Misplaced Pages

World War I: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editContent deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 15:44, 14 September 2010 view source92.28.108.250 (talk)No edit summary← Previous edit Latest revision as of 09:38, 11 January 2025 view source Yedaman54 (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users14,048 editsNo edit summaryTags: Mobile edit Mobile app edit iOS app edit App section source 
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|1914–1918 global conflict}}
{{About|the major war of 1914–18||World War One (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|Great War}} {{redirect-several|WWI|The First World War|World War One|Great War}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{Fix bunching|beg}}
{{pp-move}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{use British English|date=July 2014}}{{CS1 config|mode=cs1}}
{{Infobox military conflict {{Infobox military conflict
|conflict=World War I | conflict = World War I
| image = {{Multiple image
|image=]
| perrow = 2/2/2
|caption=Clockwise from top: ] on the ]; a ] ] crossing a trench; ] ] ] sinking after striking a ] at the ]; a ] crew with ]s, and German ] ]s
| image1 = Bataille de Verdun 1916.jpg
|date=28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918 (])
| image2 = British artillery in action, World War I.JPEG
] signed 28 June 1919
| image3 = American troops going forward to the battle line in the Forest of Argonne. France, September 26, 1918. - NARA - 530748.jpg
|place=], ], the ], and the ] (briefly in China)
| image4 = Germanmachineguncrew1918.webp
|casus=] (28 June) followed by Austro-Hungarian declaration of war on ] (28 July) and Russian mobilization against ] (29 July).
| image5 = ArabCamelCorps.jpg
|result=] victory
| image6 = Przemysl Fortress Bain LOC 19648.jpg
* End of the ], ], ], and ] empires
| border = infobox
* Formation of new countries in Europe and the Middle East
| total_width = 300}}'''From top to bottom, left to right''':{{flatlist|
* Transfer of ] and ] to other powers
* French attack from a trench at the ], 1916
* Establishment of the ]. (])
* British artillery in action at the ], 1916
|combatant1=''']'''<br />
* U.S. troops and ] tanks during the ], 1918
{{flagicon|France}} ]<br />
* German machine gun crew wearing ]s, 1918
{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} ]<br />
* Ottoman Arab camel corps leaving for the ], 1916
{{flag|Russian Empire}} <small>(1914–17)</small> <br />
* Aftermath of the Russian ] in ], 1915}}
{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Italy}} <small>(1915–18)</small><br />
| date = 28 July 1914{{snd}}11 November 1918<br>({{Age in years, months and days|month1=7|day1=28|year1=1914|month2=11|day2=11|year2=1918}})
{{flag|United States|1912}} <small>(1917–18)</small><br />
| territory = {{bulletlist|], ], transfer of ] and territories to other countries|Formation of new countries in Europe and the Middle East, such as ], ], ], ] and ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]
{{flagcountry|Empire of Japan}}<br />
}}
{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Romania}} <small>(1916–18)</small><br />
| place = {{flatlist|
{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Serbia}}<br />
* ]
{{flag|Belgium|state}}<br />
* ]
{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Greece}} <small>(1917–18)</small><br />
* ]
{{flagicon|Portugal}} ] <small>(1916–18)</small><br />
* ]
{{flagicon|Montenegro|1910}} ] <small>(1914–16)</small><br />
* ]
{{flagicon|Brazil}} ] <small>(1916-18)</small><br />
] * ]
}}
|combatant2=''']'''
| result = ] victory {{nwr|(see ])}}
{{flag|German Empire}}<br />
| combatant1 = ''']:'''{{ubl
{{flag|Austria-Hungary}}<br />
|{{flagcountry|French Third Republic}}
{{flag|Ottoman Empire}}<br />
{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Bulgaria}} <small>(1915–18)</small> |{{flagcountry|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}}}}
{{collapsible list|bullets=yes|title={{nobold|&nbsp;and ]:}}
|commander1=]<br />
|framestyle=border:none; padding:0;
{{flagicon|France}} ]<br />
|{{flag|Australia}}
{{flagicon|France}} ]<br />
|{{flagdeco|Canada|1907}} ]
{{flagicon|France}} ]<br />
|{{flagcountry|British Ceylon}}
{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} ]<br />
|{{flagcountry|Sultanate of Egypt}}
{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} ]<br />
|{{flag|Newfoundland}}
{{flagicon|Russian Empire}} ]<br />
|{{flag|Dominion of New Zealand|name=New Zealand}}
{{flagicon|Russia}} ]<br />
|{{flagcountry|British Raj}}
{{flagicon|Kingdom of Italy}} ]<br />
|{{flagcountry|Union of South Africa|1912}}}}
{{flagicon|Kingdom of Italy}} ]<br />
{{ubl
{{flagicon|United States|1912}} ]<br />
| {{flagdeco|Russian Empire|1914}} ]{{Efn|The Russian Empire during 1914–1917, the ] during 1917. The ] government signed a ] with the Central Powers shortly after their ], resulting in a Central Powers victory on the ] of the war, and the ]'s defeat. However, this peace treaty was nullified by an Allied Powers victory on the ], and the end of the war.}}
'']''
| {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Italy|1861}} (from 1915)
|commander2=]<br />
| {{flagcountry|United States|1912}} {{nwr|(from 1917)}}
{{flagicon|German Empire}} ]<br />
| {{flagcountry|Empire of Japan}}
{{flagicon|German Empire}} ]<br />
}}
{{flagicon|German Empire}} ]<br />
]
{{flagicon|Austria-Hungary}} ]<br />
| combatant2 = ''']:'''{{plainlist|
{{flagicon|Austria-Hungary}} ]<br />
{{flagicon|Ottoman Empire}} ]<br /> * {{flagcountry|German Empire}}
* {{flag|Austria-Hungary}}
{{flagicon|Ottoman Empire}} ]<br />
* {{flag|Ottoman Empire}}
{{flagicon|Bulgaria}} ]<br />
{{flagicon|Bulgaria}} ]<br /> * {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Bulgaria}} (from 1915)
}}
'']''
]
|strength1= ''']'''
| commander1 = See ]
{{flagicon|Russian Empire}} 15,000,000
| commander2 = See ]

| casualties1 = {{plainlist|
{{flagicon|France}} 8,317,000
* '''Military dead:'''

{{flagicon|Kingdom of Italy}} 5,200,000 * Over 5,525,000
* '''Civilian dead:'''

{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} 5,000,000+ * Over 4,000,000
* '''Total dead:'''

{{flagicon|United States|1912}} 4,000,000 * Over 9,000,000
* ]}}

| casualties2 = {{plainlist|
{{flagicon|Kingdom of Romania}} 660,000
* '''Military dead:'''

* Over 4,386,000
{{flagicon|Kingdom of Serbia}} 420,000
* '''Civilian dead:'''

* Over 3,700,000
{{flagicon|Belgium|state}} 267,000
* '''Total dead:'''

* Over 8,000,000
{{flagicon|Kingdom of Greece}} 250,000
* ]}}

| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox World War I}}
{{flagicon|Montenegro|1910}} 40,000+

{{flagicon|Portugal}} 33,000

''Total: 39,087,000+'' <small>(estimated)</small>
{{Citation needed|date=June 2010}}
|strength2= ''']'''

{{flagicon|German Empire}} 500,000,000

{{flagicon|Austria-Hungary}} 900,000,000,000,000,000

{{flagicon|Ottoman Empire}} 2,000,000+ %00 bumhole

{{flagicon|Kingdom of Bulgaria}} 1,200,000

''Total: 24,000,000+'' <small>(estimated)</small>
{{Citation needed|date=June 2010}}
|casualties1='''Military dead:'''<br />5,525,000<br />'''Military wounded:'''<br />12,831,500<br />'''Military missing:'''<br />4,121,000<br />'''Total:'''<br />22,477,500&nbsp;KIA, WIA or MIA ]</small>
|casualties2='''Military dead:'''<br />4,386,000<br />'''Military wounded:'''<br />8,388,000<br />'''Military missing:'''<br />3,629,000<br />'''Total:''' <br />16,403,000&nbsp;KIA, WIA or MIA ]</small>
}} }}
{{Fix bunching|mid}}
{{Campaignbox World War I}}
{{Fix bunching|end}}


'''World War I'''{{efn|Often abbreviated as '''WWI''' or '''WW1'''}} or the '''First World War''' (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the '''Great War''', was a ] between two coalitions: the ] (or Entente) and the ].<!--Please discuss before changing the first sentence, don't edit war but try to reach a consensus. Modified as of 03:09, 16 December 2023 per rough consensus in long discussion ]--> Fighting took place mainly in ] and the ], as well as in parts of ] and the ], and in Europe was characterised by ]; the widespread use of ], machine guns, and ] (gas); and the introductions of ] and ]. World War I was one of the ], resulting in an estimated ], plus some 10 million civilian dead from causes including ]. The movement of large numbers of people was a major factor in the deadly ] pandemic.
'''World War IIV''' was a ] centered on ] that began in the summer of 1914. The fighting ended in late 1918. This conflict involved all of the world's ],<ref>{{harvnb|Willmott|2003|p=10-11}}</ref> assembled in two opposing alliances: the ] (centred around the ]) and the ].<ref name=Willmott15>{{harvnb|Willmott|2003|p=15}}</ref> More than 70&nbsp;million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilized in one of the largest wars in history.<ref>{{harvnb|Keegan|1988|p=8}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Bade|Brown|2003|pp=167–168}}</ref> More than 9&nbsp;million combatants ], due largely to great technological advances in firepower without corresponding ones in mobility. It was the second ] in history.<ref>{{harvnb|Willmott|2003|p=307}}</ref> The war is also known as the '''First World War''', the '''Great War''', the '''War To End All Wars''' or the '''World War''' (prior to the outbreak of ]).


The ] included the rise of ] and ], which disturbed the long-standing ] in Europe, as well as economic competition between nations triggered by ] and ]. Growing tensions between the ]s and in the ] reached ] on 28 June 1914, when a ] named ] ], heir to the ] throne. Austria-Hungary held ] responsible, and declared war on 28 July. After ] mobilised in Serbia's defence, Germany declared war on Russia and ], who had ]. The ] entered after Germany ], whose neutrality it guaranteed, and the Ottomans joined the Central Powers in November. ] was to quickly defeat France, then to transfer its forces to the east, but its advance ], and by the end of the year the ] consisted of a continuous line of trenches stretching from the English Channel to Switzerland. The ] was more dynamic, but neither side gained a decisive advantage, despite costly offensives. ], ], ], ] and others joined in from 1915 onward.
The ] of ], the heir to the throne of ], is seen as the immediate trigger of the war. Long-term causes, such as ] foreign policies of the great powers of Europe, such as the ], the ], the ], the ], the ], ], and ], played a major role. Ferdinand's assassination by a ] resulted in a Habsburg ultimatum against the ].<ref name="AJPT2">{{harvnb|Taylor|1998|pp=80–93}}</ref><ref>Dejan Djokić. ''Yugoslavism: histories of a failed idea, 1918–1992''. London, UK: C. Hurst & Co. Ltd, 2003. Pp. 24.</ref> Several alliances formed over the past decades were invoked, so within weeks the major powers were at war; as all had ], the conflict soon spread around the world.


In April 1917, the ] on the Allied side following Germany's resumption of ] against Atlantic shipping. Later that year, the ] seized power in the Russian ], and ] signed ] with the Central Powers in December, followed by ] in March 1918. That month, Germany launched ], which despite initial successes left the ] exhausted and demoralised. ] 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 ], ] abdicated on 9 November, and the war ended with the ].
The conflict opened with the German invasion of ], ] and ]; the Austro-Hungarian ]; and a Russian attack against ]. After the German march on ] was brought to a halt, the ] settled into a static battle of attrition with a ] that changed little until 1917. In the East, the Russian army successfully fought against the Austro-Hungarian forces but was forced back by the German army. Additional fronts opened after the ] joined the war in 1914, ] and ] in 1915 and ] in 1916. The Russian Empire ] in 1917, and Russia left the war after the ] later that year. After a 1918 German offensive along the western front, United States forces entered the trenches and the allies drove back the German armies in a series of successful offensives. Germany agreed to a cease fire on ], November 11, 1918.


The ] of 1919–1920 imposed settlements on the defeated powers, most notably the ], by which Germany lost significant territories, was disarmed, and was required to pay large ] 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 ], ], the ], ], and ]. The ] was established to maintain world peace, but its failure to manage instability during the ] contributed to the outbreak of ] in 1939.
By the war's end, four major imperial powers—the ], ], ] and ]s—had been militarily and politically defeated. The last two ceased to exist.<ref>{{harvnb|Willmott|2003|p=6}}</ref> The revolutionized ] emerged from the Russian Empire, while the map of ] was completely redrawn into numerous smaller states.<ref>{{harvnb|Keegan|1988|p=7}}</ref> The ] was formed in the hope of preventing another such conflict. The European ] spawned by the war and the break-up of empires, and the repercussions of Germany's defeat and the ] led to the beginning of ] in 1939.<ref>{{harvnb|Keegan|1988|p=11}}</ref>


==Etymology== == Names ==
Before ], the events of 1914–1918 were generally known as the '''''Great War''''' or simply the '''''World War'''''.{{sfn |Braybon |2004 |p=8}} In August 1914, the magazine '']'' wrote "This is the Great War. It names itself".<ref name="independent19140817">{{Cite magazine |date=1914-08-17 |title=The Great War |url=https://archive.org/details/independen79v80newy/page/n233/mode/1up?view=theater |magazine=The Independent |page=228 |access-date=2022-05-17}}</ref> In October 1914, the Canadian magazine '']'' similarly wrote, "Some wars name themselves. This is the Great War."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/81104 |title=great, adj., adv., and n |website=Oxford English Dictionary |access-date=19 March 2012 |archive-date=14 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514194006/https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/81104 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription}}</ref> Contemporary Europeans also referred to it as "]" and it was also described as "the war to end all wars" due to their perception of its unparalleled scale, devastation, and loss of life.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1998/10/98/world_war_i/198172.stm |title=The war to end all wars |work=BBC News |date=10 November 1998 |access-date=15 December 2015 |archive-date=19 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150619035838/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1998/10/98/world_war_i/198172.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> The first recorded use of the term ''First World War'' was in September 1914 by German biologist and philosopher ] who stated, "There is no doubt that the course and character of the feared 'European War'&nbsp;... will become the first world war in the full sense of the word."{{sfn |Shapiro |Epstein |2006 |p=329}}
Before World War II, the war was also known as ''The Great War'', ''The World War'', ''The Kaiser's War'', ''The War of the Nations'', ''The War in Europe'', or ''The European War''. In the United Kingdom and the United States it was commonly called '']''.<ref>{{cite book |title=Safire's Political Dictionary |last=Safire |first=William |year=2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press US |isbn=9780195343342 |pages=792-3 |url=http://books.google.ie/books?id=jK-0NPoMiYoC&pg=PA792&dq=%22war+to+end+war%22+wells&hl=en&ei=EqNyTN-TKYmmOKuhsdoK&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CFIQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=%22war%20to%20end%20war%22%20wells&f=false |accessdate=2010-08-24 }}</ref> In France and Belgium it was sometimes referred to as ''La Guerre du Droit'' (''the War for Justice'') or ''La Guerre Pour la Civilisation'' / ''de Oorlog tot de Beschaving'' (''the War to Preserve Civilisation''), especially on medals and commemorative monuments. The term used by official histories of the war in Britain and Canada is ''First World War'', while American histories generally use the term ''World War I''.


== Background ==
The earliest known use of the term ''First World War'' appeared during the war. German biologist and philosopher ] wrote shortly after the start of the war:
{{Main|Causes of World War I}}


=== Political and military alliances ===
{{quote|There is no doubt that the course and character of the feared "European War" ... will become the first world war in the full sense of the word.<ref>{{harvnb|Shapiro|2006|p=329}}</ref>|''], 20 September 1914''}}
]}}{{legend|#b0a336|]}}|left]]


For much of the 19th century, the major European powers maintained a tenuous ], known as the ].{{sfn |Clark |2013 |pp=121–152}} After 1848, this was challenged by Britain's withdrawal into so-called ], the ], ], and the rise of ] under ]. Victory in the 1870–1871 ] allowed Bismarck to ] a ]. Post-1871, the primary aim of French policy was to ] this defeat,{{sfn|Zeldin|1977|p=117}} but by the early 1890s, this had switched to the expansion of the ].<ref>Bertrand Joly, "La France et la Revanche (1871–1914)", ''Revue d'Histoire Moderne & Contemporaine''. 1999, vol. 46-2, pp. 325–347 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127144111/https://www.persee.fr/doc/rhmc_0048-8003_1999_num_46_2_1965|date=27 January 2024}}</ref>
The term was used again near the end of the war. English journalist ] wrote:


In 1873, Bismarck negotiated the ], which included ], ], and Germany. After the 1877–1878 ], the League was dissolved due to Austrian concerns over the expansion of Russian influence in the ], an area they considered to be of vital strategic interest. ] and Austria-Hungary then formed the 1879 ], which became the ] when Italy joined in 1882.{{sfn|Keegan|1998|p=52}} For Bismarck, the purpose of these agreements was to isolate France by ensuring the three empires resolved any disputes between themselves. In 1887, Bismarck set up the ], a secret agreement between Germany and Russia to remain neutral if either were attacked by France or Austria-Hungary.{{Sfn|Medlicott|1945|pp=66–70}}
{{quote|I saw Major Johnstone, the Harvard Professor who is here to lay the bases of an American History. We discussed the right name of the war. I said that we called it now The War, but that this could not last. The Napoleonic War was The Great War. To call it The German War was too much flattery for the Boche. I suggested The World War as a shade better title, and finally we mutually agreed to call it The First World War in order to prevent the millennium folk from forgetting that the history of the world was the history of war.<ref>{{harvnb|Repington|1920|p=391}}</ref>|''The First World War, 1914–1918 (1920), Volume I, Page 391.''}}


]
==Background==
{{Main|Causes of World War I}}
], ], and neutral powers]]
In the 19th century, the major European powers had gone to great lengths to maintain a ] throughout Europe, resulting by 1900 in a complex network of political and military alliances throughout the continent.<ref name=Willmott15/> These had started in 1815, with the ] between ], Russia, and Austria. Then, in October 1873, German Chancellor ] negotiated the ] (German: ''Dreikaiserbund'') between the monarchs of Austria–Hungary, Russia and Germany. This agreement failed because Austria–Hungary and Russia could not agree over Balkan policy, leaving Germany and Austria–Hungary in an alliance formed in 1879, called the ]. This was seen as a method of countering Russian influence in the ] as the ] continued to weaken.<ref name=Willmott15 /> In 1882, this alliance was expanded to include Italy in what became the ].<ref name=keegan52>{{harvnb|Keegan|1998|p=52}}</ref>


For Bismarck, peace with Russia was the foundation of German foreign policy, but in 1890, he was forced to retire by ]. The latter was persuaded not to renew the Reinsurance Treaty by his new ], ].{{Sfn|Keenan|1986 |p=20}} This gave France an opening to agree to the ] in 1894, which was then followed by the 1904 '']'' with Britain. The ] was completed by the 1907 ]. While not formal alliances, by settling ] and Africa, British support for France or Russia in any future conflict became a possibility.{{Sfn|Willmott|2003|p=15}} This was accentuated by British and Russian support for France against Germany during the 1911 ].{{Sfn|Fay|1930|pp=290–293}}
After 1870, European conflict was averted largely due to a carefully planned network of treaties between the German Empire and the remainder of Europe orchestrated by Chancellor Bismarck. He especially worked to hold Russia at Germany's side to avoid a two-front war with France and Russia. With the ascension of ] as ] (''Kaiser''), Bismarck's system of alliances was gradually de-emphasized. For example, the Kaiser refused to renew the ] with Russia in 1890. Two years later the ] was signed to counteract the force of the Triple Alliance. In 1904, the United Kingdom sealed an alliance with France, the ] and in 1907, the United Kingdom and Russia signed the ]. This system of interlocking bilateral agreements formed the ].<ref name=Willmott15/>


=== Arms race ===
]. A naval ] existed between the United Kingdom and Germany.]]
]


German economic and industrial strength continued to expand rapidly post-1871. Backed by Wilhelm II, Admiral ] sought to use this growth to build an ], that could compete with the British ].{{Sfn|Willmott|2003|p=21}} This policy was based on the work of US naval author ], who argued that possession of a ] was vital for global power projection; Tirpitz had his books translated into German, while Wilhelm made them required reading for his advisors and senior military personnel.{{Sfn|Herwig|1988|pp=72–73}}
German industrial and economic power had grown greatly after ] in 1870. From the mid-1890s on, the government of Wilhelm II used this base to devote significant economic resources to building up the ] (German: ''Kaiserliche Marine''), established by Admiral ], in rivalry with the British ] for world naval supremacy.<ref name=willmott21/> As a result, both nations strove to out-build each other in terms of ]. With the launch of {{HMS|Dreadnought|1906|6}} in 1906, the British Empire expanded on its significant advantage over its German rivals.<ref name=willmott21>{{harvnb|Willmott|2003|p=21}}</ref> The arms race between Britain and Germany eventually extended to the rest of Europe, with all the major powers devoting their industrial base to the production of the equipment and weapons necessary for a pan-European conflict.<ref>{{harvnb|Prior|1999|p=18}}</ref> Between 1908 and 1913, the military spending of the European powers increased by 50&nbsp;percent.<ref name="Fromkin2004">{{harvnb|Fromkin|2004|p=94}}</ref>


However, it was also an emotional decision, driven by Wilhelm's simultaneous admiration for the Royal Navy and desire to surpass it. Bismarck thought that the British would not interfere in Europe, as long as its maritime supremacy remained secure, but his dismissal in 1890 led to a change in policy and an ] began.{{Sfn|Moll|Luebbert|1980|pp=153–185}} Despite the vast sums spent by Tirpitz, the launch of {{HMS|Dreadnought|1906|6}} in 1906 gave the British a technological advantage.{{Sfn|Willmott|2003|p=21}} Ultimately, the race diverted huge resources into creating a German navy large enough to antagonise Britain, but not defeat it; in 1911, Chancellor ] acknowledged defeat, leading to the ''Rüstungswende'' or 'armaments turning point', when he switched expenditure from the navy to the army.{{sfn|Stevenson|2016|p=45}}
Austria-Hungary precipitated the ] of 1908–1909 by officially annexing the former Ottoman territory of Bosnia Herzegovina, which it had occupied since 1878. This greatly angered the ] and thus pro-Serbian ] who ruled Russia and the Kingdom of Serbia, because Bosnia Herzegovina contained a significant Slavic Serbian population.<ref name=keegan48-49>{{harvnb|Keegan|1998|pp=48–49}}</ref> Russian political maneuvering in the region destabilized peace accords that were already fracturing in what was known as "the ]".<ref name=keegan48-49 />


This decision was not driven by a reduction in political tensions but by German concern over Russia's quick recovery from its defeat in the ] and subsequent ]. Economic reforms led to a significant post-1908 expansion of railways and transportation infrastructure, particularly in its western border regions.{{Sfn|Crisp|1976|pp=174–196}} Since Germany and Austria-Hungary relied on faster mobilisation to compensate for their numerical inferiority compared to Russia, the threat posed by the closing of this gap was more important than competing with the Royal Navy. After Germany expanded its standing army by 170,000 troops in 1913, France extended compulsory military service from two to three years; similar measures were taken by the ] and Italy, which led to increased expenditure by the ] and Austria-Hungary. Absolute figures are difficult to calculate due to differences in categorising expenditure since they often omit civilian infrastructure projects like railways which had logistical importance and military use. It is known, however, that from 1908 to 1913, military spending by the six major European powers increased by over 50% in real terms.{{sfn|Stevenson|2016|p=42}}
In 1912 and 1913, the ] was fought between the ] and the fracturing Ottoman Empire. The resulting ] further shrank the Ottoman Empire, creating an independent ] while enlarging the territorial holdings of Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and Greece. When Bulgaria attacked both Serbia and Greece on 16 June 1913 it lost most of Macedonia to Serbia and Greece and ] to Romania in the 33 day ], further destabilising the region.<ref name=Willmott22-23>{{harvnb|Willmott|2003|pp=2–23}}</ref>
]
On 28 June 1914, ], a Bosnian-Serb student and member of ], assassinated the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, ] in ], Bosnia.<ref name=Willmott26>{{harvnb|Willmott|2003|p=26}}</ref> This began a period of diplomatic manoeuvring between Austria-Hungary, Germany, Russia, France and Britain called the ]. Wanting to end Serbian interference in Bosnia conclusively, Austria-Hungary delivered the ] to Serbia, a series of ten demands which were intentionally unacceptable, made with the intention of deliberately initiating a war with Serbia.<ref name=Willmott27>{{harvnb|Willmott|2003|p=27}}</ref> When Serbia acceded to only eight of the ten demands levied against it in the ultimatum, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on 28 July 1914. ] argues "Whether an equivocal and early response by Serbia would have made any difference to Austria-Hungary's behaviour must be doubtful. Franz Ferdinand was not the sort of personality who commanded popularity, and his demise did not cast the empire into deepest mourning".<ref>{{harvnb|Strachan|2003|p=68}}</ref>


=== Conflicts in the Balkans ===
The Russian Empire, unwilling to allow Austria–Hungary to eliminate its influence in the Balkans, and in support of its long time Serb proteges, ordered a partial mobilization one day later.<ref name=keegan52 /> When the German Empire began to mobilize on 30 July 1914, France, sporting significant animosity over the German conquest of ] during the ], ordered French mobilization on 1 August. Germany declared war on Russia on the same day.<ref>{{harvnb|Willmott|2003|p=29}}</ref> The United Kingdom declared war on Germany, on 4 August 1914, following an 'unsatisfactory reply' to the British ultimatum that ] must be kept ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/mirror01_01.shtml |publisher=bbc.co.uk |title= Daily Mirror Headlines: The Declaration of War, Published 4 August 1914 |accessdate= 9 February 2010}}</ref>
] in 1908.]]
]]]


The years before 1914 were marked by a series of crises in the Balkans, as other powers sought to benefit from the Ottoman decline. While ] and ] Russia considered itself the protector of ] and other ] states, they preferred the strategically vital ] straits to be controlled by a weak Ottoman government, rather than an ambitious Slav power like ]. Russia had ambitions in northeastern ] while its clients had overlapping claims in the Balkans. These competing interests divided Russian policy-makers and added to regional instability.{{Sfn|McMeekin|2015|pp=66–67}}
==Chronology==
===Opening hostilities===
====Confusion among the Central Powers====
The strategy of the Central Powers suffered from miscommunication. Germany had promised to support Austria-Hungary’s invasion of Serbia, but interpretations of what this meant differed. Previously tested deployment plans had been replaced early in 1914, but never tested in exercises. Austro-Hungarian leaders believed Germany would cover its northern flank against Russia.<ref>{{harvnb|Strachan|2003|pp=292–296, 343–354}}</ref><!-- may be able to find more on this in Samuel R. Williamson, Jr: "Austria-Hungary and the Origins of the First World War" --> Germany, however, envisioned Austria-Hungary directing the majority of its troops against Russia, while Germany dealt with France. This confusion forced the ] to divide its forces between the Russian and Serbian fronts.


Austrian statesmen viewed the Balkans as essential for the continued existence of their Empire and saw Serbian expansion as a direct threat. The 1908–1909 ] began when Austria annexed the former Ottoman territory of ], which it ] since 1878. Timed to coincide with the ] from the Ottoman Empire, this unilateral action was denounced by the European powers, but accepted as there was no consensus on how to resolve the situation. Some historians see this as a significant escalation, ending any chance of Austria cooperating with Russia in the Balkans, while also damaging diplomatic relations between Serbia and Italy.{{Sfn|Clark|2013|p=86}}
On 9 September 1914, the ], a plan which detailed Germany's specific war aims and the conditions that Germany sought to force upon the Allied Powers, was outlined by ] ].


Tensions increased after the 1911–1912 ] demonstrated Ottoman weakness and led to the formation of the ], an alliance of Serbia, Bulgaria, ], and ].{{Sfn|Clark|2013|pp=251–252}} The League quickly overran most of the Ottomans' territory in the Balkans during the 1912–1913 ], much to the surprise of outside observers.{{Sfn|McMeekin|2015|p=69}} The Serbian capture of ports on the ] resulted in partial Austrian mobilisation, starting on 21 November 1912, including units along the Russian border in ]. The ] decided not to mobilise in response, unprepared to precipitate a war.{{Sfn|McMeekin|2015|p=73}}
====African campaigns====
]
{{Main|African theatre of World War I}}
Some of the first clashes of the war involved British, French and German colonial forces in Africa. On 7 August, French and British troops invaded the German protectorate of ]. On 10 August German forces in ] attacked South Africa; sporadic and fierce fighting continued for the remainder of the war. The German colonial forces in ], led by Colonel ], fought a ] campaign for the duration of World War I, surrendering only two weeks after the armistice took effect in Europe.<ref>{{harvnb|Farwell|1989|p=353}}</ref>


The Great Powers sought to re-assert control through the 1913 ], which had created an independent ] while enlarging the territories of Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and Greece. However, disputes between the victors sparked the 33-day ], when Bulgaria attacked Serbia and Greece on 16 June 1913; it was defeated, losing most of ] to Serbia and Greece, and ] to Romania.{{sfn|Willmott|2003|pp=2–23}} The result was that even countries which benefited from the Balkan Wars, such as Serbia and Greece, felt cheated of their "rightful gains", while for Austria it demonstrated the apparent indifference with which other powers viewed their concerns, including Germany.{{Sfn|Clark|2013|p=288}} This complex mix of resentment, nationalism and insecurity helps explain why the pre-1914 Balkans became known as the "]".{{sfn |Keegan|1998|pp=48–49}}<ref>{{Citation |last=Bennett |first=G. H. |title=Eastern Europe: Cordon Sanitaire or Powder-Keg? |date=1995 |work=British Foreign Policy during the Curzon Period, 1919–24 |pages=41–59 |editor-last=Bennett |editor-first=G. H. |url=https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230377356_3 |access-date=2024-06-10 |place=London |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |language=en |doi=10.1057/9780230377356_3 |isbn=978-0-230-37735-6 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610092152/https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9780230377356_3 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Stefanova |first=Radoslava |title=Balkan Clutter: American and European Handling of a Powder Keg |date=2001 |work=Revival: The New Transatlantic Agenda (2001) |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315186405-8/balkan-clutter-american-european-handling-powder-keg-radoslava-stefanova |access-date=2024-06-10 |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9781315186405-8 |doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 |isbn=978-1-315-18640-5 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610092039/https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315186405-8/balkan-clutter-american-european-handling-powder-keg-radoslava-stefanova |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nelson |first=Daniel N. |date=1984 |title=South-Eastern Europe After Tito: A Powder-Keg for the 1980s? Edited by David Carlton and Carlo Schaerf. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1983. xviii, 211 pp. Map. $22.50. |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2499359 |journal=Slavic Review |volume=43 |issue=4 |pages=717–718 |doi=10.2307/2499359 |jstor=2499359 |issn=0037-6779 |access-date=10 June 2024 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610092151/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/slavic-review/article/abs/southeastern-europe-after-tito-a-powderkeg-for-the-1980s-edited-by-david-carlton-and-carlo-schaerf-new-york-st-martins-press-1983-xviii-211-pp-map-2250/4181F817AE85A199042097EB78F7591D |url-status=live }}</ref>
====Serbian campaign====
]
{{Main|Serbian Campaign (World War I)}}
The Serbian army fought the ] against the invading Austro-Hungarians, beginning on 12 August, occupying defensive positions on the south side of the ] and ] rivers. Over the next two weeks Austrian attacks were thrown back with heavy losses, which marked the first major Allied victory of the war and dashed Austro-Hungarian hopes of a swift victory. As a result, Austria had to keep sizeable forces on the Serbian front, weakening its efforts against Russia.<ref>{{harvnb|Tucker|Roberts|2005|p=172}}</ref>


== Prelude ==
====German forces in Belgium and France====
{{For timeline|Timeline of World War I}}
]
{{Main|Western Front (World War I)}}
At the outbreak of the First World War, the German army (consisting in the West of ]) executed a modified version of the ], designed to quickly attack France through neutral Belgium before turning southwards to encircle the French army on the German border.<ref name=AJPT2/> The plan called for the right flank of the German advance to converge on Paris and initially, the Germans were very successful, particularly in the ] (14–24 August). By 12 September, the French with assistance from the ] halted the German advance east of Paris at the ] (5–12 September). The last days of this battle signified the end of mobile warfare in the west.<ref name=AJPT2/> The French offensive into Germany launched on August 7 with the ] had limited success.


