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The Weltkrieg, also known as the Great War or the World War, was a major global conflict centered in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 12 August 1919 (5 years, 15 days), although the state of war with Japan in the Pacific did not officially conclude until two years later (6 November 1921), despite no continued open hostilities. It involved all of the world's Great Powers, as well as their respective colonial empires, assembled into two opposing alliances: the Quintuple Entente (Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Japan) plus associated minor nations, and the Central Powers. More than 71 million military personnel, including 61 million Europeans, were mobilised in a war that ultimately cost the lives of over 10 million combatants and 5 million civilians; it was the single deadliest conflict in human history.

Tensions between the great powers came to a head in the Balkans on 28 June 1914 following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand I, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb nationalist. Austria-Hungary accused the Serbian government of orchestrating the murder, and the complex web of alliances involved the powers in a series of diplomatic and military escalations that, by 4 August, had plunged the continent of Europe into war.

Facing a war on two fronts, Germany hoped to achieve a knockout blow against France before turning its forces east towards Russia in a strategy known as the Schlieffen plan. The strategy failed when the German advance was halted by French forces at the First Battle of the Marne in September 1914, and by the end of the year fighting had stagnated along a 700 kilometer line stretching from Switzerland to the English Channel that remained unchanged until early 1918. In the East, however, the front line was far more fluid, with Germany and Austria-Hungary gaining vast amounts of territory. Other significant theatres of the war included the Middle East, the Alpine Front, and the Balkans, involving the Ottoman Empire, Italy, Bulgaria, Romania, and Greece, respectively.

The war on the Eastern Front was brought to an end in 1918, after the Bolsheviks had seized power in Russia during the 1917 October Revolution, exiting the war via the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March, followed shortly by Romania with the Treaty of Bucharest in May. Hoping to win a decisive victory in the west after the cession of hostilities in the east, the Germans launched a large-scale Spring Offensive in March 1918 that continued on until summer; despite massive advances, a final breakthrough was not achieved. By fall 1918, both the Central Powers and the Entente were massively exhausted, with widespread strikes in France and a failed attempt at revolution in Germany. The following year in early March, the Germans launched another major offensive in the west - while it bogged down quickly, painfully revealing Germany's dwindling strength to the world, it would be the Allies who folded first after a disastrous counter-offensive attempt at Saint-Mihiel in July, which triggered the Allied Armistice Crisis of 1919.

The Entente powers consequently began to internally collapse as riots, strikes, and mutinies broke out primarily across France and Italy. The Italians signed an armistice with the Central Powers in Venice on 5 August, followed shortly by the remaining Entente powers in Chantilly on 12 August. The war in Europe was officially concluded with the Treaty of Versailles on 6 November 1919; however, Japan refused to sign the treaty and the war in East Asia officially continued until the signing of the Tsingtao Accord in November 1921.

The war massively altered the balance of power in Europe and radically challenged previously accepted principles underlying government, law, and international relations. The German Empire emerged as the dominant power on the continent of Europe, and after the fall of the British Empire in 1925, the dominant power in the world. The military alliance of the Reichspakt and the economic union of Mitteleuropa were created in the aftermath of the war to cement Germany’s status as a world power. The collapse of the Entente powers into revolution and civil war in the years that followed the Weltkrieg would lead directly to the rise of syndicalism as a political force both in Europe and around the globe.

Background and Prelude

European Realignment

During the 19th century, the great powers of Europe worked in concert with each other to maintain the balance of power on the continent. Following Prussian victory in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck consolidated the various German states into a united Empire under Prussian dominance and proceeded to negotiate the League of the Three Emperors with Austria-Hungary and Russia in order to isolate France and avoid a two-front war. However, the League dissolved following Russian victory in the 1877-78 Russo-Turkish War due to Austrian concerns over Russian influence in the Balkans, which led Germany and Austria-Hungary to form the Dual Alliance in 1879 (expanded to include Italy as the Triple Alliance in 1882). Bismarck still viewed peace with Russia as foundational to German foreign policy, and therefore renewed the alliance with Russia in 1881 to prevent Russia moving closer towards Britain and especially France.

After the agreement lapsed in 1887, Bismarck secretly negotiated the Reinsurance Treaty with Russia, which would ensure both parties would remain neutral if either were attacked by France or Austria-Hungary. But in 1888 Wilhelm II ascended the German throne and forced Bismarck to retire two years later, after which he declined to renew the Reinsurance Treaty in favor of the Triple Alliance. In response, France began a political rapprochement with Russia and signed the Franco-Russian Alliance in 1894. This was followed in 1904 by the Entente Cordiale agreements with Great Britain, bringing the British out of their foreign-political strategy of “splendid isolation” that they had pursued for most of the nineteenth century. The Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 ended long-standing disagreements between Great Britain and Russia in Central Asia, leading to the formation of the Triple Entente. At that point, two almost equally strong power blocs competed with each other on the continent and in the periphery, and especially the erratic behaviour of Berlin was bound to create tensions between the two alliances.

Naval Arms Race

Britain had been the preeminent naval power in the world for most of the nineteenth century, and the Royal Navy played a key role in the establishment and defense of the British Empire. Upon Wilhelm II’s ascension to the German throne, he began a project of developing the Imperial German Navy, or Kaiserliche Marine, to rival the Royal Navy for world naval supremacy. He appointed Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz as Secretary of State of the German Naval Office in 1897, and together they championed five Fleet Acts in 1898, 1900, 1906, 1908 and 1912 that greatly expanded the German High Seas Fleet. The British responded with the launch of the HMS Dreadnought in 1906, a new class of battleship, and passed bills for the construction of additional dreadnoughts. The arms race between Britain and Germany eventually extended to the rest of Europe, as all the other major powers devoted their industry to the production of the equipment and weaponry necessary for a pan-European conflict; between 1908 and 1913, the military spending of the major European powers increased by fifty percent.

Conflict in the Balkans

The years immediately before the war were marked by a series of crises in the Balkans as the other powers attempted to benefit from the decline of the Ottoman Empire. In 1908 Austria-Hungary annexed the former Ottoman territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the same time Bulgaria officially declared its full independence from the Ottoman Empire, sparking protests from both the Great Powers as well as Serbia and Montenegro. After the 1911-12 Italo-Turkish War further demonstrated Ottoman weakness, the nations of Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, and Bulgaria formed the Balkan League and defeated the Ottomans in the First Balkan War, to the shock of the Great Powers. While the 1913 Treaty of London enlarged the Balkan nations’ territories and created the independent nation of Albania, disputes between the victors led to the Second Balkan War after Bulgaria attacked its former allies Serbia and Greece. Bulgaria was ultimately defeated in the conflict, losing most of Macedonia to Serbia and Greece, and Southern Dobruja to Romania. The resulting complex mix of nationalism, militarism, and irredentism led many outside observers to dub the Balkans “the powder-keg of Europe”.

Hith-assassination-of-archduke-franz-ferdinand-E

Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife are assassinated in Sarajevo

Assassination of Franz Ferdinand and July Crisis

On 28 June 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir presumptive of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, visited the town of Sarajevo, capital of the recently annexed province of Bosnia and Herzegovina, along with his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg. While being driven through Sarajevo in his motorcade, the Archduke and his wife were shot and killed by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian-Serb nationalist and member of Young Bosnia, a student revolutionary group that had received arms and training from the Serbian Black Hand organization. The assassination set off the July Crisis, a series of diplomatic and military escalations between the Great Powers of Europe in the month before the outbreak of war.

After receiving a “blank cheque” of support from their German allies, Austria-Hungary delivered a harsh ten-point ultimatum to Serbia on 23 July which led Russia to begin a partial mobilization in support of Serbia. Emboldened by the support of Russia, which was in turn supported by France, Serbia acceded to only eight of the ten demands, which Austria-Hungary claimed amounted to a wholesale rejection of the ultimatum and subsequently declared war on 28 July. Russia ordered a general mobilization on 30 July, and the following day Germany delivered an ultimatum to both France and Russia while beginning mobilization. After the expiration of the ultimatum, Germany declared war on Russia on 1 August and on France on 3 August. The following day Germany invaded Belgium after being refused unimpeded passage, and after the British ultimatum to Germany to respect Belgian neutrality was refused Britain declared war on Germany.

Course of the War

Weltkrieg Map

Green: Allied Powers/Entente, Orange: Central Powers, Light Orange: Central Powers Co-Belligerents, Purple: Illegally Occupied by War Participants

1914

The first year of the war was initially characterised by the general mobilisation in all of the conflict's main powers, both in the East and the West: Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, and Russia. The German attempt to quickly invade France through neutral Belgium with the aim of capturing Paris before the Russians would be able to make their move in the East disastrously failed, and the Western Front turned into a stalemate until the end of the war. The illegal German invasion of Belgium brought the United Kingdom, Belgium's protector, into the conflict not long after. Meanwhile in the East, the strategy of the Central Powers suffered from miscommunication, resulting in their failure to prevent the Russian incursion into East Prussia and Galicia, as well as the inability to subdue Serbia before the end of the year. The Japanese declaration of war resulted in the occupation of all German possessions in Asia and the Pacific, while the Ottoman entry on the Central Powers' side brought the war to the deltas of Mesopotamia. The unexpected invasion of Germany's African possessions by French, Belgian, and British colonial forces severely angered Berlin, as the civilisation mission in Africa had always been perceived as a common European task.

