World War 1 summary

 

World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history³. It was fought between two coalitions, the Allies (primarily France, the United Kingdom, Russia, Italy, Japan, and the United States) and the Central Powers (led by Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey)³. The war pitted the Central Powers—mainly Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey—against the Allies—mainly France, Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan, and the United States¹. It was an international conflict that embroiled most of the nations of Europe along with Russia, the United States, the Middle East, and other regions¹.

The causes of World War I are complex and remain controversial. Over the course of the 19th century, rival powers of Europe formed alliances. Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy formed the Triple Alliance. Great Britain, France, and Russia formed the Triple Entente. Political instability and competition threatened those alliances. The immediate cause of World War I that made the aforementioned items come into play (alliances, imperialism, militarism, and nationalism) was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary.

World War I was a global conflict that involved two opposing alliances: the Central Powers and the Allied Powers¹. The Central Powers consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria¹. The Allied Powers consisted of France, Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan, the United States, Canada, and Romania¹. Battles took place in France, Luxembourg and Belgium called the Western Front; and in Russia called the Eastern Front². There was also fighting on land in Italy, the Middle East and parts of Africa⁴. Due to the static nature of World War I trench warfare, fighting took place on a routine basis and soldiers were rarely safe from the threat of death⁴.

World War One ended at 11am on 11 November, 1918³. This became known as Armistice Day - the day Germany signed an armistice (an agreement for peace) which caused the fighting to stop³. People in Britain, France and the countries that supported them celebrated³. World War I had officially ended on June 28, 1919 by the signing of the Treaty of Versailles¹. The treaty was written in Paris by the Allies with almost no German participation¹. The treaty eventually ended with 15 parts and 440 articles¹.