=== Sarajevo assassination ===
In the east, only one Field Army defended ] and when Russia attacked in this region it diverted German forces intended for the Western Front. Germany defeated Russia in a series of battles collectively known as the First ] (17 August&nbsp;– 2 September), but this diversion exacerbated problems of insufficient speed of advance from rail-heads not foreseen by the ]. The Central Powers were thereby denied a quick victory and forced to fight a war on two fronts. The German army had fought its way into a good defensive position inside France and had permanently incapacitated 230,000 more French and British troops than it had lost itself. Despite this, communications problems and questionable command decisions cost Germany the chance of obtaining an early victory.<ref>{{harvnb|Tucker|Roberts|2005|pp=376–8}}</ref>
{{Main|Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand}}
] (right), ] is now believed by historians to depict an innocent bystander, Ferdinand Behr on 28 June 1914.{{Sfn|Finestone|Massie|1981 |p=247}}{{sfn|Smith|2010|p=}}]]
On 28 June 1914, ], heir presumptive to Emperor ], visited ], the capital of the recently annexed ]. ], ], ], ], ] (]) and ] (from the ] community),{{Sfn|Butcher|2014|p=103}} from the movement known as ], took up positions along the Archduke's motorcade route, to assassinate him. Supplied with arms by extremists within the Serbian ] intelligence organisation, they hoped his death would free Bosnia from Austrian rule.{{Sfn|Butcher|2014|pp=188–189}}


Čabrinović threw a ] at the Archduke's car and injured two of his aides. The other assassins were also unsuccessful. An hour later, as Ferdinand was returning from visiting the injured officers in hospital, his car took a wrong turn into a street where ] was standing. He fired two pistol shots, fatally wounding Ferdinand and his wife ].{{Sfn|Gilbert|1994|p=16}}
====Asia and the Pacific====
{{Main|Asian and Pacific theatre of World War I}}
New Zealand ] ] (later Western Samoa) on 30 August. On 11 September, the ] landed on the island of ] (later New Britain), which formed part of ]. Japan seized Germany's ]n colonies and, after the ], the German coaling port of ] in the Chinese ] peninsula. Within a few months, the Allied forces had seized all the German territories in the Pacific; only isolated commerce raiders and a few holdouts in New Guinea remained.<ref>{{harvnb|Keegan|1968|pp=224–232}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Falls|1960|pp=79–80}}</ref>


According to historian ], in Vienna "the event almost failed to make any impression whatsoever. On 28 and 29 June, the crowds listened to music and drank wine, as if nothing had happened."{{sfn |Willmott |2003 |p=26}} Nevertheless, the impact of the murder of the heir to the throne was significant, and has been described by historian ] as a "9/11 effect, a terrorist event charged with historic meaning, transforming the political chemistry in Vienna".<ref name="Christopher Clark 2014">{{cite AV media |title=Month of Madness |first=Christopher |last=Clark |publisher=BBC Radio 4 |date=25 June 2014 |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03t7p27 |access-date=14 March 2017 |archive-date=20 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170420031224/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03t7p27 |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Early stages===
====Trench warfare begins====
{{Main|Western Front (World War I)}}
Military tactics before World War I had failed to keep pace with advances in technology. These changes resulted in the building of impressive defence systems, which out of date tactics could not break through for most of the war. ] was a significant hindrance to massed infantry advances. ], vastly more lethal than in the 1870s, coupled with ], made crossing open ground very difficult.<ref>{{harvnb|Raudzens|1990|pp=424}}</ref> The Germans introduced ]; it soon became used by both sides, though it never proved decisive in winning a battle. Its effects were brutal, causing slow and painful death, and poison gas became one of the most-feared and best-remembered horrors of the war. Commanders on both sides failed to develop tactics for breaching entrenched positions without heavy casualties.


=== Expansion of violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina ===
In time, however, technology began to produce new offensive weapons, such as the ].<ref>{{harvnb|Raudzens|1990|pp=421–423}}</ref> Britain and France were its primary users; the Germans employed captured Allied tanks and small numbers of their own design.
], 29 June 1914]]
]
After the ], both ] and German forces began a series of outflanking manoeuvres, in the so-called "]". Britain and France soon found themselves facing entrenched German forces from ] to Belgium's coast.<ref name=AJPT2/> Britain and France sought to take the offensive, while Germany defended the occupied territories; consequently, German trenches were generally much better constructed than those of their enemy. Anglo-French trenches were only intended to be "temporary" before their forces broke through German defences.<ref>{{harvnb|Goodspeed|1985|p=199 (footnote)}}</ref> Both sides attempted to break the stalemate using scientific and technological advances. On 22 April 1915 at the ], the Germans (in violation of the ]) used ] for the first time on the Western Front. Algerian troops retreated when gassed and a six&nbsp;kilometre (four&nbsp;mile) hole opened in the Allied lines that the Germans quickly exploited, taking ]. ] closed the breach at the ].<ref>{{harvnb|Love|1996}}</ref> At the ], Canadian and ] troops took the village of ].


Austro-Hungarian authorities encouraged subsequent ].<ref name="DjordjevićSpence1992">{{cite book |first1=Dimitrije |last1=Djordjević |author1-link=Dimitrije Đorđević (historian) |first2=Richard B. |last2=Spence |author2-link=Richard B. Spence |title=Scholar, patriot, mentor: historical essays in honour of Dimitrije Djordjević |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CDJpAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA313 |year=1992 |publisher=East European Monographs |isbn=978-0-88033-217-0 |page=313 |quote=Following the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in June 1914, Croats and Muslims in Sarajevo joined forces in an anti-Serb pogrom. |access-date=12 November 2018 |archive-date=17 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240217084004/https://books.google.com/books?id=CDJpAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA313 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Reports Service: Southeast Europe series |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QGtWAAAAMAAJ |access-date=7 December 2013 |year=1964 |publisher=American Universities Field Staff. |page=44 |quote=...&nbsp;the assassination was followed by officially encouraged anti-Serb riots in Sarajevo&nbsp;... |archive-date=6 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230906101816/https://books.google.com/books?id=QGtWAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> Violent actions against ethnic Serbs were also organised outside Sarajevo, in other cities in Austro-Hungarian-controlled Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia. Austro-Hungarian authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina imprisoned approximately 5,500 prominent Serbs, 700 to 2,200 of whom died in prison. A further 460 Serbs were sentenced to death. A predominantly Bosniak special militia known as the '']'' was established, and carried out the persecution of Serbs.<ref name="Kröll2008">{{cite book |first=Herbert |last=Kröll |title=Austrian-Greek encounters over the centuries: history, diplomacy, politics, arts, economics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uJRnAAAAMAAJ |access-date=1 September 2013 |year=2008 |publisher=Studienverlag |isbn=978-3-7065-4526-6 |page=55 |quote=...&nbsp;arrested and interned some 5.500 prominent Serbs and sentenced to death some 460 persons, a new Schutzkorps, an auxiliary militia, widened the anti-Serb repression. |archive-date=17 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240217083931/https://books.google.com/books?id=uJRnAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn |Tomasevich |2001 |p=485}}<ref name="Schindler2007">{{cite book |first=John R. |last=Schindler |title=Unholy Terror: Bosnia, Al-Qa'ida, and the Rise of Global Jihad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c8Xb6x2XYvIC&pg=PA29 |year=2007 |publisher=Zenith Imprint |isbn=978-1-61673-964-5 |page=29 |access-date=12 November 2018 |archive-date=17 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240217083936/https://books.google.com/books?id=c8Xb6x2XYvIC&pg=PA29#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Velikonja |2003 |p=141}}
]es: ] in a ] trench on the ], 1 July 1916.]]
On 1 July 1916, the ] endured the bloodiest day in its history, suffering 57,470 casualties, including 19,240 dead on the ] of the ]. Most of the casualties occurred in the first hour of the attack. The entire Somme offensive cost the British Army almost half a million men.<ref>{{harvnb|Duffy}}</ref>


=== July Crisis ===
Neither side proved able to deliver a decisive blow for the next two years, though protracted German action at ] throughout 1916,<ref>{{harvnb|Tucker|Roberts|2005|p=1221}}</ref> combined with the bloodletting at the ], brought the exhausted French army to the brink of collapse. Futile attempts at frontal assault came at a high price for both the British and the French '']'' (infantry) and led to ], especially during the ].<ref>{{harvnb|Tucker|Roberts|2005|p=854}}</ref>
{{Main|July Crisis}}
] at the ].]]
{{seealso|German entry into World War I|Austro-Hungarian entry into World War I|Russian entry into World War I}}
]


The assassination initiated the July Crisis, a month of diplomatic manoeuvring between Austria-Hungary, Germany, Russia, France and Britain. Believing that Serbian intelligence helped organise Franz Ferdinand's murder, Austrian officials wanted to use the opportunity to end their interference in Bosnia and saw war as the best way of achieving this.{{sfn|Stevenson|1996|p=12}} However, the ] had no solid proof of Serbian involvement.{{Sfn|MacMillan|2013|p=532}} On 23{{nbsp}}July, Austria delivered an ] to Serbia, listing ten demands made intentionally unacceptable to provide an excuse for starting hostilities.{{sfn|Willmott|2003|p=27}}
]
Throughout 1915–17, the British Empire and France suffered more casualties than Germany, due both to the strategic and tactical stances chosen by the sides. At the strategic level, while the Germans only mounted a single main offensive at ], the Allies made several attempts to break through German lines. At the tactical level, Ludendorff's doctrine of "]" was well suited for trench warfare. This defence had a relatively lightly defended forward position and a more powerful main position farther back beyond artillery range, from which an immediate and powerful counter-offensive could be launched.<ref>{{harvnb|Heer|2009|pp=223–4}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Goodspeed|1985|p=226}}</ref>


Serbia ordered general ] on 25{{nbsp}}July, but accepted all the terms, except for those empowering Austrian representatives to suppress "subversive elements" inside Serbia, and take part in the investigation and trial of Serbians linked to the assassination.{{Sfn|Fromkin|2004|pp=196–197}}{{Sfn|MacMillan|2013|p=536}} Claiming this amounted to rejection, Austria broke off diplomatic relations and ordered partial mobilisation the next day; on 28 July, they declared war on Serbia and began shelling ]. Russia ordered general mobilization in support of Serbia on 30 July.{{Sfn|Lieven|2016|p=326}}
Ludendorff wrote on the fighting in 1917, {{quote|The 25th of August concluded the second phase of the Flanders battle. It had cost us heavily&nbsp;... The costly August battles in Flanders and at Verdun imposed a heavy strain on the Western troops. In spite of all the concrete protection they seemed more or less powerless under the enormous weight of the enemy’s artillery. At some points they no longer displayed the firmness which I, in common with the local commanders, had hoped for. The enemy managed to adapt himself to our method of employing counter attacks&nbsp;... I myself was being put to a terrible strain. The state of affairs in the West appeared to prevent the execution of our plans elsewhere. Our wastage had been so high as to cause grave misgivings, and had exceeded all expectation.<ref>{{harvnb|Ludendorff|1919|p=480}}</ref>}}


Anxious to ensure backing from the ] political opposition by presenting Russia as the aggressor, German Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg delayed the commencement of war preparations until 31 July.{{Sfn|Clark|2013|pp=526–527}} That afternoon, the Russian government were handed a note requiring them to "cease all war measures against Germany and Austria-Hungary" within 12 hours.{{Sfn|Martel|2014|p=335}} A further German demand for neutrality was refused by the French who ordered general mobilization but delayed declaring war.{{Sfn|Gilbert|1994|p=27}} The ] had long assumed they faced a war on two fronts; the ] envisaged using 80% of the army to defeat France, then switching to Russia. Since this required them to move quickly, mobilization orders were issued that afternoon.{{Sfn|Clayton|2003|p=45}} Once the German ultimatum to Russia expired on the morning of 1 August, the two countries were at war.
On the battle of the Menin Road Ridge, Ludendorff wrote, {{quote|Another terrific assault was made on our lines on the 20 September&nbsp;... The enemy’s onslaught on the 20th was successful, which proved the superiority of the attack over the defence. Its strength did not consist in the tanks; we found them inconvenient, but put them out of action all the same. The power of the attack lay in the artillery, and in the fact that ours did not do enough damage to the hostile infantry as they were assembling, and above all, at the actual time of the assault.<ref name="Terraine-Victory" />}}
]'s ] Contingent, Royal Garrison Artillery, in Europe.]]


At a meeting on 29 July, the British cabinet had narrowly decided its obligations to Belgium under the 1839 ] did not require it to oppose a German invasion with military force; however, Prime Minister ] and his senior Cabinet ministers were already committed to supporting France, the Royal Navy had been mobilised, and public opinion was strongly in favour of intervention.{{Sfn|Clark|2013|pp=539–541}} On 31 July, Britain sent notes to Germany and France, asking them to respect Belgian neutrality; France pledged to do so, but Germany did not reply.{{Sfn|Gilbert|1994|p=29}} Aware of German plans to attack through Belgium, French Commander-in-Chief ] asked his government for permission to cross the border and pre-empt such a move. To avoid violating Belgian neutrality, he was told any advance could come only after a German invasion.{{Sfn|MacMillan|2013|pp=579–580, 585}} Instead, the French cabinet ordered its Army to withdraw 10&nbsp;km behind the German frontier, to avoid provoking war. On 2 August, ] and exchanged fire with French units when German patrols entered French territory; on 3{{nbsp}}August, they declared war on France and demanded free passage across Belgium, which was refused. Early on the morning of 4{{nbsp}}August, the Germans invaded, and ] called for assistance under the ].{{sfn|Crowe |2001|pp=4–5}}{{sfn |Willmott|2003|p=29}} Britain sent Germany an ultimatum demanding they withdraw from Belgium; when this expired at midnight, without a response, the two empires were at war.{{Sfn|Clark|2013|pp=550–551}}
Around 1.1 to 1.2 million soldiers from the British and Dominion armies were on the Western Front at any one time.<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1988|p=27}}</ref> A thousand battalions, occupying sectors of the line from the ] to the ], operated on a month-long four-stage rotation system, unless an offensive was underway. The front contained over {{convert|9600|km|mi|0}} of trenches. Each battalion held its sector for about a week before moving back to support lines and then further back to the reserve lines before a week out-of-line, often in the ] or ] areas.


== Progress of the war ==
In the 1917 ], the only significant British military success was the capture of ] by the ] under ] and ]. The assaulting troops were able for the first time to overrun, rapidly reinforce and hold the ridge defending the coal-rich ] plain.<ref>{{citation| title=Vimy Ridge, Canadian National Memorial| year=2007| url=http://www.ww1westernfront.gov.au/vimy-ridge/index.html| work=Australians on the Western Front 1914–1918| publisher=New South Wales Department of Veteran's Affairs and Board of Studies}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Winegard}}</ref>
{{Further|Diplomatic history of World War I}}


===Naval war=== === Opening hostilities ===
{{Main|Naval warfare of World War I}}
] making steam for ], 1914]]
At the start of the war, the German Empire had ]s scattered across the globe, some of which were subsequently used to attack Allied merchant shipping. The British ] systematically hunted them down, though not without some embarrassment from its inability to protect Allied shipping. For example, the German detached light cruiser {{SMS|Emden}}, part of the East-Asia squadron stationed at Tsingtao, seized or destroyed 15 merchantmen, as well as sinking a Russian cruiser and a French destroyer. However, the bulk of the ]—consisting of the armoured cruisers {{SMS|Scharnhorst||2}} and {{SMS|Gneisenau||2}}, light cruisers {{SMS|Nürnberg|1906|2}} and {{SMS|Leipzig||2}} and two transport ships—did not have orders to raid shipping and was instead underway to Germany when it encountered elements of the British fleet. The German flotilla, along with {{SMS|Dresden|1907|2}}, sank two armoured cruisers at the ], but was almost destroyed at the ] in December 1914, with only ''Dresden'' and a few auxiliaries escaping, but at the ] these too were destroyed or interned.<ref>{{harvnb|Taylor|2007|pp=39–47}}</ref>


==== Confusion among the Central Powers ====
] at sea]]
Germany promised to support Austria-Hungary's invasion of Serbia, but interpretations of what this meant differed. Previously tested deployment plans had been replaced early in 1914, but those had never been tested in exercises. Austro-Hungarian leaders believed Germany would cover its northern flank against Russia.{{sfn |Strachan |2003 |pp=292–296, 343–354}}<!-- may be able to find more on this in Samuel R. Williamson, Jr: "Austria-Hungary and the Origins of the First World War" -->
Soon after the outbreak of hostilities, Britain initiated a naval ]. The strategy proved effective, cutting off vital military and civilian supplies, although this blockade violated generally accepted international law codified by several international agreements of the past two centuries.<ref name="isbn0-313-33181-2">{{harvnb|Keene|2006|p=5}}</ref> Britain mined international waters to prevent any ships from entering entire sections of ocean, causing danger to even neutral ships.<ref name="isbn1-85728-498-4">{{harvnb|Halpern|1995|p=293}}</ref> Since there was limited response to this tactic, Germany expected a similar response to its unrestricted submarine warfare.<ref name="isbn0-8476-9645-6">{{harvnb|Zieger|2001|p=50}}</ref>


==== Serbian campaign ====
The 1916 ] (German: ''Skagerrakschlacht'', or "Battle of the Skagerrak") developed into the largest naval battle of the war, the only full-scale clash of battleships during the war, and one of the largest in history. It took place on 31 May&nbsp;– 1 June 1916, in the ] off ]. The Kaiserliche Marine's High Seas Fleet, commanded by Vice Admiral ], squared off against the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet, led by Admiral Sir ]. The engagement was a stand off, as the Germans, outmanoeuvred by the larger British fleet, managed to escape and inflicted more damage to the British fleet than they received. Strategically, however, the British asserted their control of the sea, and the bulk of the German surface fleet remained confined to port for the duration of the war.<ref>{{harvnb|Tucker|Roberts|2005|pp=619–24}}</ref>
{{Main|Serbian campaign}}
] "Oluj", 1915]]


Beginning on 12 August, the Austrians and Serbs clashed at the battles of the ] and ]; over the next two weeks, Austrian attacks were repulsed with heavy losses. As a result, Austria had to keep sizeable forces on the Serbian front, weakening their efforts against Russia.{{sfn|Tucker|Roberts|2005|p=172}} Serbia's victory against Austria-Hungary in the 1914 invasion has been called one of the major upset victories of the twentieth century.{{Sfn|Schindler|2002|pp=159–195}} In 1915, the campaign saw the first use of ] after an Austrian plane was shot down with ] fire, as well as the first ] by the Serbian army.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rts.rs/page/stories/sr/story/125/Dru%C5%A1tvo/1516279/Veliki+rat+-+avijacija.html |title=Veliki rat – Avijacija |publisher=RTS, Radio televizija Srbije, Radio Television of Serbia |website=rts.rs |access-date=16 July 2019 |archive-date=10 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710083934/http://www.rts.rs/page/stories/sr/story/125/Dru%C5%A1tvo/1516279/Veliki+rat+-+avijacija.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine| url=http://www.nationalgeographic.rs/vesti/3842-prvi-ratni-avion-oboren-u-istoriji-pao-na-kragujevac.html| title=How was the first military airplane shot down| magazine=National Geographic| access-date=5 August 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150831011608/http://www.nationalgeographic.rs/vesti/3842-prvi-ratni-avion-oboren-u-istoriji-pao-na-kragujevac.html| archive-date=31 August 2015| url-status=live}}</ref>
German ] attempted to cut the supply lines between North America and Britain.<ref name="Sheffield">{{citation| last=Sheffield| first=Garry| title=The First Battle of the Atlantic| work=World Wars In Depth| url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/battle_atlantic_ww1_01.shtml| publisher=BBC |accessdate=2009-11-11 }}</ref> The nature of submarine warfare meant that attacks often came without warning, giving the crews of the merchant ships little hope of survival.<ref name="Sheffield" /><ref name="isbn0-8050-7617-4">{{harvnb|Gilbert|2004|p=306}}</ref> The United States launched a protest, and Germany modified its rules of engagement. After the notorious sinking of the passenger ship ] in 1915, Germany promised not to target passenger liners, while Britain armed its merchant ships, placing them beyond the protection of the "cruiser rules" which demanded warning and placing crews in "a place of safety" (a standard which lifeboats did not meet).<ref>{{harvnb|von der Porten|1969}}</ref> Finally, in early 1917 Germany adopted a policy of ], realizing the Americans would eventually enter the war.<ref name="Sheffield" /><ref name="isbn0-8420-2918-4">{{harvnb|Jones|2001|p=80}}</ref> Germany sought to strangle Allied sea lanes before the U.S. could transport a large army overseas, but were only able to maintain five long range U-boats on station, to limited effect.<ref name="Sheffield" />


==== German offensive in Belgium and France ====
]
{{Main|Great Retreat}}
The U-boat threat lessened in 1917, when merchant ships entered ]s escorted by destroyers. This tactic made it difficult for U-boats to find targets, which significantly lessened losses; after the introduction of ] and ], accompanying destroyers might attack a submerged submarine with some hope of success. The convoy system slowed the flow of supplies, since ships had to wait as convoys were assembled. The solution to the delays was an extensive program to build new freighters. Troop ships were too fast for the submarines and did not travel the North Atlantic in convoys.<ref>{{citation| url=http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/hansard//comm/va/va_2006nov09.htm| title=Nova Scotia House of Assembly Committee on Veterans' Affairs| accessdate=2007-10-30| work=Hansard}}</ref> The U-boats had sunk almost 5,000 Allied ships, at a cost of 178 submarines.<ref>{{citation| url=http://www.uboat.net/history/wwi/part6.htm| title=The U-boat War in World War One| accessdate=2009-11-12| isbn=1904381367}}</ref>
]


Upon mobilisation, in accordance with the ], 80% of the ] was located on the Western Front, with the remainder acting as a screening force in the East. Rather than a direct attack across their shared frontier, the German right wing would sweep through the ] and ], then swing south, encircling Paris and trapping the French army against the Swiss border. The plan's creator, ], head of the ] from 1891 to 1906, estimated that this would take six weeks, after which the German army would transfer to the East and defeat the Russians.{{Sfn|Stevenson|2004|p=22}}
World War I also saw the first use of ]s in combat, with ] launching ] in a successful raid against the ] hangars at ] in July 1918, as well as ]s for antisubmarine patrol.<ref>{{harvnb|Price}}</ref>


The plan was substantially modified by his successor, ]. Under Schlieffen, 85% of German forces in the west were assigned to the right wing, with the remainder holding along the frontier. By keeping his left-wing deliberately weak, he hoped to lure the French into an offensive into the "lost provinces" of ], which was the strategy envisaged by their ].{{Sfn|Stevenson|2004|p=22}} However, Moltke grew concerned that the French might push too hard on his left flank and as the German Army increased in size from 1908 to 1914, he changed the allocation of forces between the two wings to 70:30.{{Sfn|Horne|1964|p=22}} He also considered Dutch neutrality essential for German trade and cancelled the incursion into the Netherlands, which meant any delays in Belgium threatened the viability of the plan.{{Sfn|Stevenson|2004|p=23}} Historian ] argues that these changes meant the right wing was not strong enough to achieve decisive success.{{sfn|Holmes|2014 |pp=194, 211}}
===Southern theatres===
====War in the Balkans====
{{Main|Balkans Campaign (World War I)|Serbian Campaign (World War I)|Macedonian front (World War I)}}


]; by the end of August, French casualties exceeded 260,000, including 75,000 dead.]]
". '']''.</ref>]]
Faced with Russia, Austria-Hungary could spare only one-third of its army to attack Serbia. After suffering heavy losses, the Austrians briefly occupied the Serbian capital, ]. A Serbian counter attack in the ], however, succeeded in driving them from the country by the end of 1914. For the first ten months of 1915, Austria-Hungary used most of its military reserves to fight Italy. German and Austro-Hungarian diplomats, however, scored a coup by persuading ] to join in attacking Serbia. The Austro-Hungarian provinces of ], ] and ] provided troops for Austria-Hungary, invading Serbia as well as fighting Russia and Italy. ] allied itself with Serbia.<ref>{{harvnb|Neiberg|2005|pp=54–55}}</ref>


The initial German advance in the West was very successful. By the end of August, the Allied left, which included the ] (BEF), was in ], and the French offensive in Alsace-Lorraine was a disastrous failure, with casualties exceeding 260,000.{{sfn|Stevenson|2012|p=54}} German planning provided broad strategic instructions while allowing army commanders considerable freedom in carrying them out at the front, but ] used this freedom to disobey orders, opening a gap between the German armies as they closed on Paris.{{Sfn|Jackson|2018|p=55}} The French army, reinforced by the British expeditionary corps, seized this opportunity to counter-attack and pushed the German army 40 to 80&nbsp;km back. Both armies were then so exhausted that no decisive move could be implemented, so they settled in trenches, with the vain hope of breaking through as soon as they could build local superiority.
Serbia was conquered in a little more than a month. The attack began in October, when the Central Powers launched an offensive from the north; four days later the Bulgarians joined the attack from the east. The Serbian army, fighting on two fronts and facing certain defeat, retreated into ], halting only once to make a stand against the Bulgarians. The Serbs suffered defeat near modern day ] in the ]. Montenegro covered the Serbian retreat toward the Adriatic coast in the ] in 6–7 January 1916, but ultimately the Austrians conquered Montenegro, too. Serbian forces were evacuated by ship to Greece.<ref>{{harvnb|Tucker|Roberts|2005|pp=1075–6}}</ref>


In 1911, the Russian ] agreed with the French to attack Germany within fifteen days of mobilisation, ten days before the Germans had anticipated, although it meant the two Russian armies that entered ] on 17 August did so without many of their support elements.{{Sfn |Lieven|2016|p=327}}
In late 1915, a Franco-British force landed at ] in Greece, to offer assistance and to pressure the government to declare war against the Central Powers. Unfortunately for the Allies, the pro-German ] dismissed the pro-Allied government of ], before the Allied expeditionary force could arrive.<ref>{{harvnb|Neiberg|2005|pp=108–10}}</ref>
]
After conquest, Serbia was divided between Austro-Hungary and Bulgaria. Bulgarians commenced bulgarization of the Serbian population in their occupation zone, banishing ] and the ].{{Citation needed|date=August 2010}} After forced conscription of the Serbian population into the Bulgarian army{{Citation needed|date=August 2010}} in 1917, the ] Uprising began. Serbian rebels liberated for a short time the area between the ] mountains and the ] river. The uprising was crushed by joint efforts of Bulgarian and Austrian forces at the end of March 1917.


By the end of 1914, German troops held strong defensive positions inside France, controlled the bulk of France's domestic coalfields, and inflicted 230,000 more casualties than it lost itself. However, communications problems and questionable command decisions cost Germany the chance of a decisive outcome, while it had failed to achieve the primary objective of avoiding a long, two-front war.{{sfn|Tucker|Roberts|2005|pp=376–378}} As was apparent to several German leaders, this amounted to a strategic defeat; shortly after the ], ] told an American reporter "We have lost the war. It will go on for a long time but lost it is already."{{Sfn|Horne|1964|p=221}}
The Macedonian Front proved static for the most part. Serbian forces retook part of Macedonia by recapturing ] on 19 November 1916. Only at the end of the conflict were the Entente powers able to break through, after most of the German and Austro-Hungarian troops had withdrawn. The Bulgarians suffered their only defeat of the war at the ] but days later, they decisively defeated British and Greek forces at the ], avoiding occupation. Bulgaria signed an armistice on 29 September 1918.<ref>{{harvnb|Tucker|Wood|Murphy|1999|p=120}}</ref>


====Ottoman Empire==== ==== Asia and the Pacific ====
{{Main|Middle Eastern theatre of World War I}} {{Main|Asian and Pacific theatre of World War I}}
], 1914]]
] in the ].]]
The Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers in the war, the secret ] having been signed in August 1914.<ref> 2 August 1914, Yale University</ref> It threatened Russia's ] territories and Britain's communications with India via the ]. The British and French opened overseas fronts with the ] (1915) and ] campaigns. In Gallipoli, Turkey successfully repelled the British, French and ] (ANZACs). In Mesopotamia, by contrast, after the disastrous ] (1915–16), British Imperial forces reorganized and captured ] in March 1917. Further to the west, in the ], initial British setbacks were overcome when they captured ] in December 1917. The ], under Field Marshal ], broke the Ottoman forces at the ] in September 1918.


On 30 August 1914, New Zealand ] (now ]). On 11 September, the ] landed on the island of ], then part of ]. On 28 October, the German cruiser {{SMS |Emden}} sank the ] in the ]. Japan declared war on Germany before seizing territories in the Pacific, which later became the ], as well as German ] on the Chinese ] peninsula at ]. After Vienna refused to withdraw its cruiser {{SMS |Kaiserin Elisabeth}} from Tsingtao, Japan declared war on Austria-Hungary, and the ship was sunk in November 1914.{{Sfn|Donko|2012|p=79}} Within a few months, Allied forces had seized all German territories in the Pacific, leaving only isolated commerce raiders and a few holdouts in New Guinea.{{sfn |Keegan |1998 |pp=224–232}}{{sfn |Falls |1960 |pp=79–80}}
]
Russian armies generally had the best of it in the Caucasus. ], supreme commander of the Turkish armed forces, was ambitious and dreamed of conquering ]. He was, however, a poor commander.<ref name="isbn0-8050-6884-8">{{harvnb|Fromkin|2001|p=119}}</ref> He launched an offensive against the Russians in the Caucasus in December 1914 with 100,000 troops; insisting on a frontal attack against mountainous Russian positions in winter, he lost 86% of his force at the ].<ref name=caven>{{harvnb|Hinterhoff|1984|pp=499–503}}</ref>


==== African campaigns ====
General ], the Russian commander from 1915 to 1916, drove the Turks out of most of the southern Caucasus with a string of victories.<ref name=caven />
{{Main|African theatre of World War I}}
In 1917, Russian ] assumed command of the Caucasus front. Nicholas planned a railway from ] to the conquered territories, so that fresh supplies could be brought up for a new offensive in 1917. However, in March 1917, (February in the pre-revolutionary Russian calendar), the Czar was overthrown in the ] and the ] began to fall apart.
]
Some of the first clashes of the war involved British, French, and German colonial forces in Africa. On 6–7 August, French and British troops invaded the German protectorates of ] and ]. On 10 August, German forces in ] attacked South Africa; sporadic and fierce fighting continued for the rest of the war. The German colonial forces in ], led by Colonel ], fought a ] campaign and only surrendered two weeks after the armistice took effect in Europe.{{sfn |Farwell |1989 |p=353}}


==== Indian support for the Allies ====
The army corps of ] realigned under the command of General ], with ] as a civilian commissioner of the ]. The front line had three main divisions commanded by ], ], and ]. Another regular unit was under Colonel Korganian. More than 40,000 men in Armenian ] accompanied the main units.<ref>], the president of the "]", declared to ] through a letter to French Foreign Office&nbsp;– 3 December 1918</ref>
{{Main|Indian Army during World War I}}
{{Further|Hindu–German Conspiracy|Niedermayer–Hentig Expedition|Third Anglo-Afghan War}}
] infantry divisions in France; these troops were withdrawn in December 1915, and served in the ].]]


