1914
28th June - Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to Austro-Hungarian Empire, by a Serb separatist at Sarajevo. 28 July - Austro-Hungarian Empire declares war on Serbia 31st July - Australian Government pledges support for Britain "to our last man and our last shilling" 1 August - Germany declares war on Russia 2nd August - German troops move into Luxembourg 3rd August - Germany declares war on France 3rd August - Australia offers expeditionary force of 20,000 troops 4th August - Germany invades Belgium, Britain declares war on Germany 5 August - Australia declares war on German. Artillery at Fort Nepeanfire at ship Pfalz to stop her leaving Port Phillip Bay - the first Allied shot fired in the war. 6th August - Austro-Hungarian Empire declares war on Russia 7th August - British Expeditionary Force lands in France 10 August - Australian Imperial Forces (A.I.F) launch recruitment drive 12 August - Britain and France declare war on Austro-Hugarian Empire 13 August  - Austro-Hungarian Empire forces invade Serbia. Establishment of the Australian Red Cross to raise funds to purchase comfort supplies for Australian service personnel overseas 19th August - Australian Naval and Military  Expeditionary Force departs for Palm Island training camp on route to New Britain. Australia Red Cross founded 20th August  - German Army attacks Brussels 23rd August - Japan declares war on Germany 30th August - New Zealand Expeditionary Forces invade German-held Samoa August/September - Formation of variously named "patriotic funds" in all States to raise money to send extra food and clothing to service personnel overseas 6th September - Battle of the Marne starts 11th September - Australian Expeditionary Force captures German wireless station at New Britain with loss of six lives - first Australian casualties of the war.. Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force lands at Blanche Bay, adjacent to Rabual, in German held New Guinea. 12th September - Australians capture Rabaul October - C.E.W Bean appointed as Australia's official war correspondent Click Here for more about Bean 14th October - Australia loses it's first naval vessel, submarine AEI off coast of New Britain 19th October - Battles of Ypres begins 31st October - Turkey declares war on Britain and her allies 1st November - The initial Australian and New Zealand convey sets out for Britain 2nd November - Russia declares war on Turkey 5th November - Britain and France declare war on Turkey. Australia is automatically at war with Turkey. 6th November - Australian forces occupy Nauru 9th November - Australia's HMAS Sydney destroys German raider Emden of Cocos Islands and takes crew prisoner 3rd December - Initial convoy of Australian and New Zealand Forces disembark at Alexandria in Egypt. Troops set up camp at Mena Australian and New Zealand forces combine as Australian New Zealand Army Corps - (ANZAC) 21st December - Lieutenant-General Sir William Birdwood arrives in Egypt to take command of ANZAC's.
1915
1st January - Battle of Broken Hill in which two Turks shoot and kill six passengers on a holiday train near Broken Hill 1st February - Second Australian convoy arrives in Egypt 3rd February - Turks occupy Sinai, 18 German Navy begins blockading Britain. 19th February - British and French fleets begin trying to open Dardenalles sea route for Allied shipping. 18th March - Dardenalles naval campaign abandoned 20th April - First Australian Flying Corps leaves Mesopotamia 22nd April - Second battles of Ypres begins. Germans employ poison gas. ANZAC's land on Gallipoli Peninsula in face of heavy Turkish fire. 30th  April - Australian submarine AE2 sunk in the sea of Marmara and crew is captured 2nd May - ANZAC's attack Baby 700 and Gaba Tepe 7th May - German U20 submarine sinks Cunard passenger liner  Lusitania off Ireland 15th May - Death on Gallipoli of Major General W.T.Bridges, Commander of the First Division, AIF. Bridges body was returned to Australia, and buried in the grounds of the Royal Military College, Duntroon. 19th May  - ANZAC's prevent Turkish attack from wiping out their positions near ANZAC Cove killing 3000 Turks. John Simpson 'Kirkpatrick - The man with the donkey - killed. Truce arranged to bury dead. Lance Corporal Albert Jacka wins first Australia Victoria Cross of the war at Gallipoli. 24th May -Formal truce on Gallipoli during which the Turkish dead of the 19th May attacks were buried 31 May - German zeppelin bombs London 30th June - ANZAC's repulse an attack by the Turks at the nek 6th August - ANZAC's attack Lone Pine in major offensive. Battle of Sari Blair begins. British troops mount offensive ay Cape Helles. Hundreds die as Australian Light Horse (unmounted) charges Turkish machine guns at the Nek. 9th August - ANZAC's capture Lone Pine losing 2000 men , but killing 5000 Turks. Australians won 7 Victoria Crosses 10th August - ANZAC's abandon campaign to capture Hill 971 and Chanuk Bair 21st August - ANZAC's attack Hill 60 29th August - ANZAC's abandon furthur offensives at Gallipoli accepting stalemate. 