World History Timeline

Timeline

40 events

1st century BCE

  1. 52 BCE★★★★★

    Battle of Alesia

    Julius Caesar defeats the Gallic leader Vercingetorix, effectively completing the Roman conquest of Gaul.

    War· France

5th century

8th century

  1. 732★★★★★

    Battle of Tours

    Frankish forces under Charles Martel defeat an Umayyad army between Tours and Poitiers, checking the Muslim advance into Gaul.

    War· France

11th century

12th century

  1. 1147 – 1149★★★★★

    Second Crusade

    Launched after the fall of Edessa and led by Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany, the crusade ends in failure before Damascus.

    WarReligion· Syria, Turkey, France, Germany

14th century

  1. 1337 – 1453★★★★★

    Hundred Years' War

    A series of conflicts between England and France over the French throne ends with England losing nearly all its continental lands.

    War· France, United Kingdom
  2. August 26, 1346★★★★★

    Battle of Crécy

    Edward III's English army, relying on longbowmen, defeats a much larger French army in northern France.

    War· France

15th century

  1. October 25, 1415★★★★★

    Battle of Agincourt

    Henry V's English army, largely archers, defeats a larger French army during the Hundred Years' War.

    War· France
  2. May 8, 1429★★★★★

    Joan of Arc relieves the Siege of Orléans

    French forces joined by Joan of Arc force the English to abandon the siege of Orléans, a turning point of the Hundred Years' War.

    War· France

16th century

  1. August 24, 1572★★★★★

    St. Bartholomew's Day massacre

    Thousands of Huguenot Protestants are killed in Paris and other French cities during the French Wars of Religion.

    ReligionWar· France

17th century

  1. 1618 – 1648★★★★★

    Thirty Years' War

    Beginning with a revolt in Bohemia, the conflict spreads across Central Europe, drawing in the major European powers and causing enormous loss of life.

    WarReligion· Germany, Czechia, Austria, Sweden, France, Spain, Denmark, Netherlands

18th century

  1. 1701 – 1714★★★★★

    War of the Spanish Succession

    European powers fight over the succession to the Spanish throne after the death of Charles II; the war ends with the treaties of Utrecht and Rastatt.

    WarDynasty· Spain, France, United Kingdom, Austria, Netherlands
  2. 1754 – 1763★★★★★

    French and Indian War

    Britain and France, with their Indigenous allies, fight for control of North America; France is defeated and loses most of its territory on the continent.

    War· United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France
  3. 1756 – 1763★★★★★

    Seven Years' War

    A global conflict among the European powers fought in Europe, North America and India; Britain gains colonial supremacy and Prussia confirms its great-power status.

    War· United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria, Russia, Spain, United States, Canada, India
  4. October 19, 1781★★★★★

    British surrender at Yorktown

    General Cornwallis surrenders to American and French forces at Yorktown, Virginia, effectively ending major fighting in the American Revolutionary War.

    War· United States, United Kingdom, France
  5. August 22, 1791 – January 1, 1804★★★★★

    Haitian Revolution begins

    Enslaved people in the French colony of Saint-Domingue rise up, beginning the only successful slave revolution in history.

    RevolutionWar· Haiti, France

19th century

  1. October 21, 1805★★★★★

    Battle of Trafalgar

    The British fleet under Admiral Nelson defeats the combined French and Spanish fleets, securing British naval supremacy; Nelson is killed in the battle.

    War· United Kingdom, France, Spain
  2. December 2, 1805★★★★★

    Battle of Austerlitz

    Napoleon defeats a combined Russian and Austrian army in the "Battle of the Three Emperors", one of his most celebrated victories.

    War· Czechia, France, Austria, Russia
  3. June 24, 1812 – December 1812★★★★★

    French invasion of Russia

    Napoleon's Grande Armée crosses the Neman into Russia and takes Moscow, but is forced into a winter retreat with catastrophic losses.

    War· Russia, France, Lithuania, Belarus
  4. September 7, 1812★★★★★

    Battle of Borodino

    The bloodiest battle of Napoleon's invasion of Russia is fought near Moscow; the Russians withdraw, allowing the French to enter Moscow a week later.

    War· Russia, France
  5. June 18, 1815★★★★★

    Battle of Waterloo

    British and Prussian forces defeat Napoleon Bonaparte, ending the Hundred Days and the Napoleonic Wars.

