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Collection Stars and Stripes: The American Soldiers' Newspaper of World War I, 1918 to 1919

Timeline (1914 - 1921)

Timeline

  1. June 28, 1914

    Archduke Francis Ferdinand is assassinated.

  2. July 28, 1914

    Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, beginning World War I.

  3. August 2-7, 1914

    Germany invades Luxembourg and Belgium. France invades Alsace. British forces arrive in France. Nations allied against Germany were eventually to include Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Rhodesia, Romania, Greece, France, Belgium, United States, Canada, Serbia, India, Portugal, Montenegro, and Poland.

  4. August 10, 1914

    Austria-Hungary invades Russia.

  5. September 9, 1914

    Allied forces halt German advance into France during First Battle of the Marne.

  6. February 18, 1915

    Germany begins naval blockade of Great Britain.

  7. April 25, 1915

    Allied forces land on the Gallipoli Peninsula of the Ottoman Empire.

  8. May 7, 1915

    German submarine sinks the passenger liner Lusitania during crossing from New York to Liverpool, England, killing 128 Americans.

    [LUSITANIA, 1907-1914, New York City: broadside view, maiden voyage, crowd in foregrd.] 1907. George Grantham Bain Collection, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. LC-USZ62-55384

  9. May 23, 1915

    Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary.

  10. February 21, 1916

    Germany begins the attack on Verdun.

    Verdun. Print (poster): lithograph. Maurice Toussaint. Paris: Cornille & Serre, [1919]. French World War I posters, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. LC-USZC2-4113

  11. May 31, 1916

    Naval Battle of Jutland takes place between British and German fleets.

  12. July 1, 1916

    Allied offensive begins the Battle of the Somme.

    Taking away the wounded in motor ambulance (Somme). Stereograph. Meadville, Pa.: Keystone View Co., c1918. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. LC-USZ62-114922

  13. December 18, 1916

    Battle of Verdun ends with 550,000 French and 450,000 German casualties.

  14. February 1, 1917

    Germany returns to unrestricted submarine warfare halted after the sinking of the Lusitania.

  15. February 3, 1917

    United States severs diplomatic relations with Germany.

  16. April 6, 1917

    The United States declares war on Germany.

  17. June 7, 1917

    General John J. Pershing, newly selected commander of the American Expeditionary Forces, arrives in England with his staff.

    [John Joseph Pershing . . . with eleven members of his staff, on deck of ship]. [between 1910 and 1920]. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. LC-USZ62-113652

  18. June 24, 1917

    American combat forces arrive in France.

  19. December 15, 1917

    Russia signs armistice with Germany.

  20. January 8, 1918

    President Woodrow Wilson presents to Congress his outline of Fourteen Points required for peace.

    Woodrow Wilson. In album: Woodrow Wilson, Herbert E. French, National Photo Company, 1921. National Photo Company Collection, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. LC-USZ62-113824

  21. February 8, 1918

    The Stars and Stripes begins publication with a first issue of one thousand copies. Second Lieutenant Guy T. Viskniskki is the first managing editor of the newspaper.

  22. March 3, 1918

    Russia signs the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany.

  23. March 21, 1918

    Germany begins its final offensive of the war.

  24. March 1918

    American women recruited to serve as bilingual telephone operators for the AEF arrive in Europe.

  25. May 28, 1918

    United States forces are victorious in the Battle of Cantigny, the first independent American operation.

  26. June 2, 1918

    American forces stop German attempt to cross the Marne River at Chateau-Thierry.

    Another notch, Chateau Thierry - U.S. Marines. Print (poster): lithograph. Adolph Treidler, [1917]. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. LC-USZC4-10664

  27. July 26, 1918

    The Stars and Stripes suspends the Sporting Page.

  28. September 12, 1918

    American First Army attacks St. Mihiel salient.

    St. Mihiel. Print (poster): lithograph. Maurice Toussaint. Paris: Cornille & Serre, [1919]. French World War I posters, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. LC-USZC2-4112

  29. September 26, 1918

    Allied forces begin the attack at Meusse-Argonne, the final offensive of the war.

    [Infantry] advancing on path through barbed wire entanglements . . . 107th Inf., 27th Div., near Beauquesnes, Somme, France. September 13, 1918. John Joseph Pershing Collection, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. LC-USZ62-87811

  30. November 11, 1918

    Germany signs the Armistice at Compiègne, ending World War I.

  31. December 1918

    Harold Ross assumes editorship of The Stars and Stripes.

  32. December 1, 1918

    British and American forces enter Germany.

  33. December 16, 1918

    The Stars and Stripes War Orphans Adoption Campaign ends after raising 123,047 francs and placing 3,444 orphans for adoption.

  34. December 27, 1918

    Sporting Page returns to The Stars and Stripes.

  35. Jan. 18, 1919

    Peace conference begins at Paris.

  36. February 8, 1919

    First anniversary of The Stars and Stripes. Circulation surpasses 500,000.

  37. February 14, 1919

    Draft of the covenant of the League of Nations is completed.

  38. June 13, 1919

    Last issue of The Stars and Stripes is published.

  39. June 28, 1919

    Allied and German representatives sign treaty of Versailles. The United States signs treaty of guaranty, pledging to defend France in case of an unprovoked attack by Germany.

  40. November 19, 1919

    United States Senate fails to ratify Treaty of Versailles.

  41. January 10, 1920

    Treaty of Versailles takes effect.

  42. March 19, 1920

    United States Senate fails to ratify Treaty of Versailles for the second time.

  43. August 24-29, 1921

    United States signs separate peace treaties with Germany, Austria, and Hungary.