First World War

  • 1914: Britain declares war on Germany

    On 4 August 1914, Britain declared war on Germany after a British ultimatum concerning Belgian neutrality expired without an acceptable reply. German troops had crossed into Belgium that morning. Germany’s war plan required its armies to move through Belgian territory to attack France from the north. The Belgian government had rejected a German demand for…

  • 1915: Quintinshill rail disaster kills more than 200 people

    On 22 May 1915, a troop train carrying men of the 1/7th Battalion Royal Scots crashed near Quintinshill Junction, near Gretna. A second collision and fire followed. The disaster killed 230 people and became Britain’s worst railway accident. The men on the troop train were part of Britain’s war effort. They were being moved by…

  • 1915: HMS Princess Irene explodes off Sheerness

    HMS Princess Irene exploded off Sheerness on 27 May 1915 while being loaded with mines. The ship was destroyed and sank. The disaster killed 352 people. Princess Irene had been a Canadian Pacific passenger liner before the Admiralty took her into service during the First World War. She was being used as an auxiliary minelayer.…

  • 1916: The Battle of Jutland begins

    On 31 May 1916, the Battle of Jutland began in the North Sea. The Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet met Germany’s High Seas Fleet in the largest naval battle of the First World War. Britain depended on sea power. The Royal Navy kept Germany contained and maintained the blockade meant to weaken the German war effort.…

  • 1917: The Third Battle of Ypres begins

    On 31 July 1917, British and French troops attacked German positions east and north-east of Ypres in Belgium. The assault began the Third Battle of Ypres, later widely known as Passchendaele. British forces had occupied the Ypres Salient since the early part of the First World War. The salient projected into German-held territory and was…

  • 1918: The Battle of Amiens begins

    On 8 August 1918, British Empire and French forces attacked German positions east of Amiens. The offensive began at 4.20 am and achieved one of the largest Allied advances on the Western Front during the First World War. The main attack was made by General Sir Henry Rawlinson’s British Fourth Army, with the Australian and…