July 1914


The following events occurred in July 1914:
On the war, see July Crisis and Causes of World War I.

[July 1], 1914 (Wednesday)

July CrisisAustria-Hungary received confirmation from Germany that they could expect full support from their ally should they choose to wage war against Serbia in response to Serbian nationalists assassinating Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. With some diplomatic reports alleging Dragutin Dimitrijević, Chief of Serbian Military Intelligence, and others in the Serbian government being involved in the assassination plot, Russian Ambassador Nicholas Hartwig met with officials in Belgrade to advise on the best maneuvers for Serbia to take during the crisis.

[July 2], 1914 (Thursday)

July CrisisKaiser Wilhelm received recommendation from the German military for Austria-Hungary to attack Serbia as quickly as possible, since Germany was more prepared to mobilize than either Russia or France.

[July 3], 1914 (Friday)

[July 4], 1914 (Saturday)

July Crisis – On the same day Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg were interred at Artstetten Castle, Kaiser Wilhelm declared that he was entirely for "settling accounts with Serbia". Zaian War - A tribal force of 500 Zayanes attacked a French convoy south of Khenifra, Morocco. French soldiers repulsed the attack at a loss of 11 killed and 30 wounded.Lexington Avenue explosionArthur Caron, a member of Industrial Workers of the World, and three other people were killed in New York City when a bomb intended to kill John D. Rockefeller exploded prematurely in an apartment used as a base for the assassination plot.

[July 5], 1914 (Sunday)

July Crisis – A council was held at Potsdam, where leaders from Austria-Hungary and Germany met to discuss possibilities of war with Serbia, Russia, and France, concluding it had become necessary "to eliminate Serbia" in spite of expected resistance from her allies. Their option to go to war was further reinforced by letters from Helmuth von Moltke, Chief of the German General Staff, and Emperor Franz Joseph that both stated war was necessary to preserve the monarchy.

[July 6], 1914 (Monday)

Komagata Maru incident – The British Columbia Court of Appeal gave a unanimous judgement that under new orders-in-council, it had no authority to interfere with the decisions of the Department of Immigration and Colonization, allowing the Canadian government legal standing to order Vancouver harbor's tug Sea Lion to push the Japanese vessel out to sea with more than 300 Sikhs and other British Indian subjects on board.July CrisisBritish Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey received warning from German ambassador Karl Max of likely war in the Balkans, but Grey was optimistic "that a peaceful solution would be reached" through Anglo-German co-operation. Meanwhile, Kaiser Wilhelm went on his annual cruise of the North Sea at the insistence of his courtiers, even though he wished to remain in Berlin until the crisis was resolved.

[July 7], 1914 (Tuesday)

July CrisisAustria-Hungary convened a Council of Ministers, including Ministers for Foreign Affairs and War, the Chief of the General Staff and Naval Commander-in-Chief; the Council lasted from 11.30 a.m. to 6.15 p.m.

[July 8], 1914 (Wednesday)

July Crisis – The Council of Ministers for Austria-Hungary sent two recommended options to Emperor Franz Joseph on how to handle its crisis with Serbia. The first option was a surprise attack against the Balkan country and the second option was to place demands on Serbia before mobilization to provide a proper "juridical basis for a declaration of war".Mexican Revolution – Mexican forces with revolutionary leader Álvaro Obregón defeated 6,000 federal troops sent out from Guadalajara to halt his progress.

[July 9], 1914 (Thursday)

Mexican Revolution – Rebel soldiers under command of Álvaro Obregón captured Guadalajara. The revolutionaries routed 12,000 federal soldiers, killing 8,000 and capturing 5,000 more along with much of the federal army's artillery. The battle effectively ended the Victoriano Huerta regime. July CrisisAustrian Emperor Franz Joseph was advised the council was working on an ultimatum containing demands that were designed to be rejected, thus ensuring a war without the "odium of attacking Serbia without warning, put her in the wrong."

[July 10], 1914 (Friday)

[July 11], 1914 (Saturday)

July Crisis – The German foreign office sent a telegram on behalf of Kaiser Wilhelm congratulating King Peter of Serbia on his birthday. Wilhelm ordered the goodwill telegram to be sent even though the German government knew of Austria-Hungary's intention to provoke war with Serbia: "As Vienna has so far inaugurated no action of any sort against Belgrade, the omission of the customary telegram would be too noticeable and might be the cause of premature uneasiness.... It should be sent."

[July 12], 1914 (Sunday)

July Crisis – In response to pressure from the German government on Austria-Hungary's Council of Ministers to resolve their indecision about whether to choose war or peace, Foreign Minister Leopold Berchtold presented the German foreign office with a draft of the ultimatum which would be presented to Serbia after the summit between French President Raymond Poincaré and Tsar Nicholas.

