being prepared
1914 11 July - German Naval HQ sends telegram to Admiral Spee on Scharnhorst in pacific advisory that England would probably be hostile in event of war
1914 14 July - Tisza (Hungarian Prime Minister) concedes to military action against Serbia thereby
1914 14 July - Tschirschky tells Bethmann-Hollweg the Austrian note is composed to preclude acceptance by the Serbs
1914 15 July - Conrad goes on holiday
1914 15 July - Poincaré and Viviani leave for St. Petersburg
1914 16 July - Grey tells Russian Ambassador that Germans can no longer be counted on as peacemakers under all circumstances
1914 18 July - Admiralty Grand Review of the First Fleet (223 ships)
1914 19 July - Austro-Hungarian Ministerial Council meets and approves ultimatum to be handed over on 23 July; course of action planned
1914 19 July - Jagow plants article in Norddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung advocating localisation of Austro-Serb conflict
1914 20 July - Poincaré and Viviania arrive in St Peterburg
1914 20 July - Churchill orders First Fleet not to disperse
1914 21 July - Franz Josef approves ultimatum at Bad Ischl; text of ultimatum sent to Berlin
1914 21 July - Cambon asks Jagow if he knows anything of the Austrian notes contents
1914 21 July - Sazonov tells Austrian Ambassador that Russia will try to persuade Serbs to make reasonable amends
1914 21 July - George V summons all parties to a conference at Buckingham Palace to discus the Irish situation; Grey reports to Cabinet and discussion of European situation follows
1914 23 July - Austria delivers ulitmatum to Serbia at 6 PM; limited Austrian mobilisation at Temesvar and Austrian fleet gathers at Semlin
1914 23 July - Poincaré and Viviani leave St. Petersburg for state visit to Oslo and Copenhagen
1914 23 July - Lloyd George tells House of Commons that relations with Germany were better than they have been for years
1914 24 July - Asquith writes a friend that he expected a war between Austria and Germany on one side, and France and Russia on the other ( "a real Armageddon") and hopes Britain can remain out of it
1914 24 July - Austria-Hungary informs France, Russia, and Britain of ultimatum at 9 AM; Grey informed at 2 PM
1914 24 July - Grey informs Cabinet of contents of ultimatum and proposes to mediate among the powers
1914 24 July - German ambassadors transmit note in Paris, London, and St Petersburg that conflict be localised
1914 24 July - Paul Cambon proposes conference and announces support of Russia in case of Russians at war with Austria
1914 24 July - Delbrück meets Reich and Prussian authorities
1914 24 July - Russian Council of Ministers considers partial mobilisation and asks Austria to extend the time for the ultimatum to Serbia; Sazanov says Serbia would become a protectorate of the Central Powers, loss of Russia's historic mission, and loss of prestige of Russia in Balkans
1914 24 July - Churchill sends Fleet advisory notice of crisis, but not a full alert
1914 24 July - Italian Government takes conciliatory stance towards crisis and attempts to maintain interests in Balkans and Adriatic without war
1914 25 July - Serbian Parliament meets in special session and sends reply to ultimatum
1914 25 July - King Peter of Serbia moves capital from Belgrade to Kraguyavatz
1914 25 July - Vienna breaks off diplomatic relations with Belgrade and Serbian envoy dismissed
1914 25 July - Austro-Hungarian Government declares martial law and war measures begun
1914 25 July - Moltke and Falkenhayn return to Berlin; Wilhelm II leaves Norway to return to Berlin
1914 25 July - Wilhelm II orders return of Fleet
1914 25 July - French Ministerial Council urges immediate return of Poincaré and Vivianni
1914 25 July - Paris and Berlin crowds demonstrate in favor of war
1914 25 July - Grey again proposes mediation
1914 25 July - Jagow forwards Grey's proposal to Vienna
1914 25 July - Russian Crown Council meets with Tsar and approves resolutions of Ministerial Council; Tsar orders preparations for mobilisation
1914 25 July - Italian Government shows no interest in supporting Austria
1914 26 July - Royal Navy holds test mobilisation for one day and plans to disperse next morning (27th)
1914 26 July - Serbian army begins mobilizing and panic in Belgrade