Before the war, Germany had attempted to use Indian nationalism and pan-Islamism to its advantage, a policy continued post-1914 by ], while the ] urged Afghanistan to join the war on the side of Central Powers. However, contrary to British fears of a revolt in India, the outbreak of the war saw a reduction in nationalist activity.{{sfn |Brown |1994 |pp=197–198}}{{sfn |Brown |1994 |pp=201–203}} Leaders from the ] and other groups believed support for the British war effort would hasten ], a promise allegedly made explicit in 1917 by ], the ].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kant |first1=Vedica |title=India and WWI: Piecing together the impact of the Great War on the subcontinent |url=https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2014/09/24/piecing-together-the-impact-of-the-great-war-on-india/ |website=LSE |date=24 September 2014 |access-date=28 September 2022 |archive-date=28 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928184956/https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2014/09/24/piecing-together-the-impact-of-the-great-war-on-india/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Instigated by the Arab bureau of the British ], the ] was a major cause of the ]'s defeat.<ref>T. E. Lawrence, ''Seven Pillars of Wisdom''</ref> The revolts started with the help of Britain in June 1916 at the ], led by ] of ], and ended with the Ottoman surrender of Damascus. ], the Ottoman commander of ], resisted for more than two and half years during the ].<ref>{{harvnb|Sachar|pp=122–138}}</ref>


In 1914, the ] was larger than the British Army itself, and between 1914 and 1918 an estimated 1.3&nbsp;million Indian soldiers and labourers served in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. In all, 140,000&nbsp;soldiers served on the Western Front and nearly 700,000 in the Middle East, with 47,746 killed and 65,126 wounded.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mgtrust.org/ind1.htm |title=Participants from the Indian subcontinent in the First World War |publisher=Memorial Gates Trust |access-date=12 December 2008 |archive-date=1 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701062212/http://www.mgtrust.org/ind1.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The suffering engendered by the war, as well as the failure of the British government to grant self-government to India afterward, bred disillusionment, resulting in ] led by ].<ref>{{cite book |last=Horniman |first=Benjamin Guy | author-link = B. G. Horniman |title=British administration and the Amritsar massacre |publisher=Mittal Publications |date=1984 |page=45}}</ref>
Along the border of Italian Libya and British Egypt, the ] tribe, incited and armed by the Turks, waged a small-scale guerrilla war against Allied troops. The British were forced to dispatch 12,000 troops to deal with the Senussi. Their rebellion was finally crushed in mid-1916.<ref>{{harvnb|Gilbert|1994}}</ref>


====Italian participation==== === Western Front ===
{{Main|Italian Campaign (World War I)}} {{Main|Western Front (World War I)}}
{{See|Battles of the Isonzo}}
]
Italy had been allied with the German and Austro-Hungarian Empires since 1882 as part of the ]. However, the nation had its own designs on Austrian territory in ], ] and ]. Rome had a secret 1902 pact with France, effectively nullifying its alliance.<ref>{{harvnb|Page}}</ref> At the start of hostilities, Italy refused to commit troops, arguing that the Triple Alliance was defensive in nature, and that Austria–Hungary was an aggressor. The Austro-Hungarian government began negotiations to secure Italian neutrality, offering the French colony of ] in return. The Allies made a counter-offer in which Italy would receive the ], ] and territory on the ]n coast after the defeat of Austria-Hungary. This was formalized by the ]. Further encouraged by the Allied invasion of Turkey in April 1915, Italy joined the Triple Entente and declared war on Austria-Hungary on May 23. Fifteen months later Italy declared war on Germany.


==== Trench warfare begins ====
Militarily, the Italians had numerical superiority. This advantage, however, was lost, not only because of the difficult terrain in which fighting took place, but also because of the strategies and tactics employed. ] ], a staunch proponent of the frontal assault, had dreams of breaking into the Slovenian plateau, taking ] and threatening ]. It was a ] plan, which had no realistic chance of success in an age of barbed wire, machine guns, and indirect artillery fire, combined with hilly and mountainous terrain.
] digging trenches in ], France, 1915]]
Pre-war military tactics that had emphasised open warfare and individual riflemen proved obsolete when confronted with conditions prevailing in 1914. Technological advances allowed the creation of strong defensive systems largely impervious to massed infantry advances, such as ], machine guns and above all far more powerful ], which dominated the battlefield and made crossing open ground extremely difficult.{{sfn|Raudzens|1990|p=424}} Both sides struggled to develop tactics for breaching entrenched positions without heavy casualties. In time, technology enabled the production of new offensive weapons, such as ] and the ].{{sfn |Raudzens |1990 |pp=421–423}}


After the ] in September 1914, Allied and German forces unsuccessfully tried to outflank each other, a series of manoeuvres later known as the "]". By the end of 1914, the opposing forces confronted each other along an uninterrupted line of entrenched positions from the ] to the Swiss border.{{Sfn|Gilbert|1994|p=99}} Since the Germans were normally able to choose where to stand, they generally held the high ground, while their trenches tended to be better built; those constructed by the French and English were initially considered "temporary", only needed until an offensive would destroy the German defences.{{sfn|Goodspeed|1985|p=199}} Both sides tried to break the stalemate using scientific and technological advances. On 22 April 1915, at the ], the Germans (violating the ]) used ] gas for the first time on the Western Front. Several types of gas soon became widely used by both sides and though it never proved a decisive, battle-winning weapon, it became one of the most feared and best-remembered horrors of the war.<ref>{{cite web |first=Michael |last=Duffy |url=http://www.firstworldwar.com/weaponry/gas.htm |title=Weapons of War: Poison Gas |publisher=Firstworldwar.com |date=22 August 2009 |access-date=5 July 2012 |archive-date=21 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070821004525/http://www.firstworldwar.com/weaponry/gas.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn |Love |1996}}
On the Trentino front, the Austro-Hungarians took advantage of the mountainous terrain, which favoured the defender. After an initial strategic retreat, the front remained largely unchanged, while Austrian ] and ] engaged Italian ] in bitter hand-to-hand combat throughout the summer. The Austro-Hungarians counter attacked in the ], towards Verona and Padua, in the spring of 1916, ('']''), but made little progress.


==== Continuation of trench warfare ====
Beginning in 1915, the Italians under Cadorna mounted eleven offensives on the ] along the ], north east of ]. All eleven offensives were repelled by the Austro-Hungarians, who held the higher ground. In the summer of 1916, the Italians captured the town of ]. After this minor victory, the front remained static for over a year, despite several Italian offensives. In the autumn of 1917, thanks to the improving situation on the Eastern front, the Austro-Hungarian troops received large numbers of reinforcements, including German ]s and the elite ]. The Central Powers launched a crushing offensive on 26 October 1917, spearheaded by the Germans. They achieved a victory at ]. The Italian army was routed and retreated more than 100&nbsp;kilometres (60&nbsp;mi.) to reorganize, stabilising the front at the ]. Since in the Battle of Caporetto Italian Army had heavy losses, the Italian Government called to arms the so called '''99 Boys'' (Ragazzi del '99), that is, all males who were 18 years old. In 1918, the Austro-Hungarians failed to break through, in a series of battles on the ] and, finally being decisively defeated in the ] in October of that year. Austria-Hungary surrendered in early November 1918.<ref>{{harvnb|Hickey|2003|pp=60–65}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Tucker|2005|pp=585–9}}</ref>
]


In February 1916, the Germans attacked French defensive positions at the ], lasting until December 1916. Casualties were greater for the French, but the Germans bled heavily as well, with anywhere from 700,000{{sfn |Dupuy |1993 |p=1042}} to 975,000{{sfn |Grant |2005 |p=276}} casualties between the two combatants. Verdun became a symbol of French determination and self-sacrifice.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/verdun-myths-and-memories-of-the-lost-villages-of-france-5335493.html |title=Verdun: myths and memories of the 'lost villages' of France |last=Lichfield |first=John |date=21 February 2006 |work=The Independent |access-date=23 July 2013 |archive-date=22 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022235418/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/verdun-myths-and-memories-of-the-lost-villages-of-france-5335493.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
====Romanian participation====
{{Main|Romania during World War I}}
] had been allied with the Central Powers since 1882. When the war began, however, it declared its neutrality, arguing that because Austria-Hungary had itself declared war on Serbia, Romania was under no obligation to join the war. When the Entente Powers promised Romania large territories of eastern Hungary (] and ]), that had a large Romanian population, in exchange for Romania’s declaring war on the Central Powers, the Romanian government renounced its neutrality, and on 27 August 1916 the Romanian army launched an attack against Austria-Hungary. The Romanian offensive was initially successful, pushing back the Austro-Hungarian troops in Transylvania, but a counter attack by the forces of the ] defeated the Romanian army and as a result of the ] the Central Powers occupied Bucharest on 6 December 1916. Fighting in Moldova continued in 1917 until an armistice was signed between the Central Powers and Romania on 9 December 1917.


The ] was an Anglo-French offensive from July to November 1916. The ] on 1 July 1916 was the bloodiest single day in the history of the ], which suffered 57,500 casualties, including 19,200 dead. As a whole, the Somme offensive led to an estimated 420,000 British casualties, along with 200,000 French and 500,000 Germans.{{sfn |Harris |2008 |p=271}} The diseases that emerged in the trenches were a major killer on both sides. The living conditions led to disease and infection, such as ], ], ], ], and the ']'.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chorba |first1=Terence |title=Trench Conflict with Combatants and Infectious Disease |journal=Emerging Infectious Diseases |url=https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2411.AC2411 |publisher=CDC |access-date=29 February 2024 |pages=2136–2137 |language=en-us |doi=10.3201/eid2411.ac2411 |date=November 2018 |volume=24 |issue=11 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610092106/https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/24/11/AC-2411_article |url-status=live |issn=1080-6040 }}</ref>
In January 1918, Russia, allied to Romania, had to withdraw its troops from the Romanian front and Romanian forces established control over ]. Although a treaty was signed by the Romanian and the ] Russian government following talks between March 5–9, 1918 on the withdrawal of Romanian forces from Bessarabia within two months, on March 27, 1918 Romania attached Bessarabia to its territory, formally based on a resolution passed by the local assembly of the territory on the unification with Romania.


=== Naval war ===
Romania officially made peace with the Central Powers signing the ] on 7 May 1918. Under that treaty Romania was obliged to cease war with the Central Powers. Romania made small territorial concessions for Austria-Hungary, ceding control of some passes in the ] and granted oil concessions for Germany. On the other hand, the Central Powers recognized the sovereignty of Romania over ]. The treaty was renounced in October 1918 by the ] government and Romania nominally re-entered the war on 10 November 1918. The next day, the Treaty of Bucharest was nullified by the terms of the Armistice of ].<ref>{{citation| last=Béla| first=Köpeczi| title=Erdély története| publisher=Akadémiai Kiadó| url=http://mek.oszk.hu/02100/02109/html/571.html}}</ref><ref>{{citation| last=Béla| first=Köpeczi| title=History of Transylvania| publisher=Akadémiai Kiadó| url=http://mek.niif.hu/03400/03407/html/429.html| isbn=848371020X}}</ref> Total Romanian deaths from 1914 to 1918, military and civilian, within contemporary borders, were estimated at 748,000.<ref>{{Citation
{{Main|Naval warfare of World War I}}
|title=Poteri narodonaseleniia v XX veke : spravochnik
], 1917]]
|last=Erlikman
|first=Vadim
|authorlink=
|coauthors=
|year= 2004
|publisher=
|location= Moscow
|isbn= 5-93165-107-1
}}</ref>


At the start of the war, German ]s were scattered across the globe, some of which were subsequently used to attack Allied ]. These were systematically hunted down by the Royal Navy, though not before causing considerable damage. One of the most successful was the {{SMS|Emden}}, part of the German ] stationed at ], which seized or sank 15 merchantmen, a Russian cruiser and a French destroyer. Most of the squadron was returning to Germany when it sank two British armoured cruisers at the ] in November 1914, before being virtually destroyed at the ] in December. The ] escaped with a few auxiliaries, but after the ], these too were either destroyed or interned.{{sfn |Taylor |2007 |pp=39–47}}
====The role of India====
{{Further|]|]}}
The war began with an unprecedented outpouring of loyalty and goodwill towards the United Kingdom from within the mainstream political leadership, contrary to initial British fears of an Indian revolt.<ref>{{harvnb|Brown|1994|pp=197–198}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Brown|1994|pp=201–203}}</ref> The ] in fact outnumbered the British Army at the beginning of the war. India under British rule contributed greatly to the British war effort by providing men and resources. This was done by the Indian Congress in hope of achieving self-government as India was very much under the control of the British. The United Kingdom disappointed the Indians by not providing self-governance, leading to the ] Era in Indian history. About 1.3&nbsp;million Indian soldiers and labourers served in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, while both the Indian government and the princes sent large supplies of food, money, and ammunition. In all 140,000&nbsp;men served on the Western Front and nearly 700,000 in the Middle East. Casualties of Indian soldiers totalled 47,746 killed and 65,126 wounded during World War I.<ref>{{citation| url=http://www.mgtrust.org/ind1.htm| title=Participants from the Indian subcontinent in the First World War| publisher=Memorial Gates Trust| accessdate=2008-12-12}}</ref>
]


Soon after the outbreak of hostilities, Britain began a naval ]. This proved effective in cutting off vital supplies, though it violated accepted international law.{{sfn|Keene |2006 |p=5}} Britain also mined international waters which closed off entire sections of the ocean, even to neutral ships.{{sfn|Halpern |1995 |p=293}} Since there was limited response to this tactic, Germany expected a similar response to its unrestricted submarine warfare.{{sfn|Zieger |2001 |p=50}}
===Eastern Front===
====Initial actions====
{{Main|Eastern Front (World War I)}}
While the Western Front had reached stalemate, the war continued in East Europe. Initial Russian plans called for simultaneous invasions of Austrian ] and German East Prussia. Although Russia's initial advance into Galicia was largely successful, they were driven back from East Prussia by ] and ] at ] and the ] in August and September 1914.<ref>{{harvnb|Tucker|2005|p=715}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Meyer|2006|pp=152–4, 161, 163, 175, 182}}</ref> Russia's less developed industrial base and ineffective military leadership was instrumental in the events that unfolded. By the spring of 1915, the Russians had retreated into Galicia, and in May the Central Powers achieved a remarkable breakthrough on Poland's southern frontiers.<ref name="Smele">{{harvnb|Smele}}</ref> On 5 August they captured ] and forced the Russians to withdraw from Poland.


The ]{{efn|German: ''Skagerrakschlacht'', or "Battle of the ]"}} in May/June 1916 was the only full-scale clash of battleships during the war, and one of the largest in history. The clash was indecisive, though the Germans inflicted more damage than they received; thereafter the bulk of the German ] was confined to port.<ref>{{cite journal |author= Jeremy Black | author-link = Jeremy Black (historian) |title=Jutland's Place in History |journal=Naval History |date=June 2016 |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=16–21}}</ref>
====Russian Revolution====
{{Main|Russian Revolution of 1917}}
{{See|North Russia Campaign}}
]]]
Despite the success of the June 1916 ] in eastern ],<ref>{{harvnb|Schindler|2003}}</ref> dissatisfaction with the Russian government's conduct of the war grew. The success was undermined by the reluctance of other generals to commit their forces to support the victory. Allied and Russian forces were revived only temporarily with ]'s entry into the war on 27 August. German forces came to the aid of embattled Austro-Hungarian units in ] and ] fell to the Central Powers on 6 December. Meanwhile, unrest grew in Russia, as the ] remained at the front. ] increasingly incompetent rule drew protests and resulted in the murder of her favourite, ], at the end of 1916.


] exhibited near Tower Bridge in London, after the 1918 Armistice|left]]
In March 1917, demonstrations in ] culminated in the abdication of ] and the appointment of a weak ] which shared power with the ] socialists. This arrangement led to confusion and chaos both at the front and at home. The army became increasingly ineffective.<ref name="Smele" />
German ]s attempted to cut the supply lines between North America and Britain.<ref name="Sheffield">{{cite web |last=Sheffield |first=Garry | author-link = Gary Sheffield (historian) |title=The First Battle of the Atlantic |website=World Wars in Depth |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/battle_atlantic_ww1_01.shtml |publisher=BBC |access-date=11 November 2009 |archive-date=3 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603135501/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/battle_atlantic_ww1_01.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> The nature of ] meant that attacks often came without warning, giving the crews of the merchant ships little hope of survival.<ref name="Sheffield" />{{sfn|Gilbert |1994 |p=306}} The United States launched a protest, and Germany changed its rules of engagement. After ] of the passenger ship ] in 1915, Germany promised not to target passenger liners, while Britain armed its merchant ships, placing them beyond the protection of the "]", which demanded warning and movement of crews to "a place of safety" (a standard that lifeboats did not meet).{{sfn |von der Porten |1969}} Finally, in early 1917, Germany adopted a policy of ], realising the Americans would eventually enter the war.<ref name="Sheffield" />{{sfn|Jones |2001 |p=80}} Germany sought to strangle Allied ]s before the United States could transport a large army overseas, but, after initial successes, eventually failed to do so.<ref name="Sheffield" />


The U-boat threat lessened in 1917, when merchant ships began travelling in ], escorted by ]s. This tactic made it difficult for U-boats to find targets, which significantly lessened losses; after the ] and ]s were introduced, destroyers could potentially successfully attack a submerged submarine. Convoys slowed the flow of supplies since ships had to wait as convoys were assembled; the solution was an extensive program of building new freighters. Troopships were too fast for the submarines and did not travel the North Atlantic in convoys.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nslegislature.ca/index.php/committees/committee_hansard/C11/va_2006nov09 |title=Committee Hansard |date=9 November 2006 |author=((Nova Scotia House of Assembly Committee on Veterans Affairs)) |access-date=12 March 2013 |website=Hansard |archive-date=23 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111123113612/http://nslegislature.ca/index.php/committees/committee_hansard/C11/va_2006nov09 |url-status=live }}</ref> The U-boats sunk more than 5,000 Allied ships, at the cost of 199 submarines.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Roger |last1=Chickering |author1-link=Roger Chickering |first2=Stig |last2=Förster |first3=Bernd |last3=Greiner |series=Publications of the German Historical Institute |location=Washington, DC |year=2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=evVPoSwqrG4C&pg=PA73 |title=A world at total war: global conflict and the politics of destruction, 1937–1945 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-521-83432-2 |access-date=12 November 2018 |archive-date=17 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240217083931/https://books.google.com/books?id=evVPoSwqrG4C&pg=PA73#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>
], 2. ], and 3. ]|alt=Three formally attired men at a conference table sign documents while 32 others look on.]]
The war and the government became increasingly unpopular. Discontent led to a rise in popularity of the ] ], led by ]. He promised to pull Russia out of the war and was able to gain power. The ] in November was followed in December by an armistice and negotiations with Germany. At first the Bolsheviks refused the German terms, but when Germany resumed the war and marched across ] with impunity, the new government acceded to the ] on 3 March 1918. It took Russia out of the war and ceded vast territories, including Finland, the ], parts of Poland and ] to the Central Powers.<ref>{{harvnb|Wheeler-Bennett|1956}}</ref> The manpower required for German occupation of former Russian territory may have contributed to the failure of the Spring Offensive, however, and secured relatively little food or other war materiel.<!-- yes, it is spelled "iel" for this meaning -->


World War I also saw the first use of ]s in combat, with {{HMS |Furious |47 |6}} launching ]s in a successful raid against the ] hangars at ] in July 1918, as well as ]s for antisubmarine patrol.<ref name="price1980">{{harvnb |Price |1980}}</ref>
With the adoption of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the Entente no longer existed. The Allied powers led ] of Russia, partly to stop Germany from exploiting Russian resources and, to a lesser extent, to support the "Whites" (as opposed to "Reds") in the ].<ref>{{Harvnb|Mawdsley|2008|pp=54–55}}</ref> Allied troops landed in ] and in ].


=== Southern theatres ===
===Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II declares victory===
]


==== War in the Balkans ====
In December 1916, after ten brutal months of the ], the Germans attempted to negotiate a peace with the Allies, effectively declaring themselves the victors. Soon after, U.S. President Wilson attempted to intervene as a peacemaker, asking in a note for both sides to state their demands. Lloyd George's War Cabinet considered the German offer as a ploy to create divisions amongst the Allies. After initial outrage and much deliberation, they took Wilson's note as a separate effort, signalling that the U.S. was on the verge of entering the war against Germany following the "submarine outrages". While the Allies debated a response to Wilson's offer, the Germans chose to rebuff it in favour of "a direct exchange of views". Learning of the German response, the Allied governments were free to make clear demands in their response of 14 January. They sought restoration of damages, the evacuation of occupied territories, reparations for France, Russia and Roumania, and a recognition of the principle of nationalities. This included the liberation of Italians, Slavs, Roumanians, Czecho-Slovaks, and the creation of a "free and united Poland". On the question of security, the Allies sought guarantees that would prevent or limit future wars, complete with sanctions, as a condition of any peace settlement.<ref>{{harvnb|Kernek|1970|pp=721–766}}</ref>
{{Main|Balkans theatre|Bulgaria during World War I|Serbian campaign|Macedonian front}}
], ], 1914]]


Faced with Russia in the east, Austria-Hungary could spare only one-third of its army to attack Serbia. After suffering heavy losses, the Austrians briefly occupied the Serbian capital, ]. A Serbian counter-attack in the Battle of Kolubara succeeded in driving them from the country by the end of 1914. For the first 10 months of 1915, Austria-Hungary used most of its military reserves to fight Italy. German and Austro-Hungarian diplomats scored a coup by persuading Bulgaria to join the attack on Serbia.{{sfn|Tucker|Roberts|2005|p=}} The Austro-Hungarian provinces of ], Croatia and ] provided troops for Austria-Hungary. Montenegro allied itself with Serbia.{{sfn |Neiberg |2005 |pp=54–55}}
===1917–1918===
], with their machine guns amongst the ruins of a cathedral near the Marne, driving back the Germans. 1918]]
]


]
====Developments in 1917====
Bulgaria declared war on Serbia on 14 October 1915 and joined in the attack by the Austro-Hungarian army under Mackensen's army of 250,000 that was already underway. Serbia was conquered in a little more than a month, as the Central Powers, now including Bulgaria, sent in 600,000 troops in total. The Serbian army, fighting on two fronts and facing certain defeat, retreated into northern ]. The Serbs suffered defeat in the ]. Montenegro covered the Serbian retreat toward the Adriatic coast in the ] on 6–7 January 1916, but ultimately the Austrians also conquered Montenegro. The surviving Serbian soldiers were evacuated to Greece.{{sfn |Tucker |Roberts |2005 |pp=1075–1076}} After the conquest, Serbia was divided between Austro-Hungary and Bulgaria.{{sfn|DiNardo|2015|p=102}}
Events of 1917 proved decisive in ending the war, although their effects were not fully felt until 1918.


In late 1915, a Franco-British force landed at ] in Greece to offer assistance and to pressure its government to declare war against the Central Powers. However, the pro-German ] dismissed the pro-Allied government of ] before the Allied expeditionary force arrived.{{sfn |Neiberg |2005 |pp=108–110}}
The British naval blockade began to have a serious impact on Germany. In response, in February 1917, the ] convinced ] ] to declare unrestricted submarine warfare, with the goal of starving Britain out of the war. Tonnage sunk rose above 500,000&nbsp;tons per month from February to July. It peaked at 860,000&nbsp;tons in April. After July, the newly re-introduced ] system became extremely effective in reducing the ] threat. Britain was safe from starvation and German industrial output fell.


The Macedonian front was at first mostly static. French and Serbian forces retook limited areas of Macedonia by recapturing ] on 19 November 1916 following the costly ], which brought stabilisation of the front.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hall |first=Richard |title=Balkan Breakthrough: The Battle of Dobro Pole 1918 |year=2010 |publisher=Indiana University Press |page=11 |isbn=978-0-253-35452-5}}</ref>
On 3 May 1917, during the ], the weary French 2nd Colonial Division, veterans of the Battle of Verdun, refused their orders, arriving drunk and without their weapons. Their officers lacked the means to punish an entire division, and harsh measures were not immediately implemented. Then, ] afflicted an additional 54 French divisions and saw 20,000 men desert. The other Allied forces attacked but sustained tremendous casualties.<ref>{{harvnb|Lyons|1999|p=243}}</ref> However, appeals to patriotism and duty, as well as mass arrests and trials, encouraged the soldiers to return to defend their trenches, although the French soldiers refused to participate in further offensive action.<ref>Marshall, 292.</ref> ] was removed from command by 15 May, replaced by General ], who suspended bloody large-scale attacks.


] lost about 850,000 people during the war, a quarter of its pre-war population.<ref>"". p. 28. '']''.</ref>]]
], France, 1917]]
Serbian and French troops finally made a breakthrough in September 1918 in the ], after most German and Austro-Hungarian troops had been withdrawn. The Bulgarians were defeated at the ], and by 25 September British and French troops had crossed the border into Bulgaria proper as the Bulgarian army collapsed. Bulgaria capitulated four days later, on 29 September 1918.{{sfn |Tucker |Wood |Murphy |1999 |pp=150–152}} The German high command responded by despatching troops to hold the line, but these forces were too weak to re-establish a front.<ref name=militera>{{cite web |url=http://militera.lib.ru/h/korsun_ng4/06.html |title=The Balkan Front of the World War |language=ru |first=N. |last=Korsun |publisher=militera.lib.ru |access-date=27 September 2010 |archive-date=9 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130809073504/http://militera.lib.ru/h/korsun_ng4/06.html |url-status=live }}</ref>


The disappearance of the Macedonian front meant that the road to ] and Vienna was now opened to Allied forces. Hindenburg and Ludendorff concluded that the strategic and operational balance had now shifted decidedly against the ] and, a day after the Bulgarian collapse, insisted on an immediate peace settlement.{{sfn|Doughty |2005 |p=491}}
The victory of Austria–Hungary and Germany at the ] led the Allies at the ] to form the ] to coordinate planning. Previously, British and French armies had operated under separate commands.


==== Ottoman Empire ====
In December, the Central Powers signed an armistice with Russia. This released troops for use in the west. Ironically, German troop transfers could have been greater if their territorial acquisitions had not been so dramatic. With German reinforcements and new American troops pouring in, the outcome was to be decided on the Western front. The Central Powers knew that they could not win a protracted war, but they held high hopes for success based on a final quick offensive. Furthermore, the leaders of the Central Powers and the Allies became increasingly fearful of social unrest and revolution in Europe. Thus, both sides urgently sought a decisive victory.<ref name="isbn0-313-29880-7">{{harvnb|Heyman|1997|pp=146–147}}</ref>
{{Main|Ottoman Empire in World War I}}
{{See also|Middle Eastern theatre of World War I}}
]]]


The Ottomans threatened Russia's ] territories and Britain's communications with India via the ]. The Ottoman Empire took advantage of the European powers' preoccupation with the war and conducted large-scale ethnic cleansing of the ], ], and ] Christian populations&mdash;the ], ], and ] respectively.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Gettleman |editor1-first=Marvin | editor1-link = Marvin Gettleman |editor2-last=Schaar |editor2-first=Stuart |title=The Middle East and Islamic world reader |date=2003 |publisher=Grove Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8021-3936-8 |pages=119–120 |edition=4th |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=srLGT3dwTogC}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=January |first1=Brendan |title=Genocide: modern crimes against humanity |date=2007 |publisher=Twenty-First Century Books |location=Minneapolis, Minn. |isbn=978-0-7613-3421-7 |page=14 |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=IoPMDp2WA6cC}}}}</ref><ref name=lieberman>{{cite book |last1=Lieberman |first1=Benjamin |title=The Holocaust and Genocides in Europe |date=2013 |publisher=Continuum Publishing Corporation |location=New York |isbn=978-1-4411-9478-7 |pages=80–81 |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=ySFMAQAAQBAJ}}}}</ref>
====Entry of the United States====
=====Non-Intervention=====
The ] originally pursued a policy of ], avoiding conflict while trying to broker a peace. Britain initially feared that should the United States participate in the war, it would be on the side of the Central Powers given US anti-colonial stance on the British Empire.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}} This resulted in increased tensions with Berlin and London. When a German U-boat sank the British liner ] in 1915, with 128 Americans aboard, U.S. President ] vowed, "America is too proud to fight" and demanded an end to attacks on passenger ships. Germany complied. Wilson unsuccessfully tried to mediate a settlement. He repeatedly warned the U.S. would not tolerate unrestricted submarine warfare, in violation of international law and U.S. ideas of human rights. Wilson was under pressure from former president ], who denounced German acts as "piracy".<ref>{{harvnb|Brands|1997|p=756}}</ref> Wilson's desire to have a seat at negotiations at war's end to advance the ] also played a role.<ref name = "Karp-PoW-1979">{{harvnb|Karp|1979}}</ref> Wilson's Secretary of State, ], resigned in protest at what he felt was the President's decidedly warmongering diplomacy. Other factors contributing to the U.S. entry into the war include the suspected German sabotage of ] in ], and the ] in what is now ].


