First World War in FocusThree days after the armistice between Germany and the Allies, fighting ends in East Africa. General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck agrees a cease-fire on hearing of Germany’s surrender.
Kaiser Charles I abdicates
The Austro-Hungarian Kaiser Charles I abdicates, marking the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates
The German Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates and the Weimar Republic is proclaimed, marking the end of the German Empire.
Groener appointed Hindenburg’s deputy
General Wilhelm Groener replaces General Erich Ludendorff as Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg’s deputy.
Haig’s ‘Backs to the Wall’ special order
Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig issues his ‘Special Order of the Day’, often known as his ‘Backs to the Wall’ communiqué, calling on Allied troops to stand firm against the German Spring Offensive.
Marshal Foch made Supreme Allied Commander
French Marshal Ferdinand Foch is appointed Supreme Commander of all Allied forces in response to the German Spring Offensive.
President Wilson’s Fourteen Points
US President Woodrow Wilson publishes his ‘Fourteen Points’ outlining a post-war world based on free trade, open diplomacy, democracy and self-determination.
Battle of Jerusalem
British Empire forces launch a successful offensive against the Ottomans in Palestine, culminating in General Edmund Allenby’s entry into the city of Jerusalem.
Diaz made Italian Commander-in-Chief
General Armando Diaz replaces General Luigi Cadorna as Commander-in-Chief of the Italian Army.
Clemenceau appointed French Prime Minister
Georges Clemenceau replaces Paul Painlevé as French Prime Minister.
Orlando appointed Italian Prime Minister
Vittorio Emanuele Orlando succeeds Paolo Boselli as Italian Prime Minister.
First advanced plastic surgery
Petty Officer Walter Yeo, badly burned during the Battle of Jutland (1916) on HMS ‘Warspite’, becomes the first person to undergo advanced plastic surgery when he is treated by Sir Harold Gillies.
Royal Family changes name
King George V changes the Royal Family’s name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to the less German-sounding Windsor.
Arab rebels take Aqaba
Arab rebels led by Colonel TE Lawrence (also known as Lawrence of Arabia) seize the Ottoman port of Aqaba.
First blood bank established on Western Front
US Army doctor, Captain Oswald Robertson, sets up the first blood bank on the Western Front.
Pétain appointed French Commander-in-Chief
General Philippe Pétain replaces General Robert Nivelle as Commander-in-Chief of the French Army.
Second Battle of the Aisne
The Second Battle of the Aisne (or the Nivelle Offensive) ends in disaster for the French Army and its commander General Robert Nivelle.
Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps arrives on the Western Front
The first detachment of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) arrives on the Western Front, under the command of Assistant Controller Helen Gwynne Vaughan.
Tsar Nicholas II abdicates
The Russian Tsar Nicholas II abdicates. A provisional government is appointed.
Straussenberg appointed Austro-Hungarian Chief of Staff
General Arz von Straussenberg replaces General Conrad von Hötzendorf as Austro-Hungarian Chief of Staff.
Nivelle appointed French Commander-in-Chief
General Robert Nivelle replaces General Joseph Joffre as Commander-in-Chief of the French Army.
Lloyd George becomes British Prime Minister
David Lloyd George replaces Herbert Asquith as British Prime Minister.
Charles I becomes Austro-Hungarian Emperor
The Austro-Hungarian Emperor Francis Joseph I is succeeded by Charles I.
Hindenburg made German Chief of Staff
General Paul von Hindenburg replaces General Erich von Falkenhayn as German Chief of Staff.
Death of Lord Kitchener
Field Marshal Lord Kitchener drowns when HMS ‘Hampshire’ is sunk by a German mine off the Orkney Islands while bound for Russia.
Early blood transfusion on Western Front
Major Lawrence Robertson of the Canadian Army performs one of the earliest blood transfusions on the Western Front.
Haig appointed commander of British Expeditionary Force
Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig replaces Field Marshal Sir John French as commander of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF).
Tsar Nicholas II assumes command of Russian Army
The Russian Tsar Nicholas II replaces Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolayevich as Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army.
Pope appeals for peace
Pope Benedict XV appeals to all governments to cease hostilities.
First British gas mask
Scottish physiologist John Scott Haldane invents the veil respirator, the first British gas mask.
Introduction of Thomas splint
The introduction of the Thomas splint, named after the Welsh surgeon Hugh Owen Thomas, drastically cuts the numbers of British soldiers dying from broken femurs.
Sultan Mehmed V declares jihad on the Allies
The ruler of the Ottoman Empire, Sultan Mehmed V, declares holy war on the Allies.
Battle of Tanga
Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck’s German colonial forces defeat British-Indian troops at the Battle of Tanga in German East Africa (now Tanzania).
Falkenhayn appointed German Chief of Staff
General Erich von Falkenhayn replaces General Helmuth von Moltke the Younger as German Chief of Staff.
Invasion of German South-West Africa
Pro-British South African forces, under the command of General Louis Botha and General Jan Smuts, invade German South-West Africa (now Namibia).
British Expeditionary Force arrives in France
Field Marshal Sir John French’s British Expeditionary Force (BEF) arrives in France.
Lord Kitchener’s appeal for new recruits
The British Secretary of State for War, Lord Kitchener, calls for 100,000 volunteers for his ‘New Armies’.
Sir Edward Grey addresses Parliament
Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey, addresses Parliament on the war in Europe and outlines the pros and cons of a British intervention.
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
The heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, is assassinated by a Bosnian Serb in Sarajevo. The Austro-Hungarians blame the Serbs and seek revenge.