Date Event Location Description Picture
28 July 1914 First Invasion of Serbia Balkans Front A month after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, Vienna and Budapest initiate retaliatory measures against the Kingdom of Serbia and launch a full-fledged invasion of the country. However, due to the adept defence of the Serbs, the offensive soon turns into a stalemate. Over the next two weeks Austrian attacks are thrown back with heavy losses, marking the first major Allied victory of the war while dashing Austro-Hungarian hopes of a swift victory.
Sebien muss Sterbien
4 August 1914 German Invasion of Belgium Western Front Germany, keen on capturing Paris in order to knock France out of the war as fast as possible, executes the Schlieffen Plan by invading Belgium in an effort to bypass the Séré de Rivières fortification system along the German-French border. However, due to the 1839 Treaty of London guaranteeing Belgian neutrality, Great Britain intervenes and is brought onto the Allied side. The Royal Navy begins its naval blockade of Germany, leading to major food and material shortages later on.
Germans in belgium
17 August 1914 Russian Invasion of East Prussia Eastern Front The Russians launch an unexpected offensive deep into East Prussian, catching the Germans by surprise. Gumbinnen, Lötzen, Insterburg and many villages are pillaged and set aflame, with the local population subject to atrocities. However, at the Battles of Tannenberg and of the Masurian lakes two weeks later, the Germans win decisive victories and almost destroy the Russian First Army. The architects of these victories, Generaloberst von Hindenburg and Generalmajor Ludendorff, would go on to play key roles in the final German victory.
German School - The Battle of Tannenberg 24th August 1914 - (MeisterDrucke-432338)
23 August 1914 Japanese Declaration of War Asian and Pacific Front Honoring the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, the Empire of Japan joins the war on the Allied side. By the end of the year, all of the German colonial possessions in Asia and the Pacific; i.e. Kiautschou on the Shandong peninsula, German Samoa and German New Guinea; are under either Japanese or British occupation.
Tsingtao battle lithograph 1914
3 September 1914 Collapse of State Authority in Albania Balkans Front When Wilhelm zu Wied, elected Prince of Albania since spring, leaves the country after muslim peasant rebels capture the capital of Durrës, the Principality of Albania completely collapses into anarchy. The International Gendarmerie is withdrawn, and soon after, Albania becomes the plaything of its neighbors: The Greek advance into Northern Epirus, the Italians occupy Vlorë & Sazan Island and the Serbians sign a secret pact with the Albanian military officer Essad Pasha Toptani to expand their influence in Albania.
Luftetare nga Veriu kunder Haxhi Qamilit
11 September 1914 Russian Invasion of Galicia Eastern Front The Russians secure a victory against the Austrians, successfully establishing themselves in Eastern Galicia after capturing the city of Lemberg. Nonetheless, the Austrian garrison at Przemyśl would hold out until early 1915, and the Germans advance into Russian Poland and capture of the city of Łódź prevents the planned Russian offensive towards Silesia and Posen.
EasternFront1914a
12 September 1914 Failure of the Schlieffen Plan Western Front A French victory at the First Battle of the Marne halts the German advance to Paris around 100 kilometres east of the capital, despite initial successes in Lorraine and the Ardennes in August. Simultaneously, a series of outflanking attempts in northern France and northwestern Belgium, known as the Race to the Sea, ends with the indecisive First Battle of Ypres. A French incursion into Southern Alsace ends inconclusive. By October, the mobile warfare phase of the Western Front has ended, and five years of trench warfare begin.
Schlieffen-plan
9 October 1914 Maritz Rebellion African Theatre In South Africa, pro-German Boers under the leadership of Manie Maritz launch an armed insurrection against their British overlords known as the "Maritz Rebellion" in an effort to reestablish the South African Republic. Upon entering German South Africa in September, they had signed a secret agreement with the Germans instead of assisting the British South African force in the Battle of Sandfontein. When the uprising is crushed in early 1915, Maritz escapes to Europe.
Maritz-rebellion
29 October 1914 Ottoman Declaration of War Middle Eastern Front The Ottoman Empire, thanks to its long-standing ties to Germany, joins the war on the side of the Central Powers after opening fire on the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol. In August, Constantinople had signed a secret alliance with Germany against Russia and had allowed German war ships illegal passage through the Dardanelles during the pursuit of Goeben and Breslau. Soon after, British Indian forces land at Basra in Mesopotamia, while Russian forces begin to clash with the Turks in the Caucasus.
Ottomanentryww1
6 November 1914 Start of the Mesopotamian Campaign Middle Eastern Front Fearful for their oil facilities in Khuzestan, Persia, the British cross the Shatt al-Arab and launch amphibious landings near Basra in Ottoman Mesopotamia, from which they would gradually advance northwards throughout the subsequent months.
Basraoperations
15 December 1914 Austrian Invasion of Serbia Halted Balkans Front With the Battle of Kolubara ending in a Serbian victory, following the Battle of Cer and the Battle of Drina in late summer and autumn, the Austrian invasion of Serbia comes to a halt for the rest of 1914 and the front would remain largely stagnant until autumn 1915. After the disaster in Galicia, it is yet another major humiliation for the Austro-Hungarian high command.
Vojska Ada Ciganlija

1915

After the Germans adopted a rather defensive stance on the western front, they succeeded in reversing the offensive in the east. Russia withdraws from German territories and eventually also from Poland, Lithuania and Courland. Simultaneously, Berlin decides for a non-compromising policy of unrestricted submarine warfare to bring down the United Kingdom's naval blockade, but their policy soon stokes global tension, especially with the United States of America. Apart from the submarines, new experimental weapons like poison gas found usage on an enormous scale. The Ottomans are put under enormous pressure from two sides as the British launch a failed invasion attempt at Gallipoli, while the Russians advance into Anatolia. Dynamics change massively in Southern and Southeastern Europe with the entry of Italy and Bulgaria into the war; Serbia is finally occupied late in the year, and the Italian declaration of war opens a new front in the Austrian Alps.

Date Event Location Description Picture
18 January 1915 Twenty-One Demands Asian Theatre The Japanese set before the Chinese government the so-called Twenty-One Demands, which would effectively turn China into a Japanese protectorate, violating the unwritten "Open-Door Policy" upheld by the United States of America. President Yuan Shikai eventually accepts - a very unpopular move, which, together with his attempt to crown himself the new emperor later that year, would lead to the National Protection War and his eventual downfall.
Twenty-One Demands
7 February 1915 Winter Offensives in the East Eastern Front The Germans and Austrians launch offensives in Masuria and the Carpathians. While the Austrians fail to recapture Galicia, they manage to prevent further Russian advances toward Hungary, and the Germans are able to march deep into Poland again and expel most of the remaining Russian forces from German territory. This victory is another success for the Hindenburg/Ludendorff partnership.
Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes
15 February 1915 Singapore Mutiny Asian Theatre In Singapore, 850 Muslim soldiers of the British Indian 5th Light Infantry regiment mutiny against their British superiors as they are about to embark for Hong Kong, acting under the misapprehension that they would be shipped to the Middle East and made to fight against Ottoman Empire. The mutiny is only suppressed after French, Russian and Japanese ships arrive with reinforcements. The Singapore Mutiny is the largest of similar events that occur throughout January and February all over British South & Southeast Asia. Some would come to believe that the revolts were orchestrated by the Germans and carried out by the Berlin Committee and the Ghadar Movement.
Singapore Mutiny
17 February 1915 Beginning of the Gallipoli Campaign Middle Eastern Front In an ill-fated effort to knock the Ottomans out of the war, Allied troops land near Gallipoli in February, hoping to gain control of the Dardanelles. The Gallipoli Campaign would evolve into a disaster and Allies forced to withdraw at the year's end. The catastrophe at Gallipoli would heavily taint the reputation of British First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, but would also see the rise of a young and charismatic Turkish military leader, Mustafa Kemal Pasha.
Galipolli1
22 February 1915 German Campaign of Unrestricted Submarine Warfare North Sea With the goal of pressuring the British to end their naval blockade, Germany officially launches a campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare to strangle the British navy without directly engaging them with the High Seas Fleet; prior attempts to do the latter had resulted in failures, much to the dismay of State Secretary of the Navy Alfred von Tirpitz. While the submarine campaign turns out to be a tremendous success for the Germans, the fact that many neutral vessels fall victim to German torpedoes soon causes major tensions. After the sinking of the RMS Lusitania and the SS Arabic, which causes the death of several American citizens, Berlin gives in to American pressure and puts a halt to the unrestricted submarine campaign, instead introducing restricted submarine warfare in accordance with the prize law, a move that is protested by Tirpitz and German right-wing circles.
Lusitania
22 April 1915 Second Battle of Ypres Western Front On the Western Front, the lines remain static, but the fighting increases in brutality, with chlorine gas being first used during the Second Battle of Ypres on the 22nd of April. Allied offensives in Champagne and Artois later that year end indecisively or in German victories.
GasYpres
24 April 1915 Beginning of the Armenian Genocide Caucasus Front After Armenian rebels in the eastern Anatolian city of Van fraternize with Russian soldiers and actively resist approaching Turkish forces, the Young Turk government in Constantinople brands Armenians officially as traitors to the nation. Hundreds of Armenians intellectuals are arrested and detained, an event known as the "Red Sunday"; five days later, the Tehcir Law is passed, authorizing the deportation of the Ottoman Empire's Armenian population. 600,000 to one-and-half million Armenians would perish in the next three years.
GenocideArmenia
23 May 1915 Italian Declaration of War Alpine Front Italy joins the war on the Allied side despite its public defensive alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary, the Triple Alliance. In April, the Italians had signed a secret treaty with the Entente that had promised Italy far-reaching territorial concessions in Tyrol, on the Adriatic Coast, in Albania and in Africa. The fighting between Italy and Austria-Hungary along the Julian Alps quickly devolves trench warfare, culminating in over ten Battles of the Isonzo.
Domenica-del-Corriere-20-maggio-1915-italia-entra-in-guerra
13 July 1915 Great Russian Retreat Eastern Front After several pressing Austro-German offensives in Podlasie, along the Baltic coast and in Galicia throughout spring and summer, the Russians decide to launch the "Great Retreat", a strategic withdrawal deep into the Russian inland. On their way, they are pursued by German forces, who manage to capture all of Poland, Courland and Lithuania before the end of the year. It is yet another glorious victory for Hindenburg and Ludendorff, who soon after establish total military control over the occupied territories in the east, called "das Land Ober Ost".
Siegessonne im Osten
5 October 1915 Allied Landing at Salonica Balkans Front After rumours become loud that Bulgaria has entered into secret negotiations with Germany and that the Bulgarian armed forces are being mobilized for an offensive war, both the Serbians and the neutral Greeks call the French and British to help. Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos, despite concerns of the pro-German King Constantine, offers the Allies to station troops at Salonica as a potential Allied stronghold in case of Bulgarian aggression. The Allied troops arrive on 5th October and the Macedonian Front is officially opened shortly after, but Greece does not officially join the war yet as Venizelos is forced to resign a few days later.
Venizelos-konstantinos
14 October 1915 Bulgarian Declaration of War Balkans Front Bulgaria, which had been the target of diplomatic overtures by both the Allies and the Central Powers since the beginning of the war, joins the war on the side of the Central Powers after they are promised Vardar Macedonia plus the part of Old Serbia to the east of the Morava river and, in case Greece or Romania attack Bulgaria or its allies without provocation, the territories in Thrace and Dobruja lost in 1913, relieving the struggling Austrians in the Balkans.
Bulgaria ww1
17 November 1915 Volta-Bani War African Theatre In response to the enaction of conscription in French West Africa and continued brutal treatment by the colonial government, indigenous Africans launch an uprising in several small villages that soon spreads throughout western Upper Volta and much of French Sudan. Two suppression campaign organised by the French fail in the face of fierce opposition and superior tactics, but after about a year the government is able to defeat the insurgents and imprisons or executes their leaders.
Volta-Bani War
25 November 1915 Second Invasion and Occupation of Serbia Balkans Front After a new attempt to invade Serbia is launched following Bulgaria's entry into into the war, this time from all sides, Central Powers forces manage to capture most of Morava and Macedonia and crush the Serbian forces during the Battles of Morava, Ovche Pole and Kosovo. The remnants of the Serbian Army, trapped in no man's land, decide to retreat over the Albanian mountains to reach the Adriatic & evacuate to Allied-occupied Corfu. During this so-called Great Retreat, over 200,000 people die in the cold winter. Serbia falls under complete military occupation and Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire finally have a direct land connection to Austria-Hungary and Germany.
Serbian retreat through Albanian mountains, 1915
7 December 1915 Siege of Kut Middle Eastern Front After gradually advancing towards Baghdad throughout the year, the British invasion of Ottoman Mesopotamia is halted at Ctesiphon, forcing the remaining British troops to retreat to the fortress city of Kut, which soon finds itself under siege by the Turks. The British garrison would surrender in April 1916 and the the survivors are marched to imprisonment at Aleppo deep in the Syrian desert, leading to countless deaths.
SiegeofKut