1914 26 July - Russians begin preparatory measure for war (not mobilisation)
1914 26 July - Russia asks Germany to exert moderating influence on Austria-Hungary; Germans try to localise war
1914 26 July - Grey proposes Four-Power conference of Ambassadors in London
1914 26 July - Austria mobilises on Russian frontier
1914 26 July - Austrian reservist in U.S. are warned to return for service; some Serbs in New York make ready to return home
1914 26 July - Emergency meeting of French Cabinet
1914 26 July - France takes precautionary military measures and French fleet order to prepare; French officers and men excused for harvesting recalled to their units
1914 26 July - Italy masses its fleet
1914 26 July - Belgium increases its army to enforce neutrality
1914 27 July - Wilhelm II returns to Potsdam/ Berlin
1914 27 July - France accepts Grey's proposals of mediation while telling Russians the French army would fully stand by Russia militarily
1914 27 July - French units in Morocco ordered to France
1914 27 July - Bethmann-Hollweg rejects idea of Four Power conference
1914 27 July - (AM) Churchill orders Royal Navy to be kept together and not disperse as planned and later informs Grey of his action
1914 27 July - Poincaré cancels visit to Copenhagen and Oslo and starts to return home
1914 27 July - Anti-war demonstrations in Paris
1914 28 July - Churchill orders fleet to sail to its war base at Scapa Flow
1914 28 July - Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia; Austrian reservists in U.S. are ordered to return to Austria
1914 28 July - King Peter of Serbia goes to Nish
1914 28 July - Prince Henry of Prussia reports to Wilhem II on his conversations with George V
1914 28 July - Wilhelm issues 'Halt-in-Belgrade' appeal shortly after seeing the Serb reply to the Austrian ultimatum
1914 28 July - Wilhelm II appeals to Tsar's monarchial solidarity; crosses the Tsar's telegram to him
1914 28 July - Russia orders mobilisation of four western military districts and Black Sea coastline black-out
1914 28 July - Grey hopes that Austria-Hungary and Russia can be brought to negotiate
1914 28 July - Bethmann-Hollweg meets Südekem (S.P.D.)
1914 28 July - French General Staff informs Russian military attache in Paris that French Army is fully ready and active to do her duty as an ally of Russia
1914 28 July - French Army moves to the frontier areas
1914 28 July - French Socialists demonstrate against war; German Socialist anti-war rallies
1914 28 July - Italian Government orders concentration of 1st and 2nd naval squadrons at Gaeta and Italian vessels ordered home
1914 29 July - Churchill persuades Asquith to authorise "Warning Telegram" to fleet
1914 29 July - Nicholas II telegrams Kaiser, start of "Willy-Nicky" telegrams in English over next three days
1914 29 July - Vienna refuses to negotiate with Serbia, Belgrade shelled by Austrian artillery
1914 29 July - Franz Josef sends letter to Tsar Nicholas
1914 29 July - Austrian forces repulsed at Losnitza
1914 29 July - Montenegrins occupy Cattaro
1914 29 July - Serbs blow up bridges at Semlin
1914 29 July - Belgian army reserves called up
1914 29 July - Trade in Antwerp "paralysed"
1914 29 July - Tschirischky transmits Kaiser's 'Halt-in-Belgrade" proposal
1914 29 July - Poincaré and Vivianni return to Paris and hold Cabinet council meeting
1914 29 July - Business in Paris almost at standstill
1914 29 July - Kaiser holds military councils and issues German warnings to Russia
1914 29 July - Moltke sends a memorandum to Chancellor and demands general mobilisation of German Armed forces; Moltke also send telegram to Conrad suggesting Austria begin full mobilisation and Germany would follow
1914 29 July - Bethmann-Hollweg makes moves to keep Britain neutral; final draft of ultimatum to Belgian Government sent to German ambassador in Brussels
1914 29 July - Grey informs Lichnowsky (German Ambassador) that Britain could not remain neutral in the event of a continental war; proposes mediation
1914 29 July - Grey and Cabinet begin meeting daily, sometimes twice or more a day over next several days; following this meeting "Warning Telegram" sent to all British naval, military and colonial stations warning that war was possible
1914 29 July - (and 30th) R.N. leaves Portsmouth