23rd September - Journalist Keith Murdoch sends letter of complaint from Gallipoli to Australian Prime Minister Andrew Fisher recommending withdrawal of troops. 25th September - Allies attack Artois and Champagne on Western Front 30th September - Australia launches first Australian-made cruiser, HMAS Brisbane. 5th October - Allies land at Salonika 21st October - Vera Deakin, daughter of ex-Prime Minister Alfred Deakin, established the Australian Red Cross Missing and Wounded Enquiry Bureau in Cairo, Egypt. During the remainder of the war the Bureau handled thousands of enquiries from Australian families seeking information about wounded and missing soldiers Click Here for furthur Information 27th October - War enthusiast William (Billy) Hughes becomes Prime Minister and begins boosting war effort. 7th December - British decide to evacuate Gallipoli, Suvla Bay and Cape Helles. Attack on Kut-al-Amara in Mesopotamia begins. 18th December - Evacuation of ANZAC's begins from Gallipoli, leaving 8709 dead behind. 20, 000 Allied troops evacuated. 20th December- All ANZAC troops now off ANZAC Cove and Suvla Bay.
1916
8th January  - All Allied troops now evacuated from Gallipoli Peninsula ending campaign. Most ANZAC troops are assigned to Western Front. 16th January - Prime Minister Billy Hughes leaves to inspect European battlefields 21st February - Battle of Verdun begins 7 th March - ANZAC troops reach Europe 24th March - Wartime price controls begin. 7th April - Australian soldiers take up positions on the Western Front at Armentieres, France 25th  April - First commemoration of ANZAC Day 29th April - Turkish Army captures Kut-al-Amara. 31st May - Naval Battle of Jutand begins in which 250 warships are engaged. 5th June - Grand Sherif Hussein of Mecca launches the Arab revolt in which Lawrence of Arabia would play a leading role 6th June - Returned Services League founded - RSSILA - Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia - a forerunner to current RSL - Returned and Services League of Australia. 1st July - First Battle of the Somme 19th July - Australians fight in the pointless and bloody Battle of Fromelles 23rd July - Australians capture Pozieres winning four Victoria Crosses 31st July - Billly Hughes urges all men to enlist 4th August - ANZAC Mounted Division fights in Battle of Romani in Sinai. 24th August -British War Office cables Australia for more men.Official inauguration of the Australian Comforts Fund (ACF). The ACF coordinated the activities of the varios State "patriotic funds" set up in 1914 to collect money to send comforts parcels to personnel overseas. 30th August - Billy Hughes announces conscription referendum. 3rd September - Australian troops capture Mouquet Farm. 15th September - Tanks used for first time in the Somme at Flers-Courcelette. 28th October -First  Referendum on conscription returns a "No" vote by a narrow margin. 18 November - Somme campaign ended. Australian troops manned trenches throughout a severe winter on the Western Front. 25th November - British Government agrees to buy the entire Australian wool clip for duration of war. 6th December - Central Powers capture Bucharest. 21 Australian Light Horsemen capture El Arish in Sinai 23rd December - Australian Light Horse capture Magdhaba in Sinai
1917
9th January -  ANZAC mounted forces capture Rafa in Palestine 15th February - First soldier settlement legislation introduced 24th February - British recapture Kut-al-Amara 11th March - British capture Bagdad 15th March - Tsar Nicholas II abdicates 17th March - Australian troops capture Bapaume and advance towards Hndenburg Line. 26th March - First battle of Gazza in Palestine 6th April - United States finally declares war on Germany 11th April - First Battle of Bullecourt begins on the Hindenberg Line in which 3000 Australians Die 17th April Second Battle of Gaza in Palestine Foundation of Imperial War Graves Commission, later Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The purpose of the Commision was to erect and maintain war memorials and cemeteries. 3rd May - Second Battle of Bullecourt begins. 7000 Australian casualties 12th May - Australian and British troops repulse a German counterattack at Bullecourt 15th May - Australian and British troops repulse a German counter-attack at Bullecourt 7th June-ANZAC's capture Messines Ridge in Flanders assisted by Australian tunnellers who blew up Hill 60 25th June - First Americans land in France 6th July - SS Cumberland sinks after hitting a mine laid by German raider Wolf off Gabo Island 22nd July - Four members of the Australian Army Nursing Service  - Sisters Cawwod, Deacon and Ross King and Staff Nurse Derrer - won Military Medals for rescuing patients trapped in a burning Casualty Clearing Station at Trois Arbes, France. These were the first bravery awards won by Australian nurses in action. 