1916

1916 began with both sides planning assaults: Germany aimed to grind French manpower down through a war of attrition, forcing them to defend the symbolic fortress of Verdun at horrific cost, while the Entente aimed to breakthrough on the Somme. Both operations ended indecisively, with an enormous cost of lives. The outbreak of the British-backed Arab Revolt pressured the struggling Ottomans on yet another front. In the East, the Russians tried to reverse their losses with the Brusilov Offensive, but ultimately failed, despite massively weakening the Austro-Hungarians, with rampant unrest being the consequence. At sea, the Battle of Jutland ended with no clear victory for neither London nor Berlin, and put the submarine warfare question - restricted due to the American diplomatic pressure for the time being - back on the table. On the Balkans, the balance briefly shifted in favour of the Allies again as Romania joined the war and a coup in Greece removed the pro-German monarch from power, but with the fall of Bucharest after mere weeks, Central Powers dominance remained mostly uncontested. 1916 also witnessed the fall of German Kamerun and German South West Africa, leaving Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck's forces in East Africa as the sole remaining German forces outside of Europe.

Date Event Location Description Picture
17 January 1916 Invasion of Montenegro Balkans Front After the fall of Serbia, Austro-Hungarian troops advance into the mountains of Montenegro. The royal family excluding Prince Mirko flees abroad, a military administration is instated in Cetinje, just like in neighboring Serbia. A guerilla war on the countryside would plague the occupied territory until the end of the war.
Kapitulation Montenegros
18 February 1916 Surrender of German Cameroon African Theatre After almost one and a half years, the German garrison at Mora in Cameroon surrenders to the French and British, and with it, all of German Cameroon falls in the hands of the enemy. Almost all German colonies now find themselves under Allied occupation; Togoland had already fallen in late 1914, Southwest Africa after the Battle of Otavi in July 1915. The only colony which is still mostly free from foreign occupation is German East Africa - it is here that under the leadership of Governor Heinrich Schnee and Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck the German forces play a game of cat and mouse with the Allies until the end of the war.
Vorbeck-Schnee
21 February 1916 Battle of Verdun Western Front The Germans launch the Battle of Verdun, a brainchild of Chief of the General Staff Erich von Falkenhayn, who believes that a breakthrough in the west might no longer be possible and that the French have to be "bled white" in a devastating battle which would inflict massive casualties. In reality however, all sides bleed equally in a battle which soon loses its military objective; the Battle of Verdun eventually turns into the longest and most deadly engagement of the war, and yet is not able to change the course of the Weltkrieg.
Verdun
9 March 1916 Portuguese Declaration of War Western Front, African Front Germany declares war on Portugal after Portuguese troops confiscate German ships interned in Portuguese ports on British pressure. The Portuguese Expeditionary Corps would serve on the Western Front until the end of the war, and the Portuguese colony of Mozambique would play a key role in the African theatre of war.
PortugalWW1
16 March 1916 Anglo-Egyptian Darfur Expedition African Theatre Britain and Egypt organize a joint military operation against the Sultanate of Darfur after Sultan Ali Danar renounces his allegiance to the Anglo-Egyptian government and declares for the Ottoman Empire. A force of around 20,000 men under the command of Lt. Colonel Philip James Vandeleur Kelly decisively defeats Darfur's forces at Beringia and occupy the capital; after the sultan is killed in action in November, Britain formally annexes Darfur into Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan camel soldier
24 March 1916 Sussex Incident North Sea The passenger ferry SS Sussex is torpedoed by the Germans in the English Channel after the reintroduction of the so-called "intensified submarine warfare campaign" earlier this year. Several American citizens are injured and President Wilson, on public pressure, declares that if Germany continues the practice, the United States would break diplomatic relations with Berlin. A few weeks later, Germany gives in and halts the campaign for the second time - once again with immense rightist backlash, spearheaded by the recently dismissed Alfred von Tirpitz.
Sussex
24 April 1916 Easter Rising Ireland Because of the delay of the implementation of Home Rule in Ireland due to the war, pro-independence Irish Volunteers plan to stage a national uprising with minor German material support. Dissent, indecision, and miscommunication among the revolutionaries, however, result in only a small group in Dublin taking up arms against the British - the insurrection is quickly crushed. Sixteen of the rebel leaders are immediately executed by a military tribunal in what proved to be a fateful decision, as it would strengthen Irish nationalism in the long-term.
Dublin-barricade-1916
16 May 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement Middle Eastern Front The Sykes–Picot Agreement, a secret treaty between France and Britain on an eventual future partition of the Ottoman Empire in case of an Allied victory, is signed. The agreement includes plans to establish British- and French-controlled spheres of influence in the levant and in Mesopotamia, both via direct annexations and via client states. In 1917, the Soviet leadership would leak the terms of the agreement to the public, greatly tarnishing the reputation of the Allied powers.
Sykes Picot Agreement Map signed 8 May 1916
31 May 1916 Battle of Jutland North Sea At sea, the Battle of Jutland, the largest naval engagement in human history, ends in a tactical German victory due to Britain suffering catastrophic losses, but in a strategic British victory, as the British naval blockade remains in place, the German High Seas Fleet is so damaged that it will remain in port until the end of the war, and the German submarine fleet cannot be expanded as planned anymore as most shipyards are preoccupied with repairing the giant dreadnoughts. The battle further proves to the German right that Britain cannot be defeated with the fleet, but only with extensive & unlimited submarine trade war to strike them directly at their heart.
Jutland
4 June 1916 Brusilov Offensive Eastern Front The Russians launch the Brusilov Offensive in an effort to reconquer the territories lost during the Great Retreat, especially Lemberg and Kovel, and support their French allies by exerting pressure on the Eastern Front, forcing Germany to divert forces from Verdun to the east. While very successful at first, the offensive doesn’t manage to either knock the Austro-Hungarians out of the war or drive Germany out of Russian Poland; instead, in the long-term, it only weakens the struggling Russians even further.
EasternFront1916b
10 June 1916 Arab Revolt Middle Eastern Front After the Young Turks find out about the Sharif of Mecca's secret ties to the British and his plan to start an armed uprising against Turkish rule, they publicly execute several leading Arab nationalists in Damascus to imitidate the old Sharif. This however leads to the immediate declaration of a general Arab revolt against the Ottomans: A deadly march of ten thousands of Arab warriors from the deserts of Hedjaz to the coast of Palestine begins over the course of the coming years.
Arab Revolt
1 July 1916 Battle of the Somme Western Front The British launch the Somme Offensive in Northeastern France to relieve their French allies and potentially give the Germans, who struggle at Verdun and in the East, the final blow. However, the battle ends indecisive and with high casualties on both sides. For the first time in history, tanks are used in military warfare.
Western front 1915-16
25 July 1916 Russian Invasion of Eastern Anatolia Caucasus Front The Russian advance into Anatolia, which has started in January under the lead of General Nikolai Yudenich culminates into the Battle of Erzincan: Russian forces manage to decisively defeat the approaching Ottoman forces and prevent a Turkish recapture of Trabzon, but after the battle, the Russians are so exhausted that the Anatolian Front remains stagnant until the October Revolution of 1917.
ErzincanBattle
27 August 1916 Romanian Declaration of War Balkans Front Romania tries to profit from Austrian setbacks and joins the war on the side of the Allies, hoping to gain control over Transylvania. However, despite initial success, German assistance would lead to a quick collapse of Romania: A joint German-Austro-Hungarian-Bulgarian offensive would take most of Dobruja and Wallachia, with with Bucharest being taken by August von Mackensen within the year. The unexpected Romanian declaration of war would lead to the resignation and downfall of Erich von Falkenhayn and the further rise of Hindenburg and Ludendorff.
Romania'sDay
30 August 1916 National Defence coup d'état in Greece Balkans Front Throughout the year, multiple military engagements have taken place along the Macedonian Front, with several Greek cities falling under Bulgarian occupation, despite Greece still officially remaining a neutral country. The surrender of territory recently won with difficulty in the Second Balkan War of 1913 is the last straw for many army officers. With Allied assistance, a coup is launched in Salonica, and the former Prime Minister of Greece Eleftherios Venizelos is invited to be the leader of this so-called Provisional Government of National Defence. From this point, Greece has two governments: the "official" royal government at Athens, which maintains Greek neutrality, and the "revolutionary" Venizelist government at Salonica.
Triandria
21 October 1916 Assassination of Karl von Stürgkh Austro-Hungarian Home Front Karl von Stürgkh, Minister-President of Cisleithania since 1911 with de facto dictatorial authority since the begin of the war, is shot dead during lunch at a luxury hotel in Vienna by the social democrat Friedrich Adler. Adler is arrested and Stürgkh is succeeded by the liberal traditionalist Ernest von Koerber, who however continues the semi-absolutist course of his predecessor.
Adler-attentat schuss big
5 November 1916 Establishment of the Regency Kingdom of Poland Eastern Front Emperors Wilhelm II and Franz Joseph officially make a declaration in which they promise the creation of a "self-reliant" Polish Kingdom on the territory of the former Russian Congress Poland that will be closely tied to the Central Powers. For the first time since the Congress of Vienna the restoration of Poland is under legitimate consideration, which puts the anti-Polish Entente under great pressure. The declarataion is however attacked by both German rightist and liberal circles, who fear that a fait accompli in Poland could hamper future annexation plans or peace efforts with Russia.
Polish banknote from 1917 - 10 Marek Polskich
21 November 1916 Death of the Austrian Emperor Austro-Hungarian Home Front Franz Joseph of Austria dies aged 86 at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, being with over 67 years at the helm of his Empire the second longest-reigning monarch in human history at the time of his death. He is succeeded by his grandnephew Karl, who would eventually steer the fragile monarchy onto a radically different political course.
FranzJosephDeath
1 December 1916 Noemvriana Balkans Front The so-called "National Schism" in Greece reaches a new stage in November, when forces of the Salonica Government begin to clash with Royalist troops in Thessaly. Following that, King Constantine cancels disarmament negotiations with the Allies, assuming that they are secretly backing the Venizelists. As a result, Allied forces occupy Athens, which leads to armed confrontations between French, British and Greek soldiers on the streets. The day after the Allied contingent evacuate from Athens, a royalist mob lynches alleged supporters of Venizelos on the streets. Soon after, the Allies impose a crippling naval blockade on Greece,
Noemvriana 2
6 December 1916 David Lloyd George becomes British Prime Minister British Home Front The Liberal David Lloyd George, previously Secretary of State for War and one of the most fervent anti-German agitators since the beginning of the war, succeeds the disgraced H. H. Asquith as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Under Lloyd George, the government begins to take in a much more determined stance when it comes to the war effort, but his premiership would cause lasting damage to the Liberal Party which would never recover in the post-war elections.
David Lloyd George
12 December 1916 German Peace Offer to the Entente German Home Front The government of Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, despite resistance from the military, makes an official peace offer to the Entente, hoping to win the backing of the neutrals, stoke pacifict sentiment in the Allied countries and boost morale at home. The peace offensive is reluctantly backed by the United States of America, however, the determined leadership of France, Britain and eventually also Russia rejects the offer.
Reichstag1916
17 December 1916 Kaocen Revolt African Theatre Kaocen Ag Geda, the Amenokal of the Tuareg Ikazkazan confederation, places the French garrison at Agadez in the Aïr Mountains of French Niger under siege with the help of Tagama, the Sultan of Agadez. They seize control of all the major towns in northern Niger for three months before finally being suppressed by a large French force dispatched from Zinder, and the colonial government begins large scale reprisals against rebel towns.
Taureg warriors