1914 29 July - British and German fleets in Far East begin mobilizing
1914 29 July - King of Montenegro's yacht evades capture by Austrian destroyers
1914 29 July - Russian general mobilisation ordered, but revoked by Tsar later that same evening; Russian hopes for Serb victory; Russians black-out Baltic coastline
1914 29 July - Kaiser holds Crown Council at Potsdam over possibility of British involvement over France
1914 30 July - Bethmann-Hollweg unsuccessfully tries to reverse German policy
1914 30 July - Belgian forts provisioned and Belgian Government forbids export of horses or vehicles
1914 30 July - Holland declares neutrality
1914 30 July - Austria-Hungary agrees to negotiations with Russia but refuses to delay operations against Serbia
1914 30 July - Austria expels newspaper correspondents from Semlin
1914 30 July - Moltke presses for general mobilisation
1914 30 July - Berliner Lokalanzeiger announces German mobilisation but issue is withdrawn; official denial
1914 30 July - Prussian State Ministry meets at Potsdam
1914 30 July - Austria-Hungary orders general mobilisation including men up to 50 years old
1914 30 July - Russian general mobilisation ordered for 31 July; Russian Government takes control of railways
1914 30 July - Unionist papers in England call for Britain to go to war against Germany if France attacked
1914 30 July - Halifax garrison in Canada begins preparations
1914 30 July - French troops guard railways; French Army withdraws 10 kilometers along entire border with Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany; Germans covering troops along border. In Paris, nothing yet known of Austrian and Russian mobilisation.
1914 30 July - Guiseppe Garibaldi says he will fight for Serbia if Italy remains neutral
1914 31 July - Vienna rejects international conference and orders general mobilisation
1914 31 July - Austrian Government assures Italy Government that more territory is not wanted
1914 31 July - Russian general mobilisation becomes known in Berlin at noon
1914 31 July - Russian Council of Ministers meet at Peterhof and Government does not reply to German note
1914 31 July - Russian reserves called up
1914 31 July - Russians blow up railway bridge on Vienna-Warsaw line
1914 31 July - Serbs halt Austrians at Semendria and on Bosnia frontier
1914 31 July - 10 AM: London Stock Exchange closes in a wave of financial panic (Monday a Bank Holiday) started in New York
1914 31 July - Reichstag summoned
1914 31 July - Kaiser proclaims 'state of imminent war' at 1 PM (one hour after Russian mobilisation learned of); martial law declared and Kaiser makes speeches
1914 31 July - Crown Prince Wilhelm assigned military command
1914 31 July - Germany refuses to mediate and issues ultimatum to Russia to halt demobilisation within 24 hours
1914 31 July - Germans send ultimatum to Paris demanding to know if France will stay neutral and if so, to hand over forts at Toul and Verdun; given 18 hours to reply
1914 31 July - French Government prepares to refuse German ultimatum; Paul Cambon goes to see Grey for British commitment
1914 31 July - Churchill orders confiscation of Turkish ships Sultan Osman and Reshadieh cancelling delivery
1914 31 July - French socialist leader Jean Jaurès assassinated in Paris
1914 31 July - French Ministerial Council decides to order mobilisation for 1 August
1914 31 July - Grey asks French and German Governments if they will respect Belgian neutrality; France agrees, Germans evasive; British Cabinet close to abandoning France; Tory leaders be called to London to confer on crisis
1914 31 July - French answer to German note about Russia
1914 31 July - French Government mobilises steamship La France for Government service
1914 31 July - Belgian Army mobilises
1914 31 July - Dutch Army ordered to mobilise
1914 31 July - Belgian State Railway schedule of trains into Germany suspended
1914 31 July - Italian Council of Ministers votes to remain neutral
1914 1 August - 2AM Izvolsky (Russian Ambassador) awakens Poincaré, who had retired for the night, and asks what France plans to do
1914 1 August - (morning) Governor of Bank of England visits Lloyd George to tell him that Bank was opposed to British intervention; Asquith gets similar messages from others in financial community