31st July - Third Battle of Ypres begins (Passchendaele) 20th September - Australian troops gain upper hand in Battle of Menin Road during third Battle of Ypres 26th September - Australian troops capture Polygon Wood near Ypres 4th October - ANZAC forces fight in the bloody assault on Broodseinde Ridge 12th October - ANZAC forces fight in bloody battle of Passchendaele 31st October - Third Battle of Gaza. Australian Light Horse capture Beersheba under the legendary Australian General Harry Chauvel. 7th November - Billy Hughes announces another referendum on conscription 8th November - South Australian Parliament legislates to change German place names 19th November - Queensland Premier T.J. Ryan attacks Prime Minister Hughes for trying to force through conscription. 20th November - Battle of Cambrai 29th November - Protester hits P.M. Hughes with an egg during an anti-conscription rally. 2nd December - New Bolshevik-led Russia abandons war against Germany. 9th December - Allies capture Jerusalem December - Australians vote against conscription for a second time. Billy Hughes abandons campaign.
1918
1st January - Australian Army Corps formed for first time from all five fighting divisions 8th January - Billy Hughes resigns after failing to introduce conscription but is reappointed. 21 ANZAC Mounted Division captures Jericho. 25th February - Britain rations food 18th March - Allies halt German Army on Western Front 28th March - Australian Forces stop German advance at Dernancourt 7th April - British Government imposes meat rationing throughout Britain. 8th April - Establishment of the Repatriation Department 21st April - Allies shoot down and kill Red Baron (Manfred von Richthofen)the top scoring German air ace. Click Here for More Information about Red Baron 24th April - Hughes leaves Australia to attend Imperial War Conference 25th April - ANZAC's capture German-held Villers - Bretonneux in the Somme, commemorating the theirs anniversary of Gallipoli landing 31st May - General John Monash takes command of Australia Corps in France with Brigadier - General T.A.Blamey as Chief of Staff 1st June - Appointment of Lieutenant General Sir John Monash to command the Anzac Corps in France. The Corps brought all five Divisions to the First AIF under an Australian Commander 2nd July - Prime Minister William Morris Hughes the "Little Digger", addresses Australian Troops  on the Western Front before the Battle of Hamel, France. 4th July - Australians, under Monash capture Le Hamel in the Somme 26th July - Major "Mick" Mannock, top scoring British air ace, shot down and killed. 8th August - Australian troops play leading role in Allied offensive at successful Battle of Amiens. German Army Commander Ludendorff describes it as the "blackest day in history of German Army" 21st August - Allies push Germans back in second Battle of the Somme 28th August - Allies begin advance on Flanders 1st September  - Australian and Allied troops capture Mont St Quentin 2nd September - Australian and Allied troops capture Perone 18th September - Australian troops spearhead attack on the Hindenberg Line 19th September - Allies win offensive in Palestine at Battle of Megiddo. Australian Harry Chauvel and his Light Horse begin great conquering ride around the rear of the enemy at Nablus in Palestine. 22nd September - First direct wireless message from Britain to Australia ushers in faster wartime communications 25th September - ANZAC Mounted Division captures Amman 29th September - Australian and Allied troops begin main advance on Hindenberg Line. 30th September - Allies capture Macedonia on Salonika Front. Bulgaria sues for peace.Lance Corporal E.A.Corey, a stretcher bearer with the 55th Battalion, wins a thirs bar to his Military Medal. The winning of four Military Medals is a unique feat in the Australian or any other Commonwealth Army. September - "Anzac leave" to Australia allowed for AIF veterans of Gallipoli 1st October - Lawrence of Arabia, and Australian Light Horse with Allied forces, capture Damascus having cut off the enemy's retreat and taken 4000 prisoners. 5th October - Australians capture Montbrenhain in their last fight on the Western Front. 30th October - Turkey surrenders 3rd November - Austro-Hungaria surrenders 9th November - Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates 11th November - Germany signs armistice with Allies ending the war on the Western Front.