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World War 1 Summary

World War I was a global conflict from 1914 to 1918 involving many great powers that was triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and led to over four years of trench warfare and new destructive weapons on the Western Front, reshaping the global political landscape and sowing seeds for future conflicts.

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29 views1 page

World War 1 Summary

World War I was a global conflict from 1914 to 1918 involving many great powers that was triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and led to over four years of trench warfare and new destructive weapons on the Western Front, reshaping the global political landscape and sowing seeds for future conflicts.

Uploaded by

hannah.finkel
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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World War I, also known as the Great War, was a global conflict that lasted from 1914 to 1918,

involving many of the world's great powers. It was sparked by a complex web of political tensions,
militarism, imperialism, and alliances that had developed in Europe in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries.

The immediate trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-
Hungary in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. This event ignited a chain reaction of alliances and
mobilizations, leading to the outbreak of hostilities. Austria-Hungary, supported by Germany, declared
war on Serbia, drawing in Russia, France, and eventually Britain, along with their respective allies,
into what would become a devastating conflict.

World War I was characterized by trench warfare, where soldiers on both sides dug in and fought from
elaborate systems of trenches that stretched for hundreds of miles across the Western Front. It was a
war of attrition, marked by horrific casualties and stalemates, with new weapons such as machine
guns, tanks, and poison gas leading to unprecedented levels of destruction and suffering.

The war also had profound socio-political consequences. It saw the collapse of empires such as the
Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, German, and Russian empires, and the redrawing of borders in Europe
and the Middle East. The Treaty of Versailles, signed in 1919, imposed heavy reparations on Germany
and laid the groundwork for resentment and economic hardship that would contribute to the rise of
totalitarian regimes and the outbreak of World War II two decades later.

Moreover, World War I reshaped the global geopolitical landscape, sowing the seeds for future
conflicts and shaping the course of the 20th century. It highlighted the need for international
cooperation and conflict resolution, leading to the establishment of the League of Nations, the
precursor to the United Nations, in an effort to prevent such a catastrophic conflict from occurring
again.

In conclusion, World War I was a watershed moment in human history, reshaping political boundaries,
societies, and ideologies, and leaving a lasting legacy of suffering and lessons learned about the
consequences of unchecked nationalism and militarism.

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