1914 1 August - French Army ordered to begin mobilisation at 3:40 PM; French Government says it will respect Belgian neutrality
1914 1 August - Cambon asks Grey if Britain will intervene and asks if "honor" was erased from the British dictionary
1914 1 August - Delcassé becomes War Minister in France
1914 1 August - German Ambassador prepares to leave Paris and American Ambassador and Council will look after German affairs there
1914 1 August - War rallies in Vienna and pressure on Austrian Government to keep war localised and to negotiate with Russia
1914 1 August - German ultimatum to Russia expires at noon; Germany declares war on Russia at 12:52 PM and begins mobilisation at 5 PM when announcement made to crowd at Imperial palace gates
1914 1 August - German ultimatum to France expires at 1 PM
1914 1 August - (ca 7 PM) Kaiser orders troops planning to invade Luxemburg to halt and tells Molke that it may be possible to prevent war with France and Moltke says that once mobilisation began stopping war with France was no longer possible
1914 1 August - Reichstag convened
1914 ! August - German reservists in China begin concentrating at Tsing-tau; German officals in South Africa begin returning home
1914 1 August - Russian forces fire on German patrol near Prostken
1914 1 August - Continued hopes in Berlin that Britain might stay neutral
1914 1 August - Belgian Government buys the entire wheat supply on market in Antwerp
1914 1 August - Special meeting of British Cabinet (night session); Churchill asks to mobilise the fleet and call up reserves and is turned down; Grey asks to use fleet to support French in event of Germans in Channel (as promised to French); Lloyd Geroge not in favor of war; on leaving the meeting, Grey tells Churchill he will honor pledge to Cambon and close the Channel with the Royal Navy
1914 1 August - King George appeals to the Tsar for peace
1914 1 August - London Times denunciation of Germany
1914 1 August - Canadian Cabinet meets and agrees to send its offer of Canadian troops to England
1914 1 August - Italian Government tells Germany that Triple Alliance agreement only applied to a defensive war
1914 1 August - Japanese navy prepares for war
1914 2 August - German troops occupy Luxembourg
1914 2 August - Ambassador Cambon blames Germany for cause of conflict
1914 2 August - French Government declares a state of siege in France and Algiers
1914 2 August - French Socialists display patriotism in support of war
1914 2 August - French cut railway communications with Germany and Belgium
1914 2 August - Russian Ambassador in Berlin given passport
1914 2 August - (afternoon) Tsar formally declares war on Germany
1914 2 August - Russians cross German frontier and seize railroad station
1914 2 August - fighting between Russian and German cruisers near Libau; German ships at sea ordered to seek neutral ports
1914 2 August - Germans in Kiao-Chau declare martial law
1914 2 August - German High Seas Fleet captures Wilson Liner Castro and a collier
1914 2 August - Montenegrin King signs mobilisation order
1914 2 August - Austrian military cadets commissioned
1914 2 August - Germans and French recall all military reserves at home and abroad
1914 2 August - Two British Cabinet meetings (11AM-2PM and 6:30 PM-8PM); during second meeting Cabinet agrees that if Belgium invaded Britain would declare war
1914 2 August - Trafalgar Square anti-war demonstration evaporates and pro-war sentiments spread in Britain
1914 2 August - German ambassador in Brussels delivers ultimatum to Belgian Government at 8 PM; 12 hour period to reply
1914 2 August - Belgian King holds Council of State at 9 PM-midnight to discuss ultimatum
1914 2 August - Invasion fears in Holland result in plans to flood the country to prevent it
1914 2 August - Belgian guards posted at bridges at Liege and Namur and Belgian "civic guard" called out
1914 2 August - Kitchener orders military censorship for British papers
1914 2 August - Canadian volunteers enlisting for possible war
1914 2 August - Canadian Royal Naval reserve called up
1914 2 August - Italian Cabinet ratifies neutrality declaration but troops called to colors as precautionary measure
1914 2 August - Japanese Emperor summons Council and asks for report on army; Japanese navy warships readied