The British and French opened overseas fronts with the ] (1915) and ]s (1914). In Gallipoli, the Ottoman Empire successfully repelled the British, French, and ] (ANZACs). In ], by contrast, after the defeat of the British defenders in the ] by the Ottomans (1915–1916), British Imperial forces reorganised and captured ] in March 1917. The British were aided in Mesopotamia by local Arab and Assyrian fighters, while the Ottomans employed local ] and ] tribes.<ref>Arthur J. Barker, ''The Neglected War: Mesopotamia, 1914–1918'' (London: Faber, 1967)</ref>
=====Making the case=====
In January 1917, after the Navy pressured the Kaiser, Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare. Britain's secret Royal Navy ] group, ], had broken the German diplomatic code. They intercepted a proposal from Berlin (the ]) to ] to join the war as Germany's ally against the United States, should the U.S. join. The proposal suggested that if the U.S. were to enter the war then Mexico should declare war against the United States and enlist Japan as an ally. This would prevent the United States from joining the Allies and deploying troops to Europe, and would give Germany more time for their unrestricted submarine warfare program to strangle Britain's vital war supplies. In return, the Germans would promise Mexico support in reclaiming the territories of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona that Mexico lost during the ] 70&nbsp;years earlier.<ref>{{harvnb|Tuchman|1966}}</ref>


The ] was defended from Ottoman attacks in 1915 and 1916; in August 1916, a German and Ottoman force was defeated at the ] by the ] and the ]. Following this victory, an ] advanced across the ], pushing Ottoman forces back in the ] in December and the ] on the border between the Egyptian ] and Ottoman Palestine in January 1917.<ref>{{cite book |first1=John |last1=Crawford |first2=Ian |last2=McGibbon |title=New Zealand's Great War: New Zealand, the Allies and the First World War |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=mtEEuD_-2SMC |page=219}} |year=2007 |publisher=Exisle Publishing |pages=219–220}}</ref>
=====U.S. declaration of war on Germany=====
]


], 1914–1915]]
After the British revealed the telegram to the United States, President Wilson, who had won reelection on his keeping the country out of the war, released the captured telegram as a way of building support for U.S. entry into the war. He had previously claimed neutrality, while calling for the arming of U.S. merchant ships delivering munitions to combatant Britain and quietly supporting the British blockading of German ports and mining of international waters, preventing the shipment of food from America and elsewhere to combatant Germany. After submarines sank seven U.S. merchant ships and the publication of the Zimmerman telegram, Wilson called for war on Germany, which the ] declared on 6 April 1917.<ref>see: ].</ref>
Russian armies generally had success in the ]. ], supreme commander of the Ottoman armed forces, dreamed of re-conquering central Asia and areas that had been previously lost to Russia. He was, however, a poor commander.{{sfn|Fromkin |2004 |p=119}} He launched an offensive against the Russians in the Caucasus in December 1914 with 100,000 troops, insisting on a frontal attack against mountainous Russian positions in winter. He lost 86% of his force at the ].<ref name=caven>{{harvnb |Hinterhoff |1984 |pp=499–503}}</ref> General ], the Russian commander from 1915 to 1916, drove the Turks out of most of the southern ].<ref name=caven />


] inspecting Turkish troops of the 15th Corps in East Galicia, Austria-Hungary (now Poland).]]
Crucial to U.S. participation was the sweeping domestic propaganda campaign executed by the ], overseen by ].<ref name="OverHere">{{harvnb|Kennedy|2004|pp=59–72}}</ref> The campaign consisted of tens of thousands of government-selected community leaders giving brief carefully scripted pro-war speeches at thousands of public gatherings.<ref>{{harvnb|Ross|pp=244–246}}</ref> Along with other branches of government and private vigilante groups like the ], it also included the general repression and harassment of people either opposed to American entry into the war or of German heritage.<ref name="OverHere" /> Other forms of propaganda included ], photos, large-print posters (designed by several well-known illustrators of the day, including ] and ]), magazine and newspaper articles, etc.{{Citation needed|date=November 2009}}{{POV-statement|date=November 2009}} Additionally, during World War I, Woodrow Wilson placed a great importance on ], especially the Boy Scouts of America, asking them to encourage war support and educate the public about the importance of the war. They helped distribute these war pamphlets, helped sell war bonds, and helped to drive nationalism and support for the war.<ref>McDermott, T. P "USA's Boy Scouts and World War I Liberty Loan Bonds", pg. 70</ref>


The Ottoman Empire, with German support, invaded Persia (modern ]) in December 1914 to cut off British and Russian access to ]s around ].<ref>The Encyclopedia Americana, 1920, v. 28, p. 403</ref> Persia, ostensibly neutral, had long been under British and Russian influence. The Ottomans and Germans were aided by ] and ] forces, together with a large number of major Iranian tribes, while the Russians and British had the support of Armenian and Assyrian forces. The ] lasted until 1918 and ended in failure for the Ottomans and their allies. However, the Russian withdrawal from the war in 1917 led Armenian and Assyrian forces to be cut off from supply lines, outnumbered, outgunned and isolated, forcing them to fight and flee towards British lines in northern Mesopotamia.<ref>{{cite news |first=Dudley S. |last=Northcote |title=Saving Forty Thousand Armenians |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4LYqAAAAYAAJ |work=Current History |publisher=New York Times Co. |year=1922 |access-date=9 September 2021 |archive-date=9 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909113528/https://books.google.com/books?id=4LYqAAAAYAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>
=====First active U.S. participation=====
] recruitment poster by ].]]
]
The United States was never formally a member of the Allies but became a self-styled "Associated Power". The United States had a small army, but, after the passage of the ], it drafted 2.8 million men<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sss.gov/induct.htm |title=Selective Service System: History and Records |publisher=Sss.gov |date= |accessdate=2010-07-27}}</ref> and by summer 1918 was sending 10,000 fresh soldiers to France every day. In 1917, the U.S. Congress gave U.S. citizenship to Puerto Ricans when they were drafted to participate in World War I, as part of the ]. Germany had miscalculated, believing it would be many more months before they would arrive and that the arrival could be stopped by U-boats.<ref>{{harvnb|Wilgus|p=52}}</ref>


The ], instigated by the British ], started in June 1916 with the ], led by ]. The Sharif declared the independence of the ] and, with British assistance, conquered much of Ottoman-held Arabia, resulting finally in the Ottoman surrender of Damascus. ], the Ottoman commander of ], resisted for more than {{frac|2|1|2}} years during the ] before surrendering in January 1919.{{sfn |Sachar |1970 |pp=122–138}}
The ] sent a ] to ] to join with the ], ] to ], Ireland and ] to help guard convoys. Several regiments of ] were also dispatched to France. The British and French wanted U.S. units used to reinforce their troops already on the battle lines and not waste scarce shipping on bringing over supplies. The U.S. rejected the first proposition and accepted the second. General ], ] (AEF) commander, refused to break up U.S. units to be used as reinforcements for British Empire and French units. As an exception, he did allow ] combat regiments to be used in French divisions. The ] fought as part of the French 16th Division, earning a unit ] for their actions at Chateau-Thierry, Belleau Wood and Sechault.<ref>{{citation| publisher=]|url=http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/369th-infantry/| title=Teaching With Documents: Photographs of the 369th Infantry and African Americans during World War I| accessdate=2009-10-29}}</ref><!--


The ] tribe, along the border of ] and ], incited and armed by the Turks, waged a small-scale ] against Allied troops. The British were forced to dispatch 12,000 troops to oppose them in the ]. Their rebellion was finally crushed in mid-1916.{{sfn |Gilbert |1994}}
Probably a further reference could be found in Little, Arthur West; ''From Harlem to the Rhine; the story of New York's colored volunteers.'' (1936). NYSL Call number 940.373 L77


Total Allied casualties on the Ottoman fronts amounted to 650,000 men. Total Ottoman casualties were 725,000, with 325,000 dead and 400,000 wounded.<ref name="Brief Ottoman History">{{cite book |last=Hanioglu |first=M. Sukru | author-link = M. Şükrü Hanioğlu |title=A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2010 |pages=180–181 |isbn=978-0-691-13452-9}}</ref>
--> AEF doctrine called for the use of frontal assaults, which had long since been discarded by British Empire and French commanders because of the large loss of life.<ref>{{harvnb|Millett|Murray|1988|p=143}}</ref>


====Austrian offer of separate peace==== ==== Italian Front ====
{{Main|Italian front (World War I)|White War|Military history of Italy during World War I}}
In 1917, Emperor ] secretly attempted separate peace negotiations with Clemenceau, with his wife's brother ] in Belgium as an intermediary, without the knowledge of Germany. When the negotiations failed, his attempt was revealed to Germany, a diplomatic catastrophe.<ref>{{harvnb|Kurlander|2006}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Shanafelt|1985|pp=125–30}}</ref>
]]]


Though Italy joined the Triple Alliance in 1882, a treaty with its traditional Austrian enemy was so controversial that subsequent governments denied its existence and the terms were only made public in 1915.{{Sfn|Thompson|2009|p=13}} This arose from ] designs on Austro-Hungarian territory in ], the ], ] and ], considered vital to secure the borders established in ].{{Sfn|Thompson|2009|pp=9–10}} In 1902, Rome secretly had agreed with France to remain neutral if the latter was attacked by Germany, effectively nullifying its role in the Triple Alliance.{{Sfn|Gardner|2015|p=120}}
====German Spring Offensive of 1918====
{{Main|Spring Offensive}}
German General ] drew up plans (] ]) for the 1918 offensive on the Western Front. The Spring Offensive sought to divide the British and French forces with a series of feints and advances. The German leadership hoped to strike a decisive blow before significant U.S. forces arrived. The operation commenced on 21 March 1918 with an attack on British forces near ]. German forces achieved an unprecedented advance of 60&nbsp;kilometres (40&nbsp;miles).<ref>{{harvnb|Westwell|2004}}</ref>


When the war began in 1914, Italy argued the Triple Alliance was defensive and it was not obliged to support an Austrian attack on Serbia. Opposition to joining the Central Powers increased when Turkey became a member in September, since in ] Italy had occupied Ottoman possessions in ] and the ] islands.{{Sfn|Thompson|2009|p=14}} To secure Italian neutrality, the Central Powers offered them ], while in return for an immediate entry into the war, the Allies agreed to their demands for Austrian territory and sovereignty over the Dodecanese.{{Sfn|Thompson|2009|pp=30–31}} Although they remained secret, these provisions were incorporated into the April 1915 ]; Italy joined the Triple Entente and, on 23 May, declared war on Austria-Hungary,{{Sfn|Gilbert|1994|p=166}} followed by Germany fifteen months later.], one of the most challenging fronts of the war]]
British and French trenches were penetrated using novel ], also named ''Hutier'' tactics, after General ]. Previously, attacks had been characterized by long artillery bombardments and massed assaults. However, in the Spring Offensive of 1918, Ludendorff used artillery only briefly and infiltrated small groups of infantry at weak points. They attacked command and logistics areas and bypassed points of serious resistance. More heavily armed infantry then destroyed these isolated positions. German success relied greatly on the element of surprise.<ref>{{harvnb|Posen|1984|pp=190&191}}</ref>


The pre-1914 Italian army was short of officers, trained men, adequate transport and modern weapons; by April 1915, some of these deficiencies had been remedied but it was still unprepared for the major offensive required by the Treaty of London.{{Sfn|Thompson|2009|p=57}} The advantage of superior numbers was offset by the difficult terrain; much of the fighting took place high in the ] and ], where trench lines had to be cut through rock and ice and keeping troops supplied was a major challenge. These issues were exacerbated by unimaginative strategies and tactics.{{Sfn|Marshall|Josephy|1982|p=108}} Between 1915 and 1917, the Italian commander, ], undertook ], which made little progress and cost many lives; by the end of the war, Italian combat deaths totalled around 548,000.{{Sfn|Fornassin|2017|pp=39–62}}
The front moved to within 120&nbsp;kilometers (75&nbsp;mi) of Paris. Three heavy ] ]s fired 183&nbsp;shells on the capital, causing many Parisians to flee. The initial offensive was so successful that Kaiser Wilhelm II declared 24 March a ]. Many Germans thought victory was near. After heavy fighting, however, the offensive was halted. Lacking tanks or ], the Germans were unable to consolidate their gains. This situation was not helped by the supply lines now being stretched as a result of their advance.<ref>{{harvnb|Gray|1991|p=86}}</ref> The sudden stop was also a result of the four ] (AIF) divisions that were "rushed" down, thus doing what no other army had done and stopping the German advance in its tracks. During that time the first Australian division was hurriedly sent north again to stop the second German breakthrough.
] troops blinded by tear gas during the ], 10 April 1918.]]


In the spring of 1916, the Austro-Hungarians counterattacked in ] in the '']'', but made little progress and were pushed by the Italians back to Tyrol.{{sfn|Thompson|2009|p=163}} Although Italy occupied southern ] in May 1916, their main focus was the Isonzo front which, after the ] in August 1916, remained static until October 1917. After a combined Austro-German force won a major victory at ], Cadorna was replaced by ] who retreated more than {{convert|100|km|mi}} before holding positions along the ].{{Sfn|Gilbert|1994|p=317}} A second Austrian ] in June 1918. On 24 October, Diaz launched the ] and initially met stubborn resistance,{{Sfn|Gilbert|1994|p=482}} but with Austria-Hungary collapsing, Hungarian divisions in Italy demanded they be sent home.{{Sfn|Gilbert|1994|p=484}} When this was granted, many others followed and the Imperial army disintegrated, the Italians taking over 300,000 prisoners.{{Sfn|Thompson|2009|p=364}} On 3{{nbsp}}November, the ] ended hostilities between Austria-Hungary and Italy which occupied ] and areas along the ] awarded to it in 1915.{{Sfn|Gilbert|1994|p=491}}
American divisions, which Pershing had sought to field as an independent force, were assigned to the depleted French and British Empire commands on 28 March. A Supreme War Council of Allied forces was created at the ] on 5 November 1917.<ref name=moon/> ] was appointed as supreme commander of the allied forces. Haig, Petain and Pershing retained tactical control of their respective armies; Foch assumed a coordinating role, rather than a directing role and the British, French and U.S. commands operated largely independently.<ref name=moon>{{harvnb|Moon|1996|pp=495–196}}</ref>


=== Eastern Front ===
Following Operation Michael, Germany launched ] against the northern ] ports. The Allies halted the drive with limited territorial gains for Germany. The German Army to the south then conducted ], broadly towards Paris. Operation Marne was launched on 15 July, attempting to encircle ] and beginning the ]. The resulting counterattack, starting the ], marked their first successful Allied offensive of the war.
{{Main|Eastern Front (World War I)}}


==== Initial actions ====
By 20 July the Germans were back across the Marne at their Kaiserschlacht starting lines,<ref>{{harvnb|Rickard|2007}}</ref> having achieved nothing. Following this last phase of the war in the West, the German Army never again regained the initiative. German casualties between March and April 1918 were 270,000, including many highly trained stormtroops.
] and ] following the Russian ], the longest siege of the war.]]


As previously agreed with French president ], Russian plans at the start of the war were to simultaneously advance into ] and East Prussia as soon as possible. Although their ] was largely successful, and the invasions achieved their aim of forcing Germany to divert troops from the Western Front, the speed of mobilisation meant they did so without much of their heavy equipment and support functions. These weaknesses contributed to Russian defeats at ] and the ] in August and September 1914, forcing them to withdraw from East Prussia with heavy losses.{{sfn|Tucker|Roberts|2005|p=715}}{{sfn|Meyer|2006|pp=152–154, 161, 163, 175, 182}} By spring 1915, they had also retreated from Galicia, and the May 1915 ] allowed the Central Powers to invade ].<ref name="Smele">{{harvnb |Smele}}</ref>
Meanwhile, Germany was falling apart at home. ] marches became frequent and morale in the army fell. Industrial output was 53&nbsp;percent of 1913 levels.


Despite the successful June 1916 ] against the Austrians in eastern Galicia,{{sfn|Schindler|2003|p=?}} shortages of supplies, heavy losses and command failures prevented the Russians from fully exploiting their victory. However, it was one of the most significant offensives of the war, diverting German resources from ], relieving Austro-Hungarian pressure on the Italians, and convincing Romania to enter the war on the side of the Allies on 27 August. It also fatally weakened both the Austrian and Russian armies, whose offensive capabilities were badly affected by their losses and increased disillusion with the war that ultimately led to the Russian revolutions.{{Sfn|Tucker|2002|p=119}}
====New states under war zone====
In 1918, the internationally recognized ], ] and ] bordering the Ottoman Empire and Russian Empire were established, as well as the unrecognized ] and ]. Later, these unrecognized states were eliminated by Azerbaijan and Turkey. {{further|]}}


Meanwhile, unrest grew in Russia as Tsar ] remained at the front, with the home front controlled by ]. Her increasingly incompetent rule and food shortages in urban areas led to widespread protests and the murder of her favourite, ], at the end of 1916.<ref>{{cite book|title=Cultural Studies|author=Lawrence Goodrich|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wErHyRve0noC&pg=PA376|year=2011|page=376|publisher=]|isbn=9781449637286|access-date=30 July 2023|archive-date=20 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820043510/https://books.google.com/books?id=wErHyRve0noC&pg=PA376|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 1918, the ]s of the ] declared the ] (DRA) through the ] (unified form of ]s) after the dissolution of the ]. ] became the first Commander-in-chief of the DRA. Enver Pasha ordered the creation of a new army to be named the ]. He ordered the Army of Islam into the DRA, with the goal of taking ] on the ]. This new offensive was strongly opposed by the ]. In early May 1918, the Ottoman army attacked the newly declared DRA. Although the Armenians managed to inflict one defeat on the Ottomans at the ], the Ottoman army won a later battle and scattered the Armenian army. The Republic of Armenia signed the ] in June 1918.<ref>{{harvnb|Swietochowski|2004}}</ref>


====Allied victory: summer and autumn 1918==== ==== Romanian participation ====
{{Main|Hundred Days Offensive|Weimar Republic}} {{Main|Romania in World War I}}
{{Location map many|Romania|caption = Romania key locations 1916–1918 (using {{CURRENTYEAR}} borders)|border = black|relief=yes|width =250|float = right|
|label = Bucharest |pos = left |lat_deg =44.4325|lon_deg = 26.103889
|label1=|coordinates1=|label2 = Timișoara (Banat) |pos2 = right |lat2_deg =45.759722|lon2_deg = 21.23
|label4 = Cluj (Transylvania)|pos4 = top |lat4_deg =46.766667|lon4_deg = 23.583333
|label5 = Chișinău (Moldova) |pos5 = top|lat5_deg =47.022778|lon5_deg = 28.835278
|label6 = Constanța (Dobruja)|pos6 = top |lat6_deg =44.166667|lon6_deg = 28.633333
|label7 = Bulgaria |pos7 = bottom |lat7_deg =43.9|lon7_deg = 27.0
|label8 = Hungary |pos8 = right |lat8_deg =47.755|lon8_deg = 20.5
|label9 = Mărășești |pos9 = right |lat9_deg =45.88|lon9_deg = 27.23
|label10 = Oituz |pos10 = left |lat10_deg =46.2|lon10_deg = 26.616667}}


Despite secretly agreeing to support the Triple Alliance in 1883, Romania increasingly found itself at odds with the Central Powers over their support for Bulgaria in the Balkan Wars and the status of ethnic Romanian communities in ]-controlled ],{{Sfn|Jelavich|1992|pp=441–442}} which comprised an estimated 2.8&nbsp;million of the 5.0&nbsp;million population.{{Sfn|Dumitru|2012|p=171}} With the ruling elite split into pro-German and pro-Entente factions,{{Sfn|Dumitru|2012|p=170}} Romania remained neutral for two years while allowing Germany and Austria to transport military supplies and advisors across Romanian territory.{{Sfn|Gilbert|1994|p=282}}
The Allied counteroffensive, known as the Hundred Days Offensive, began on 8 August 1918. The ] developed with III Corps ] on the left, the ] on the right, and the ] and ] spearheading the offensive in the centre through ].<ref name="AWMAmiens">{{citation| url=http://www.awm.gov.au/1918/battles/amiens.htm|title=The Battle of Amiens: 8 August 1918| publisher=Australian War Memorial| accessdate=2008-12-12}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://www.awm.gov.au/1918/battles/amiensmap.htm |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070617055415/http://www.awm.gov.au/1918/battles/amiensmap.htm |archivedate=2007-06-17 |title=Amiens Map |publisher=Australian War Memorial |accessdate=2009-10-24}} (archived 2007-06-17)</ref> It involved 414 ]s of the ] and ] type, and 120,000 men. They advanced 12&nbsp;kilometers (7&nbsp;miles) into German-held territory in just seven hours. Erich Ludendorff referred to this day as the "Black Day of the German army".<ref name="AWMAmiens" /><ref>{{harvnb|Rickard|2001}}</ref>


In September 1914, Russia acknowledged Romanian rights to Austro-Hungarian territories including Transylvania and ], whose acquisition had widespread popular support,{{Sfn|Dumitru|2012|p=171}} and Russian success against Austria led Romania to join the Entente in the August 1916 ].{{Sfn|Gilbert|1994|p=282}} Under the strategic plan known as ], the Romanian army planned an offensive into Transylvania, while defending Southern ] and ] against a possible Bulgarian counterattack.{{Sfn|Torrie|1978|pp=7–8}} On 27 August 1916, they ] and occupied substantial parts of the province before being driven back by the recently formed ], led by former Chief of Staff ].{{Sfn|Barrett|2013|pp=96–98}} A combined German-Bulgarian-Turkish offensive captured Dobruja and Giurgiu, although the bulk of the Romanian army managed to escape encirclement and retreated to ], which ] to the Central Powers on 6 December 1916.<ref>România în anii primului război mondial, vol.2, p. 831</ref>
The Australian-Canadian spearhead at Amiens, a battle that was the beginning of Germany’s downfall,<ref name="Terraine-Victory">{{harvnb|Terraine|1963}}</ref> helped pull the British armies to the north and the French armies to the south forward. While German resistance on the ] front at Amiens stiffened, after an advance as far as {{convert|14|mi|km|0}} and concluded the battle there, the French Third Army lengthened the Amiens front on 10&nbsp;August, when it was thrown in on the right of the ], and advanced {{convert|4|mi|km|0}} liberating Lassigny in fighting which lasted until 16&nbsp;August. South of the French Third Army, General ] (The Butcher) drove his French Tenth Army forward at Soissons on 20 August to capture eight thousand prisoners, two hundred guns and the Aisne heights overlooking and menacing the German position north of the Vesle.<ref name="Pitt-1918">{{harvnb|Pitt|2003}}</ref> Another "Black day" as described by Erich Ludendorff.


In the summer of 1917, a Central Powers offensive began in Romania under the command of August von Mackensen to knock Romania out of the war, resulting in the battles of ], ] and ] where up to 1,000,000 Central Powers troops were present. The battles lasted from 22 July to 3 September and eventually, the Romanian army was victorious advancing 500&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>. August von Mackensen could not plan for another offensive as he had to transfer troops to the Italian Front.<ref>Keith Hitchins, Clarendon Press, 1994, Rumania 1866–1947, p. 269</ref> Following the Russian revolution, Romania found itself alone on the Eastern Front and signed the ] with the Central Powers, which recognised Romanian sovereignty over ] in return for ceding control of passes in the Carpathian Mountains to Austria-Hungary and leasing its oil wells to Germany. Although approved by ], ] refused to sign it, hoping for an Allied victory in the west.{{Sfn|Crampton|1994|pp=24–25}} Romania re-entered the war on 10 November 1918 on the side of the Allies and the Treaty of Bucharest was formally annulled by the Armistice of 11 November 1918.{{Sfn|Béla|1998|p=429}}{{Efn|Bessarabia remained part of Romania until 1940, when it was annexed by ] as the ];{{Sfn|Rothschild|1975|p=314}} following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, it became the independent Republic of ]}}
Meanwhile General Byng of the Third British Army, reporting that the enemy on his front was thinning in a limited withdrawal, was ordered to attack with 200 tanks toward Bapaume, opening the ], with the specific orders of "To break the enemy's front, in order to outflank the enemies present battle front" (opposite the British Fourth Army at Amiens).<ref name="Terraine-Victory"/> Allied leaders had now realized that to continue an attack after resistance had hardened was a waste of lives and it was better to turn a line than to try to roll over it. Attacks were being undertaken in quick order to take advantage of the successful advances on the flanks and then broken off when that attack lost its initial impetus.<ref name="Pitt-1918" />


=== Central Powers peace overtures ===
The British Third Army's {{convert|15|mi|km|0|sing=on}} front north of Albert progressed after stalling for a day against the main resistance line to which the enemy had withdrawn.<ref>{{harvnb|Maurice|1918}}</ref> Rawlinson’s ] was able to battle its left flank forward between Albert and the Somme straightening the line between the advanced positions of the Third Army and the Amiens front which resulted in recapturing Albert at the same time.<ref name="Pitt-1918" /> On 26&nbsp;August the British First Army on the left of the Third Army was drawn into the battle extending it northward to beyond Arras. The Canadian Corps already being back in the vanguard of the ] fought their way from Arras eastward {{convert|5|mi|km|0}} astride the heavily defended Arras-Cambrai before reaching the outer defences of the Hindenburg line, breaching them on the 28 and 29&nbsp;August. Bapaume fell on the 29&nbsp;August to the New Zealand Division of the Third Army and the Australians, still leading the advance of the Fourth Army, were again able to push forward at Amiens to take Peronne and Mont St. Quentin on 31&nbsp;August. Further south the French First and Third Armies had slowly fought forward while the Tenth Army, who had by now crossed the Ailette and was east of the Chemin des Dames, was now near to the Alberich position of the ].<ref name="Chron-FWW">{{harvnb|Gray|Argyle|1990}}</ref> During the last week of August the pressure along a {{convert|70|mi|km|0|sing=on}} front against the enemy was heavy and unrelenting. From German accounts, "Each day was spent in bloody fighting against an ever and again on-storming enemy, and nights passed without sleep in retirements to new lines."<ref name="Pitt-1918" /> Even to the north in ] the British Second and Fifth Armies during August and September were able to make progress taking prisoners and positions that were previously denied them.<ref name="Chron-FWW"/>
On 12 December 1916, after ten brutal months of the ] and a ], Germany attempted to negotiate a peace with the Allies.<ref name=lanoszka>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/11/11/why-the-first-world-war-lasted-so-long/? |author=Alexander Lanoszka |author2=Michael A. Hunzeker |title=Why the First War lasted so long |newspaper=] |date=11 November 2018 |access-date=11 November 2018 |archive-date=12 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412030938/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/11/11/why-the-first-world-war-lasted-so-long/ |url-status=live }}</ref> However, this attempt was rejected out of hand as a "duplicitous war ruse".<ref name=lanoszka />
]"'', a phrase typically associated with the defence of Verdun]]


US president ] attempted to intervene as a peacemaker, asking for both sides to state their demands. ] War Cabinet considered the German offer to be a ploy to create divisions among the Allies. After initial outrage and much deliberation, they took Wilson's note as a separate effort, signalling that the US was on the verge of entering the war against Germany following the "submarine outrages". While the Allies debated a response to Wilson's offer, the Germans chose to rebuff it in favour of "a direct exchange of views". Learning of the German response, the Allied governments were free to make clear demands in their response of 14 January. They sought restoration of damages, the evacuation of occupied territories, reparations for France, Russia and Romania, and a recognition of the principle of nationalities.{{sfn |Keegan |1998 |p=345}} The Allies sought guarantees that would prevent or limit future wars.{{sfn |Kernek |1970 |pp=721–766}} The negotiations failed and the Entente powers rejected the German offer on the grounds of honour, and noted Germany had not put forward any specific proposals.<ref name=lanoszka />
] flying over territory near front lines]]On 2 September the ] outflanking of the ], with the breaching of the Wotan Position, made it possible for the Third Army to advance and sent repercussions all along the Western Front. That same day ] (OHL) had no choice but to issue orders to six armies for withdrawal back into the Hindenburg line in the south, behind the ] on the Canadian-First Army's front and back to a line east of the Lys in the north, giving up without a fight the salient seized in the previous April.<ref>{{harvnb|Nicholson|1962}}</ref> According to ] “We had to admit the necessity&nbsp;... to withdraw the entire front from the Scarpe to the Vesle.”<ref name="Ludendorff">{{harvnb|Ludendorff|1919}}</ref>


=== Final years of the war ===
In nearly four weeks of fighting since 8&nbsp;August, over 100,000 German prisoners were taken, 75,000 by the BEF and the rest by the French. Since "The Black Day of the German Army" the German High Command realized the war was lost and made attempts for a satisfactory end. The day after the battle Ludenforff told Colonel Mertz "We cannot win the war any more, but we must not lose it either." On 11&nbsp;August he offered his resignation to the Kaiser, who refused it and replied, "I see that we must strike a balance. We have nearly reached the limit of our powers of resistance. The war must be ended." On 13 August at ], Hindenburg, Ludendorff, Chancellor and Foreign Minister Hintz agreed that the war could not be ended militarily and on the following day the German Crown Council decided victory in the field was now most improbable. Austria and Hungary warned that they could only continue the war until December and Ludendorff recommended immediate peace negotiations, to which the Kaiser responded by instructing Hintz to seek the Queen of Holland's mediation. Prince Rupprecht warned Prince Max of Baden "Our military situation has deteriorated so rapidly that I no longer believe we can hold out over the winter; it is even possible that a catastrophe will come earlier." On 10&nbsp;September Hindenburg urged peace moves to Emperor Charles of Austria and Germany appealed to Holland for mediation. On the 14&nbsp;September Austria sent a note to all belligerents and neutrals suggesting a meeting for peace talks on neutral soil and on 15&nbsp;September Germany made a peace offer to Belgium. Both peace offers were rejected and on 24&nbsp;September ] informed the leaders in Berlin that armistice talks were inevitable.<ref name="Chron-FWW"/>
{{Main|Timeline of World War I (1917–1918)}}


==== Russian Revolution and withdrawal ====
September saw the Germans continuing to fight strong rear guard actions and launching numerous counter attacks on lost positions, with only a few succeeding and then only temporarily. Contested towns, villages, heights and trenches in the screening positions and outposts of the ] continued to fall to the Allies, with the BEF alone taking 30,441&nbsp;prisoners in the last week of September. Further small advances eastward would follow the Third Army victory at Ivincourt on 12&nbsp;September, the Fourth Armies at Epheny on 18&nbsp;September and the French gain of ] a day later. On 24&nbsp;September a final assault by both the British and French on a 4&nbsp;mile (6&nbsp;km) front would come within 2&nbsp;miles (3&nbsp;km) of ].<ref name="Chron-FWW"/> With the outposts and preliminary defensive lines of the Siegfried and Alberich Positions eliminated the Germans were now completely back in the Hindenburg line. With the Wotan position of that line already breached and the Siegfried position in danger of being turned from the north the time had now come for an assault on the whole length of the line.
{{Main|Russian Revolution|February Revolution|October Revolution}}
] ]]
By the end of 1916, Russian casualties totalled nearly five million killed, wounded or captured, with major urban areas affected by food shortages and high prices. In March 1917, Tsar Nicholas ordered the military to forcibly suppress strikes in ] but the troops refused to fire on the crowds.{{Sfn|Beckett|2007|p=523}} Revolutionaries set up the ] and fearing a left-wing takeover, the ] forced Nicholas to abdicate and established the ], which confirmed Russia's willingness to continue the war. However, the Petrograd Soviet refused to disband, creating ] and causing confusion and chaos, with frontline soldiers becoming increasingly demoralised.{{Sfn|Winter|2014|pp=110–132}}


Following the tsar's abdication, ]—with the help of the German government—was ushered from Switzerland into Russia on 16 April 1917. Discontent and the weaknesses of the Provisional Government led to a rise in the popularity of the Bolshevik Party, led by Lenin, which demanded an immediate end to the war. The Revolution of November was followed in December by an armistice and negotiations with Germany. At first, the Bolsheviks refused the German terms, but when German troops began marching across Ukraine unopposed, they acceded to the ] on 3{{nbsp}}March 1918. The treaty ceded vast territories, including Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and parts of Poland and Ukraine to the Central Powers.{{Sfn|Wheeler-Bennett|1938|pp=36–41}}
The Allied ] began on 26&nbsp;September including U.S. soldiers. The still-green American troops suffered problems coping with supply trains for large units on a difficult landscape.<ref>{{harvnb|Jenkins|2009|p=215}}</ref> The following week cooperating French and American units broke through in ] at the ], forcing the Germans off the commanding heights, and closing towards the Belgian frontier.<ref>{{harvnb|McLellan|p=49}}</ref> The last Belgian town to be liberated before the armistice was Ghent, which the Germans held as a pivot until Allied artillery was brought up.<ref>{{harvnb|Gibbs|1918b}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Gibbs|1918a}}</ref> The German army had to shorten its front and use the Dutch frontier as an anchor to fight rear-guard actions.


With the ] out of the war, Romania found itself alone on the Eastern Front and signed the ] with the Central Powers in May 1918. Under the terms of the treaty, Romania ceded territory to Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria and leased its oil reserves to Germany. However, the terms also included the Central Powers' recognition of the union of ] with Romania.<ref>Treaty of Bucharest with the Central Powers in May 1918</ref><ref>R. J. Crampton, ''Eastern Europe in the twentieth century'', Routledge, 1994, {{ISBN|978-0-415-05346-4}}, pp. 24–25</ref>
When Bulgaria signed a separate armistice on 29&nbsp;September, the Allies gained control of Serbia and Greece. Ludendorff, having been under great stress for months, suffered something similar to a breakdown. It was evident that Germany could no longer mount a successful defence.<ref>{{harvnb|Stevenson|2004|p=380}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Hull|2006|p=307-10}}</ref>


==== United States enters the war ====
Meanwhile, news of Germany's impending military defeat spread throughout the German armed forces. The threat of mutiny was rife. Admiral ] and Ludendorff decided to launch a last attempt to restore the "valour" of the German Navy. Knowing the government of ] would veto any such action, Ludendorff decided not to inform him. Nonetheless, word of the impending assault reached sailors at ]. Many rebelled and were arrested, refusing to be part of a naval offensive which they believed to be suicidal. Ludendorff took the blame—the Kaiser dismissed him on 26&nbsp;October. The collapse of the Balkans meant that Germany was about to lose its main supplies of oil and food. The reserves had been used up, but U.S. troops kept arriving at the rate of 10,000 per day.<ref>{{harvnb|Stevenson|2004|p=383}}</ref>
{{Main|American entry into World War I}}
] asking ] to declare war on Germany, 2 April 1917]]


The United States was a major supplier of war material to the Allies but remained neutral in 1914, in large part due to domestic opposition.{{Sfn|Stevenson|2012|pp=315–316}} The most significant factor in creating the support Wilson needed was the German submarine offensive, which not only cost American lives but paralysed trade as ships were reluctant to put to sea.{{Sfn|Stevenson|2012|p=317}}
Having suffered over 6&nbsp;million casualties, Germany moved toward peace. ] took charge of a new government as ] to negotiate with the Allies. Telegraphic negotiations with President Wilson began immediately, in the vain hope that better terms would be offered than by the British and French. Instead Wilson demanded the abdication of the Kaiser. There was no resistance when the ] ] on 9&nbsp;November declared Germany to be a republic. Imperial Germany was dead; a new Germany had been born: the Weimar Republic.<ref>{{harvnb|Stevenson|2004|ch=17}}</ref>


On 6 April 1917, Congress ] as an "Associated Power" of the Allies.{{sfn|Gilbert|1994|p=318}} The ] sent a ] to ] to join the Grand Fleet, and provided convoy escorts. In April 1917, the ] had fewer than 300,000 men, including ] units, compared to British and French armies of 4.1 and 8.3&nbsp;million respectively. The ] drafted 2.8&nbsp;million men, though training and equipping such numbers was a huge logistical challenge. By June 1918, over 667,000 members of the ] (AEF) were transported to France, a figure which reached 2 million by the end of November.{{Sfn|Grotelueschen|2006|pp=14–15}}
===Armistices and capitulations===
] after agreeing to the armistice that ended the war, Foch is seen second from the right. The carriage seen in the background, where the armistice was signed, later was chosen as the symbolic setting of Pétain's June 1940 armistice. It was moved to Berlin as a prize, but due to Allied bombing it was eventually moved to ], ], where it was deliberately destroyed by ] troops in 1945.<ref>{{citation| url=http://www.compiegne.fr/decouvrir/clairierearmistice.asp| title=Clairière de l'Armistice| publisher=Ville de ]| language=French| accessdate=2008-12-03}}</ref>]]
The collapse of the Central Powers came swiftly. Bulgaria was the first to sign an armistice on 29 September 1918 at ].<ref name = "indiana.edu-1918">{{cite web| url=http://www.indiana.edu/~league/1918.htm| work=League of Nations Photo Archive| title=1918 Timeline| accessdate=2009-11-20}}</ref> On 30 October the ] capitulated at ].<ref name = "indiana.edu-1918"/>


Despite his conviction that Germany must be defeated, Wilson went to war to ensure the US played a leading role in shaping the peace, which meant preserving the AEF as a separate military force, rather than being absorbed into British or French units as his Allies wanted.{{Sfn|Stevenson|2012|p=318}} He was strongly supported by AEF commander General ], a proponent of pre-1914 "open warfare" who considered the French and British emphasis on artillery misguided and incompatible with American "offensive spirit".{{Sfn|Grotelueschen|2006|pp=44–46}} Much to the frustration of his Allies, who had suffered heavy losses in 1917, he insisted on retaining control of American troops, and refused to commit them to the front line until able to operate as independent units. As a result, the first significant US involvement was the ] in late September 1918.{{Sfn|Stevenson|2012|p=403}}
On 24 October the Italians began a push which rapidly recovered territory lost after the ]. This culminated in the ], which marked the end of the Austro-Hungarian Army as an effective fighting force. The offensive also triggered the disintegration of Austro-Hungarian Empire. During the last week of October declarations of independence were made in Budapest, Prague and Zagreb. On 29 October, the imperial authorities asked Italy for an armistice. But the Italians continued advancing, reaching Trento, Udine and Trieste. On 3 November Austria–Hungary sent a ] to ask for an ]. The terms, arranged by telegraph with the Allied Authorities in Paris, were communicated to the Austrian Commander and accepted. The ] was signed in the Villa Giusti, near ], on 3 November. Austria and Hungary signed separate armistices following the overthrow of the ].


