Summary
The First World War, or Great War, pitted the great powers against each other from 1914 to 1918. Its causes ran deep: rivalry between empires over colonies and trade, nationalism, the arms race and a system of alliances that split Europe into two blocs. The spark was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to Austria-Hungary, in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914.
Two sides fought: the Triple Entente (France, the United Kingdom and Russia, joined by Italy in 1915 and the United States in 1917) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire). A short war was expected, but on the Western Front it turned into an almost static trench war, with huge battles such as Verdun. New weapons were used: machine guns, poison gas, tanks, aircraft and submarines.
In 1917 Russia left the war after its revolution, and the entry of the United States tipped the balance. Germany signed the armistice on 11 November 1918. Around ten million soldiers died. The Treaty of Versailles (1919) blamed Germany, took territory from it and forced it to pay huge reparations; the Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman and Russian empires disappeared, and the League of Nations was created. The harsh peace terms sowed the resentment that would lead to the Second World War.
Key points
- It lasted from 1914 to 1918; it is also called the Great War.
- Causes: imperialism, nationalism, the arms race and alliances.
- Spark: the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo (1914).
- The Triple Entente against the Central Powers.
- Trench warfare on the Western Front (Verdun).
- New weapons: machine guns, gas, tanks, aircraft and submarines.
- 1917: Russia leaves and the United States joins.
- Treaty of Versailles (1919): Germany blamed and made to pay.