1914 3 August - 2:30 AM Belgian Council of State re-convenes to approve reply to German ultimatum, over at 4:00 AM; reply given at 7 AM
1914 3 August - Bank Holiday in England; crowds in Whitehall
1914 3 August - British Cabinet meets at 11AM (still unaware of Belgium's plans to refuse ultimatum) and learns of Belgian reply during session; King Albert sends George V telegram asking for Britain to back its treaty obligations towards Belgium; Cabinet sanctions mobilisation of Fleet and Army but no decision to send British Expeditionary Force to France yet; Grey says Britain will keep the German Navy out of the Channel
1914 3 August - Haldane sending out mobilisation telegrams calling up Reservists and Territorials
1914 3 August - Dense crowds in Whitehall in support of war
1914 3 August - Italy declares neutrality
1914 3 August - Germans seize three towns in Russian Poland
1914 3 August - Tsar calls Russians to war and issues paper on causes of war
1914 3 August - Austrians and Serbs fighting along the Drona River
1914 3 August - Germany declares war on France and German Ambassador leaves Paris; French Ambassador leaves Berlin
1914 3 August - American Ambassador in Moscow will look after German interests in Russia and Eastern Europe
1914 3 August - Belgium rejects German demands
1914 3 August - German-Turkish Treaty concluded
1914 3 August - German Ambassador sees Grey and asks about British intentions and decisions regarding the war
1914 3 August - Grey addresses House of Commons (ca. 3 PM) and debate follows with dinner break; German ultimatum to Belgium becomes known; Redmond promises Irish support
1914 3 August - British ultimatum contemplated being sent to Germany regarding Belgian neutrality
1914 3 August - German declaration of war on France (ca. 5:30 PM)
1914 3 August - Canadian ports of Quebec and Montreal put in charge of military authorities
1914 3 August - Canadian militia called up and reserves prepared to sail for England
1914 4 August - Serbs ban the sending of press dispatches
1914 4 August - German ambassador in Brussel delivers German response to Belgian reply at 6 AM
1914 4 August - 8:02 AM Germans invade Belgium
1914 4 August - 9 AM King Alfred meets with Belgian parliament
1914 4 August - German troops cross French border near Mars-La-Tour and Moineville
1914 4 August - Joffre leaves for the frontier
1914 4 August - Riots in Paris
1914 4 August - Noon. King Alfred appeals to Britain and France for military support regarding Belgian neutrality
1914 4 August - British Cabinet meets at 11 AM after hearing of Belgian invasion and issues ultimatum to expire at midnight
1914 4 August - Whitehall filled with crowds in support of British intervention in war
1914 4 August - British ulitmatum transmitted to Berlin and British Ambassador prepares to leave Berlin
1914 4 August - German Government appeals to Italians to honor treaty go unheeded
1914 4 August - Reichstag opens; speech by Kaiser (morning), stops for church services, reconvenes for German Chancellor speech (3 PM); Reichstag support of war and votes for war credits then adjourns (Socialists agree to set differences aside and vote in support).
1914 4 August - (circa 2 PM and concurrent with Bethmann-Hollweg in Reichstag) Asquith announces to House of Commons that he has a message from King (Mobilisation Proclamation) and reads terms of British ultimatum to Germany.
1914 4 August - 7 PM British ultimatum (two parts) becomes known in Berlin; British Ambassador presents it to Bethmann-Hollweg
1914 4 August - circa 9 PM, British intercept German message from Berlin that Germany considers itself at war with Britain the moment the British Ambassador asked for his passport (during delivery of British ultimatum)
1914 4 August - Japanese Government proclamation preparing country for war on behalf of England (war on 23 Aug)
1914 4 August - Canadian Cabinet meeting and mobilsation of Canadian Expeditionary Force begins; reservists sail
1914 4 August - Message of appreciation sent to Canada by King George
1914 4 August - Rival warship off Port of New York; Foreign consulates in U.S. busy with returning nationals
1914 6 August - Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia

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Created: Saturday, August 02, 1997, 10:50:18 AM Last Updated: 28 March 2015