==== Nivelle Offensive (April–May 1917) ====
Following the outbreak of the ], a republic was proclaimed on 9 November. The ] fled to the Netherlands. On 11 November ] was signed in a railroad carriage at ]. At 11 a.m. on 11 November 1918; "the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month"; a ceasefire came into effect. Opposing armies on the Western Front began to withdraw from their positions. Canadian Private ] is traditionally regarded as the last soldier killed in the Great War: he was shot by a German sniper at 10:57 and died at 10:58.<ref>{{citation| last=Lindsay| first=Robert| url=http://www.nwbattalion.com/last.html| title=The Last Hours| work=28th (Northwest) Battalion Headquarters| accessdate=2009-11-20}}</ref>
{{Further|Nivelle offensive|1917 French Army mutinies}}
] troops at the ], 1917]]


In December 1916, ] replaced Pétain as commander of French armies on the Western Front and began planning a ] in ], part of a joint Franco-British operation.{{Sfn|Clayton|2003|p=124}} Poor security meant German intelligence was well informed on tactics and timetables, but despite this, when the attack began on 16 April the French made substantial gains, before being brought to a halt by the newly built and extremely strong defences of the Hindenburg Line. Nivelle persisted with frontal assaults and, by 25 April, the French had suffered nearly 135,000 casualties, including 30,000 dead, most incurred in the first two days.{{Sfn|Clayton|2003|p=129}}
====Allied superiority and the stab-in-the-back legend, November 1918====
In November 1918 the Allies had ample supplies of men and ] to invade Germany, yet at the time of the armistice, no Allied soldier had set foot on German soil in anger and Berlin was still almost {{convert|900|mi|km|abbr=on}} from the Western Front. The Kaiser's armies had also retreated from the battlefield in good order which enabled Hindenburg and other senior German leaders to spread the story that their armies had not really been defeated. This resulted in the ]<ref>{{harvnb|Baker|2006}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Chickering|2004|pp=185–188}}</ref> which attributed Germany's losing the war not to its inability to continue fighting (even though up to a million soldiers were suffering from the ] and unfit to fight), but to the public's failure to respond to its "patriotic calling" and the intentional sabotaging of the war effort, particularly by Jews, Socialists and Bolsheviks.


Concurrent British attacks at ] were more successful, though ultimately of little strategic value.{{sfn|Strachan|2003|p=244}} Operating as a separate unit for the first time, the ]' capture of ] is viewed by many Canadians as a defining moment in creating a sense of national identity.{{sfn|Inglis|1995|p=2}}{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=66}} Though Nivelle continued the offensive, on 3 May the ], which had been involved in some of the heaviest fighting at Verdun, refused orders to go into battle, initiating the ]; within days, "collective indiscipline" had spread to 54 divisions, while over 20,000 deserted.{{Sfn|Horne|1964|p=323}}
A formal state of war between the two sides persisted for another seven months, until signing of the ] with Germany on 28 June 1919. Later treaties with Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire were signed. However, the latter treaty with the Ottoman Empire was followed by strife (the ]) and a final peace treaty was signed between the Allied Powers and the country that would shortly become the ], at ] on 24 July 1923.


==== Sinai and Palestine campaign (1917–1918) ====
Some ]s date the end of the war as being when the Versailles treaty was signed in 1919; by contrast, most commemorations of the war's end concentrate on the armistice of 11 November 1918. Legally the last formal peace treaties were not signed until the Treaty of Lausanne. Under its terms, the Allied forces divested ] on 23 August 1923.
{{Main|Sinai and Palestine campaign}}
] in the ], 1917.]]


In March and April 1917, at the ] and ], German and Ottoman forces stopped the advance of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, which had begun in August 1916 at the Battle of Romani.{{sfn|Erickson |2001 |p=163}}<ref>{{cite book |title=The Mounted Riflemen in Sinai & Palestine: The Story of New Zealand's Crusaders |last=Moore |first=A. Briscoe |year=1920 |publisher=Whitcombe & Tombs |location=Christchurch |oclc=156767391 |page=67}}</ref> At the end of October 1917, the ] resumed, when General ]'s ], ] and ] won the ].<ref>{{cite book |title=Military Operations. Part I Egypt & Palestine: Volume 2 From June 1917 to the End of the War |last=Falls |first=Cyril |series=Official History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence |others=Maps compiled by A.F. Becke |year=1930 |publisher=HM Stationery Office |location=London |oclc=1113542987 |page=59}}</ref> Two Ottoman armies were defeated a few weeks later at the ] and, early in December, ] had been captured following another Ottoman defeat at the ].<ref>{{cite book |chapter=The Palestine Campaigns |last=Wavell |first=Earl |author-link=Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell |editor-last=Sheppard |editor-first=Eric William |edition=4th |title=A Short History of the British Army |year=1968 |orig-date=1933 |publisher=Constable & Co. |location=London |oclc=35621223 |pages=153–155}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/jerusalemdecree.htm |title=Text of the Decree of the Surrender of Jerusalem into British Control |publisher=First World War.com |access-date=13 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614214531/http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/jerusalemdecree.htm |archive-date=14 June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Last Crusade: The Palestine Campaign in the First World War |last=Bruce |first=Anthony |year=2002 |publisher=John Murray |location=London |isbn=978-0-7195-5432-2 |page=162}}</ref> About this time, ] was relieved of his duties as the Eighth Army's commander, replaced by ], and a few months later the commander of the ] in Palestine, ], was replaced by ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/kressenstein.htm |title=Who's Who – Kress von Kressenstein |publisher=First World War.com |access-date=13 May 2015 |archive-date=20 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120122815/http://firstworldwar.com/bio/kressenstein.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/liman.htm |title=Who's Who – Otto Liman von Sanders |publisher=First World War.com |access-date=13 May 2015 |archive-date=27 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071227070027/http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/liman.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Technology==
{{See also|Technology during World War I|Weapons of World War I}}


In early 1918, the front line was ] and the ] was occupied, following the ] and the ] attacks by British Empire forces in March and April 1918.{{sfn|Erickson |2001 |p=195}}
]
The First World War began as a clash of 20-century ] and 19th-century ], with inevitably large casualties. By the end of 1917, however, the major armies, now numbering millions of men, had modernized and were making use of ], ],<ref>{{harvnb|Hartcup|1988|p=154}}</ref> ], ],<ref>{{harvnb|Hartcup|1988|pp=82–86}}</ref> and ]. Infantry formations were reorganized, so that 100 man companies were no longer the main unit of manoeuvre. Instead, squads of 10 or so men, under the command of a junior NCO, were favoured. Artillery also underwent a revolution.


==== German offensive and Allied counter-offensive (March–November 1918) ====
In 1914, cannons were positioned in the front line and fired directly at their targets. By 1917, ] with guns (as well as mortars and even machine guns) was commonplace, using new techniques for spotting and ranging, notably aircraft and the often overlooked ]. ] missions became commonplace, also, and sound detection was used to locate enemy batteries.
{{Main|German spring offensive|Hundred Days Offensive}}
]


In December 1917, the Central Powers signed an armistice with Russia, thus freeing large numbers of German troops for use in the West. With German reinforcements and new American troops pouring in, the outcome was to be decided on the Western Front. The Central Powers knew that they could not win a protracted war, but they held high hopes for success in a final quick offensive.{{sfn|Heyman|1997|pp=146–147}} Ludendorff drew up plans (]) for the 1918 offensive on the Western Front. The operation commenced on 21 March 1918, with an attack on British forces near ]. German forces achieved an unprecedented advance of {{convert|60|km|mi}}.{{sfn |Westwell |2004}} The initial offensive was a success; after heavy fighting, however, the offensive was halted. Lacking tanks or ], the Germans were unable to consolidate their gains. The problems of re-supply were also exacerbated by increasing distances that now stretched over terrain that was shell-torn and often impassable to traffic.{{sfn|Gray|1991|p=86}}
Germany was far ahead of the Allies in utilising heavy indirect fire. She employed 150 and 210&nbsp;mm ]s in 1914 when the typical French and British guns were only 75 and 105&nbsp;mm. The British had a 6&nbsp;] (152&nbsp;mm) howitzer, but it was so heavy it had to be hauled to the field in pieces and assembled. Germans also fielded Austrian 305&nbsp;mm and 420&nbsp;mm guns, and already by the beginning of the war had inventories of various calibers of '']'' ideally suited for trench warfare.<ref>{{harvnb|Mosier|2001|pp=42–48}}</ref>
Germany launched ] against the northern ] ports. The Allies halted the drive after limited territorial gains by Germany. The German Army to the south then conducted ], pushing broadly towards Paris. Germany launched Operation Marne (]) on 15 July, in an attempt to encircle ]. The resulting counter-attack, which started the ] on 8 August,{{sfn|Rickard|2007}} led to a marked collapse in German morale.<ref>{{cite book |publisher=Vanwell |orig-date=1977 |year=2004 |title=Shock Army of the British Empire: The Canadian Corps in the Last 100 Days of the Great War |last=Schreiber |first=Shane B. |place=St. Catharines, ON |isbn=978-1-55125-096-0 |oclc=57063659 | url = https://archive.org/details/shockarmyofbriti0000schr/mode/2up | url-access = registration | page = 50}}</ref>{{sfn |Rickard |2001}}<ref>{{cite book |publisher=Pan |orig-date=1998 |year=1999 |title=1918: Year of Victory |last=Brown |first=Malcolm |place=London |isbn=978-0-330-37672-3 |page=190}}</ref>
==== Allied advance to the Hindenburg Line ====
{{See also|Meuse-Argonne offensive}}
]


By September, the Germans had fallen back to the Hindenburg Line. The Allies had ] in the north and centre. German forces launched numerous counterattacks, but positions and outposts of the Line continued falling, with the BEF alone taking 30,441&nbsp;prisoners in the last week of September. On 24 September, the Supreme Army Command informed the leaders in Berlin that armistice talks were inevitable.<ref name="Chron-FWW">{{harvnb|Gray|Argyle|1990}}</ref>
Much of the combat involved ], where hundreds often died for each yard gained. Many of the deadliest battles in history occurred during the First World War. Such battles include ], the ], ], the ], ], and ]. The ] of ] was employed to provide the German forces with a constant supply of gunpowder, in the face of British naval blockade.<ref>{{harvnb|Harcup|1988}}</ref> Artillery was responsible for the largest number of casualties<ref>{{harvnb|Raudzens|p=421}}</ref> and consumed vast quantities of explosives. The large number of head-wounds caused by exploding shells and ] forced the combatant nations to develop the modern steel ], led by the French, who introduced the ] in 1915. It was quickly followed by the ], worn by British Imperial and U.S. troops, and in 1916 by the distinctive German '']'', a design, with improvements, still in use today.


The ] on the Hindenburg Line began with the ], launched by American and French troops on 26 September. Two days later the Belgians, French and British ], and the day after the British at St Quentin in the centre of the line. The following week, cooperating American and French units broke through in ] at the ] (3–27 October), forcing the Germans off the commanding heights, and closing towards the Belgian frontier.{{sfn |McLellan |p=49}} On 8{{nbsp}}October, the Hindenburg Line was pierced by British and Dominion troops of the First and Third British Armies at the ].{{Sfn|Christie |1997|p=?}}
The widespread use of chemical warfare was a distinguishing feature of the conflict. Gases used included ], ] and ]. Few war casualties were caused by gas,<ref>{{harvnb|Raudzens}}</ref> as effective countermeasures to gas attacks were quickly created, such as ]s. The use of ] and small-scale ] were both outlawed by the 1907 Hague Conventions, and both proved to be of limited effectiveness,<ref>{{harvnb|Heller|1984}}</ref> though they captured the public imagination.<ref>Postwar pulp novels on future "gas wars" included Reginald Glossop's 1932 novel ''Ghastly Dew'' and Neil Bell's 1931 novel ''The Gas War of 1940''.</ref>


==== Breakthrough of Macedonian front (September 1918) ====
The most powerful land-based weapons were ]s weighing hundreds of tons apiece. These were nicknamed ], even though the namesake was not a railway gun. Germany developed the ], able to bombard Paris from over 100&nbsp;kilometres (60&nbsp;mi), though shells were relatively light at 94&nbsp;kilograms (210&nbsp;lb). While the Allies had railway guns, German models severely out-ranged and out-classed them.
{{Main|Vardar offensive|Battle of Dobro Pole}}
]]]


Allied forces started the ] on 15 September at two key points: ] and near ]. In the ], the Serbian and French armies had success after a three-day-long battle with relatively small casualties, and subsequently made a breakthrough in the front, something which was rarely seen in World War I. After the front was broken, Allied forces started to liberate Serbia and reached ] at 29 September, after which ] signed an armistice with the Allies on 30 September.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://militaryhistorynow.com/2017/09/21/knock-out-blow-at-dobro-polje-six-facts-about-the-obscure-battle-that-ended-ww1/|title=The Battle of Dobro Polje – The Forgotten Balkan Skirmish That Ended WW1|website=Militaryhistorynow.com|access-date=2019-11-21|archive-date=2017-09-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923215523/http://militaryhistorynow.com/2017/09/21/knock-out-blow-at-dobro-polje-six-facts-about-the-obscure-battle-that-ended-ww1/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://historycollection.co/ten-facts-battle-dobro-polje-battle-led-allied-victory-world-war/9/ |title=The Germans Could no Longer Keep up the Fight |website=historycollection.co |date=22 February 2017 |access-date=2019-11-21 |archive-date=23 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223025225/https://historycollection.co/ten-facts-battle-dobro-polje-battle-led-allied-victory-world-war/9/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
] ]]]
] were first used militarily by the Italians in Libya 23 October 1911 during the ] for reconnaissance, soon followed by the dropping of grenades and ] the next year. By 1914 the military utility was obvious. They were initially used for ] and ]. To shoot down enemy planes, anti-aircraft guns and ] were developed. ] were created, principally by the Germans and British, though the former used ]s as well.<ref name="Cross 1991">{{harvnb|Cross|1991}}</ref> Towards the end of the conflict, ]s were used for the first time, with ] launching ] in ] to destroy the Zeppelin hangars at ] in 1918.<ref>{{harvnb|Cross|1991|pp=56–57}}</ref>


=== Armistices and capitulations ===
German ]s (]) were deployed after the war began. Alternating between restricted and unrestricted submarine warfare in the Atlantic, they were employed by the ] in a strategy to deprive the British Isles of vital supplies. The deaths of British merchant sailors and the seeming invulnerability of U-boats led to the development of ] (1916), ]s (passive ], 1917), ]s, ] submarines (], 1917), forward-throwing ]s, and dipping hydrophones (the latter two both abandoned in 1918).<ref>{{harvnb|Price|1980}}</ref> To extend their operations, the Germans proposed supply submarines (1916). Most of these would be forgotten in the ] until World War II revived the need.
{{Main|Armistice of Salonica|Armistice of Villa Giusti|Armistice of Mudros}}
{{Further|Armistice of Belgrade}}
] during the ], 1918]]


The collapse of the Central Powers came swiftly. Bulgaria was the first to sign an armistice, the ] on 29 September 1918.<ref name="indiana.edu-1918">{{cite web |url=http://www.indiana.edu/~league/1918.htm |website=League of Nations Photo Archive |title=1918 Timeline |access-date=20 November 2009 |archive-date=5 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505134716/http://www.indiana.edu/~league/1918.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Wilhelm II, in a telegram to Tsar ] described the situation thus: "Disgraceful! 62,000 Serbs decided the war!".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://militaryhistorynow.com/2017/09/21/knock-out-blow-at-dobro-polje-six-facts-about-the-obscure-battle-that-ended-ww1/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923215523/http://militaryhistorynow.com/2017/09/21/knock-out-blow-at-dobro-polje-six-facts-about-the-obscure-battle-that-ended-ww1/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 September 2017 |title=The Battle of Dobro Polje – The Forgotten Balkan Skirmish That Ended WW1 |website=Militaryhistorynow.com |access-date=21 November 2019 |date=21 September 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://historycollection.co/ten-facts-battle-dobro-polje-battle-led-allied-victory-world-war/9/|title=The Germans Could no Longer Keep up the Fight|website=historycollection.com|access-date=21 November 2019|date=22 February 2017|archive-date=23 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223025225/https://historycollection.co/ten-facts-battle-dobro-polje-battle-led-allied-victory-world-war/9/|url-status=live}}</ref> On the same day, the ] informed Wilhelm II and the ] Count ], that the military situation facing Germany was hopeless.{{Sfn|Axelrod|2018|p=260}}
]]]
Trenches, machineguns, air reconnaissance, barbed wire, and modern artillery with fragmentation ] helped bring the battle lines of World War I to a stalemate. The British sought a solution with the creation of the tank and ]. The ] were used during the ] on 15 September 1916. Mechanical reliability became an issue, but the experiment proved its worth. Within a year, the British were fielding tanks by the hundreds and showed their potential during the ] in November 1917, by breaking the Hindenburg Line, while ] teams captured 8000 enemy soldiers and 100&nbsp;guns. Light ] also were introduced, such as the ] and ].


On 24 October, the Italians began a push that rapidly recovered territory lost after the Battle of Caporetto. This culminated in the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, marking the end of the Austro-Hungarian Army as an effective fighting force. The offensive also triggered the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During the last week of October, declarations of independence were made in Budapest, Prague, and Zagreb. On 29 October, the imperial authorities asked Italy for an armistice, but the Italians continued advancing, reaching Trento, Udine, and Trieste. On 3{{nbsp}}November, Austria-Hungary sent a ] and accepted the ], arranged with the Allied Authorities in Paris. Austria and Hungary signed separate armistices following the overthrow of the ]. In the following days, the Italian Army occupied ] and all ], with over 20,000 soldiers.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Andrea di Michele |title=Trento, Bolzano e Innsbruck: l'occupazione militare italiana del Tirolo (1918–1920) |language=it |trans-title=Trento, Bolzano and Innsbruck: The Italian Military Occupation of Tyrol (1918–1920) |journal=Trento e Trieste. Percorsi degli Italiani d'Austria dal '48 all'annessione |year=2014 |pages=436–437 |quote=La forza numerica del contingente italiano variò con il passare dei mesi e al suo culmine raggiunse i 20–22.000 uomini. |url=http://www.agiati.it/UploadDocs/12255_Art_20_di_michele.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002053915/http://www.agiati.it/UploadDocs/12255_Art_20_di_michele.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 October 2018 }} <!--see https://www.agiati.it/memorie-trento-e-trieste-rasera-caffieri for metadata --></ref>
Manned ]s, floating high above the trenches, were used as stationary reconnaissance platforms, reporting enemy movements and directing artillery. Balloons commonly had a crew of two, equipped with ]s.<ref>{{harvnb|Winter|1983}}</ref> If there was an enemy air attack, the crew could parachute to safety. At the time, parachutes were too heavy to be used by pilots of aircraft (with their marginal power output) and smaller versions would not be developed until the end of the war; they were also opposed by British leadership, who feared they might promote cowardice.<ref name=FullCircle>{{harvnb|Johnson|2001}}</ref> Recognized for their value as observation platforms, balloons were important targets of enemy aircraft.
]s for attacking observation balloons.]]To defend against air attack, they were heavily protected by antiaircraft guns and patrolled by friendly aircraft; to attack them, unusual weapons such as air-to-air rockets were even tried. Blimps and balloons contributed to air-to-air combat among aircraft, because of their reconnaissance value, and to the trench stalemate, because it was impossible to move large numbers of troops undetected. The Germans conducted air raids on England during 1915 and 1916 with airships, hoping to damage British morale and cause aircraft to be diverted from the front lines. The resulting panic took several squadrons of fighters from France.<ref name="Cross 1991"/><ref name=FullCircle />


On 30 October, the Ottoman Empire capitulated, and signed the Armistice of Mudros.<ref name="indiana.edu-1918" />
Another new weapon, ]s, were first used by the German army and later adopted by other forces. Although not of high tactical value, they were a powerful, demoralizing weapon and caused terror on the battlefield. It was a dangerous weapon to wield, as its heavy weight made operators vulnerable targets.


==== German government surrenders ====
] evolved to supply the enormous quantities of food, water, and ammunition required to support large numbers of soldiers in areas where conventional transportation systems had been destroyed. Internal combustion engines and improved traction systems for wheeled vehicles eventually rendered trench railways obsolete.
{{Main|Armistice of 11 November 1918}}
] (''second from right'') pictured outside the ] in ] after agreeing to the ] that ended the war there.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.compiegne.fr/decouvrir/clairierearmistice.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070827142334/http://www.compiegne.fr/decouvrir/clairierearmistice.asp |archive-date=27 August 2007 |title=Clairière de l'Armistice |publisher=Ville de ] |language=fr}}</ref>]]


With the military faltering and with widespread loss of confidence in the kaiser, Germany moved towards surrender. Prince Maximilian of Baden took charge on October 3 as Chancellor of Germany. Negotiations with President Wilson began immediately, in the hope that he would offer better terms than the British and French. Wilson demanded a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary control over the German military.{{sfn|Stevenson|2004|p=385}}
==War crimes==
===Genocide and ethnic cleansing===
====Ottoman Empire====
{{Main|Ottoman casualties of World War I}}
{{See also|Armenian Genocide|Assyrian Genocide|Greek genocide|Genocide denial}}
The ] of the Ottoman Empire's ] population, with the most prominent among them being the deportation and massacres of ] (similar policies were enacted against the ] and ]) during the final years of the Ottoman Empire is considered ].<ref name="IAGSletter">{{citation| url=http://www.genocidewatch.org/TurkishPMIAGSOpenLetterreArmenia6-13-05.htm| archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20071006024502/http://www.genocidewatch.org/TurkishPMIAGSOpenLetterreArmenia6-13-05.htm| archivedate=2007-10-06| author=]| title=Open Letter to ] ]| date=13 June 2005| publisher=] (via archive.org, archived 2007-10-06)}}</ref> The Ottomans saw the entire Armenian population as an ]<ref>{{harvnb|Lewy|2005|p=57}}</ref> that had chosen to side with Russia at the beginning of the war.<ref>{{harvnb|Ferguson|2006|p=177}}</ref> In early 1915, a number of Armenian nationalist groups, such as the ], ] and ] organizations, joined the Russian forces, and the Ottoman government used this as a pretext to issue the ]. This authorized the deportation of the Armenians from eastern Anatolia to Syria between 1915 and 1917. The exact number of deaths is unknown, although Balakian gives a range of 250,000 to 1.5 million for the deaths of Armenians,<ref>{{harvnb|Balakian|2003|pp=195–196}}</ref> the ] estimates over 1 million.<ref name="IAGSletter" /> The government of Turkey has consistently ] charges of genocide, arguing that those who died were victims of inter-ethnic fighting, famine or disease during the First World War.<ref>{{harvnb|Fromkin|1989|pp=212–215}}</ref>


The ] began at the end of October 1918. Units of the German Navy refused to set sail for a large-scale operation in a war they believed to be as good as lost. The ], which then ensued in the naval ports of ] and ], spread across the whole country within days and led to the ] on 9{{nbsp}}November 1918, shortly thereafter to the ], and German surrender.<ref>{{cite web |author=K. Kuhl |title=Die 14 Kieler Punkte |trans-title=The Kiel 14 points |url=http://www.kurkuhl.de/docs/kieler_14punkte.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412035214/http://www.kurkuhl.de/docs/kieler_14punkte.pdf |archive-date=12 April 2019 |access-date=23 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Dähnhardt |first=D. |title=Revolution in Kiel |publisher=Karl Wachholtz Verlag |year=1978 |isbn=978-3-529-02636-2 |location=Neumünster |page=91}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Wette |first=Wolfram |title=Kieler Erinnerungsorte |publisher=Boyens |year=2006 |editor-last=Fleischhauer |chapter=Die Novemberrevolution – Kiel 1918 |author-link=Wolfram Wette |editor2-last=Turowski}}</ref>{{sfn |Stevenson |2004 |p=383}}{{sfn|Stevenson|2004|loc=Chapter 17}}
====Russian Empire====
{{Main|Anti-Jewish pogroms in the Russian Empire}}
{{See also|Russian occupation of Eastern Galicia, 1914-1915|Volhynia|Volga Germans}}


== Aftermath ==
Approximately 200,000 Germans living in ] and about 600,000 Jews were deported by the Russian authorities.<ref>{{citation| url=http://lib.ndsu.nodak.edu/grhc/history_culture/history/people.html| title=A People on the Move: Germans in Russia and in the Former Soviet Union: 1763–1997| publisher=North Dakota State University Libraries| accessdate=2009-11-17}}</ref><ref name="WWI and the Jews">{{citation| url=http://www.myjewishlearning.com/history/Modern_History/1914-1948/WWI_and_the_Jews.shtml| title=WWI and the Jews| publisher=MyJewishLearning.com| accessdate=2009-11-17}}</ref><ref name="Timeline 1900s">{{citation| url=http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/haventohome/timeline/haven-timeline_3.html| title=Timeline 1900s| publisher=The Library of Congress}}</ref> In 1916, an order was issued to deport around 650,000 ] to the east as well, but the Russian Revolution prevented this from being carried out.<ref>{{citation| url=http://archive.prairiepublic.org/features/GFR/timeline.htm| title=The Germans from Russia: Children of the Steppe/Children of the Prairie| publisher=Prairie Public Broadcasting| accessdate=2009-11-17}}</ref> Many ]s accompanied the ] and the ensuing ], 60,000–200,000 civilian ]s were killed in the atrocities throughout the former Russian Empire.<ref>{{citation| url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0016_0_15895.html| title=Pogroms| work=]| publisher=Jewish Virtual Library| accessdate=2009-11-17}}</ref><ref>{{citation| url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/modtimeline.html| title=Jewish Modern and Contemporary Periods (ca. 1700–1917)| publisher=Jewish Virtual Library| accessdate=2009-11-17}}</ref>
{{Main|Aftermath of World War I}}


In the aftermath of the war, the German, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian empires disappeared.{{efn| Unlike the others, the successor state to the Russian Empire, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, retained similar external borders, via retaining or quickly recovering lost territories.}} Numerous nations regained their former independence, and new ones were created. Four dynasties fell as a result of the war: the ], the ], the ], and the ]. Belgium and Serbia were badly damaged, as was France, with 1.4 million soldiers dead,<ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161028021340/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7199127.stm |date=28 October 2016 }}, ''BBC News'', 20 January 2008.</ref> not counting other casualties. Germany and Russia were similarly affected.<ref name="Tucker 2005 2732">{{harvnb|Tucker|Roberts|2005|p=}}</ref>
===Rape of Belgium===
{{Main|Rape of Belgium}}
In Belgium, German troops, in fear of French and Belgian guerrilla fighters, or '']'', massacred townspeople in ] (211 dead), ] (384 dead), and ] (612 dead). On 25 August 1914, the Germans set fire to the town of ], burned the library containing about 230,000 books, killed 209 civilians and forced 42,000 to evacuate. These actions brought worldwide condemnation.<ref>{{harvnb|Keegan|1998|pp=82–83}}</ref>


=== Formal end of the war ===
==Soldiers' experiences==
] in the ], Versailles, 28 June 1919, by Sir ]]]
{{Main|Surviving veterans of World War I|World War I casualties|Commonwealth War Graves Commission|American Battle Monuments Commission}}
] to the ], training in Bermuda for the Western Front, Winter 1914–1915. One in four survived the war.]]


A formal state of war between the two sides persisted for another seven months, until the signing of the ] with Germany on 28 June 1919. The US Senate did not ratify the treaty despite public support for it,<ref>{{cite book |last=Hastedt |first=Glenn P. |title=Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy |publisher=Infobase Publishing |date=2009 |page=483 |isbn=978-1-4381-0989-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Murrin |first1=John |last2=Johnson |first2=Paul |last3=McPherson |first3=James |last4=Gerstle |first4=Gary |last5=Fahs |first5=Alice|title=Liberty, Equality, Power: A History of the American People |publisher=Cengage Learning |volume=II |date=2010 |page=622 |isbn=978-0-495-90383-3}}</ref> and did not formally end its involvement in the war until the ] was signed on 2{{nbsp}}July 1921 by President ].<ref>{{cite news |title=Harding Ends War; Signs Peace Decree at Senator's Home. Thirty Persons Witness Momentous Act in Frelinghuysen Living Room at Raritan |newspaper=] |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10B13F63C5D14738DDDAA0894DF405B818EF1D3 |date=3 July 1921 |access-date=18 September 2017 |archive-date=4 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204011723/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10B13F63C5D14738DDDAA0894DF405B818EF1D3 |url-status=live }}</ref> For the British Empire, the state of war ceased under the provisions of the '']'' concerning:
The soldiers of the war were initially volunteers, except for Italy, but increasingly were ] into service. Britain's ] has collected more than 2,500&nbsp;recordings of soldiers' personal accounts and selected transcripts, edited by military author ], have been published. The museum believes that historians have not taken full account of this material and accordingly has made the full archive of recordings available to authors and researchers.<ref>{{citation| last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=]| work=| publisher=]|date=| url=http://www.forgottenvoices.co.uk/| format=| doi=| accessdate=2008-03-30}}</ref> Surviving veterans, returning home, often found that they could only discuss their experiences amongst themselves. Grouping together, they formed "veterans' associations" or "Legions", as listed at ].