    War· Belgium, France, United Kingdom, Germany
  6. 1853 – 1856★★★★★

    Crimean War

    An alliance of the Ottoman Empire, Britain, France and Sardinia defeats Russia, with fighting centred on the siege of Sevastopol in Crimea.

    War· Russia, Turkey, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Ukraine
  7. 1856 – 1860★★★★★

    Second Opium War

    Britain and France fight Qing China, occupy Beijing and burn the Old Summer Palace in 1860, forcing further unequal treaties.

    War· China, United Kingdom, France
  8. September 1, 1858★★★★★

    Franco-Spanish attack on Đà Nẵng

    A Franco-Spanish force attacks Đà Nẵng, beginning the French conquest of Vietnam.

    War· Vietnam, France, Spain
  9. May 5, 1862★★★★★

    Battle of Puebla

    Mexican forces defeat a French expeditionary army at Puebla, a victory later commemorated as Cinco de Mayo.

    War· Mexico, France
  10. 1867★★★★★

    France annexes western Cochinchina

    France seizes Vĩnh Long, An Giang and Hà Tiên, completing the colony of French Cochinchina.

    WarPolitics· Vietnam, France
  11. July 19, 1870 – May 10, 1871★★★★★

    Franco-Prussian War

    Prussia and its German allies defeat France, bringing down the Second French Empire and paving the way for German unification.

    War· France, Germany
  12. July 1885 – 1896★★★★★

    Cần Vương movement

    After a failed attack on the French at Huế, Emperor Hàm Nghi flees the capital and issues an edict calling for resistance to French rule.

    WarRevolution· Vietnam, France

20th century

  1. July 28, 1914 – November 11, 1918★★★★★

    World War I

    Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, drawing Europe's powers into a global war that lasts until the armistice of 11 November 1918.

    War· Austria, Serbia, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Russia
  2. February 10, 1930★★★★★

    Yên Bái mutiny

    Vietnamese colonial soldiers organised by the VNQDĐ mutiny at Yên Bái; the revolt fails and Nguyễn Thái Học is executed.

    WarRevolution· Vietnam, France
  3. September 1, 1939 – September 2, 1945★★★★★

    World War II

    Germany invades Poland, starting the deadliest conflict in human history, which ends with Japan's formal surrender on 2 September 1945.

    War· Germany, Poland, United Kingdom, France, Russia, United States, Japan, China
  4. September 22, 1940 – September 26, 1940★★★★★

    Japanese invasion of French Indochina

    Japanese forces attack Lạng Sơn and land near Haiphong, compelling the French administration to accept Japanese bases in Tonkin.

    War· Vietnam, Japan, France
  5. 1941 – 1945★★★★★

    The Holocaust

    Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murder some six million European Jews, along with millions of other victims.

    WarDeath· Germany, Poland, Austria, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Czechia, Netherlands, France
  6. June 6, 1944★★★★★

    D-Day: the Normandy landings

    Allied forces carry out the largest seaborne invasion in history on the Normandy coast, opening a Western Front to liberate Western Europe.

    War· France, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany
  7. March 9, 1945★★★★★

    Japanese coup in French Indochina

    Japan overthrows the French administration in Indochina; Bảo Đại then proclaims the Empire of Vietnam with Trần Trọng Kim as prime minister.

    WarPolitics· Vietnam, Japan, France
  8. May 8, 1945★★★★★

    Victory in Europe Day

    The Allies formally accept Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender, ending the Second World War in Europe.

    War· Germany, United Kingdom, United States, France, Russia
  9. December 19, 1946 – 1954★★★★★

    First Indochina War

    War between the Việt Minh and France breaks out in Hanoi and lasts until the Geneva Accords of 1954.

    War· Vietnam, France, Laos, Cambodia
  10. March 13, 1954 – May 7, 1954★★★★★

    Battle of Điện Biên Phủ

    The Việt Minh assault the French garrison at Điện Biên Phủ; their victory on 7 May leads to the Geneva Accords.

    War· Vietnam, France
  11. November 1, 1954 – March 19, 1962★★★★★

    Algerian War of Independence

    The National Liberation Front (FLN) fights French rule; the war ends with the Évian Accords and Algerian independence in 1962.

    WarRevolution· Algeria, France
  12. October 29, 1956 – November 7, 1956★★★★★

    Suez Crisis

    After Nasser nationalises the Suez Canal, Israel, Britain and France attack Egypt but withdraw under US and Soviet pressure.

    WarPolitics· Egypt, Israel, United Kingdom, France
Timeline · World History Timeline