1917

The third year of the war came with far-reaching changes on the home front of the warring nations. The Russian February Revolution aled to the abdication of the Tsar after mounting unrest and the proclamation of a Republican Provisional Government, which ruled only until early November when the Bolsheviks overthrew it again during the October Revolution, beginning the Russian Civil War. A disastrous Allied offensive attempt in spring at the Western Front resulted in far-reaching mutinies among the French forces. In Germany, widespread war-weariness and starvation due to the British naval blockade caused the collapse of the Burgfrieden, the political true between the progressive Reichstag majority with the Imperial establishment; subsequently, parliamentary reform demands were brought back to the discussion table. A Peace Resolution issued by the Reichstag in July was ignored by the Allies. Simultaneously, military power over domestic affairs in Germany increased substantially with the indirect establishment of the Ludendorff "Dictatorship". Further bad news for the Entente came on the Italian Front later that year, with the great Austrian-German offensive at Caporetto in October which drove the Italians back to the Piave river. Only the Middle Eastern front turned decisively in the Allied favour after the successful British capture of Jerusalem and Baghdad.

Date Event Location Description Picture
8 January 1917 Unrestricted Submarine Warfare is not relaunched North Sea At a conference at Pless Castle in Silesia, the Kaiser, persuaded by Reichskanzler Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg & Admirals Henning von Holtzendorff, Georg von Müller and Eduard von Capelle, chooses to continue submarine warfare in accordance with the prize law (re-launched in October '16) instead of deciding for unrestricted submarine warfare. This radicalizes the German far-right even further, who are of the opinion that the war can only be won with the most ruthless methods. This is the point where the Kaiserreich universe diverges from our own.
Pleß
4 February 1917 Formation of the Raad van Vlaanderen Western Front Members of the activist faction of the Flemish movement in occupied Belgium, led by Pieter Tack and August Borms, form the Raad van Vlaandereen, or Council of Flanders. The occupying Germans give the movement their support as part of their strategy of Flamenpolitik, hoping to eventually create a federalized state separating the Flemish and Walloon populations.
Raad van Vlaanderen
9 February 1917 Operation Alberich Western Front In fear of a soon-to-come Allied Spring Offensive, Operation Alberich is launched by the OHL; German troops at the Western Front withdraw back to the Hindenburg Line, leaving scorched earth on their retreat.
Alberich
8 March 1917 February Revolution Eastern Front Faith in the autocratic Tsarist regime in Russia reaches an all-time low: After severe protests in Petrograd which culminate into the February Revolution, the country collapses into anarchy, with the Tsar abdicating on 15 March. A provisional government is formed under Georgy Lvov, who is succeeded by Minister of War Alexander Kerensky in July. Despite initial hopes in Berlin, the war against the Central Powers continues, just under a different leadership.
February revolution
11 March 1917 British Capture of Baghdad Middle Eastern Front The British rectify their humiliation at Kut one and a half years earlier by finally capturing Baghdad, capital city of the Ottoman vilayet with the same name. With the most important urban centre in Mesopotamia under Allied control, it wouldn't take long for the rest of the region to fall.
Fall of Baghdad
16 April 1917 Nivelle Offensive Western Front The Allied Spring Offensive of 1917 (Nivelle Offensive) is launched by the Allied Powers along the Aisne & in the Champagne. Well-planned, but badly-executed, the offensive turns into a strategic disaster, no breakthrough is achieved. Instead, the heavy French casualties at Chemin des Dames lead to mutinies, which are harshly cracked down on after Robert Nivelle is replaced as commander-in-chief by Philippe Pétain. This disaster discourages the French high command from continuing great offensives until the end of the year, giving Germany a chance to recover.
NivelleOffensive
27 June 1917 Greek Declaration of War Balkans Front After King Constantine's abdication on 11th June due to the Allied blockade and severe Franco-British pressure, Venizelos and the Salonica Government take over the affairs of state in Athens and officially declare war on the Central Powers on the 27th of June. Constantine's second son Alexander succeeds his father to the throne of the Kingdom of Greece.
Greece-1917-war-poster-01-56x83cm
1 July 1917 Kerensky Offensive Eastern Front Russian Minister of War Alexander Kerensky launches one last desparate offensive to push back the Germans and advance into Galicia. However, the operation is ill-timed, badly planned and ends in a strategic disaster, as most Russian divisons have long been supplanted by Bolshevik elements and refuse to take up arms. The offensive leads to the eventual collapse of the Russian war machine and results in leftist violence on the streets of Petrograd.
KerenskyattheFront
13 July 1917 Enforced Resignation of Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg German Home Front German Chancellor von Bethmann-Hollweg is forced to resign on pressure of Ludendorff & Hindenburg after he tries to introduce reforms to the Prussian three-class franchise and enters into negotiations with the Reichstag majority about yet another peace offensive. The great compromiser is forced to leave the ship of state and is replaced by the conservative civil servant Georg Michaelis. It soon becomes clear that Michaelis is little more than a puppet of Hindenburg and Ludendorff.
Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg
19 July 1917 Reichstag Peace Resolution German Home Front Shortly after Michaelis' appointment, the IFA parliamentary coalition, an alliance of social democrats, liberals, and Catholic Zentrum Party, launches the long anticipated Reichstag Peace Resolution, calling for no annexations, no indemnities, freedom of the seas and international arbitration. Even though it is entirely ignored by the Allies, it also discredits Michaelis, who, in the eyes of the political right, has not done enough to prevent this foreign political debacle.
GermanPeaceSpeechReichstag
20 July 1917 Corfu Declaration Balkans Front The Serbian government-in-exile led by Prime Minister Nikola Pašić signs the so-called Corfu Declaration with the Yugoslav Committee, a group of anti-Habsburg Croats and Slovenes which strived for the unification of all South Slavic peoples into one "Yugoslav" state. The treaty lays the groundwork for the formation of a Yugoslav state in case of an Allied victory and the dissolution of the Habsburg Empire.
Yugoslavia
31 July 1917 Battle of Passchendaele Western Front While the French have mostly gone back into defensive positions since the Nivelle Offensive, the British launch the Battle of Passchendaele in July 1917, hoping to push the Germans out of Flanders and capture their submarine bases along the Channel coast. More or less a pyrrhic victory for the Allies, the offensive ends in November.
Chateauwood
27 August 1917 California Incident Celtic Sea The “California Incident” occurs south of Ireland, when a German submarine accidentally sinks the British passenger steamer “SS California” instead of proceeding in accordance with prize law, thereby killing multiple American citizens. Chancellor Michaelis, a pious protestant, decides to drastically limit submarine warfare for the time being due to heavy American pressure (“California Pledge”), which meets the resistance of rightists.
Wwi-submarine
29 August 1917 Canadian Conscription Crisis Canadian Home Front The Conservative government of Canadian Prime Minister Robert Borden passes the Military Service Act, subjecting all adult males aged 20 to 45 to conscription for military service. Opposition to the act arises from farmers, trade unionists, pacifists, non-British immigrants, and most especially French Canadians, led by Québécois politician Henri Bourassa. The nation becomes sharply divided between English-speaking imperialists who support the overseas war effort and French-speaking nationalists who oppose conscription into what is, in their view, a foreign war.
Anti-conscription protest in Montreal
3 September 1917 German Operations in the Baltics Eastern Front In autumn, Germany launches renewed operations in the Baltics, moving their forces from Courland across the Juga into the city of Riga, the Pearl of the Baltics, in early September. Five weeks later, Operation Albion is launched - the first real operation of the German High Seas Navy since the Battle of Jutland -, leading to the capture of the West Estonian archipelago by the German navy.
Operation Albion
24 October 1917 Battle of Caporetto Alpine Front In Italy, after more than two years of stalemate in the mountains, the Battle of Caporetto beats the Italians back to the Piave river, where only a last minute defense saves Venice from occupation. During the battle, the Germans and Austrians make effiecient use of poison gas and mass artillery fire. The Chief of Staff of the Italian Army, Luigi Cadorno, is dismissed after the disastrous battle.
Karfreit
7 November 1917 October Revolution & Start of the Russian Civil War Eastern Front In Petrograd, the Russian Provisional Government is overthrown by a Bolshevik armed insurrection. President Kerensky flees the city while most of the local garrisons and the navy at Kronstadt throw their support behind the revolutionaries. The Winter Palace is stormed and the government put under arrest; soon after, anti-Bolshevik forces rally all over the country, marking the begin of the Russian Civil War.
October 1917
8 November 1917 Ukrainian War of Independence Eastern Front The Kiev Bolshevik Uprising marks the beginning of the Ukrainian War of Independence. Russian Republican forces in the city are ousted by a coup of a coalition of Bolsheviks and Nationalists, resulting in the establishment of the moderate Central Rada, which soon starts to alienate Bolshevik hardliners. They soon form a rival government in the city of Kharkov, closely aligned to the Russian Bolsheviks, and start to advance against the forces of the Rada.
Ukrainian War of Independence
16 November 1917 Return of Georges Clemenceau French Home Front After several changes in leadership throughout the year, which included the collapse of the Union Sacrée and the resignation of two Prime Ministers, the Independent Radical Georges Clemenceau becomes French Prime Minister for a second term. A determined anti-German leader just like David Lloyd George, his goal is to lead France out of its domestic crisis and focus all efforts on the war.
Le ministère Clemenceau - Le Journal - 17 nov
17 November 1917 Second Battle of Heligoland Bight North Sea On a German test trip in the North Sea to locate British sea mines, several German cruisers are suddenly engaged by British warships, triggering the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight. Like Jutland, it ends indecisive, which further proves to the Germans that employing the High Seas Fleet is useless and that submarine warfare is the only solution.
HMS 'Calypso' at the Second Battle of the Heligoland Bight, 17 November 1917 RMG PW1812
20 November 1917 Battle of Cambrai Western Front The British launch the Battle of Cambrai, using large amounts of Mark IV tanks for the first time, in an effort to finally break through German lines before the end of the year - but the battle ends indecisive, despite demonstrating the value of both strategic surprise and of the use of tanks to break trench lines if well supported by infantry.
Cambrai
5 December 1917 Ceasefire on the Eastern Front Eastern Front At Brest-Litovsk, a temporary ceasefire is signed by the Central Powers and the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, which had campaigned with the slogan "Bread and Peace" in the aftermath of the October Revolution. Soon after, on 9th December, an armistice with the Romanians at Focșani follows, and on 15th and 18th December, official armistices between Russia and the Central Powers are signed at the Eastern Front and at the Anatolian Front. Soon after, peace negotiations at Brest-Litovsk begin.
Ceasefire1917
9 December 1917 Surrender of Jerusalem Middle Eastern Front After making steady progress both in the Levant and Mesopotamia despite initial difficulties, Jerusalem is reached by British and Arab forces in November and finally surrenders in early December. From there, a long march towards Syria and Anatolia begins the next year.
Detail of Allenby Entering Jerusalem

