The History Book Club discussion

Here is a short but interesting timeline for WWI.

World War I 1914-1918

1. June 28, 1914: Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo.

2. July 28, 1914: Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.

3. July 31, 1914: Russia announced mobilization of army.

4. August 1, 1914: Germany declared war on Russia.

5. August 3, 1914: Germany declared war on France.

6. August 4, 1914: Germany invaded Belgium, Britain declared war on Germany.

7. August 6, 1914: Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia.

8. September 15, 1914: First trenches of the western front were built.

9. December 15, 1914: Unofficial Christmas Truce was announced.

10.February 4, 1915: Germany blocked the sea using submarines.

11.April 25, 1915: Battle for Gallipoli was started.

12.May 23, 1915: Italy declared war on Germany.

13.August 5, 1915: Warsaw was captured by Germany.

14.December 28, 1915: Allies started evacuation of their troops from Gillipoli.

15.February 21, 1916- December 18, 1916: Battle of Verdun was fought. Over 1 million casualties were reported

16.May 31, 1916: Naval battle of Jutland was fought.

17.December 31, 1916: Rasputin was murdered.

18.February 1, 1917: Germany declared unrestricted submarine warfare.

19.March 15, 1917: Russian Revolution.

20.April 6, 1917: USA declared war on Germany.

21.April 16, 1917: France launched unsuccessful offensive on Western front

22.July 31, 1917: Battle of Ypres was started.

23.December 5, 1917: Armistice between Russia and Germany was signed.

24.December 9, 1917: Jerusalem was captured by Britain.

25.March 3, 1918: Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed.

26.July 15, 1918: Second Battle of Marne was started.

27.October 28, 1918: Mutiny in German Army.

28.October 30, 1918: Turkey signed armistice.

29.November 9, 1918: Kaiser William II abdicated

30.November 11, 1918: End of World War I.

(Source: trenchwarfare)

A little different and more personal look at the assassination at Sarajevo.

The Assassination of the Archduke: Sarajevo 1914 and the Romance that Changed the World

by Greg King (no photo)

Synopsis:

In the summer of 1914, three great empires dominated Europe: Germany, Russia, and Austria-Hungary. Four years later all had vanished in the chaos of World War I. One event precipitated the conflict, and at its heart was a tragic love story. When Austrian heir Archduke Franz Ferdinand married for love against the wishes of the emperor, he and his wife Sophie were humiliated and shunned, yet they remained devoted to each other and to their children. The two bullets fired in Sarajevo not only ended their love story, but also led to war and a century of conflict.

Set against a backdrop of glittering privilege, The Assassination of the Archduke combines royal history, touching romance, and political murder in a moving portrait of the end of an era. One hundred years after the event, it offers the startling truth behind the Sarajevo assassinations, including Serbian complicity and examines rumors of conspiracy and official negligence. Events in Sarajevo also doomed the couple’s children to lives of loss, exile, and the horrors of Nazi concentration camps, their plight echoing the horrors unleashed by their parents’ deaths. Challenging a century of myth, The Assassination of the Archduke resonates as a very human story of love destroyed by murder, revolution, and war.

Austro-Hungarian Cruisers and Destroyers 1914–18

by Ryan K. Noppen (no photo)

Synopsis:

At the outbreak of World War I, Austria-Hungary had four modern light cruisers and twenty modern destroyers at their disposal, constructed in the early 20th century to defend their growing overseas interests. It was these fast light vessels, not the fleet's prized battleships, which saw most action during the war; from the bombardment of enemy batteries during the Montenegrin Campaign, to their victory over the Allied fleet at the Battle of the Strait of Otranto in 1917.

With the help of specially-commissioned artwork, author Ryan Noppen examines the cruisers and destroyers that the Austro-Hungarian Empire had at their disposal during World War I. His study covers their design and development, with thrilling combat reports highlighting the way in which the strategies evolved throughout the Adriatic Campaign.