:* Germany on 10 January 1920.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue= 31773 |date= 10 February 1920 |page=1671}}</ref>
===Prisoners of war===
:* Austria on 16 July 1920.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue= 31991 |date= 23 July 1920 |pages=7765–7766 }}</ref>
].]]
:* Bulgaria on 9 August 1920.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue= 13627 |date= 27 August 1920 |page=1924}}</ref>
About 8 million men surrendered and were held in ] during the war. All nations pledged to follow the Hague Convention on fair treatment of ]. A POW's rate of survival was generally much higher than their peers at the front.<ref>{{harvnb|Phillimore|Bellot|1919|pp=4–64}}</ref> Individual surrenders were uncommon. Large units usually surrendered en masse. At the ] 92,000&nbsp;Russians surrendered. When the besieged garrison of ] surrendered in 1915, some 20,000&nbsp;Russians became prisoners. Over half of Russian losses were prisoners (as a proportion of those captured, wounded or killed); for Austria-Hungary 32%, for Italy 26%, for France 12%, for Germany 9%; for Britain 7%. Prisoners from the Allied armies totalled about 1.4&nbsp;million (not including Russia, which lost 2.-3.5 million men as prisoners.) From the Central Powers about 3.3&nbsp;million men became prisoners.<ref>{{harvnb|Ferguson|1999|pp=368–9}}</ref>
:* Hungary on 26 July 1921.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue= 32421 |date= 12 August 1921 |pages=6371–6372 }}</ref>
:* Turkey on 6 August 1924.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue= 32964 |date= 12 August 1924 |pages=6030–6031 }}</ref>


] signing the ]]]
Germany held 2.5&nbsp;million prisoners; Russia held 2.9&nbsp;million; while Britain and France held about 720,000. Most were captured just prior to the Armistice. The U.S. held 48,000. The most dangerous moment was the act of surrender, when helpless soldiers were sometimes gunned down.<ref>{{harvnb|Blair|2005}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Cook|2006|pp=637&-665}}</ref> Once prisoners reached a camp, in general, conditions were satisfactory (and much better than in World War II), thanks in part to the efforts of the ] and inspections by neutral nations. Conditions were terrible in Russia, ] was common for prisoners and civilians alike; about 15–20% of the prisoners in Russia died. In Germany food was scarce, but only 5% died.<ref>{{harvnb|Speed|1990}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Ferguson|1999|ch=13}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Morton|1992}}</ref>
Some ]s date the end of the war as being when the Versailles Treaty was signed in 1919, which was when many of the troops serving abroad finally returned home; by contrast, most commemorations of the war's end concentrate on the armistice of 11 November 1918.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.warmemorials.org/uploads/publications/117.pdf|title=Dates on war memorials|publisher=War Memorials Trust|access-date=4 January 2021|archive-date=12 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112055457/http://www.warmemorials.org/uploads/publications/117.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>


=== Peace treaties and national boundaries ===
The Ottoman Empire often treated POWs poorly.<ref name="isbn0-691-09278-8">{{harvnb|Bass|2002|p=107}}</ref> Some 11,800 British Empire soldiers, most of them Indians, became prisoners after the ], in ], in April 1916; 4,250 died in captivity.<ref>{{citation |publisher=British National Archives |title=The Mesopotamia campaign |url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/firstworldwar/battles/mesopotamia.htm |accessdate=2007-03-10}}</ref>
] after World War I (as of 1923)]]
Although many were in very bad condition when captured, Ottoman officers forced them to march {{convert|1100|km|mi|0|sing=off}} to ]. A survivor said: "we were driven along like beasts, to drop out was to die."<ref>{{citation| url=http://www.awm.gov.au/stolenyears/ww1/turkey/story2.asp| publisher=Australian War Memorial|work=Stolen Years: Australian Prisoners of War| title=Prisoners of Turkey: Men of Kut ''Driven along like beasts''| accessdate=2008-12-10 }}</ref> The survivors were then forced to build a railway through the ].


The ] imposed a series of peace treaties on the Central Powers officially ending the war. The 1919 ] dealt with Germany and, building on ], established the ] on 28 June 1919.{{sfn |Magliveras |1999 |pp=8–12}}{{sfn |Northedge |1986 |pp=35–36}}
In Russia, where the prisoners from the ] of the Austro-Hungarian army were released in 1917 they re-armed themselves and briefly became a military and diplomatic force during the Russian Civil War.


The Central Powers had to acknowledge responsibility for "all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by" their aggression. In the Treaty of Versailles, this statement was ]. This article became known as the "War Guilt Clause", as the majority of Germans felt humiliated and resentful.<ref>{{cite book |first=John H. |last=Morrow |title=The Great War: An Imperial History |publisher=Routledge |location=London |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-415-20440-8 |page=290}}</ref> The Germans felt they had been unjustly dealt with by what they called the "] of Versailles". German historian Hagen Schulze said the Treaty placed Germany "under legal sanctions, deprived of military power, economically ruined, and politically humiliated."<ref>{{cite book |first=Hagen |last=Schulze |title=Germany: A New History |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=B84ZaAdGbS4C |page=204}} |year=1998 |publisher=Harvard U.P. |page=204}}</ref> Belgian historian Laurence Van Ypersele emphasises the central role played by memory of the war and the Versailles Treaty in German politics in the 1920s and 1930s:
While the Allied prisoners of the Central Powers were quickly sent home at the end of active hostilities, the same treatment was not granted to Central Power prisoners of the Allies and Russia, many of which had to serve as ], e.g. in France until 1920. They were only released after many approaches by the ] to the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/57JQGQ |title=ICRC in WWI: overview of activities |publisher=Icrc.org |date= |accessdate=2010-06-15}}</ref> There were still German prisoners being held in Russia as late as 1924.<ref>{{cite news|author=Monday, Sep. 01, 1924 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,768983,00.html |title=GERMANY: Notes, Sep. 1, 1924 |publisher=Time.com |date=1924-09-01 |accessdate=2010-06-15}}</ref>
<blockquote>Active denial of war guilt in Germany and German resentment at both reparations and continued Allied occupation of the Rhineland made widespread revision of the meaning and memory of the war problematic. The legend of the "]" and the wish to revise the "Versailles diktat", and the belief in an international threat aimed at the elimination of the German nation persisted at the heart of German politics. Even a man of peace such as <nowiki>]<nowiki>]</nowiki> Stresemann publicly rejected German guilt. As for the Nazis, they waved the banners of domestic treason and international conspiracy in an attempt to galvanise the German nation into a spirit of revenge. Like a Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany sought to redirect the memory of the war to the benefit of its policies.<ref>{{cite book |first=Laurence Van |last=Ypersele |chapter=Mourning and Memory, 1919–45 |editor-first=John |editor-last=Horne |title=A Companion to World War I |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=EjZHLXRKjtEC |page=584}} |year=2012 |publisher=Wiley |page=584}}</ref></blockquote>


Meanwhile, new nations liberated from German rule viewed the treaty as a recognition of wrongs committed against small nations by much larger aggressive neighbours.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~ethomp/The%20Surrogate%20Hegemon.pdf|title=The Surrogate Hegemon in Polish Postcolonial Discourse Ewa Thompson, Rice University|access-date=27 October 2013|archive-date=29 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029211408/http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~ethomp/The%20Surrogate%20Hegemon.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>] after war]]Austria-Hungary was partitioned into several successor states, largely but not entirely along ethnic lines. Apart from Austria and Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Poland, Romania and Yugoslavia received territories from the Dual Monarchy (the formerly separate and autonomous ] was incorporated into Yugoslavia). The details were contained in the treaties of ] and ]. As a result, Hungary lost 64% of its total population, decreasing from 20.9 million to 7.6 million, and losing 31% (3.3 out of 10.7&nbsp;million) of its ethnic ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://open-site.org/Regional/Europe/Hungary |title=Open-Site:Hungary |access-date=11 January 2022 |archive-date=3 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220103140810/http://open-site.org/Regional/Europe/Hungary |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the 1910 census, speakers of the Hungarian language included approximately 54% of the entire population of the ]. Within the country, numerous ethnic minorities were present: 16.1% ], 10.5% ], 10.4% ], 2.5% ], 2.5% ] and 8% others.<ref name="Frucht, p. 356">Frucht, p. 356.</ref> Between 1920 and 1924, 354,000 Hungarians fled former Hungarian territories attached to Romania, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Károly |last1=Kocsis |first2=Eszter Kocsisné |last2=Hodosi |title=Ethnic Geography of the Hungarian Minorities in the Carpathian Basin |year=1998 |isbn=978-963-7395-84-0 |page=19|publisher=Geographical Research Institute, Research Centre and Earth Sciences }}</ref>
===Military attachés and war correspondents===
{{Main|Military attachés and war correspondents in the First World War}}
Military and civilian observers from every major power closely followed the course of the war. Many were able to report on events from a perspective somewhat like what is now termed "]" positions within the opposing land and naval forces. These military attachés and other observers prepared voluminous first-hand accounts of the war and analytical papers.


The Russian Empire lost much of its western frontier as the newly independent nations of ], ], ], ], and ] were carved from it. Romania took control of Bessarabia in April 1918.{{sfn |Clark |1927}}
For example, former U.S. Army Captain ] followed the developments of the ] from an embedded perspective within the ranks of the Turkish defenders; and his report was passed through Turkish censors before being printed in London and New York.<ref>{{harvnb|Fortescue|28 October 1915|p=1}}</ref> However, this observer's role was abandoned when the U.S. entered the war, as Fortescue immediately re-enlisted, sustaining wounds at ] in the ], September 1918.<ref>{{citation| publisher=Arlington National Cemetery| url=http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/fortesc.htm| title=Granville Roland Fortescue| accessdate=2009-11-17}}</ref>


=== National identities ===
In-depth observer narratives of the war and more narrowly focused professional journal articles were written soon after the war; and these post-war reports conclusively illustrated the battlefield destructiveness of this conflict. This was not the first time the tactics of entrenched positions for infantry defended with machine guns and artillery became vitally important. The ] had been closely observed by Military attachés, war correspondents and other observers; but, from a 21st Century perspective, it is now apparent that a range of tactical lessons were disregarded or not used in the preparations for war in Europe and throughout the Great War.<ref name="sizemore1">{{harvnb|Sisemore|2003}}</ref>
{{Further|Sykes–Picot Agreement}}


After 123 years, Poland re-emerged as an independent country. The Kingdom of Serbia and its dynasty, as a "minor Entente nation" and the country with the most casualties per capita,<ref>{{cite news |title=Appeals to Americans to Pray for Serbians |newspaper=] |date=27 July 1918 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/07/27/102727338.pdf |access-date=12 June 2018 |archive-date=16 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180916183729/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/07/27/102727338.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Serbia Restored |newspaper=] |date=5 November 1918 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/11/05/98273895.pdf |access-date=12 June 2018 |archive-date=16 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180916183845/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/11/05/98273895.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Minor Powers During World War One&nbsp;– Serbia |first=Matt |last=Simpson |publisher=firstworldwar.com |date=22 August 2009 |url=http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/minorpowers_serbia.htm |access-date=27 May 2010 |archive-date=27 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100427065927/http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/minorpowers_serbia.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> became the backbone of a new multinational state, the ], later renamed Yugoslavia. Czechoslovakia, combining the ] with parts of the Kingdom of Hungary, became a new nation. Romania would ] all Romanian-speaking people under a single state, leading to ].<ref>Cas Mudde. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160515100954/https://books.google.com/books?id=bNp6CAlMMcUC#v=onepage&q=%22term%20greater%20romania%22&f=false |date=15 May 2016 }}</ref>
An early recorded use of the term "World War" is attributed to a well-known journalist for '']'', Colonel ], who wrote in his diary on 10 September 1918: "We discussed the right name of the war. I said the we called it now ''The War'', but that this could not last. The Napoleonic War was ''The Great War.'' To call it ''The German War'' was too much flattery for the ''Boche''. I suggested ''The World War'' as a shade better title, and finally we mutually agreed to call it ''The First World War'' in order to prevent the millennium folk from forgetting that the history of the world was the history of war."<ref>{{harvnb|Shapiro|Epstein|2006|p=633}}</ref>


In Australia and New Zealand, the Battle of Gallipoli became known as those nations' "Baptism of Fire". It was the first major war in which the newly established countries fought, and it was one of the first times that Australian troops fought as Australians, not just subjects of the ], and independent national identities for these nations took hold. ], named after the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), commemorates this defining moment.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1916/04/26/archives/anzac-day-in-london-king-queen-and-general-birdwood-at-services-in.html |title='ANZAC Day' in London; King, Queen, and General Birdwood at Services in Abbey |newspaper=] |date=26 April 1916 |access-date=25 July 2018 |archive-date=15 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160715010040/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9400E1DD113FE233A25755C2A9629C946796D6CF&scp=12&sq=New+Zealand+anzac&st=p |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="awmtradition">{{cite web |url=http://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac/anzac_tradition.asp |title=The ANZAC Day tradition |last=Australian War Memorial |publisher=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080501163212/http://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac/anzac_tradition.asp |archive-date=1 May 2008 |url-status=dead |access-date=2 May 2008}}</ref>
==Support and opposition to the war==
{{Main|Opposition to World War I|French Army Mutinies (1917)}}
===Support===
The war was primarily supported by nationalists, industrial producers, and imperialists.


In the aftermath of World War I, Greece ] against Turkish nationalists led by ], a war that eventually resulted in a ] under the Treaty of Lausanne.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120604185021/http://www.spiegel.de/international/0%2C1518%2C451140%2C00.html|date=4 June 2012}}, ''Der Spiegel'' Online. 28 November 2006.</ref> According to various sources,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rummel |first1=R.J. |author-link=R.J. Rummel |year=1998 |title=The Holocaust in Comparative and Historical Perspective |journal=Idea Journal of Social Issues |volume=3 |issue=2}}</ref> several hundred thousand Greeks died during this period, which was tied in with the Greek genocide.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hedges |first=Chris |date=17 September 2000 |title=A Few Words in Greek Tell of a Homeland Lost |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/17/nyregion/a-few-words-in-greek-tell-of-a-homeland-lost.html |url-status=live |access-date=23 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181125062332/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/17/nyregion/a-few-words-in-greek-tell-of-a-homeland-lost.html |archive-date=25 November 2018}}</ref>
In the Balkans, ] such as Yugoslav nationalist leader ] in the ] strongly supported the war, desiring the freedom of ] from ] and other foreign powers and the creation of an independent ].<ref name=autogenerated4>Spencer Tucker. ''Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social, and Military History''. Santa Barbara, California, USA: ABC-CLIO, 2005. Pp. 1189.</ref> The ] was formed in ] on ] ] but shortly moved its office to ], Trumbić led the Committee.<ref name=autogenerated4 />


== Casualties ==
In the ], ] soared in Ottoman territories in response to the rise of Turkish nationalism during the war, with Arab nationalist leaders advocating the creation of a ] state.<ref name=autogenerated2>Spencer Tucker. ''Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social, and Military History''. Santa Barbara, California, USA: ABC-CLIO, 2005. Pp. 117.</ref> In 1916, the ] began in Ottoman-controlled territories of the Middle East in an effort to achieve independence.<ref name=autogenerated2 />
{{Main|World War I casualties}}
{{Further|Spanish flu}}
]]]
The total number of military and ] in World War I was about 40&nbsp;million: estimates range from around 15 to 22&nbsp;million deaths<ref name="Britannica">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=World War I: Killed, wounded, and missing |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-I/Killed-wounded-and-missing |access-date=5 December 2021 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> and about 23&nbsp;million wounded military personnel, ranking it among the deadliest conflicts in human history. The total number of deaths includes between 9 and 11&nbsp;million ], with an estimated civilian death toll of about 6 to 13&nbsp;million.<ref name="Britannica" /><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=War Losses |encyclopedia=International Encyclopedia of the First World War |url=https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/war_losses |access-date=5 December 2021}}</ref>


Of the 60&nbsp;million European military personnel who were mobilised from 1914 to 1918, an estimated 8&nbsp;million were killed, 7&nbsp;million were permanently disabled, and 15&nbsp;million were seriously injured. Germany lost 15.1% of its active male population, Austria-Hungary lost 17.1%, and France lost 10.5%.{{sfn|Kitchen|2000|p=22}} France mobilised 7.8&nbsp;million men, of which 1.4&nbsp;million died and 3.2&nbsp;million were injured.<ref>Sévillia, Jean, Histoire Passionnée de la France, 2013, p.&nbsp;395</ref> Approximately 15,000 deployed men sustained gruesome facial injuries, causing social stigma and marginalisation; they were called the {{lang|fr|]}} (broken faces). In Germany, civilian deaths were 474,000 higher than in peacetime, due in large part to food shortages and malnutrition that had weakened disease resistance. These excess deaths are estimated as 271,000 in 1918, plus another 71,000 in the first half of 1919 when the blockade was still in effect.{{sfn|Howard|1993|p=166}} Starvation caused by famine killed approximately 100,000 people in Lebanon.{{sfn|Saadi|2009}}
] was stirred by the outbreak of the war and was initially strongly supported by a variety of political factions. One of the most prominent and popular Italian nationalist supporters of the war was ] who promoted Italian ] and helped sway the Italian public to support intervention in the war.<ref>Spencer Tucker. ''Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social, and Military History''. Santa Barbara, California, USA: ABC-CLIO, 2005. Pp. 335.</ref> The ] under the leadership of ] promoted intervention in the war on the side of the Allies and utilized the ] to promote Italian nationalism.<ref>Spencer Tucker. ''Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social, and Military History''. Santa Barbara, California, USA: ABC-CLIO, 2005. Pp. 219.</ref>


] pandemic in ], Kansas, 1918]]
A number of ] parties initially supported the war when it began in August 1914.<ref name=autogenerated3>Spencer Tucker. ''Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social, and Military History''. Santa Barbara, California, USA: ABC-CLIO, 2005. Pp. 1001.</ref> Initially European socialists became split on national lines with the conception of ] held by radical socialists such as Marxists and ] being overstepped by their support for war.<ref>Spencer Tucker. ''Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social, and Military History''. Santa Barbara, California, USA: ABC-CLIO, 2005. Pp. 1069.</ref> Once the war began, Austrian, British, French, German and Russian socialists followed the rising nationalist current by supporting their country's intervention in the war.<ref name=autogenerated1>Spencer Tucker. ''Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social, and Military History''. Santa Barbara, California, USA: ABC-CLIO, 2005. Pp. 884.</ref>
Diseases flourished in the chaotic wartime conditions. In 1914 alone, louse-borne ] killed 200,000 in Serbia.{{sfn|Tschanz}} Starting in early 1918, a major influenza epidemic known as ] spread across the world, accelerated by the movement of large numbers of soldiers, often crammed together in camps and transport ships with poor sanitation. The Spanish flu killed at least 17 to 25&nbsp;million people,{{sfn|Spreeuwenberg|2018|pp=2561–2567}}{{sfn|Knobler|Mack|Mahmoud|Lemon|2005}} including an estimated 2.64&nbsp;million Europeans and as many as 675,000 Americans.<ref name="Ansart et al. 2009">{{cite journal |last1=Ansart |first1=Séverine |last2=Pelat |first2=Camille |last3=Boelle |first3=Pierre-Yves |last4=Carrat |first4=Fabrice |last5=Flahault |first5=Antoine |first6=Alain-Jacques |last6=Valleron |title=Mortality burden of the 1918–1919 influenza pandemic in Europe |journal=] |publisher=] |volume=3 |issue=3 |date=May 2009 |doi=10.1111/j.1750-2659.2009.00080.x |pages=99–106 |pmid=19453486 |pmc=4634693}}</ref> Between 1915 and 1926, an epidemic of ] affected nearly 5&nbsp;million people worldwide.<ref>K. von Economo.''Wiener klinische Wochenschrift'', 10 May 1917, 30: 581–585. Die Encephalitis lethargica. Leipzig and Vienna, Franz Deuticke, 1918.</ref><ref name=Reid_2001>{{cite journal |last1=Reid |first1=A. H. |last2=McCall |first2=S. |last3=Henry |first3=J. M. |last4=Taubenberger |first4=J. K. |title=Experimenting on the Past: The Enigma of von Economo's Encephalitis Lethargica |journal=J. Neuropathol. Exp. Neurol. |volume=60 |issue=7 |pages=663–670 |year=2001 |pmid=11444794 |doi=10.1093/jnen/60.7.663 |s2cid=40754090 |doi-access=free}}</ref>


Eight&nbsp;million ] mostly horses, donkeys and mules died, three-quarters of them from the extreme conditions they worked in.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-11-10 |title=War Horse: The True Story |url=https://www.albertaanimalhealthsource.ca/content/war-horse-true-story |access-date=2024-01-08 |website=Alberta Animal Health Source |language=en |archive-date=8 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240108180307/https://www.albertaanimalhealthsource.ca/content/war-horse-true-story |url-status=live}}</ref>
Italian socialists were divided on whether to support the war or oppose it, some were militant supporters of the war including ] and ].<ref>Spencer Tucker. ''Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social, and Military History''. Santa Barbara, California, USA: ABC-CLIO, 2005. Pp. 209.</ref> However the ] decided to oppose the war after anti-militarist protestors had been killed, resulting in a ] called ].<ref name=autogenerated6>Spencer Tucker. ''Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social, and Military History''. Santa Barbara, California, USA: ABC-CLIO, 2005. Pp. 596.</ref> The Italian Socialist Party purged itself of pro-war nationalist members, including Mussolini.<ref name=autogenerated6 /> Mussolini, a ] who supported the war on grounds of irredentist claims on Italian-populated regions of Austria-Hungary, formed the pro-interventionist '']'' and the ''Fasci Riviluzionario d'Azione Internazionalista'' ("Revolutionary ] for International Action") in October 1914 that later developed into the '']'' in 1919 and the origin of ].<ref>Spencer Tucker. ''Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social, and Military History''. Santa Barbara, California, USA: ABC-CLIO, 2005. Pp. 826.</ref> Mussolini's nationalism enabled him to raise funds from ] (an armaments firm) and other companies to create ''Il Popolo d'Italia'' to convince socialists and revolutionaries to support the war.<ref>Dennis Mack Smith. 1997. ''Modern Italy; A Political History''. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. Pp. 284.</ref>


=== War crimes ===
In April 1918 the Rome Congress of Oppressed Nationalities was held that included ], ], ], ], and ] representatives that urged the Allies to support national ] for the peoples residing within ].<ref name=autogenerated3 />
{{Main|War crimes in World War I}}


==== Chemical weapons in warfare ====
===Opposition===
{{Main|Chemical weapons in World War I}}
] after violence between Irish rebels and UK armed forces during the ] of 1916.]]
]
]
The ] and ] movements had long voiced their opposition to a war, which they argued, meant only that workers would kill other workers in the interest of ]. Once war was declared, however, many socialists and trade unions backed their governments. Among the exceptions were the ]s, the ], and the ], and individuals such as ], ] and their followers in Germany. There were also small anti-war groups in Britain and France.


The German army was the first to successfully deploy chemical weapons during the Second Battle of Ypres (April–May 1915), after German scientists under the direction of ] at the ] developed a method to weaponize ].{{efn|A ] to use chemical weapons on the Russian front in January 1915 failed to cause casualties.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of United States' Involvement in Chemical Warfare |url=https://www.denix.osd.mil/rcwmprogram/history/ |website=www.denix.osd.mil |access-date=1 March 2024 |archive-date=1 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301154930/https://www.denix.osd.mil/rcwmprogram/history/ |url-status=live}}</ref> }}<ref name="AJPH">{{cite journal |last=Fitzgerald |first=Gerard |title=Chemical Warfare and Medical Response During World War I |journal=] |volume=98 |issue=4 |pages=611–625 |date=April 2008 |doi=10.2105/AJPH.2007.11930 |doi-access=free |pmid=18356568 |pmc=2376985 |quote=<!--In the late afternoon of April 22, 1915, members of a special unit of the German Army opened the valves on more than 6000 steel cylinders arrayed in trenches along their defensive perimeter at Ypres, Belgium. Within 10 minutes, 160 tons of chlorine gas drifted over the opposing French trenches, engulfing all those downwind.&nbsp;... The attack that spring day, nonetheless, marked a turning point in military history, as it is recognized as the first successful use of lethal chemical weapons on the battlefield.&nbsp;... Although chemical weapons killed proportionally few soldiers in World War{{nbsp}}I (1914–1918), the psychological damage from 'gas fright' and the exposure of large numbers of soldiers, munitions workers, and civilians to chemical agents had significant public health consequences.&nbsp;... By the time of the armistice on 11 November 1918, the use of chemical weapons such as chlorine, phosgene, and mustard gas had resulted in more than 1.3 million casualties and approximately 90,000 deaths.-->}}</ref> The use of chemical weapons had been sanctioned by the German High Command to force Allied soldiers out of their entrenched positions, complementing rather than supplanting more lethal conventional weapons.<ref name="AJPH" /> Chemical weapons were deployed by all major belligerents throughout the war, inflicting approximately 1.3&nbsp;million casualties, of which about 90,000 were fatal.<ref name="AJPH" /> The use of chemical weapons in warfare was a direct violation of the ] and the ], which prohibited their use.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/anatomyofnuremb00tayl/page/34 |title=The Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials: A Personal Memoir |first=Telford |last=Taylor |year=1993 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-316-83400-1 |access-date=20 June 2013 |page= |via=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=0PYx0j3wRvAC |page=7}} |title=Cornerstones of Security: Arms Control Treaties in the Nuclear Era |first1=Thomas |last1=Graham |first2=Damien J. |last2=Lavera |date=2003 |pages=7–9 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-295-98296-0 |access-date=5 July 2013}}</ref>
Many countries jailed those who spoke out against the conflict. These included ] in the United States and ] in Britain. In the U.S., the 1917 ] effectively made free speech illegal and many served long prison sentences for statements of fact deemed unpatriotic. The ] made any statements deemed "disloyal" a federal crime. Publications at all critical of the government were removed from circulation by postal censors.<ref name = "Karp-PoW-1979"/>


==== Genocides by the Ottoman Empire ====
A number of nationalists opposed intervention, particularly within states that the nationalists held hostility to. ] staunchly opposed taking part in intervention with the ].<ref name=autogenerated5>Spencer Tucker. ''Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social, and Military History''. Santa Barbara, California, USA: ABC-CLIO, 2005. Pp. 584.</ref> The war had begun amid the Home Rule crisis in ] that had begun in 1912 and by 1914 there was a serious possibility of an outbreak of ] in Ireland between Irish unionists and republicans.<ref name=autogenerated5 /> Irish nationalists and Marxists attempted to pursue Irish independence, culminating in the ] of 1916, with Germany sending 20,000 rifles to Ireland in order stir unrest in the United Kingdom.<ref name=autogenerated5 /> The UK government placed Ireland under ] in response to the Easter Rising.<ref>Spencer Tucker. ''Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social, and Military History''. Santa Barbara, California, USA: ABC-CLIO, 2005. Pp. 586.</ref>
{{Main|Armenian genocide|Sayfo|Greek genocide}}
{{See also|Late Ottoman genocides|Armenian genocide denial}}
] and published in 1918.<ref>{{cite book |author=Henry Morgenthau |title=Ambassador Mogenthau's story |publisher=Brigham Young University |chapter-url=http://net.lib.byu.edu/~rdh7/wwi/comment/morgenthau/Morgen25.htm |year=1918 |chapter=XXV: Talaat Tells Why He "Deports" the Armenians |access-date=6 June 2012 |archive-date=12 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612014938/http://net.lib.byu.edu/~rdh7/wwi/comment/morgenthau/Morgen25.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>]]


The ] of the Ottoman Empire's Armenian population, including mass deportations and executions, during the final years of the Ottoman Empire is considered ].<ref name="IAGSletter">{{cite web |url=http://www.genocidewatch.org/TurkishPMIAGSOpenLetterreArmenia6-13-05.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071006024502/http://www.genocidewatch.org/TurkishPMIAGSOpenLetterreArmenia6-13-05.htm |archive-date=6 October 2007 |author=International Association of Genocide Scholars |title=Open Letter to the Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan |date=13 June 2005 |url-status=dead |author-link=International Association of Genocide Scholars}}</ref> The Ottomans carried out organised and systematic massacres of the Armenian population at the beginning of the war and manipulated acts of Armenian resistance by portraying them as rebellions to justify further extermination.<ref name=leverkun>{{cite book |last=Vartparonian |first=Paul Leverkuehn |others=translated by Alasdair Lean; with a preface by Jorge and a historical introduction by Hilmar |title=A German officer during the Armenian genocide: a biography of Max von Scheubner-Richter |year=2008 |publisher=Taderon Press for the Gomidas Institute |location=London |isbn=978-1-903656-81-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_hItAQAAIAAJ |author2=Kaiser |access-date=14 May 2016 |archive-date=26 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326152834/https://books.google.com/books?id=_hItAQAAIAAJ |url-status=live}}</ref> In early 1915, several Armenians volunteered to join the Russian forces and the Ottoman government used this as a pretext to issue the ] (Law on Deportation), which authorised the deportation of Armenians from the Empire's eastern provinces to Syria between 1915 and 1918. The Armenians were intentionally ] and a number were attacked by Ottoman brigands.{{sfn|Ferguson|2006|p=177}} While the exact number of deaths is unknown, the ] estimates around 1.5&nbsp;million.<ref name="IAGSletter" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.genocidescholars.org/sites/default/files/document%09%5Bcurrent-page%3A1%5D/documents/US%20Congress_%20Armenian%20Resolution.pdf |title=International Association of Genocide Scholars |access-date=12 March 2013 |archive-date=10 October 2017 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20171010071506/http://www.genocidescholars.org/sites/default/files/document%09%5Bcurrent-page%3A1%5D/documents/US%20Congress_%20Armenian%20Resolution.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref> The government of Turkey continues to ] to the present day, arguing that those who died were victims of inter-ethnic fighting, famine, or disease during World War&nbsp;I; these claims are rejected by most historians.{{sfn|Fromkin|1989|pp=212–215}}
Other opposition came from ]s&nbsp;– some socialist, some religious&nbsp;– who refused to fight. In Britain 16,000 people asked for conscientious objector status.<ref>{{harvnb|Lehmann|1999|p=62}}</ref> Many suffered years of prison, including ] and bread and water diets. Even after the war, in Britain many job advertisements were marked "No conscientious objectors need apply".


Other ethnic groups were similarly attacked by the Ottoman Empire during this period, including Assyrians and ], and some scholars consider those events to be part of the same policy of extermination.<ref>{{cite web |author=International Association of Genocide Scholars |url=http://www.genocidescholars.org/images/Resolution_on_genocides_committed_by_the_Ottoman_Empire.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080422005726/http://genocidescholars.org/images/Resolution_on_genocides_committed_by_the_Ottoman_Empire.pdf |archive-date=22 April 2008 |url-status=dead |title=Resolution on genocides committed by the Ottoman empire}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Gaunt |first=David |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=4mug9LrpLKcC}} |title=Massacres, Resistance, Protectors: Muslim-Christian Relations in Eastern Anatolia during World War I |location=Piscataway, New Jersey |publisher=Gorgias Press |year=2006}}{{dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1080/14623520801950820 |last1=Schaller |first1=Dominik J. |last2=Zimmerer |first2=Jürgen |year=2008 |title=Late Ottoman genocides: the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and Young Turkish population and extermination policies&nbsp;– introduction |journal=Journal of Genocide Research |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=7–14 |s2cid=71515470}}</ref> At least 250,000 Assyrian Christians, about half of the population, and 350,000–750,000 ] and ] were killed between 1915 and 1922.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Whitehorn |first1=Alan |title=The Armenian Genocide: The Essential Reference Guide: The Essential Reference Guide |date=2015 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |pages=83, 218 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0vrnCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA218 |isbn=978-1-61069-688-3 |access-date=11 November 2018 |archive-date=1 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801142141/https://books.google.com/books?id=0vrnCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA218 |url-status=live}}</ref>
The ] started in the summer of 1916, when the ] government ended its exemption of Muslims from military service.<ref>. Based on the Country Studies Series by Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress.</ref>


=== Prisoners of war ===
In 1917, a series of ] led to dozens of soldiers being executed and many more imprisoned.
{{Main|Prisoners of war in World War I}}
] in 1917]]


About 8&nbsp;million soldiers surrendered and were held in ] during the war. All nations pledged to follow the ] on fair treatment of ], and the survival rate for POWs was generally much higher than that of combatants at the front.{{sfn|Phillimore|Bellot|1919|pp=4–64}}
In ] in May 1917, ] revolutionaries organized and engaged in rioting calling for an end to the war, and managed to close down factories and stop public transportation.<ref name="Seton_6">Seton-Watson, Christopher. 1967. ''Italy from Liberalism to Fascism: 1870 to 1925.'' London: Methuen & Co. Ltd. Pp. 471</ref> The Italian army was forced to enter ] with tanks and machine guns to face Bolsheviks and ] who fought violently until May 23 when the army gained control of the city with almost fifty people killed (three of which were Italian soldiers) and over 800 people arrested.<ref name="Seton_6"/>


Around 25–31% of Russian losses (as a proportion of those captured, wounded, or killed) were to prisoner status; for Austria-Hungary 32%; for Italy 26%; for France 12%; for Germany 9%; for Britain 7%. Prisoners from the Allied armies totalled about 1.4&nbsp;million (not including Russia, which lost 2.5–3.5&nbsp;million soldiers as prisoners). From the Central Powers, about 3.3&nbsp;million soldiers became prisoners; most of them surrendered to Russians.{{sfn|Ferguson|1999|pp=368–369}}
The ] in ] erupted when conservative Prime Minister ] brought in compulsory military service over the objection of French-speaking ]ers.<ref>"". CBC.ca.</ref> Out of approximately 625,000 Canadians who served, about 60,000 were killed and another 173,000 were wounded.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| title=World War I| encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica Online| publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica| url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/91513/Canada/43004/World-War-I|accessdate=2009-12-05}}</ref>


== Soldiers' experiences ==
In 1917, Emperor ] secretly entered into peace negotiations with the Allied powers, with his brother-in-law ] as intermediary, without the knowledge of his ally Germany. He failed, however, because of the resistance of Italy.<ref>"". "Encyclopædia Britannica."</ref>
Allied personnel was around 42,928,000, while Central personnel was near 25,248,000.<ref name="Tucker 2005 2732" />{{Sfn|Tucker|Roberts|2005|p=2733}} British soldiers of the war were initially volunteers but were increasingly ]. Surviving veterans returning home often found they could discuss their experiences only among themselves, so formed "veterans' associations" or "Legions".
=== Conscription ===
{{Further|Conscription Crisis of 1917|Conscription Crisis of 1918|World War I conscription in Australia|Recruitment to the British Army during World War I|Conscription in the United States#World War I}}
], 1917|upright=.8]]


Conscription was common in most European countries. However, it was controversial in English-speaking countries,{{sfn |Havighurst |1985 |p=131}} It was especially unpopular among minority ethnicities—especially the Irish Catholics in Ireland,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ward |first=Alan J. |year=1974 |title=Lloyd George and the 1918 Irish conscription crisis |journal=Historical Journal |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=107–129 |doi=10.1017/S0018246X00005689 |s2cid=162360809}}</ref> Australia,<ref>J.M. Main, ''Conscription: the Australian debate, 1901–1970'' (1970) {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20150707113023/http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:338722|date=7 July 2015}}</ref><ref name="parl">{{cite news |date=4 May 2015 |title=Commonwealth Parliament from 1901 to World War I |publisher=Parliament of Australia |url=https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1415/ComParl |url-status=live |access-date=15 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215065914/https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1415/ComParl |archive-date=15 December 2018}}</ref> and the French Catholics in Canada.<ref>{{cite news |date=2001 |title=The Conscription Crisis |publisher=CBC |url=http://www.cbc.ca/history/EPISCONTENTSE1EP12CH2PA3LE.html |url-status=live |access-date=14 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140713134338/http://www.cbc.ca/history/EPISCONTENTSE1EP12CH2PA3LE.html |archive-date=13 July 2014}}</ref><ref>Chelmsford, J.E. "Clergy and Man-Power", '']'' 15 April 1918, p. 12</ref>
In September 1917, the ] began questioning why they were fighting for the French at all and mutinied.<ref>{{citation| title=With snow on their boots : The tragic odyssey of the Russian Expeditionary Force in France during World War 1| first=Jamie H| last=Cockfield| publisher=Palgrave Macmillan| year=1997| pages =171–237| isbn=0312220820}}</ref> In Russia, opposition to the war led to soldiers also establishing their own revolutionary committees and helped foment the ] of 1917, with the call going up for "bread, land, and peace". The Bolsheviks reached a peace treaty with Germany, the ], despite its harsh conditions.