1918

Kaiserschlacht

Map of the 1918 German Spring Offensive (March - July)

After tough negotiations, the collapse of Russia resulted in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk; the war in the East was over, but a wide range of proxy conflicts opened up in the course of the civil war, for example Ukraine, the Caucasus, or Finland. A short-lived period of cautious German-Bolshevik cooperation began. In the West, the Germans hoped for a breakthrough after the victory in the East via a major offensive, which, however, eventually got bogged down despite far-reaching advances and worsened the situation on the home front, where a failed revolutionary attempt broke out during autumn. In the aftermath, the rule of Hindenburg and Ludendorff became further reinforced. France was also increasingly weakened by widespread strikes. German-Turkish relations deteriorated massively after conflicts over influence in the Caucasus, and German relations with Austria also suffered after the Sixtus Affair, which revealed secret peace negotiations with the Entente behind Berlin's back. Unrestricted submarine warfare eventually continued in November due to public pressure, as a result of which the US decided to cut its ties with Berlin for the time being.

Date Event Location Description Picture
3 January 1918 January Strikes in Austria-Hungary & Germany Central Europe As a result of food shortages and the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, over 700,000 Austro-Hungarian workers head to the streets in early January and demand peace. The movement soon spreads to Germany, where, from 25th January onwards, over a million workers follow their Austrian comrades suit. Workers' councils are established all over Central Europe; while the situation in Germany can be eventually calmed down due to the mediation of the SPD and because of the military treathening to intervene, but in Austria, parts of the armed forces join the revolutionaries, e.g. Croatian and Czech soldiers stationed in Judenburg, Pécs & Budapest as well as the sailors at the naval base in Cattaro.
Germany 1918 Ebert
27 January 1918 Finnish Civil War Eastern Front Finnish communists attempt to overthrow the authority of the White government of Finland. The so-called "Reds" and the "Whites" battled for control of the country, with Germany and Soviet Russia giving support to either side. After three months of fighting and with German support, the White Guard crush the uprising. Thanks to Germanys important military aid the monarchist cause in Finland soon becomes a reality.
Finnish Civil War Violence
9 February 1918 Peace for Bread Eastern Front After Kyiv falls to the Bolsheviks in early February the Central Rada evacuates to Zhytomyr and tries to win external military support for its cause against the Soviet regime. Germany and Austria decide to come to the Rada's help, but only in return for valuable grain deliveries and other concessions. On 9 February, the Ukrainians sign the "Peace for Bread" treaty at Brest-Litovsk, and only 9 days later, German and Austrian forces launch a large-scale invasion of Ukraine known as Operation Faustschlag, eventually advancing as far as Rostov, and pushing the Bolsheviks back into the Russian heartland.
1920px-Brest-litovsk-feb-9-1918a
3 March 1918 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk Eastern Front In early March, after a successful Operation Faustschlag, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk is signed between the Germans and the Bolsheviks, freeing thousands of German and Austrian troops for other fronts. The Bolsheviks have to renounce all territorial claims in Finland, the Baltic states, most of Belarus, and Ukraine as well as in parts of the Caucasus.
Treaty of brest litovsk
4 March 1918 Beginning of the Allied North Russia intervention Eastern Front Fearing a German-Finnish attack on the town, the Murmansk Soviet requests the Allies for military support, a decision only begrudgingly accepted by Moscow. On 4 March, 170 British troops arrive via ship, marking the beginning of the Allied Intervention into the Russian Civil War. Soon after, similar foreign landings/troop movements occur in Arkhangelsk, Azerbaijan and Central Asia,
Allied North Russia intervention
7 March 1918 Finno-German Treaty of Berlin Eastern Front Representatives of the Finnish anti-Bolshevik government headquartered in Vaasa sign a peace agreement with the Germans in Berlin, which includes a broad array of economic, political, and military concessions. The treaty places Finland firmly in the German orbit, making it effectively a puppet state, thus paving the way for future German intervention in Finnish affairs. The agreement is harshly protested and not recognised by the Bolshevik-aligned government in Helsinki.
Von der Goltz 2
14 March 1918 Trebizond Peace Negotiations Caucasus Front Negotiations begin in Trebizond between the Ottoman Empire and the Transcaucasian Commissariat, an autonomous regional government created in the South Caucasus before the October Revolution, now entirely cut off from the remaining White forces in Russia proper. The Ottomans demand the handover of the provinces of Kars, Ardahan, and Batumi, which were promised to them by the Bolsheviks in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. When the Armenian-Georgian-dominated government in Tiflis refuses, Ottoman troops launch an invasion of the unstable Commissariat.
Participants of the Trebizond Peace Conference

