World War I

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Several terms redirect here. For other uses, see WWI

(disambiguation), The First World War (disambiguation),
World War One (disambiguation), and Great War
(disambiguation).

World War I[j] (alternatively the First World War or

the Great War) (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918)
was a global conflict between two coalitions: the
Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting
took place mainly in Europe and the Middle East, as
well as parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific, and was
characterised by trench warfare and the use of
artillery, machine guns, and chemical weapons
(gas). World War I was one of the deadliest conflicts
in history, resulting in an estimated 9 million military
dead and 23 million wounded, plus up to 8 million
civilian deaths from causes including genocide. The
movement of large numbers of troops and civilians
was a major factor in spreading the Spanish flu
pandemic.

World War I

From top to bottom, left to right:

French attack from a trench at the Battle of Verdun,
1916 · German machine gun crew wearing gas masks, c.
1918 · British Sopwith Camels during the German spring
offensive, 1918 · Bulgarian troops during the Monastir
offensive, 1916 · Ottoman Arab camel corps leaving for
the Middle Eastern front, 1916 · Aftermath of the
Russian siege of Przemyśl in Austria-Hungary, 1915

Date 28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918

(4 years, 3 months and 2 weeks)
Peace treaties [show]

Location Europe · Middle East · Africa · Pacific ·

Atlantic · Mediterranean and Adriatic

Result Allied Powers victory

See Aftermath of World War I

Territorial Formation of new countries in

changes Europe and the Middle East, such
as Poland, Yugoslavia, Weimar
Germany, the Soviet Union,
Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Austria,
Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Turkey,
Hejaz, and Yemen

Transfer of German colonies and

territories to other countries,
partition of the Ottoman Empire,
dissolution of Austria-Hungary

Belligerents

Allied Powers: Central Powers:

France Germany
United Kingdom Austria-Hungary
and Empire: [show] Ottoman Empire
Italy (from 1915) Bulgaria (from 1915)
Russia[a]
and others ...
United States
(from 1917)
Japan
and others ...

Commanders and leaders

Main Allied leaders: Main Central leaders:

Raymond Poincaré Wilhelm II
H. H. Asquith Franz Joseph I
David Lloyd George Enver Pasha
Nicholas II Ferdinand I
Woodrow Wilson
Yoshihito

Casualties and losses

Military dead: Military dead:

Over 5,525,000 Over 4,386,000
Civilian dead: Civilian dead:
Over 4,000,000 Over 3,700,000
Total dead: Total dead:
Over 9,000,000 Over 8,000,000
...further details ...further details

The causes of World War I included the rise of

Germany and decline of the Ottoman Empire, which
disturbed the balance of power in place in Europe
for most of the 19th century, as well as increased
economic competition between nations triggered by
new waves of industrialisation and imperialism.
Growing tensions between the great powers and in
the Balkans reached a breaking point on 28 June
1914, when a Bosnian Serb named Gavrilo Princip
assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the
Austro-Hungarian throne. Austria-Hungary held
Serbia responsible, and declared war on 28 July.
Russia mobilised in Serbia's defence, and by 4
August, Germany, Russia, France, and the United
Kingdom were drawn into the war, with the
Ottomans joining in November of the same year.
Germany's strategy in 1914 was to quickly defeat
France, then to transfer its forces to the Russian
front. However, this failed, and by the end of the
year the Western Front consisted of a continuous
line of trenches stretching from the English Channel
to Switzerland. The Eastern Front was more
dynamic, but neither side could gain a decisive
advantage, despite costly offensives. As the
fighting expanded to more fronts, Italy, Bulgaria,
Romania, Greece and others joined in from 1915
onward.

In April 1917, the United States entered the war on

the Allied side following Germany's resumption of
unrestricted submarine warfare against Atlantic
shipping. Later that year, the Bolsheviks seized
power in the Russian October Revolution, after
which Soviet Russia signed an armistice with the
Central Powers in December, followed by a separate
peace in March 1918. That month, Germany
launched an offensive in the west, which despite
initial successes left the German Army exhausted
and demoralised. A successful Allied counter-
offensive from August 1918 caused a collapse of
the German front line. By early November, Bulgaria,
the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary had each
signed armistices with the Allies, leaving Germany
isolated. Facing a revolution at home, Kaiser
Wilhelm II abdicated on 9 November, and the war
ended with the Armistice of 11 November 1918.

The Paris Peace Conference of 1919–1920 imposed

various settlements on the defeated powers, most
notably the Treaty of Versailles, by which Germany
lost significant territories, was disarmed, and was
required to pay large sums of war reparations to the
Allies. The dissolution of the Russian, German,
Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman Empires redrew
national boundaries and resulted in the creation of
new independent states, including Poland, Finland,
the Baltic states, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia.
The League of Nations was established to maintain
world peace, but its failure to manage instability
during the interwar period contributed to the
outbreak of World War II in 1939.

Names

Background

Prelude

Progress of the war

Aftermath

Casualties

Soldiers' experiences

Economic effects

Support and opposition for the war

Technology

Diplomacy

Legacy and memory

See also

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

External links

Last edited 2 hours ago by Vinnylospo

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