[July 13], 1914 (Monday)

July Crisis – The Austrian investigation into the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand reported to Vienna there was little evidence to support the Serbian government in general was accessory to the plot.Canadian Arctic Expedition – Captain Robert Bartlett of HMCS Karluk departed from Alaska on the Bear for Wrangel Island in the Bering Sea after obtaining permission from the United States government. Unknown to him, there were now only 14 survivors from the shipwreck still on the island.Born: Franz von Werra, Swiss-German Luftwaffe pilot, only German prisoner of war to successfully escape from an Allied prison camp and return to Germany, recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross; in Leuk, Switzerland Died: Joan Röell, 69, Dutch state leader, Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1894 to 1897

[July 14], 1914 (Tuesday)

[July 15], 1914 (Wednesday)

Mexican RevolutionVictoriano Huerta resigned as president of Mexico and left for Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz. Francisco S. Carvajal succeeded him as the 36th President of Mexico, holding the office for a month while power was transitioned to Venustiano Carranza.

[July 16], 1914 (Thursday)

July Crisis – The Russian ambassador to Austria-Hungary warned Saint Petersburg that "the Austro-Hungarian government at the conclusion of the inquiry intends to make certain demands on Belgrade" and would be deemed "unacceptable" by Russia.

[July 17], 1914 (Friday)

July Crisis – The quartermaster general of the Imperial German Army wrote to Foreign Minister Gottlieb von Jagow to confirm, "I can move at a moment's notice. We in the General Staff are ready: there is nothing more for us to do at this juncture."

[July 18], 1914 (Saturday)

July Crisis – In response to rumors about an Austrian ultimatum, Serbian Prime Minister Nikola Pašić stated that he would not accept any measures that compromised Serbian sovereignty.

[July 19], 1914 (Sunday)

Komagata Maru incident – The tugboat Sea Lion, with 35 armed immigration officers and 125 Vancouver police officers on board, attempted to force the Japanese vessel from Vancouver harbour. Passengers on the ship resisted, pelting the officers with coal and bricks while another with an ax chopped at a line the tug boat used to tie to the ship. When a gunman on board the Komagata Maru opened fire, the Sea Lion backed off.July Crisis – The Council of Ministers in Vienna finalized the wording of the ultimatum to be presented to Serbia.

[July 20], 1914 (Monday)

July CrisisGermany began making preparations for war by mobilizing the Imperial German Navy and informing shipping companies to start withdrawing their ships from foreign waters back to German ports.

[July 21], 1914 (Tuesday)

Buckingham Palace Conference – Both Irish Nationalists and Irish Unionists met at the Royal Palace in London for a three-day peace conference. Those who attended were the Prime Minister H. H. Asquith, David Lloyd George, the Irish Parliamentary Party leader John Redmond, and his deputy John Dillon. The Unionists included Edward Carson, leader of the Irish Unionist Alliance, with Bonar Law, James Craig and Lord Henry Lansdowne. The Speaker of the House of Commons presided.Komagata Maru incident – The Canadian government mobilized, a former Royal Navy ship, with troops from the British Columbia Regiment and The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, to force the Japanese vessel to return to India.

[July 22], 1914 (Wednesday)

[July 23], 1914 (Thursday)

July CrisisAustria-Hungary presented Serbia with an unconditional ultimatum, which among its provisions included Serbia to formally and publicly condemn the "dangerous propaganda" against Austria-Hungary and to "suppress by every means this criminal and terrorist propaganda."

[July 24], 1914 (Friday)

July Crisis – Expecting a declaration against them, Serbia mobilized for war while Austria-Hungary broke off diplomatic relations. The British Ambassador to Austria-Hungary reported to London: "War is thought imminent. Wildest enthusiasm prevails in Vienna."

[July 25], 1914 (Saturday)

July CrisisEmperor Franz Joseph signed a mobilization order for the Austro-Hungarian Army and its 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th, 7th and 8th field armies to begin operations against Serbia within 72 hours. At the same time, Austro-Hungarian ambassador Baron Wladimir Giesl von Gieslingen left Belgrade. Radomir Putnik, Chief of the Serbian General Staff, was arrested in Budapest but subsequently allowed to return to Serbia.Born:

[July 26], 1914 (Sunday)

July Crisis – An offer from Great Britain to mediate a resolution to the political crisis between Austria-Hungary, Germany, Serbia, and Russia was rejected by Germany and Russia.

[July 27], 1914 (Monday)

July CrisisGreat Britain made a final push for peace, warning the German Empire and Austria-Hungary it would be forced to side with France and Russian Empire should war break out.

[July 28], 1914 (Tuesday)

World War I – At 11:00 a.m., Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia by telegram. The same day, a manifesto titled "To my peoples" and signed by Emperor Franz Joseph was released informing the citizens of the Austria-Hungary that the Empire was going to war.Pursuit of Goeben and Breslau – While the ships of the Imperial German Navy Mediterranean Division were under repair in the Adriatic Sea, Counter Admiral Wilhelm Souchon learned that British and French naval forces had been ordered to capture the ships. He ordered the repairs stopped and the ships to set course for the Dardanelles, a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey, as a means to escape the naval blockade.

[July 29], 1914 (Wednesday)

World War I – The first shots of the war were fired at 1:00 a.m. when Austria's river monitor SMS Bodrog bombarded Belgrade in response to Serbia blowing up the only major bridge across the river Sava which linked the two countries.

[July 30], 1914 (Thursday)

[July 31], 1914 (Friday)

World War ITsar Nicholas ordered full mobilization of the Imperial Russian Army against Austria-Hungary, including the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th Armies, as well as the Caucasus Army for the Caucasus Military District in the southern front of the Russian Empire.