21 March 1918

German Spring Offensive Western Front After months of preparation, the German Spring Offensive (also called Ludendorff Offensive or Kaiserschlacht) is launched at the Western Front in an effort to bring down the Allied Powers by the end of summer. It begins with Operation Michael on 21 March in Picardy, leading almost to the capture of Amiens, with heavy losses on both sides.
Allied Offensive
28 March 1918 Quebec Easter Riots Canadian Home Front The Canadian Conscription Crisis reaches its apex during Easter weekend in Quebec City after Dominion police forces detain a French-Canadian man who had failed to present his draft exemption papers. The quickly-escalating riots along with rumors of a province-wide uprising prompt Quebec City Mayor Henri-Edgar Lavigueur to request reinforcements from Ottawa, and the Borden government invokes the War Measures Act of 1914 to deal with the unrest. On Easter Monday, armed soldiers from Ontario fire into a crowd of civilian protesters, leaving five dead and dozens more injured, as well as $300,000 in damages.
Quebec Conscription Crisis
3 April 1918 German Intervention in the Finnish Civil War Eastern Front After a previous landing on the Åland Islands in March, Germany fully intervenes in the Finnish Civil by sending the 10,000-strong Baltic Sea Division under Rüdiger von der Goltz and smaller detachments under Colonel Otto von Brandenstein to Southern Finland, taking the capital city of Helsinki after roughly a week. By May 1918, the conflict is mostly resolved in favour of the German-aligned Finnish White Guard.
Helsinki 1918
9 April 1918 Operation Georgette (Battle of the Lys) Western Front Operation Georgette is launched by the Germans in Flanders, eventually leading to the successful capture of Kemmel Hill and Armentières, while Ypres - the main target of the offensive - remains in British hands. The aim of driving the British back to the Channel Coast thus fails completely.
Lys Offensive 1918
12 April 1918 Sixtus Affair Austro-Hungarian Home Front The French reveal that Kaiser Karl, in view of Austria-Hungary's spiraling instability, decided to reach out to the Entente via a relative of his wife, Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma, to negotiate a separate peace agreement in 1917. The subsequent Sixtus Affair leads to the resignation of the Austrian foreign minister Ottokar Czernin, a key player during said negotiations in which he had promised to back the French claim on Alsace-Lorraine in return for peace. The affair evolves into an enormous embarrassment for the Habsburg Monarchy and makes the Austro-Hungarians even more dependent on Germany.
Sixtus Affair
29 April 1918 Skoropadsky Coup Eastern Front In Ukraine, discontent with the corrupt and inefficient Republican government increases from day to day. The conservative agrarians feel alienated by the leftist reform agenda of the head of the Central Rada, Mykhailo Hrushevsky, and the Germans are unhappy that the Ukrainians are not able to supply them with the amounts of grain they have been promised in the cooperation treaty. Additionally, everything outside of Kyiv is practically free from government influence, which leads to Bolshevik agitation all over the country. In late April, all of this eventually culminates in the coup of former Tsarist military officer Pavlo Skoropadsky, indirectly supported by the German occupation forces.
Petr Skoropadsky i nemzy
7 May 1918 Treaty of Bucharest Balkans Front/Eastern Front The Treaty of Bucharest is signed by the Central Powers and Romania, finally bringing the war on the Eastern Front to an end. Among the terms of the treaty are the cession of Cadrilater to Bulgaria and various Carpathian mountain passes to Hungary, the establishment of a Central Powers condominium in Northern Dobruja, the leasing of the Ploiești oil fields to Germany as well as the permission for the Central Powers to appoint civil servants which are allowed to veto every decision of the Romanian government, effectively turning Romania into a protectorate. However, Romania does not have to pay war indemnities and is allowed to incorporate formerly Russian Bessarabia.
BucharestPeaceTreaty1918
27 May 1918 Operation Blücher-Yorck Western Front The next German offensive in the West is launched between Reims and Noyons in Picardy. Initially successful, Ludendorff aborts it on the 30th when he is faced with the decision to expand this "diversionary operation" into a fully-fledged advance, instead deciding for another large offensive in Flanders - the eventual Operation Hagen - in June. Gains are thus limited.
Blücher-Yorck
28 May 1918 Treaty of Poti Caucasus Front As the Transcaucasian government begins to break apart in the wake of the Ottoman invasion, Georgia declares its independence on 26 May 1918. Two days later, a treaty with the German Empire - long weary of the bolt Ottoman advance without previous consultation of Berlin - is signed in the port city of Poti, in an effort to secure Georgian independence against the Turks. Not long after, the German Caucasus Expedition under Friedrich Kreß von Kressenstein arrives in the country, effectively turning Georgia into an anti-Ottoman, German-aligned bulwark in the region, with drastic effects on German-Turkish relations.
Caucasus Expedition
4 June 1918 Treaty of Batum Caucasus Front After capturing Kars, Ardahan, and Baku from the Transcaucasians, another Ottoman-Transcaucasian peace conference begins in Batumi in mid-May. Constantinople demands the additional cession of Tiflis, Alexandropol, and Echmiadzin, but the Armenians and Georgians stall the negotiations again. Consequently, the Turks move further eastward. After several disastrous battles against Armenian forces, the Ottomans halt their offensive 10km east of Yerevan, and the Treaty of Batum is signed, vastly expanding Ottoman influence in the region - much to the dismay of Berlin.
Treaty of Batum
12 June 1918 Operation Hagen (Fifth Battle of Ypres) Western Front The Germans launch Operation Hagen against Belgian and British positions in Flanders. They manage to take their enemies by surprise, pushing their opponents back to the Straazele-Ypres line, only capturing the Ypres Salient in the very late stages of the offensive), forming a new frontline along Hazebrouck-Godewaersvelde-Poperinge-Ypres. The offensive is stopped by a desperate Allied counter-offensive in Flanders and along the Somme, even mobilising the French reserve. The French and English soon find themselves caught in a great debate about how to proceed next, with the English paranoid about losing the channel ports and the French paranoid about losing Paris.
Hazebrouck
June 1918 Strike of the Paris Metal Workers French Home Front In protest of high cost of living, worsening labour conditions, and increased production quotas, ten thousands of workers in Paris head to the streets. Calls for a revolution are heard. The strike is joined by the public transports sector and partially by the railways employees, blocking a few lines to the front - at the peak of mobilisation it is estimated that hundreds of thousands refuse to work. The strike fails to provide any meaningful result and is heavily repressed by Clémenceau, with some deaths to police violence. The government believes that Soviet and German agitators are behind the unrest. The radical line of the Comité de défense syndicaliste (CDS) spreads throughout the picket line, particularly as the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) leadership is skittish in its response to the strikes.
French Strike 1918
3 July 1918 Death of Sultan Mehmed V Ottoman Empire Mehmed V, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire since 1909, dies at Yıldız Palace in Constantinople at the age of 73. Throughout his reign, the Empire experienced the loss of the North African territories and the Dodecanese Islands, including Rhodes, in the Italo-Turkish War, the traumatic loss of almost all of the Empire's European territories west of Constantinople during the Balkan Wars and the rise of nationalist-reformist forces in the form of the Young Turks, who reduced Mehmed to nothing more than a powerless puppet after their coup in 1913. Mehmed is succeeded by his half-brother Vahideddin, who soon initiates a radically different political course than his predecessor.
Mehmed V of Ottoman Empire
8 July 1918 Operation Gneisenau (Battle of the Matz) Western Front Gneisenau, the last major German offensive of 1918, is launched to achieve a breakthrough around Noyon-Montdidier while the French are committed in the north - successfully, pushing up to Compiegne, but not capturing it, with German troops flanking it from the north and west and with the French holding the Aisne river line. Conflict in the French military leadership over the question whether to engage the Germans along the Matz and the Aisne directly, or to stage a counter-offensive against the exposed Marne Salient to the South, ends in favour of the second proposal.
Gneisenau
18 July 1918 Second Battle of the Marne Western Front The French launch a counter-offensive towards the Marne Salient in the direction of Soissons, triggering the Second Battle of the Marne. German forces are diverted from the north, but due to the quick advance of the French 10th and 6th Armies, the Germans have to retreat. The road between Chateau-Thierry and Soissons is eventually cut off by the French, an unexpected and successful gambit that catches the Germans off-guard.
Soissons-Saint Thierry Offensive
20 July 1918 Operation Soissons-Marneschutz Western Front To counter the French advance, Ludendorff shifts the troops used in Operation Gneisenau southwards to the Marne, launching Operation Soissons-Marneschutz and attacking the exposed flank of the French 10th Army. This counterattack would allow Germany to stabilise the front at the river Ourcq - however, at the cost of aborting the Gneisenau offensive. This marks the formal end of the 1918 German Spring Offensive. The Germans have managed to make extensive gains, even coming within 56 km of Paris, but have failed in their ultimate goal of driving a wedge between the Allied forces.
Marneschutz
8 August 1918 Allied Great Western Offensive Western Front With Paris being in direct German bombardment range, the French launch a counteroffensive to retake some of the lost territories and to take new positions, despite the threat of mutiny looming within the army. German forces are attacked at the Somme Salient, later known as the  Battle of Amiens/Third Battle of Picardy, and near Noyon. Simultaneosuly, a British-Belgian offensive begins in Flanders.

The counter-offensive fizzles out throughout September without major gains. While the British think of the operation as a more or less strategic success, especially due the successful use of tanks at Amiens, the French morale suffers dramatically as their forces have made terrible losses around Compiegne and the German salients remain largely untouched, leaving the German Army in a perfect position to strike at Paris.

Destroyed rhombus
27 August 1918 German-Bolshevik Supplementary Agreement Eastern Front The Berlin Supplementary Agreement to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, including terms are a Soviet-German financial agreement and the renunciation of the Soviet claim on Estonia & Livonia. The agreement lays the foundation for short-lived German-Soviet cooperation efforts against Allied advances in Azerbaijan and Karelia. While an understanding about a hypothetical joint German-Soviet offensive on Baku is not reached, Moscow and Berlin are able to agree on a joint anti-British operation along the Murmansk Railway to secure Russia’s Northern flank, later dubbed in German files “Operation Schlussstein”.
Supplementary Treaty
30 August 1918 British Police Strikes British Home Front Strikes break out in the United Kingdom when members of the officially outlawed NUPPO (National Union of Police and Prison Officers) head to the streets to demand pay increases and other concessions. More than 12,000 policemen are on strike, shocking the war-torn society and the government alike. The Lloyd George administration eventually makes some minor concessions, but the NUPPO remains an illegal organisation. Smaller protests and strikes would continue throughout 1919, soon joined up by bakers and council tenants especially in Scotland.
City-Police-NUPPO-picture
4 September 1918 Sixth Battle of Ypres Western Front As part of the British-Belgian offensive in Flanders, Hazebrouck is recaptured after a great sacrifice of Australian forces. While a brief breakthrough is achieved at Ypres, British troops have to evacuate it again shortly after due to failing to take the surrounding hills - a massive blow to the morale of the British Expeditionary Force. The absolutely crucial victory in retaking Hazebrouck would be overshadowed by the wasteful attack on Ypres and the shameful retreat from the city.
Ypres
14 September 1918 Capture of Baku Caucasus Front Forces of the Ottoman Empire and the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic under the lead of Nuri Pasha capture the city of Baku, which has been under the control of the White- & Armenian-aligned, British-backed Centrocaspian Dictatorship since July. After seizing control of the city, up to 30,000 Armenian civilians are massacred by the invaders in several days as a retaliation for the massacre of Azerbaijanis by Bolsheviks and Armenians in spring 1918.
Soldiers of Islamic Army of Caucasus near Baku during battle for the city in 1918
21 September 1918 Battle of Megiddo Middle Eastern Front Devastating defeats in Palestine after the Battle of Megiddo in September lead to a mass retreat of Ottoman forces northwards. Jerusalem, Damascus and Aleppo fall to the British, but due to the cunning of the commander of the Ottoman Seventh Army, Mustafa Kemal Pasha, the British led by General Edmund Allenby are halted at Maraş, an event later to be known as the "Miracle at Maraş".
Megiddo
24 September 1918 German September Insurrections German Home Front Widespread war-weariness in Germany following the failure to end the war before autumn results in nation-wide peace demonstrations. Tensions boil over after a seemingly minor incident in Tilsit, which results in the first proclamation of a workers' and soldiers' council in mainland Europe outside Russia shortly after. Unrest soon spreads through the Empire, with local hotbeds in Berlin, Brunswick, Hamburg, and Bremen. Spartacists and Revolutionary Stewards attempt a break-in into the Reichstag and clash with gendarmerie forces in the streets; striking workers in Brunswick seize public buildings and lay siege to the city castle; and revolutionary masses in Bremen proclaim a short-lived socialist republic from the city hall balcony. Only with excessive violence, peace and order is eventually restored in early October.
September Insurrections Bremen
1 October 1918 German-Bolshevik September War Scare Eastern Front The September Insurrections put a sudden halt to the short-lived post-Treaty of Brest-Litovsk German-Bolshevik cooperation between Germany and Bolshevik Russia due to indirect Russian support for the German revolutionaries. The common offensive plans in Karelia are cancelled after the Bolshevik refusal to allow the temporary German occupation of Petrograd as a logistical hub and due to widespread sudden mutinies among the Ober Ost occupation forces. After the German revolutionaries unintentionally severe most telegraph lines to Russia, a war scare breaks out in Moscow - many believe that the Germans have cut ties with them over the insurrections and might soon start an unauthorised retaliatory advance towards Petrograd. Although ill-considered actions are ultimately prevented, German-Bolshevik relations deteriorate massively.
September Insurrections
4 October 1918 Ulrich von Brockdorff-Rantzau becomes German Reichskanzler German Home Front After the resignation of the sick and elderly Georg von Hertling in the aftermath of the failed insurrection, Wilhelm II appoints non-partisan diplomat Ulrich von Brockdorff-Rantzau, a skilled mediator with progressive tendencies, as his successor, presiding over the first semi-parliamentary cabinet in German history with representatives of the SPD, FVP, NLP, and Zentrum. The formation of the Brockdorff Cabinet results in a simultaneous increase of military and parliamentary control. By allowing limited progressive reform within, Germany maintains a legitimate, democratic facade to the outside world, which enables the OHL to expand their influence and increase their pressure on the government in a much more indirect way, while the concurrent appointment of partisan state secretaries can be considered a major success for the democratisation process.
BrockdorffSeated
Early October 1918 Retreat of the British Forces in the Middle East Middle Eastern Front The growing risk of revolution in the British Protectorate of Egypt, coupled with Allied setbacks at the Salonica Front and at the Western Front would lead to vast numbers of Edmund Allenby's troop's in the Levant being redeployed elsewhere. "The Bull" is forced to slowly retreat back to Palestine because of a lack of manpower. Allenby withdraws to the positions he held prior to the Megiddo Offensive, along the "Allenby Line", from where the Middle Eastern theatre turns into a war of attrition until the end of the war.
Mustafa Kemal 1918