In the US, conscription began in 1917 and was generally well-received, with a few pockets of opposition in isolated rural areas.<ref>{{cite book |last=Chambers |first=John Whiteclay |url=https://archive.org/details/toraisearmydr00cham |title=To Raise an Army: The Draft Comes to Modern America |publisher=The Free Press |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-02-905820-6 |location=New York |url-access=registration}}</ref> The administration decided to rely primarily on conscription, rather than voluntary enlistment, to raise military manpower after only 73,000 volunteers enlisted out of the initial 1 million target in the first six weeks of war.<ref>{{cite book |last=Zinn |first=Howard |title=A People's History of the United States |title-link=A People's History of the United States |publisher=Harper Collins |year=2003 |page=134|isbn=9780060528423}}</ref>
The end of October 1918, in northern ], saw the beginning of the ]. Units of the German Navy refused to set sail for a last, large-scale operation in a war which they saw as good as lost, initiating the uprising. The ] which then ensued in the naval ports of ] and ] spread across the whole country within days and led to the proclamation of a republic on 9 November 1918 and shortly thereafter to the abdication of ].


=== Military attachés and war correspondents ===
====Conscription====
{{Main|List of military attachés in World War I|List of military attachés and war correspondents in World War I}}
As the war slowly turned into a ], ] was implemented in some countries. This issue was particularly explosive in Canada and Australia. In the former it opened a political gap between French-Canadians, who claimed their true loyalty was to Canada and not the British Empire, and the ] majority who saw the war as a duty to both Britain and Canada. Prime Minister ] pushed through a ], provoking the ]. In Australia, a sustained pro-conscription campaign by Prime Minister ], caused a split in the ] and Hughes formed the ] in 1917 to pursue the matter. Nevertheless, the ], the ], and ] expatriates successfully opposed Hughes' push, which was ].


Military and civilian observers from every major power closely followed the course of the war.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pedersen |first=Sarah |date=2002-05-01 |title=A Surfeit of Socks? The Impact of the First World War on Women Correspondents to Daily Newspapers |url=https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/jshs.2002.22.1.50 |journal=Journal of Scottish Historical Studies |language=en |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=50–72 |doi=10.3366/jshs.2002.22.1.50 |pmid=19489175 |hdl=10059/294 |issn=1748-538X |access-date=10 June 2024 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610092046/https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/jshs.2002.22.1.50 |url-status=live |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Many were able to report on events from a perspective somewhat akin to modern "]" positions within the opposing land and naval forces.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Trumpener |first=Ulrich |date=1987-11-04 |title=The Service Attachés and Military Plenipotentiaries of Imperial Germany, 1871–1918 |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07075332.1987.9640462 |journal=The International History Review |language=en |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=621–638 |doi=10.1080/07075332.1987.9640462 |issn=0707-5332 |access-date=10 June 2024 |archive-date=1 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701113518/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07075332.1987.9640462 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Craig |first=Gordon A. |date=1949 |title=Military Diplomats in the Prussian and German Service: The Attachés, 1816- 1914 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2144182 |journal=Political Science Quarterly |volume=64 |issue=1 |pages=65–94 |doi=10.2307/2144182 |jstor=2144182 |issn=0032-3195 |access-date=10 June 2024 |archive-date=1 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701111521/https://www.jstor.org/stable/2144182 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Conscription put into uniform nearly every physically fit man in Britain, six of ten million eligible. Of these, about 750,000 lost their lives and 1,700,000 were wounded. Most deaths were to young unmarried men; however, 160,000 wives lost husbands and 300,000 children lost fathers.<ref>{{harvnb|Havighurst|1985|p=131}}</ref>


== Economic effects ==
==Aftermath==
{{Main|Aftermath of World War I}} {{Main|Economic history of World War I|Post–World War I recession}}
{{Further|Home front during World War I|Financial crisis of 1914}}
===Health and economic effects===
] nurses tend to ] patients in temporary wards set up inside ] Municipal Auditorium, 1918.]]
No other war had changed the map of Europe so dramatically&nbsp;— four empires disappeared: the German, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman and the Russian. Four dynasties: the ], the ], ]s and the ], together with their ancillary aristocracies, all fell after the war. Belgium and Serbia were badly damaged, as was France with 1.4&nbsp;million soldiers dead,<ref>, ''BBC News'', 20 Jan 2008.</ref> not counting other casualties. Germany and Russia were similarly affected.<ref>, ], p. 273. ISBN 1851094202</ref>


Macro- and micro-economic consequences devolved from the war. Families were altered by the departure of many men. With the death or absence of the primary wage earner, women were forced into the workforce in unprecedented numbers. At the same time, the industry needed to replace the lost labourers sent to war. This aided the struggle for ].<ref>{{cite book |last=Noakes |first=Lucy |title=Women in the British Army: War and the Gentle Sex, 1907–1948 |publisher=Routledge |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-415-39056-9 |location=Abingdon, England |page=48}}</ref>]
The war had profound economic consequences. Of the 60&nbsp;million European soldiers who were mobilized from 1914–1918, 8&nbsp;million were killed, 7&nbsp;million were permanently disabled, and 15&nbsp;million were seriously injured. Germany lost 15.1% of its active male population, Austria–Hungary lost 17.1%, and France lost 10.5%.<ref>{{harvnb|Kitchen|2000|p=22}}</ref> About 750,000 German civilians died from ] caused by the British blockade during the war.<ref>{{citation| quote=Die miserable Versorgung mit Lebensmitteln erreichte 1916/17 im "Kohlrübenwinter" einen dramatischen Höhepunkt. Während des Ersten Weltkriegs starben in Deutschland rund 750.000 Menschen an Unterernährung und an deren Folgen.| url=http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/wk1/wirtschaft/versorgung/index.html| title=Lebensmittelversorgung| publisher=German Historical Museum| work=| language=German| accessdate=2009-11-12}}</ref> By the end of the war, famine had killed approximately 100,000&nbsp;people in Lebanon.<ref>{{harvnb|Saadi}}</ref> The best estimates of the death toll from the ] run from 5&nbsp;million to 10&nbsp;million people.<ref>{{citation| url=http://www.hoover.org/publications/digest/6731711.html| publisher=Hoover Institution| work=Hoover Digest| title=Food as a Weapon}}</ref> By 1922, there were between 4.5 million and 7 million homeless children in Russia as a result of nearly a decade of devastation from World War I, the Russian Civil War, and the subsequent famine of 1920–1922.<ref>{{harvnb|Ball|1996|pp=16, 211}}</ref> Numerous anti-Soviet Russians fled the country after the Revolution; by the 1930s the northern Chinese city of ] had 100,000&nbsp;Russians.<ref>{{citation| url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb5037/is_199501/ai_n18298515/| title=The Russians are coming (Russian influence in Harbin, Manchuria, China; economic relations)| publisher=The Economist (US)| date=January 1995| accessdate=2009-11-17}}</ref> Thousands more emigrated to France, England and the United States.
], 1922]]


In all nations, the government's share of GDP increased, surpassing 50% in both Germany and France and nearly reaching that level in Britain. To pay for purchases in the US, Britain cashed in its extensive investments in American railroads and then began borrowing heavily from ]. President Wilson was on the verge of cutting off the loans in late 1916 but allowed a great increase in ] lending to the Allies. After 1919, the US demanded repayment of these loans. The repayments were, in part, funded by German reparations that, in turn, were supported by American loans to Germany. This circular system collapsed in 1931 and some loans were never repaid. Britain still owed the United States $4.4 ]{{efn|10{{sup|9}} in this context&nbsp;– see ]}} of World War{{nbsp}}I debt in 1934; the last installment was finally paid in 2015.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cosgrave |first1=Jenny |date=10 March 2015 |title=UK finally finishes paying for World War I |language=en |work=CNBC |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/09/uk-finally-finishes-paying-for-world-war-i.html |access-date=20 March 2023 |archive-date=20 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320194802/https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/09/uk-finally-finishes-paying-for-world-war-i.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
Diseases flourished in the chaotic wartime conditions. In 1914 alone, louse-borne ] killed 200,000 in Serbia.<ref>{{harvnb|Tschanz}}</ref> From 1918 to 1922, Russia had about 25&nbsp;million infections and 3 million deaths from epidemic typhus.<ref>{{harvnb|Conlon}}</ref> Whereas before World War I, Russia had about 3.5 million cases of ], its people suffered more than 13 million cases in 1923.<ref>,(1972), p.65. ISBN 0836926293</ref> In addition, a ] spread around the world. Overall, the ] killed at least 50 million people.<ref>{{harvnb|Knobler|2005}}</ref><ref>{{citation| url=http://www.influenzareport.com/ir/overview.htm| title=Influenza Report| accessdate=2009-11-17}}</ref>


Britain turned to her colonies for help in obtaining essential war materials whose supply from traditional sources had become difficult. Geologists such as ] were called on to find new resources of precious minerals in the African colonies. Kitson discovered important new deposits of ], used in munitions production, in the ].{{sfn |Green |1938 |p=cxxvi}}
Lobbying by ] and fear that American Jews would encourage the USA to support Germany culminated in the British government's ], endorsing creation of a ] in ].<ref>, ''Encyclopaedia Britannica''.</ref> A total of more than 1,172,000 Jewish soldiers served in the Allied and Central Power forces in World War I, including 450,000 in Czarist Russia and 275,000 in Austria-Hungary.<ref>""</ref>{{Dead link|date=July 2010}}


Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles (the so-called "war guilt" clause) stated Germany accepted responsibility for "all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies."<ref>{{cite book |title=The Weimar Republic Sourcebook |publisher=University of California Press |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-520-90960-1 |editor1=Anton Kaes |page=8 |chapter=The Treaty of Versailles: The Reparations Clauses |access-date=11 December 2015 |editor2=Martin Jay |editor3=Edward Dimendberg |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J4A1gt4-VCsC&pg=PA8 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115140046/https://books.google.com/books?id=J4A1gt4-VCsC&pg=PA8 |archive-date=15 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> It was worded as such to lay a legal basis for reparations, and a similar clause was inserted in the treaties with Austria and Hungary. However, neither of them interpreted it as an admission of war guilt.<ref>{{harvnb|Marks|1978|pp=231–232}}</ref> In 1921, the total reparation sum was placed at 132&nbsp;billion gold marks. However, "Allied experts knew that Germany could not pay" this sum. The total sum was divided into three categories, with the third being "deliberately designed to be chimerical" and its "primary function was to mislead public opinion&nbsp;... into believing the 'total sum was being maintained.{{'"}}<ref name="Marks237">{{harvnb|Marks|1978|p=237}}</ref> Thus, 50&nbsp;billion gold marks (12.5&nbsp;billion dollars) "represented the actual Allied assessment of German capacity to pay" and "therefore&nbsp;... represented the total German reparations" figure that had to be paid.<ref name="Marks237" />
The social disruption and widespread violence of the ] and the ensuing ] sparked more than 2,000 ]s in the former Russian Empire, mostly in the ].<ref>{{citation| url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0016_0_15895.html| title=Pogroms| work=]| accessdate=2009-11-17}}</ref> An estimated 60,000–200,000&nbsp;civilian ]s were killed in the atrocities.<ref>{{citation| url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/modtimeline.html| title=Jewish Modern and Contemporary Periods (ca. 1700–1917)| work=Jewish Virtual Library| accessdate=2009-11-17}}</ref>


This figure could be paid in cash or in-kind (coal, timber, chemical dyes, etc.). Some of the territory lost—via the Treaty of Versailles—was credited towards the reparation figure as were other acts such as helping to restore the Library of Louvain.<ref>{{harvnb|Marks|1978|pp=223–234}}</ref> By 1929, the ] caused political chaos throughout the world.<ref>{{cite book |last=Stone |first=Norman |title=World War One: A Short History |publisher=Penguin |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-14-103156-9 |location=London}}</ref> In 1932 the payment of reparations was suspended by the international community, by which point Germany had paid only the equivalent of 20.598&nbsp;billion gold marks.<ref>{{harvnb|Marks|1978|p=233}}</ref> With the rise of ], all bonds and loans that had been issued and taken out during the 1920s and early 1930s were cancelled. ] notes "Refusing to pay doesn't make an agreement null and void. The bonds, the agreement, still exist." Thus, following the Second World War, at the ] in 1953, Germany agreed to resume payment on the money borrowed. On 3{{nbsp}}October 2010, Germany made the final payment on these bonds.{{efn|World War I officially ended when Germany paid off the final amount of reparations imposed on it by the Allies.<ref>{{Cite news |title=First World War officially ends |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/8029948/First-World-War-officially-ends.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/8029948/First-World-War-officially-ends.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |website=The Telegraph |access-date=15 March 2017 |quote=<!--The final payment of £59.5&nbsp;million, writes off the crippling debt that was the price for one world war and laid the foundations for another.--> |first=Allan |last=Hall |date=28 September 2010 |location=Berlin}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2023140,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101005193702/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2023140,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 October 2010 |title=Why Did World War I Just End? |last1=Suddath |first1=Claire |date=4 October 2010 |magazine=Time |access-date=1 July 2013 |quote=<!--World War{{nbsp}}I ended over the weekend. Germany made its final reparations-related payment for the Great War on 3 Oct, nearly 92 years after the country's defeat by the Allies.-->}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/30/world-war-i-to-finally-end-this-weekend/ |title=World War I to finally end for Germany this weekend |date=30 September 2010 |work=CNN |access-date=15 March 2017 |quote=<!--Germany and the Allies can call it even on World War I this weekend.--> |archive-date=16 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316204156/http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/30/world-war-i-to-finally-end-this-weekend/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/opinion/26macmillan.html |title=Ending the War to End All Wars |date=25 December 2010 |work=The New York Times |access-date=15 March 2017 |quote=<!--NOT many people noticed at the time, but World War I ended this year.--> |first=Margaret |last=MacMillan |archive-date=16 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316113814/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/opinion/26macmillan.html |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
In the aftermath of World War I, Greece ] against Turkish nationalists led by ], a war which resulted in a ] under the ].<ref>, ''Der Spiegel'' Online. November 28, 2006.</ref> According to various sources,<ref>], "The Holocaust in Comparative and Historical Perspective," 1998, ''Idea Journal of Social Issues'', Vol.3 no.2</ref> several hundred thousand ] died during this period.<ref>, ''The New York Times'', 17 Sep 2000</ref>


The Australian prime minister, ], wrote to the British prime minister, ], "You have assured us that you cannot get better terms. I much regret it, and hope even now that some way may be found of securing agreement for demanding reparation commensurate with the tremendous sacrifices made by the British Empire and her Allies." Australia received £5,571,720 in war reparations, but the direct cost of the war to Australia had been £376,993,052, and, by the mid-1930s, repatriation pensions, war gratuities, interest and sinking fund charges were £831,280,947.{{sfn |Souter |2000 |p=354}}
===Peace treaties and national boundaries===
After the war, the ] imposed a series of peace treaties on the Central Powers. The 1919 ] officially ended the war. Building on Wilson's 14th point, the Treaty of Versailles also brought into being the ] on 28 June 1919.<ref>{{harvnb|Magliveras|1999|pp=8–12}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Northedge|1986|pp=35–36}}</ref>


== Support and opposition for the war ==
In signing the treaty, Germany acknowledged responsibility for the war, agreeing to pay enormous ] and award territory to the victors. The "Guilt Thesis" became a controversial explanation of later events among analysts in Britain and the United States. The Treaty of Versailles caused enormous bitterness in Germany, which nationalist movements, especially the ]s, exploited with a ] they called the '']'' (]). The ] lost the former ] and was saddled with accepting blame for the war, as well as paying punitive ] for it. Unable to pay them with exports (a result of territorial losses and postwar recession),<ref>{{harvnb|Keynes|1920}}</ref> Germany did so by borrowing from the United States. Runaway inflation in the 1920s contributed to the economic collapse of the ] and the reparations were suspended in 1931 following the ] in 1929 and the beginnings of the ] worldwide.


=== Support ===
Austria–Hungary was partitioned into several successor states, including Austria, Hungary, ], and ], largely but not entirely along ethnic lines. ] was shifted from ] to ]. The details were contained in the ] and the ]. As a result of the ], 3.3 million Hungarians came under foreign rule. Although the Hungarians made up 54% of the population of the pre-war ], only 32% of its territory was left to Hungary. Between 1920 and 1924, 354,000 Hungarians fled former Hungarian territories attached to ], ] and ].
{{Further|Propaganda in World War I|British propaganda during World War I|Propaganda and censorship in Italy during the First World War}}
], 1915]]


In the Balkans, ] such as the leader, ], strongly supported the war, desiring the freedom of ] from Austria-Hungary and other foreign powers and the creation of an independent Yugoslavia. The ], led by Trumbić, was formed in Paris on 30 April 1915 but shortly moved its office to London.{{sfn |Tucker |Roberts |2005 |p=1189}} In April 1918, the Rome Congress of Oppressed Nationalities met, including ], Italian, ], ]n, and Yugoslav representatives who urged the Allies to support national ] for the peoples residing within Austria-Hungary.<ref name=autogenerated3 />
The Russian Empire, which had withdrawn from the war in 1917 after the ], lost much of its western frontier as the newly independent nations of ], Finland, ], ], and ] were carved from it. ] was re-attached to the ], as it had been a Romanian territory for more than a thousand years.<ref>{{harvnb|Clark|1927}}</ref>


In the Middle East, ] soared in Ottoman territories in response to the rise of Turkish nationalism during the war, with Arab nationalist leaders advocating the creation of a ] state. In 1916, the Arab Revolt began in Ottoman-controlled territories of the Middle East to achieve independence.{{sfn |Tucker |Roberts |2005 |p=117}}
The Ottoman Empire disintegrated, and much of its non-]n territory was awarded as protectorates of various Allied powers. The Turkish core was reorganized as the ]. The Ottoman Empire was to be partitioned by the ] in 1920. This treaty was never ratified by the Sultan and was rejected by the ], leading to the ] and, ultimately, to the 1923 ].


In East Africa, ] of ] was supporting the ] who were at war with the British in the ].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mukhtar |first1=Mohammed |title=Historical Dictionary of Somalia |year=2003 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |page=126 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DPwOsOcNy5YC&q=iyasu+dervish&pg=PA126 |access-date=28 February 2017 |isbn=978-0-8108-6604-1 |archive-date=13 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413230529/https://books.google.com/books?id=DPwOsOcNy5YC&q=iyasu+dervish&pg=PA126 |url-status=live }}</ref> Von Syburg, the German envoy in ], said, "now the time has come for Ethiopia to regain the coast of the Red Sea driving the Italians home, to restore the Empire to its ancient size." The Ethiopian Empire was on the verge of entering World War{{nbsp}}I on the side of the Central Powers before Iyasu's overthrow at the ] due to Allied pressure on the Ethiopian aristocracy.<ref>{{cite news |title=How Ethiopian prince scuppered Germany's WW1 plans |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-37428682 |access-date=28 February 2017 |agency=BBC News |date=25 September 2016 |archive-date=13 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413121137/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-37428682 |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Legacy==
] First Contingent in Bermuda, winter 1914–1915, before joining ] in France in June 1915. The dozen remaining after ] on 25 September 1916, merged with a Second Contingent. The two contingents suffered 75% casualties.]]
{{Main|World War I in art and literature|Media of World War I|War memorials}}
The first tentative efforts to comprehend the meaning and consequences of modern warfare began during the initial phases of the war, and this process continued throughout and after the end of hostilities.


Several socialist parties initially supported the war when it began in August 1914.<ref name=autogenerated3>{{harvnb |Tucker |Roberts |2005 |p=1001}}</ref> But European socialists split on national lines, with the concept of ] held by radical socialists such as Marxists and ] being overborne by their patriotic support for the war.{{sfn |Tucker |Roberts |2005 |p=1069}} Once the war began, Austrian, British, French, German, and Russian socialists followed the rising nationalist current by supporting their countries' intervention in the war.{{sfn|Tucker |Roberts |2005 |p=884}}
===Memorials===
] in the Somme.]]
Memorials were erected in thousands of villages and towns. Close to battlefields, the improvised burial grounds were gradually moved to formal graveyards under the care of organisations such as the ], the ], the ] and ]. Many of these graveyards also have central monuments to the missing or unidentified dead, such as the ] memorial and the ].


] was stirred by the outbreak of the war and was initially strongly supported by a variety of political factions. One of the most prominent and popular Italian nationalist supporters of the war was ], who promoted ] and helped sway the Italian public to support intervention in the war.{{sfn |Tucker |Roberts |2005 |p=335}} The ], under the leadership of ], promoted intervention in the war on the side of the Allies and used the Dante Alighieri Society to promote Italian nationalism.{{sfn |Tucker |Roberts |2005 |p=219}} Italian socialists were divided on whether to support the war or oppose it; some were militant supporters of the war, including ] and ].{{sfn |Tucker |Roberts |2005 |p=209}} However, the ] decided to oppose the war after anti-militarist protestors were killed, resulting in a ] called ].<ref name=autogenerated6>{{harvnb |Tucker |Roberts |2005 |p=596}}</ref> The Italian Socialist Party purged itself of pro-war nationalist members, including Mussolini.<ref name=autogenerated6 /> Mussolini formed the pro-interventionist '']'' and the ''Fasci Rivoluzionario d'Azione Internazionalista'' ("Revolutionary ] for International Action") in October 1914 that later developed into the '']'' in 1919, the origin of fascism.{{sfn |Tucker |Roberts |2005 |p=826}} Mussolini's nationalism enabled him to raise funds from ] (an armaments firm) and other companies to create ''Il Popolo d'Italia'' to convince socialists and revolutionaries to support the war.<ref>]. 1997. ''Modern Italy: A Political History''. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. p. 284.</ref>
] of Canada, author of '']'', died in 1918 of ].]]
On 3 May 1915, during the ], Lieutenant Alexis Helmer was killed. At his graveside, his friend ], M.D., of ], ], Canada wrote the memorable poem '']'' as a salute to those who perished in the Great War. Published in ] on 8 December 1915, it is still recited today, especially on ] and ].<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.histori.ca/minutes/minute.do?id=10200 |title=John McCrae |publisher=Historica }}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&ArticleId=A0004849 |author=Evans David |title=John McCrae |work=Canadian Encyclopedia}}</ref>


===Cultural memory=== ==== Patriotic funds ====
On both sides, there was large-scale fundraising for soldiers' welfare, their dependents and those injured. The ] were a German example. Around the British Empire, there were many patriotic funds, including the ], ], ] and, by 1919, there were 983 funds in New Zealand.<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 Sep 1939 |title=No Immediate Need. Te Awamutu Courier |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TAWC19390922.2.37 |access-date=2022-06-16 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz |archive-date=16 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616072636/https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TAWC19390922.2.37 |url-status=live }}</ref> At the start of the next world war the New Zealand funds were reformed, having been criticised as overlapping, wasteful and abused,<ref>{{Cite web |date=1986 |title=Chapter 4 – Response from the Home Front |url=https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2-1Hom-c4.html |access-date=2022-06-16 |website=nzetc.victoria.ac.nz |archive-date=6 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220806215043/https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2-1Hom-c4.html |url-status=live }}</ref> but 11 were still functioning in 2002.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2005 |title=5.2: Provincial patriotic councils |url=https://oag.parliament.nz/2005/copy_of_2003-04/part5-2.htm |access-date=2022-06-16 |website=Office of the Auditor-General New Zealand |language=en |archive-date=19 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519045102/https://oag.parliament.nz/2005/copy_of_2003-04/part5-2.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
The First World War had a lasting impact on social memory. It was seen by many in Britain as signaling the end of Victorian England, and across Europe many regarded it as a watershed moment.<ref>Mark David Sheftall, ''Altered Memories of the Great War: Divergent Narratives of Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada'' (2010)</ref> Historian ] explained:


=== Opposition ===
{{quote|A generation of innocent young men, their heads full of high abstractions like Honour, Glory and England, went off to war to make the world safe for democracy. They were slaughtered in stupid battles planned by stupid generals. Those who survived were shocked, disillusioned and embittered by their war experiences, and saw that their real enemies were not the Germans, but the old men at home who had lied to them. They rejected the values of the society that had sent them to war, and in doing so separated their own generation from the past and from their cultural inheritance.<ref name="Hynes1991">{{Citation|last=Hynes|first=Samuel Lynn|title=A war imagined: the First World War and English culture|accessdate=18 May 2010|year=1991|publisher=Atheneum|isbn=9780689121289|pages=i–xii}}</ref>}}
{{Main|Opposition to World War I|1917 French Army mutinies}}


Many countries jailed those who spoke out against the conflict. These included ] in the US and ] in Britain. In the US, the ] and ] made it a federal crime to oppose military recruitment or make any statements deemed "disloyal". Publications at all critical of the government were removed from circulation by postal censors,<ref name="Karp-PoW-1979">{{harvnb |Karp |1979}}</ref> and many served long prison sentences for statements of fact deemed unpatriotic.]) after the 1916 ] in Dublin]]
This has become the most common perception of the First World War, perpetuated by the art, cinema, poems and stories published subsequently. Films such as '']'', '']'' and '']'' have perpetuated the idea; while war-time films including ''Camrades'', ''Flanders Poppies'' and '']'' indicate that the most contemporary views of the war were overall far more positive.<ref name="Todman2005">{{Citation|last=Todman|first=Daniel|title=The Great War: myth and memory|accessdate=18 May 2010|year=2005|publisher=Hambledon and London|isbn=9781852854591|pages=153–221}}</ref> Likewise, the art of ], ], ] and ] in Britain painted a negative view of the conflict in keeping with the growing perception, while popular war-time artists such as ] painted more serene and pleasant interpretations subsequently rejected as inaccurate.<ref name="Hynes1991" /> Several historians have since countered these interpretations:


Several nationalists opposed intervention, particularly within states that the nationalists were hostile to. Although the vast majority of Irish people consented to participate in the war in 1914 and 1915, a minority of advanced ] had staunchly opposed taking part.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pennell |first=Catriona |title=A Kingdom United: Popular Responses to the Outbreak of the First World War in Britain and Ireland |year=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-959058-2}}</ref> The war began amid the Home Rule crisis in Ireland that had resurfaced in 1912, and by July 1914 there was a serious possibility of an outbreak of civil war in Ireland. Irish nationalists and Marxists attempted to pursue Irish independence, culminating in the ] of 1916, with Germany sending 20,000 rifles to Ireland to stir unrest in Britain.{{sfn |Tucker |Roberts |2005 |p=584}} The British government placed Ireland under ] in response to the Easter Rising, though once the immediate threat of revolution had dissipated, the authorities did try to make concessions to nationalist feeling.<ref>O'Halpin, Eunan, ''The Decline of the Union: British Government in Ireland, 1892–1920'', (Dublin, 1987)</ref> However, opposition to involvement in the war increased in Ireland, resulting in the ].
<blockquote>These beliefs did not become widely shared because they offered the only accurate interpretation of wartime events. In every respect, the war was much more complicated than they suggest. In recent years, historians have argued persuasively against almost every popular cliché of the First World War. It has been pointed out that, although the losses were devastating, their greatest impact was socially and geographically limited. The many emotions other than horror experienced by soldiers in and out of the front line, including comradeship, boredom and even enjoyment, have been recognized. The war is not now seen as a 'fight about nothing', but as a war of ideals, a struggle between aggressive militarism and more or less liberal democracy. It has been acknowledged that British generals were often capable men facing difficult challenges, and that it was under their command that the British army played a major part in the defeat of the Germans in 1918: a great forgotten victory.<ref name="Todman2005" /></blockquote>


Other opposition came from ]s—some socialist, some religious—who had refused to fight. In Britain, 16,000 people asked for conscientious objector status.{{sfn |Lehmann |van der Veer |1999 |p=62}} Some of them, most notably prominent peace activist ], refused both military and ].<ref>Brock, Peter, ''These Strange Criminals: An Anthology of Prison Memoirs by Conscientious Objectors to Military Service from the Great War to the Cold War'', p. 14, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2004, {{ISBN|978-0-8020-8707-2}}</ref> Many suffered years of prison, including ]. Even after the war, in Britain, many job advertisements were marked "No conscientious objectors need to apply".<ref>{{cite web |date=24 February 2014 |title=Winchester Whisperer: The secret newspaper made by jailed pacifists |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-25749290 |access-date=7 February 2022 |website=] |archive-date=7 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220207220011/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-25749290 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Though these historians have discounted as "myths"<ref name="Hynes1991" /><ref name="Fussell2000">{{Citation|last=Fussell|first=Paul|title=The Great War and modern memory|url=http://books.google.com/?id=D9iNQYfeKdwC|accessdate=18 May 2010|year=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press US|isbn=9780195133325|pages=1–78}}</ref> these perceptions of the war, they are nevertheless prevalent across much of society.{{Citation needed|date=June 2010}} They have dynamically changed according to contemporary influences, reflecting in the 1950s perceptions of the war as 'aimless' following the contrasting Second World War, and emphasising conflict within the ranks during times of class conflict in the 1960s.<ref name="Todman2005" /> The majority of additions to the contrary are often rejected.<ref name="Todman2005" />


On 1–4 May 1917, about 100,000 workers and soldiers of ], and after them, the workers and soldiers of other Russian cities, led by the Bolsheviks, demonstrated under banners reading "Down with the war!" and "all power to the Soviets!". The mass demonstrations resulted in a crisis for the ].<ref>{{cite book|author=Richard Pipes|title=The Russian Revolution|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XtE54LuhFzEC&pg=PA407|year=1990|publisher=Knopf Doubleday|page=407|isbn=978-0-307-78857-3|access-date=30 July 2019|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801164146/https://books.google.com/books?id=XtE54LuhFzEC&pg=PA407|url-status=live}}</ref> In ], in May 1917, Bolshevik revolutionaries organised and engaged in rioting calling for an end to the war, and managed to close down factories and stop public transportation.<ref name="Seton_6">Seton-Watson, Christopher. 1967. ''Italy from Liberalism to Fascism: 1870 to 1925''. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd. p. 471</ref> The Italian army was forced to enter Milan with tanks and machine guns to face Bolsheviks and ], who fought violently until May 23 when the army gained control of the city. Almost 50 people (including three Italian soldiers) were killed and over 800 people were arrested.<ref name="Seton_6" />
===Social trauma===
The social trauma caused by unprecedented rates of casualties manifested itself in different ways, which have been the subject of subsequent historical debate.<ref name="todmanxi-xv"/> Some people{{Who|date=May 2010}} were revolted by ] and its results, and so they began to work toward a more ] world, supporting organisations such as the ]. ] became increasingly popular. Others had the opposite reaction, feeling that only strength and military might could be relied upon in a chaotic and inhumane world. ] views were an outgrowth of the many changes taking place in society.