1 November 1918

Continuation of Unrestricted Submarine Warfare North Sea Pressured by the far-right and due to stagnating success of restricted submarine warfare, Germany relaunches unrestricted submarine, a policy which in large parts is also intended to calm down the population in the aftermath of the failed insurrection attempt by promising a quick peace. Not long after, the United States of America officially break off diplomatic relations with the German Empire.
Uboat
7 November 1918 Dismissal of the Young Turk Triumvirate Ottoman Home Front With the Ottoman army losing on all fronts and tensions between Constantinople and Berlin continuously rising over influence in the Caucasus, over withheld grain deliveries from Ukraine and over leadership squabbles at the Palestinian Front between Turkish commanders and the German military mission, anti-Young Turk and, tied to that, anti-German sentiment sweeps through the Ottoman Empire. Sultan Mehmed VI, a determined opponent of the Young Turks, eventually decides to take action. In early November, Talaat Pasha is dismissed as Grand Vizier, soon followed by the Minister of the Navy Djemal Pasha and the Minister of War Enver Pasha. An attempted Young Turk coup in Constantinople shortly after collapses before it even starts: The authority of the Sultan is finally restored.
Three Pashas

1919

The last year of the war began with a last major German offensive near Paris, but not with the same vigour as the previous year. To avoid renewed unrest, the Germans assumed a more defensive stance in the aftermath of the offensive, biding and their time and waiting for France to collapse first. The Allies launched several offensives along the entire front during late spring, some with minor successes, but without major breakthroughs. Strikes and mutinies throughout the country finally broke the back of Clemenceau's wartime government during the summer, and shortly afterwards a final disastrous French offensive at St. Mihiel proved to be the nail in the coffin. This, together with the collapse of Italy during a final Austrian offensive deep into the Po Delta, ensured that an armistice was finally concluded on all fronts at the beginning of August. The outbreak of the Italian Civil War around the same time encouraged Ethiopia to declare war on Italian Eritrea, while the Italian Somali protectorates fully broke free from colonial control not long after.

Date Event Location Description Picture
21 January 1919 Irish War of Independence British Home Front Years of unrest in Ireland finally boil over after the Irish nationalist party Sinn Féin convenes its own illegal legislative assembly, Dáil Éireann, claiming to be the sole legitimate government of Ireland and declaring the establishment of a new Irish Republic. Paramilitary units associated with Sinn Féin, the Irish Republican Army (IRA), start to openly ambush and attack British loyalist forces, soon sparking draconian retaliatory measures - the informal beginning of the Irish War of Independence.
Irish War of Independence
11 March 1919 Last Austrian Offensive Alpine Front The Last Austrian Offensive is launched on the 11th of March, attacking the Italian forces from Trento instead of the Piave. Vicenza and Verona fall on the 24th, pinning the Italians between two Austrian armies after Venice is reached on the 10th of April. A stalemate begins to set in along the Adige.
Last Austrian Offensive1
16 March 1919 Great German Offensive for the Fatherland Western Front The Great German Offensive for the Fatherland (“Große Vaterländische Offensive'') is launched, starting with Operation Kurfürst. The offensive is accompanied by a further intensified submarine campaign. A lack of artillery and equipment forces the Germans to concentrate on a single region - this time, the road to Paris via Compiegne on both sides of the Oise. While the French are well-prepared for this attack, devastatingly low morale necessitates them to eventually surrender the city. Only briefly after, the offensive comes to a halt before even reaching the Thérain river valley-Creil-Meaux line, as German soldiers would often be more interested in plundering the countryside for food and wine than in fighting due to a severe lack of morale and manpower.
Great German Spring Offensive
8 April 1919 Battle of Clermont Western Front On the western side of the Oise, the exhausted Germans are engaged in open country by a French tank counterattack, one of the few major tank-on-tank engagements during the war, the Battle of Clermont. Due to the vast inferiority of their tank models, a mixture of A7Vs, captured Allied tanks, and several prototype models like LK II or the A7V-U, the Germans are forced to retreat again.

Nonetheless, the French are not able to capitalise on their victory as their soldiers refuse to advance further to the Eastern side of the Oise without proper tank support. An outright crisis akin to the 1917 mutinies can be averted as the German troops to the east of the Oise, faced with the massive rout on their western flank, start withdrawing to their initial positions themselves to avoid being caught up in an indefensible salient. Therefore, the only real German gain made during Operation Kurfürst is the city of Compiegne. The mastermind behind the semi-successful operation in Clermont, Philippe Pétain, is celebrated as the "Hero of France" by French propaganda in the aftermath.

French Tank
12 April 1919 Third Battle of the Somme Western Front The British and French launch minor skirmishes along the Somme against the German positions, mostly to no avail - the crippling morale also has captured the British and especially their forces from the Dominions at that point. The fact that the American Flu is drastically deteriorating the overall situation at the front on both sides would not help either.
Third Battle of the Somme
13 April 1919 Amritsar Massacre Indian Home Front In Punjab, British India, hundreds of protestors are killed by British troops during the Amritsar Massacre, a flashpoint for an eventual widespread Indian revolt. With the British government still fighting against Germany, reinforcements are not forthcoming - Governor General Lord Chelmsford is forced to declare a state of emergency.
Amritsar Massacre
18 May 1919 Allied May Offensive Western Front After careful preparation, the Allied May Offensive is launched to push the Germans out of the Parisian region (Oise Offensive) as well as out of Ypres (Lys Offensive). Large parts of France are already shaken by peace strikes at the time. Renault FT tanks are used in large numbers, in the hope of repeating the success at Clermont on a large scale, but the offensive turns into another stalemate French tank superiority can’t be exploited in full due to a lack of morale among the infantry, which refuses to engage in any offensive actions against the Germans and prefers to let the tanks go in first, leaving them without proper support and on the mercy of German anti-tank measures. Also, production is suffering at home due to crippling armament strikes.

In Flanders, the British would make limited gains, but without achieving the main goal of recapturing Ypres - the final death blow for the Allied morale. Crippling mutinies much worse than ever before strike the front divisions along most of the front, making any further offensive attempts impossible. Nonetheless, German morale has also reached catastrophic levels, preventing further German advances as well.

Third Battle of the Marne
Late May 1919 French Strikes of Spring 1919 French Home Front Renewed massive strikes begin in the French armament sector as a result to the mediocre May Offensive, first in Paris, then spreading to other major cities. They demand the resignation of Clemenceau and peace, calling their action a “War against the War”. Within the CGT, a leadership change is enforced, bringing the revolutionary syndicalist faction around Pierre Monatte in charge - an enormous step for the radical, pacifist left.
Pierre Monatte ca 1915
2 June 1919 Resignation of French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau French Home Front Clémenceau loses his majority in the parliament, only enjoying the support of parts of the Radical Party, as more and more moderate leftists begin to abandon the Union Sacrée. He resigns, and two days later, Gaston Doumergue, a patriotic but parliamentarian individual of the Radical Party, forms a government, immediately renewing both military offensives and strike breaking measures. The new syndicalist CGT leadership under Monatte has to enter quasi-clandestinity.
Clemenceau
7 June 1919 Sette Giugno Mediterranean Sea Riots organized by Maltese nationalists on the small Mediterranean island are suppressed by the British authorities. As a result, support for pro-Italian irredentism and resistance against the colonial authorities grow.
Sette Giugno
6 July 1919 French Last Offensive (Battle of Saint Mihiel) Western Front The Allies plan one last offensive after their intelligence shows that the Germans are not planning any further operations. Enthusiastic about the German setbacks at Clermont, it is believed that one last surprise attack at a location with a lower density of German forces could be the last straw to penetrate the exhausted German lines. With morale being low in the mutinies-plagued North, the French propose a surprise advance at the Lorraine Front to penetrate the St. Mihiel salient, which would potentially allow an advance deep into Alsace. It is decided that a sudden, unexpected victory on the sacred soil of Verdun is the only way to get out of the mutiny crisis and to restore the Allied morale.

On 6 July, the Battle of Saint-Mihiel begins, but from the very beginning, heavy summer thunderstorms and a continuously worsening supply situation hamper the operation; gains remain minor, while losses rise exorbitantly. With the offensive seeing no real success, mutinies spread to the Lorrainian Front as well - now entirely decapitating the French war effort.

Saint Mihiel salient
9 July 1919 French Mutinies and General Strike of 1919 French Home Front The biggest mutinies the French Republic has ever seen begin, forcing a stop to all military operations. Most frontlines are at least partially paralysed during the span of a few days. Most of the mutineers are not convinced socialists but simple soldiers wanting the end of the butchery they were engaged in, this time even low-level officers joining their soldiers. Not long after, a general strike is initiated by the CGT and SFIO in all of France, production comes to a complete halt despite harsh repression.
French mutiny
31 July 1919 Abyssinian Invasion of Italian Eritrea African Theatre As Italy begins collapse in the wake of the Austrian invasion of the Po valley, Empress Zewditu of Ethiopia declares war and launches an invasion of Eritrea, effectively reversing the European colonization of Africa for the first time.
Zewditu
5 August 1919 Armistice of Venice Alpine Front Italy, close to complete collapse, decides to sign an armistice with the Central Powers on 5th August. The Austrians are allowed to garrison Lombardy and Venetia until a treaty is signed that would formally end the war. Following the armistice, republican and nationalist rebels rise up all over northern Italy, fighting against both the forces of the disintegrating Kingdom of Italy and the Austrian garrisons in what soon becomes famous as the Italian Civil War. Central Italy falls to the rebels by November, which look to proceed towards Rome and Abruzzo.
ArmisticeItaly
12 August 1919 Armistice of Chantilly Western Front After re-establishing diplomatic ties via neutral Spanish mediation, German and Allied representatives agree to meet at Château de Chantilly, 40 kilometres to the northeast of Paris close to the German lines. There, the Armistice of Chantilly is signed. In the Levant, a British-Ottoman armistice is signed as well and in the Balkans, the Entente signs one with the Bulgarians.
Chantill

Aftermath

1919

Date Event Location Description Picture
2 September 1919 Start of the Versailles Peace Conference France On Sedan Day, one of the most important German national holidays commemorating the German victory over the French in the 1870 Battle of Sedan, the Versailles Peace Conference begins, with the main negotiations being held at the iconic Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. Negotiations would go on for months, in parts at smaller "sub-conferences", especially in regard to the Balkans, Caucasus and Middle East, for example in Constantinople and Jerusalem.
Brockdorff Bismarck Versailles
4 October 1919 Treaty of Wartholz Balkan Front The Treaty of Wartholz is signed between representatives of the Central Powers and the Kingdom of Serbia, which is reduced to an Austro-Hungarian puppet state in the aftermath. Macedonia and Nis are ceded to Bulgaria, Serbia is united with Montenegro as a compensation, but loses the coast, the army is limited to a meager number, heavy war reparations are imposed and a free-trade agreement with the Empire ensures Austrian economic dominance. The Karađorđević monarchy is begrudgingly kept, but is forced to appoint an Austrophilic government.
Militärgeneralgouvernement Serbien
6 November 1919 Treaty of Versailles Western Front The Treaty of Versailles is officially signed between the representatives of the French, British, Portuguese, Belgian, Luxembourgish and German nations, ending the Weltkrieg after five long years. The Germans leave France and Belgium, except for the parts agreed to be occupied or annexed in the treaty. Japan refuses to sign the treaty, therefore the war officially continues in East Asia until the Tsingtao Accord of 1921.
Peaceconference Versailles
10 November 1919 Caucasus Conference Caucasus In Constantinople, the Caucasus Conference begins, having the aim of finally bringing peace to the war-torn Caucasian Mountains. It leads to the partition of Armenia between the Ottoman Empire, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The latter two fall within Germany's sphere of influence, leading to a drastic deterioration of Turkish-German relations.
Caucasus November 1919
20 November 1919 Proclamation of the Revolutionary Commune of Paris France News of the humiliating peace treaty lead to mass protests all over France; long-existing tensions begin to boil over, strikes and mutinies slowly turn into violent confrontations on the streets. Two weeks after the signing of the peace, Paris is in the firm hands of the revolutionary mob, and the government temporarily retreats to Versailles. It is the beginning of the French Civil War, which slowly begins to escalate further and further as more and more cities get taken over by revolutionaries and throw their support behind the Paris Commune.
FrenchRevolution
13 December 1919 1919 British Parliamentary Elections United Kingdom On 8 November 1919, Prime Minister David Lloyd George resigns after his wartime government breaks apart, with the Liberal Party - the senior party in the coalition - being blamed for the United Kingdom's failure to gain any meaningful concessions after five years of war in the Peace with Honor. A caretaker government led by Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour briefly takes over. When elections take place 5 weeks later, the Liberal Party loses 164 seats and the Conservatives gain a majority in the House of Commons. Andrew Bonar Law subsequently becomes Prime Minister.

The election proves scandalous not only for an immense rise in popularity of the Labour Party, but also for the first time introduction of far-left and far-right parties into Parliament, such as the Nationalist Party under Henry Page Croft or the National Socialist Party under Henry Hyndman.

Bonar Law

1920

Date Event Location Description Picture
13 February 1920 Ludendorff Crisis Germany With the war officially over, the Reichstag demands democratic elections, parliamentary reforms, demobilisation, and a full return to civilian rule. Especially Erich Ludendorff, however, is not willing to allow political liberalisation yet, justifying the continuation of emergency powers for "national security" reasons rooted in the highly unstable European political order at the time, especially in Russia and France. Not long after, nation-wide peace demonstrations break out, and the Reichstag decides to take matters into its own hands, citing the ongoing demands for change in the streets to prevent a revolution such as the one in France or another insurrection attempt like in 1918. The Reichstag's agenda is backed by the chancellor, the Emperor, and secretly even Hindenburg, who pledges to accept democratic reform as long as military authority is not curtailed.


Ludendorff, unaware of his own isolation, tries to convince the Kaiser to step in and end the reform debates in the parliament if necessary via force, e.g. by dismissing Reichskanzler Brockdorff, justifying it with the need for Germany to maintain the current authoritarian system for a few more months to weather the coming struggle. After he threatens to resign in an effort to pressure Wihelm into submission, the Kaiser calls his bluff, unspectacularly dismissing Germany's once widely feared "Dictator" with one simple decree - which paves the path for proper parliamentary reform not long after.

Ludendorf Painting
5 March 1920 Introduction of Civilian Rule in Eastern Europe Eastern Front Via the Kovno Decree, the German military occupation in the East finally comes to its end, thereby also putting a sudden end to the nascent Polish Frontier Strip project. The Ober Ost administration is fully dissolved, demobilisation begins, and civilian rule is introduced in Poland, Lithuania and the Baltics. Nonetheless, German forces continue to operate in White Ruthenia and Ukraine, where they closely cooperate with German-aligned anti-Bolshevik forces and keep a close eye on the ongoing Russian Civil War to the east.
Eastern Europe
9 March 1920 German March Reforms Germany
21 March 1920 1920 German Reichstag Elections Germany The first Reichstag Elections since 1912 end in a firm victory for the pro-democratic reform IFA majority, i.e. SPD, FVP and Zentrum, who subsequently form a progressive-minded coalition under non-partisan, liberal statesman Wilhelm Solf.
WilhelmSolf
10 April 1920 Jerusalem Accords Middle Eastern Front The Jerusalem Accords are reached between the Ottoman Empire and the British, who still occupy parts of Palestine and lower Iraq. Two autonomous regions are established, the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem in Palestine, stretching from the Allenby line to the Red Sea, and an autonomous region for the Assyrians in the Vilayet of Basra. The Mutasarrifate is to be governed by an International Council consisting of the German Empire, British Empire, Austrian Empire, United States of America and the Ottomans themselves. Forbidding the entry of Ottoman troops into the region, an international gendarmerie force would maintain the peace within Palestine. The British hope to maintain their influence in the Middle East via those two autonomous territories.
MoJ Map
11 April 1920 Evacuation of the French government to Algiers France With the revolution having spread almost over all of the country, the French government, parliament and high command, despite the reluctance of the commander of the Grand Quartier Général, Philippe Pétain, decide to temporarily retreat to Algiers in French Algeria to reorganize.
PortAlgiers
14 May 1920 Haute-Savoie Crisis Switzerland/France After Communard militias enter the region of Haute-Savoie, panic breaks out in bordering Switzerland due to simultaneous left-wing unrest in Geneva. Not long after, Swiss forces occupy the region and expel the French intruders, citing a legal decision made at the Congress of Vienna more than 100 years prior as their justification.

When tensions between France and Switzerland threaten to escalate, the Solf government intervenes, hoping to deescalate tensions and use the opportunity to finally establish a proper diplomatic foundation with the young Communard regime.

Swiss Army Haute Savoie
7 June 1920 Treaty of Metz France/Germany At the Fortress of Metz, open conflict with the Commune can be prevented after an agreement is negotiated. A stable diplomatic groundwork between Paris and Berlin is laid, with the Solf Government hoping to tie in France closely into the construct of a German-dominated Mitteleuropa in the future. Furthermore, the provisional French government agrees to respect all the other clauses of the Treaty of Versailles, including the demilitarisation of its border region and the destruction of frontier fortifications. Germany pledges that it won’t threaten the Communard regime and won’t intervene in internal French affairs. The Commune of France is recognized as the sole legitimate French state.

1921

Date Event Location Description Picture
6 October 1921 Second China Consortium China An agreement is signed between the Republic of China, Japan, Germany, Britain, the US, and Russia about the reconstruction of the lapsed pre-war Six-Power Consortium, which previously had monopolised loans and investment to the Chinese central government. First proposed by the newly-elected McAdoo Administration in the summer of 1921, it is adopted by all relevant powers following considerable negotiations on 6 October 1921. The Consortium is intended to promote peaceful collaboration between great powers while aiding the economic development of China, a country long torn by civil conflict.

The signing of the consortium encourages Berlin to finally re-establish proper relations with the Japanese and the Russian Republic, both of which had remained in an uncertain limbus ever after the Japanese refusal to conclude peace in 1919/the end of the Russian Civil War respectively.

13 October 1921 Russian-German Agreement Germany/Russia A proper final peace settlement with the Russian Republic is signed. The Russians are forced to recognize the March 1918 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the August 1918 supplementary treaty, and the independence of the White Ruthenian People’s Republic, among others.
6 November 1921 Tsingtao Accord Germany/Japan Pressured by the international community, a proper peace agreement is finally signed between Germany and Japan, ending two years of diplomatic uncertainty between the two nations and officially putting an end to the war in East Asia. The status quo ante bellum is restored, with Japan, despite heavy protests at home, withdrawing from Tsingtao and the Pacific Islands.

The Japanese withdrawal allows Germany to re-establish control over its Asian colonies, including the newly-annexed colony of Indochina.

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