== Technology ==
The experiences of the war led to a collective trauma shared by many from all participating countries. The ] of '']'' was destroyed and those who fought in the war were referred to as the ].<ref>{{harvnb|Roden}}</ref> For years afterwards, people mourned the dead, the missing, and the many disabled.<ref>{{harvnb|Wohl|1979}}</ref> Many soldiers returned with severe trauma, suffering from ] (also called neurasthenia,, now called ]).<ref>{{harvnb|Tucker|Roberts|2005|pp=108–1086}}</ref> Many more returned home with few after-effects; however, their silence about the war contributed to the conflict's growing mythological status.<ref name="todmanxi-xv"/> In the ], mass-mobilisation, large casualty rates and the collapse of the ] made a strong impression on society. Though many participants did not share in the experiences of combat or spend any significant time at the front, or had positive memories of their service, the images of suffering and trauma became the widely shared perception.<ref name="todmanxi-xv">Todman, D. ''The Great War, Myth and Memory'', p. xi–xv.</ref> Such historians as Dan Todman, Paul Fussell and Samuel Heyns have all published works since the 1990s arguing that these common perceptions of the war are factually incorrect.<ref name="todmanxi-xv"/>
{{See also|Technology during World War I}}
] ]. In April 1917, the average life expectancy of a British pilot on the Western Front was 93 flying hours.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lawson |first1=Eric |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=9PGHckhHiX0C}}pg=PT123 |title=The First Air Campaign: August 1914 – November 1918 |last2=Lawson |first2=Jane |publisher=Da Capo Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-306-81213-2 |page=123 }}{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>]]


World War I began as a clash of 20th-century technology and 19th-century ], with the inevitably large ensuing casualties. By the end of 1917, however, the major armies had modernised and were making use of telephone, ],{{sfn |Hartcup |1988 |p=154}} ], ]s (especially with the advent of the prototype tank, ]), and aircraft.{{sfn |Hartcup |1988 |pp=82–86}}
The end of the war set the stage for other world conflicts. For instance, it enabled the rise of the ]s and the creation of the ].
], pilot of the French 2nd Bombardment, Group GB 2, in August 1915]]
Artillery also underwent a revolution. In 1914, cannons were positioned in the front line and fired directly at their targets. By 1917, ] with guns (as well as mortars and even machine guns) was commonplace, using new techniques for spotting and ranging, notably, aircraft and the ].<ref>Sterling, Christopher H. (2008). ''Military Communications: From Ancient Times to the 21st Century''. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. {{ISBN|978-1-85109-732-6}} p. 444.</ref>


] were initially used for ] and ]. To shoot down enemy planes, ] and ] were developed. ]s were created, principally by the Germans and British, though the former used ]s as well.<ref name="Cross 1991">{{harvnb|Cross|1991}}</ref> Towards the end of the conflict, ]s were used for the first time, with HMS ''Furious'' launching ]s in a raid to destroy the Zeppelin hangars at ] in 1918.{{sfn|Cross|1991|pp=56–57}}
===Discontent in Germany===
The rise of ] and ] included a revival of the nationalist spirit and a rejection of many post-war changes. Similarly, the popularity of the ] (German: ''Dolchstosslegende'') was a testament to the ] of defeated Germany and was a rejection of responsibility for the conflict. This ] of betrayal became common, and the German populace came to see themselves as victims. The ''Dolchstosslegende'''s popular acceptance in Germany played a significant role in the rise of Nazism. A sense of disillusionment and ] became pronounced, with ] growing. Many believed the war heralded the end of the world as they had known it because of the high fatalities among a generation of men, the dissolution of governments and empires, and the collapse of ] and ].


== Diplomacy ==
] and ] movements around the world drew strength from this theory and enjoyed a new level of popularity. These feelings were most pronounced in areas directly or harshly affected by the war. Out of German discontent with the still controversial ], ] was able to gain popularity and power.<ref>{{citation| url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/war_end_01.shtml| publisher=BBC| title=The Ending of World War One, and the Legacy of Peace}}</ref><ref>{{citation| url=http://www.schoolshistory.org.uk/hitlergainspower.htm| title=The Rise of Hitler| accessdate=2009-11-12}}</ref> World War II was in part a continuation of the power struggle never fully resolved by the First World War; in fact, it was common for Germans in the 1930s and 1940s to justify acts of international aggression because of perceived injustices imposed by the victors of the First World War.<ref>{{citation| url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9110199/World-War-II| title=World War II| work=Britannica Online Encyclopedia| accessdate=2009-11-12| publisher=]}}</ref>
{{Main|Diplomatic history of World War I}}
<ref>{{citation| last=Baker| first=Kevin |url=http://harpers.org/StabbedInTheBack.html |title=Stabbed in the Back! The past and future of a right-wing myth| periodical=Harper's Magazine |date=June 2006}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Chickering|2004}}</ref>
]]]


The non-military diplomatic and propaganda interactions among the nations were designed to build support for the cause or to undermine support for the enemy. For the most part, wartime diplomacy focused on five issues: ]; defining and redefining the war goals, which became harsher as the war went on; luring neutral nations (Italy, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria, Romania) into the coalition by offering slices of enemy territory; and encouragement by the Allies of nationalistic minority movements inside the Central Powers, especially among Czechs, Poles, and Arabs. In addition, multiple peace proposals were coming from neutrals, or one side or the other; none of them progressed very far.{{sfn |Stevenson |1988 |p={{page needed|date=July 2020}}}}<ref>{{cite book |first=Z. A. B. |last=Zeman |title=Diplomatic History of the First World War |url=https://archive.org/details/diplomatichistor0000zema |url-access=registration |location=London |publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson |year=1971 |isbn=978-0-297-00300-7 }}</ref><ref>See {{cite book |author=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |title=Official Statements of War Aims and Peace Proposals: December 1916 to November 1918 |editor-first=James Brown |editor-last=Scott |year=1921 |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924016943106 |publisher=Washington, D.C., The Endowment }}</ref>
The establishment of the modern state of ] and the roots of the continuing ] are partially found in the unstable power dynamics of the Middle East which resulted from World War I.<ref name="Economist_2005">{{harvnb|Economist|2005}}</ref> Previous to the end the war, the ] had maintained a modest level of peace and stability throughout the Middle East.<ref name="Hooker_1996">{{harvnb|Hooker|1996}}</ref> With the fall of Ottoman government, power vacuums developed and conflicting claims to land and nationhood began to emerge.<ref name="Muller_2008">{{harvnb|Muller|2008}}</ref> The political boundaries drawn by the victors of the First World War were quickly imposed, sometimes after only cursory consultation with the local population. In many cases, these continue to be problematic in the 21st-century struggles for ].<ref name="Kaplan_1993">{{harvnb|Kaplan|1993}}</ref><ref name="Salibi_1993">{{harvnb|Salibi|1993}}</ref> While the dissolution of the ] at the end of World War I was pivotal in contributing to the modern political situation of the Middle East, including the ],<ref name="Evans_2005">{{harvnb|Evans|2005}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Israeli Foreign Ministry}}</ref><ref name="Gelvin_2005">{{harvnb|Gelvin|2005}}</ref> the end of Ottoman rule also spawned lesser known disputes over water and other natural resources.<ref name="Isaac_1992">{{harvnb|Isaac|Hosh|1992}}</ref>
{{See|Sykes–Picot Agreement}}


===Views in the United States=== == Legacy and memory ==
{{Main|List of last surviving World War I veterans|Commonwealth War Graves Commission|American Battle Monuments Commission}}
U.S. intervention in the war, as well as the Wilson administration, became deeply unpopular. This was reflected in the ]'s rejection of the ] and membership in the ]. In the interwar era a consensus arose that U.S. intervention was a mistake, and the Congress passed ] in an attempt to preserve U.S. neutrality in any future conflict. Polls taken in 1937 and the opening months of World War II established that nearly 60% regarded the intervention as a mistake, with only 28% opposing that view. But, in the period between the ] and the ], public opinion changed dramatically, and for the first time, a narrow plurality rejected the idea that the war was a mistake.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RPUaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=YEwEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3742,5638207&dq=war+poll&hl=en |title=1941 Gallup poll |publisher=News.google.com |date= |accessdate=2010-06-15}}</ref>
{{Further|World War I in popular culture}}


===New national identities=== === Memorials ===
{{Main|World War I memorials}}
] reemerged as an independent country, after more than a century. As a "minor Entente nation" and the country with the largest casualties per head<ref>{{cite news |title=Appeals to Americans to Pray for Serbians |newspaper=] |date=July 27, 1918 |url=http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9406E4D8143EE433A25754C2A9619C946996D6CF}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Serbia Restored |newspaper=] |date=November 5, 1918 |url=http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=990CEFDC113BEE3ABC4D53DFB7678383609EDE }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Minor Powers During World War One&nbsp;– Serbia |first=Matt |last=Simpson |work= |publisher=firstworldwar.com |date=22 August 2009 |url=http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/minorpowers_serbia.htm }}</ref> the ] and its dynasty became the backbone of the new multinational state, the ] (later renamed ]). ] became a new nation. Russia became the ] and lost ], ], ] and ], which became independent countries. The ] was soon replaced by ] and several other countries in the Middle East.
], which contains the remains of 100,187 soldiers]]


Memorials were built in thousands of villages and towns. Close to battlefields, those buried in improvised burial grounds were gradually moved to formal graveyards under the care of organisations such as the ], the ], the ], and ]. Many of these graveyards also have monuments to the missing or ] dead, such as the ] and the ].<ref>{{cite web |title=Memorials to the Missing of the First and Second World Wars |url=https://www.dva.gov.au/recognition/commemorations/memorials/memorials-missing |website=Department of Veterans' Affairs |date=10 October 2023 |publisher=Commonwealth of Australia |access-date=1 March 2024 |archive-date=1 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301154418/https://www.dva.gov.au/recognition/commemorations/memorials/memorials-missing |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Thiepval Anglo-French Cemetery |url=https://www.cwgc.org/visit-us/find-cemeteries-memorials/cemetery-details/67300/thiepval-anglo-french-cemetery/ |website=Commonwealth War Graves Commission |access-date=1 March 2024 |archive-date=14 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014125355/https://www.cwgc.org/visit-us/find-cemeteries-memorials/cemetery-details/67300/thiepval-anglo-french-cemetery/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
In the British Empire, the war unleashed new forms of nationalism. In Australia and New Zealand the ] became known as those nations' "Baptism of Fire". It was the first major war in which the newly established countries fought and it was one of the first times that Australian troops fought as Australians, not just subjects of the ]. ], commemorating the ], celebrates this defining moment.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9400E1DD113FE233A25755C2A9629C946796D6CF&scp=12&sq=New+Zealand+anzac&st=p |title='ANZAC Day' in London; King, Queen, and General Birdwood at Services in Abbey |newspaper=] |date=26 April 1916}}</ref><ref name=awmtradition>
{{citation| url=http://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac/anzac_tradition.asp| title=The ANZAC Day tradition| publisher=]| accessdate=2008-05-02}}</ref>


In 1915, ], a Canadian army doctor, wrote the poem '']'' as a salute to those who perished in the war. It is still recited today, especially on ] and ].<ref>{{cite journal |year=1918 |title=John McCrae |journal=Nature |publisher=Historica |volume=100 |issue=2521 |pages=487–488 |bibcode=1918Natur.100..487. |doi=10.1038/100487b0 |s2cid=4275807 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=David |first=Evans |year=1918 |title=John McCrae |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/john-mccrae |url-status=live |journal=Nature |volume=100 |issue=2521 |pages=487–488 |bibcode=1918Natur.100..487. |doi=10.1038/100487b0 |s2cid=4275807 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304072732/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/john-mccrae/ |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=8 June 2014 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
After the ], where the Canadian divisions fought together for the first time as a single corps, Canadians began to refer to theirs as a nation "forged from fire".<ref>{{citation| url=http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/guerre/vimy-ridge-e.aspx| publisher=]| title=Vimy Ridge |accessdate=2008-10-22}}</ref> Having succeeded on the same battleground where the "mother countries" had previously faltered, they were for the first time respected internationally for their own accomplishments. Canada entered the war as a Dominion of the British Empire and remained so afterwards, although she emerged with a greater measure of independence.<ref>{{citation| url=http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/guerre/war-impact-e.aspx| title=The War's Impact on Canada| publisher=]| accessdate=2008-10-22}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/05/09/babcock-citizen.html| title=Canada's last WW1 vet gets his citizenship back| publisher=]| date=2008-05-09}}</ref> While the other Dominions were represented by Britain, Canada was an independent negotiator and signatory of the ].
] to soldiers killed in World War I]]
] in ], is a memorial dedicated to all Americans who served in World War{{nbsp}}I. The ] was dedicated on 1 November 1921.<ref name="kclibrary.org">{{cite web |date=21 September 2015 |title=Monumental Undertaking |url=http://www.kclibrary.org/blog/week-kansas-city-history/monumental-undertaking |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529002033/http://www.kclibrary.org/blog/week-kansas-city-history/monumental-undertaking |archive-date=29 May 2015 |access-date=23 May 2015 |website=kclibrary.org}}</ref>


The British government budgeted substantial resources to ]. The lead body is the ].<ref>{{cite web |title=Commemoration website |url=http://www.1914.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140208062818/http://www.1914.org/ |archive-date=8 February 2014 |access-date=28 February 2014 |publisher=1914.org}}</ref> On 3{{nbsp}}August 2014, French President ] and German President ] together marked ] by laying the first stone of a memorial in Vieil Armand, known in German as ], for French and German soldiers killed in the war.<ref name="HartmannswillerkopfMemorial">{{Cite news |title=French, German Presidents Mark World War I Anniversary |publisher=France News.Net |url=https://www.francenews.net/news/224398825/french-german-presidents-mark-world-war-i-anniversary |url-status=live |access-date=3 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170403005503/http://www.francenews.net/news/224398825/french-german-presidents-mark-world-war-i-anniversary |archive-date=3 April 2017}}</ref> As part of commemorations for the ], French President ] and German Chancellor ] visited the site of the signing of the Armistice of Compiègne and unveiled a plaque to reconciliation.<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 November 2018 |title=Armistice Day: Macron and Merkel mark end of World War One |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46165903 |url-status=live |access-date=30 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201210194001/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46165903 |archive-date=10 December 2020}}</ref>
===Economic effects===
One of the most dramatic effects of the war was the expansion of governmental powers and responsibilities in Britain, France, the United States, and the Dominions of the British Empire. In order to harness all the power of their societies, new government ministries and powers were created. New taxes were levied and laws enacted, all designed to bolster the ]; many of which have lasted to this day. Similarly, the war strained the abilities of the formerly large and bureaucratized governments such as in Austria–Hungary and Germany; however, any analysis of the long-term effects were clouded by the defeat of these governments.
]. When the war began in 1914, a dollar was worth 4.2 marks. By November 1923, the dollar was at 4.2 ]<ref>10<sup>12</sup> in this context&nbsp;– see ]</ref> marks.<ref>"". Spiegel Online. August 14, 2009.</ref>]]
] (GDP) increased for three Allies (Britain, Italy, and U.S.), but decreased in France and Russia, in neutral Netherlands, and in the main three Central Powers. The shrinkage in GDP in Austria, Russia, France, and the Ottoman Empire reached 30 to 40%. In Austria, for example, most of the pigs were slaughtered and, at war's end, there was no meat.


=== Historiography ===
All nations had increases in the government's share of GDP, surpassing fifty percent in both Germany and France and nearly reaching fifty percent in Britain. To pay for purchases in the United States, Britain cashed in its extensive investments in American railroads and then began borrowing heavily on ]. President Wilson was on the verge of cutting off the loans in late 1916, but allowed a great increase in ] lending to the Allies. After 1919, the U.S. demanded repayment of these loans, which, in part, were funded by German reparations, which, in turn, were supported by American loans to Germany. This circular system collapsed in 1931 and the loans were never repaid. In 1934, Britain owed the US $4.4 ]<ref>10<sup>9</sup> in this context&nbsp;– see ]</ref> of World War I debt.<ref>"". BBC News. May 10, 2006.</ref>
{{Main|Historiography of World War I}}
{{Further|Historiography of the causes of World War I}}
{{blockquote |<poem>...&nbsp;"Strange, friend," I said, "Here is no cause to mourn."
"None," said the other, "Save the undone years"...&nbsp;</poem> |], ''Strange Meeting'', 1918<ref name="Wilfred Owen 2004">''Wilfred Owen: poems'', 1917, (Faber and Faber, 2004)</ref>}}


The first efforts to comprehend the meaning and consequences of ] began during the initial phases of the war and are still underway more than a century later. Teaching World War I has presented special challenges. When compared with ], the First World War is often thought to be "a wrong war fought for the wrong reasons"; it lacks the ] of ] that characterizes retellings of the Second World War. Lacking recognizable heroes and villains, it is often taught thematically, invoking simplified ] that obscure the complexity of the conflict.<ref name="Neiberg2">{{cite book |last=Neiberg |first=Michael |title=The World War I Reader |date=2007 |page=1}}</ref>
Macro- and micro-economic consequences devolved from the war. Families were altered by the departure of many men. With the death or absence of the primary wage earner, women were forced into the workforce in unprecedented numbers. At the same time, industry needed to replace the lost labourers sent to war. This aided the struggle for ].


Historian Heather Jones argues that the ] has been reinvigorated by a cultural turn in the 21st century. Scholars have raised entirely new questions regarding ], ] of politics, ], ], ] and ]. Among the major subjects that historians have long debated regarding the war include: ]; why the ] won; whether generals were responsible for ]; how soldiers endured the poor conditions of ]; and to what extent the civilian ] accepted and endorsed the war effort.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Jones |first=Heather |year=2013 |title=As the centenary approaches: the regeneration of First World War historiography |journal=] |volume=56 |issue=3 |pages=857–878 |doi=10.1017/S0018246X13000216 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>see Christoph Cornelissen, and Arndt Weinrich, eds. ''Writing the Great War – The Historiography of World War I from 1918 to the Present'' (2020) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129075020/https://berghahnbooks.com/title/CornelissenWriting|date=29 November 2020}}; full coverage for major countries.</ref>
In Britain, rationing was finally imposed in early 1918, limited to meat, sugar, and fats (butter and ]), but not bread. The new system worked smoothly. From 1914 to 1918 trade union membership doubled, from a little over four million to a little over eight million. Work stoppages and strikes became frequent in 1917–1918 as the unions expressed grievances regarding prices, alcohol control, pay disputes, fatigue from overtime and working on Sundays and inadequate housing.


=== Unexploded ordnance ===
Britain turned to her colonies for help in obtaining essential war materials whose supply had become difficult from traditional sources. Geologists such as ] were called upon to find new resources of precious minerals in the African colonies. Kitson discovered important new deposits of ], used in munitions production, in the ].<ref>{{harvnb|Green|1938|pp=CXXVI}}</ref>
{{Further|Zone rouge|Iron harvest}}


As late as 2007, ] at battlefield sites like ] and ] continued to pose a danger. In France and Belgium, locals who discover caches of unexploded munitions are assisted by weapons disposal units. In some places, plant life has still not recovered from the effects of the war.<ref name="Neiberg2"/>
] of the ] (the so-called "war guilt" clause) declared Germany and its allies responsible for all "loss and damage" suffered by the Allies during the war and provided the basis for ]. The total reparations demanded was 132 billion gold marks which was far more than the total German gold or foreign exchange. The economic problems that the payments brought, and German resentment at their imposition, are usually cited as one of the more significant factors that led to the end of the ] and the beginning of the dictatorship of ]. After Germany’s defeat in World War II, payment of the reparations was not resumed. There was, however, outstanding German debt that the Weimar Republic had used to pay the reparations. Germany will finish paying off the Americans in 2010<ref>Findley, Carter Vaughn and J.A. Rothney. ''Twentieth Century World: 6th ed.'' Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company: 2006. Page 77.</ref> and the rest in 2020.<ref>Jörg Friedrich, ''Von deutschen Schulden'', Berliner Zeitung, 09. October 1999 </ref>


==See also== == See also ==
{{Portal|World War I}}
{{Misplaced Pages-Books}}
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]


===Media=== == Footnotes ==
{{Notelist}}
{|
|-
| ]
| ]
|}


==Notes== == References ==
{{reflist|25em}}
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}


==References== == Bibliography ==
<!--This list is too long already, please make any additions in the linked list articles rather than here--> <!--This list is too long already, please make any additions in the linked list articles rather than here.-->
<!--DO ''not'' SIMPLY ADD BOOKS ABOUT WORLD WAR I HERE&nbsp;— ADD THEM TO "LIST OF WORLD WAR I BOOKS"--> <!--DO ''not'' SIMPLY ADD BOOKS ABOUT WORLD WAR I HERE—ADD THEM TO "LIST OF WORLD WAR I BOOKS".-->
{{For|a comprehensive bibliography|Bibliography of World War I}}
{{Refbegin|2}}

* {{citation| author-link=American Battle Monuments Commission| title=American Armies and Battlefields in Europe: A History, Guide, and Reference Book| publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office| year=1938| url=http://www.secstate.wa.gov/history/ww1/maps.aspx| oclc=59803706}}
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{citation| title=Army Art of World War I| publisher=]: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History| year=1993| url=http://www.secstate.wa.gov/history/publications_detail.aspx?p=28| oclc=28608539}}
* {{cite book |last=Axelrod |first=Alan|author-link=Alan Axelrod |title=How America Won World War I |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4930-3192-4 |year=2018}}
* {{citation| last=Asghar| first=Syed Birjees| publisher=Dawn Group| date=2005-06-12| title=A Famous Uprising| url=http://www.dawn.com/weekly/dmag/archive/050612/dmag14.htm| accessdate=2007-11-02}}
* {{cite book |last=Ayers |first=Leonard Porter |author-link=Leonard Porter Ayres |title=The War with Germany: A Statistical Summary |publisher=Government Printing Office |year=1919 |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=OCLC01187647 |page=1111}} }}
* {{citation| last=Ashworth| first=Tony| title=Trench warfare, 1914–18 : the live and let live system| year=2000| origyear=1980| publisher=Pan| location=London| isbn=0330480685| oclc=247360122}}
* {{cite book |last=Ball |first=Alan M. |title=And Now My Soul Is Hardened: Abandoned Children in Soviet Russia, 1918–1930 |location=Berkeley |publisher=University of California Press |year=1994 |isbn=0-520-08010-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/andnowmysoulisha00alan/mode/2up?view=theater |url-access=registration }}
* {{citation| last=Bade| first=Klaus J| last2=Brown| first2=Allison (tr.)| title=Migration in European History| series=The making of Europe| location=Oxford| publisher=Blackwell| year=2003| isbn=0631189394| oclc=52695573}} (translated from the German)
* {{cite book|last=Barrett|first=Michael B|title=Prelude to Blitzkrieg: The 1916 Austro-German Campaign in Romania|publisher=Indiana University Press|year=2013|isbn=978-0-253-00865-7}}
* {{citation| last=Baker| first=Kevin| title=Stabbed in the Back! The past and future of a right-wing myth |periodical=Harper's Magazine|date=June 2006}}
* {{citation| last=Balakian| first=Peter| author-link=Peter Balakian| title=The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response| location=New York| publisher=HarperCollins| year=2003| isbn=9780060198404| oclc=56822108}} * {{cite book|last=Beckett|first=Ian|title=The Great War|year=2007|publisher=Longman|isbn=978-1-4058-1252-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Béla |first=Köpeczi |title=History of Transylvania |publisher=Akadémiai Kiadó|isbn=978-84-8371-020-3 |year=1998}}
* {{citation| last=Ball| first=Alan M| title=And Now My Soul Is Hardened: Abandoned Children in Soviet Russia, 1918–1930| location=Berkeley| publisher=University of California Press| year=1996| isbn=9780520206946}}, reviewed in {{citation| last=Hegarty| first=Thomas J| title=And Now My Soul Is Hardened: Abandoned Children in Soviet Russia, 1918–1930| year=1998| month=March–June url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3763/is_/ai_n8801575| journal=Canadian Slavonic Papers}}
* {{cite book |first=Gail |last=Braybon |title=Evidence, History, and the Great War: Historians and the Impact of 1914–18 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hFqZcQmlOBsC&pg=PA8 |date=2004 |publisher=Berghahn Books |page=8 |isbn=978-1-57181-801-0 |access-date=5 July 2020 |archive-date=17 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240217083935/https://books.google.com/books?id=hFqZcQmlOBsC&pg=PA8#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}
* {{citation| last=Bass| first=Gary Jonathan| title=Stay the Hand of Vengeance: The Politics of War Crimes Tribunals| publisher=Princeton University Press| location=Princeton, New Jersey| year=2002| pages=424pp| isbn=0691092788| oclc=248021790}}
* {{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Judith M. |author-link=Judith M. Brown |year=1994 |title=Modern India: The Origins of an Asian Democracy |location=Oxford and New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-873113-9}}
* {{citation| last=Blair| first=Dale| title=No Quarter: Unlawful Killing and Surrender in the Australian War Experience, 1915–1918| year=2005| isbn=1740272919| oclc=62514621| publisher=Ginninderra Press| location=Charnwood, Australia}}
* {{citation| last=Brands| first=Henry William| author-link=H. W. Brands| title=T. R.: The Last Romantic| location=New York| publisher=Basic Books| year=1997 |isbn=0465069584| oclc=36954615}} * {{cite book |last1=Butcher |first1=Tim | author-link = Tim Butcher |year=2014 |title=The Trigger: Hunting the Assassin Who Brought the World to War|publisher=Vintage |edition=2015|isbn=978-0-09-958133-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Christie|first=Norm M|year=1997|title=The Canadians at Cambrai and the Canal du Nord, August–September 1918|publisher=CEF Books|isbn=978-1-896979-18-2}}
* {{citation| last1=Brown| first1=Judith M.| authorlink=Judith M. Brown| year=1994| title=Modern India: The Origins of an Asian Democracy| place=| publisher=Oxford and New York: ]. Pp. xiii, 474| isbn=0198731132}}.
* {{citation| last=Chickering| first=Rodger| title=Imperial Germany and the Great War, 1914–1918| location=Cambridge| publisher=Cambridge University Press| year=2004| isbn=0521839084| oclc=55523473}} * {{cite book |last=Clayton |first=Anthony |title=Paths of Glory; the French Army 1914–1918|publisher=Cassell|year=2003 |isbn=978-0-304-35949-3}}
* {{citation| last=Clark| first=Charles Upson| title=Bessarabia, Russia and Roumania on the Black Sea| url=http://depts.washington.edu/cartah/text_archive/clark/meta_pag.shtml| publisher=Dodd, Mead| location=New York| year=1927| oclc=150789848}} * {{cite book |last=Clark |first=Charles Upson |title=Bessarabia, Russia and Roumania on the Black Sea |url=http://depts.washington.edu/cartah/text_archive/clark/meta_pag.shtml |publisher=Dodd, Mead |location=New York |year=1927 |oclc=150789848 |access-date=6 November 2008 |archive-date=8 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008231407/http://depts.washington.edu/cartah/text_archive/clark/meta_pag.shtml |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite book |last=Clark |first=Christopher |author-link=Chris Clark (historian) |title=The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780061146657 |url-access=registration |year=2013 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0-06-219922-5 }}
* {{citation| last=Conlon| first=Joseph M| url=http://entomology.montana.edu/historybug/TYPHUS-Conlon.pdf| format=PDF| title=The historical impact of epidemic typhus| publisher=Montana State University| accessdate=2009-04-21}}
* {{cite book |last=Conlon |first=Joseph M. |url=http://entomology.montana.edu/historybug/TYPHUS-Conlon.pdf |title=The historical impact of epidemic typhus |publisher=Montana State University |access-date=21 April 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611213940/http://entomology.montana.edu/historybug/TYPHUS-Conlon.pdf |archive-date=11 June 2010 }}
* {{citation| last=Cook| first=Tim| title=The politics of surrender: Canadian soldiers and the killing of prisoners in the First World War| journal=The Journal of Military History| volume=70| issue=3| year=2006| pages=637–665| doi=10.1353/jmh.2006.0158}}
* {{citation| last=Cross| first=Wilbur L| title=Zeppelins of World War I| publisher=Paragon Press| location=New York| year=1991| isbn=9781557783820| oclc=22860189}} * {{cite book|last=Coogan|first=Tim|title=Ireland in the 20th Century|year=2009|publisher=Random House|isbn=978-0-09-941522-0}}
* {{cite book|last=Crampton|first=R. J.|title=Eastern Europe in the twentieth century|publisher=Routledge|year=1994|isbn=978-0-415-05346-4}}
* {{citation| last=Dignan| first=Don K| year=1971| title=The Hindu Conspiracy in Anglo-American Relations during World War I |journal=The Pacific Historical Review| volume=40| issue=1| month=February| pages=57–76| id={{jstor|3637829}}| publisher=University of California Press| issn=0030-8684}}
* {{cite book |last=Crisp |first=Olga |title=Studies in the Russian Economy before 1914 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=1976 |isbn=978-0-333-16907-0}}
* {{citation| last=Duffy| first=Michael| url=http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/somme.htm| title=Somme| publisher=First World War.com| accessdate=25 February 2007| isbn=0297846892}}
* {{citation| last=Evans| first=David| series=Teach yourself| title=The First World War| location=London| publisher=Hodder Arnold| year=2004| isbn=0340884894| oclc=224332259}} * {{cite book |last=Cross |first=Wilbur L. |title=Zeppelins of World War I |publisher=Paragon Press |location=New York |year=1991 |isbn=978-1-55778-382-0 |oclc=22860189}}
* {{cite book|first=David|last=Crowe|title=The Essentials of European History: 1914 to 1935, World War I and Europe in crisis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ONDZngEACAAJ|year=2001|publisher=Research and Education Association|isbn=978-0-87891-710-5|access-date=5 July 2020|archive-date=17 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240217083933/https://books.google.com/books?id=ONDZngEACAAJ|url-status=live}}
* {{citation| last=Evans| first=Leslie| title=Future of Iraq, Israel-Palestine Conflict, and Central Asia Weighed at International Conference| url=http://www.international.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=24920| publisher=UCLA International Institute| date=27 May 2005| accessdate=2008-12-30}}
* {{citation| last=Falls| first=Cyril Bentham| authorlink=Cyril Falls| year=1960| title=The First World War| publisher=Longmans| location=London| oclc=460327352| isbn=1843422727}} * {{cite book |last=DiNardo |first=Richard |title=Invasion: The Conquest of Serbia, 1915 |year=2015 |publisher=Praeger |location=Santa Barbara, California |isbn=978-1-4408-0092-4}}
* {{citation| last=Farwell| first=Byron |authorlink=Byron Farwell| year=1989| title=The Great War in Africa, 1914–1918| publisher=W.W. Norton| isbn=9780393305647}} * {{cite book|last=Donko|first=Wilhelm|title=A Brief History of the Austrian Navy|publisher=epubli GmbH|year=2012|isbn=978-3-8442-2129-9}}
* {{cite book |author1-link=Robert A. Doughty |last=Doughty |first=Robert A. |year=2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vZRmHkdGk44C |title=Pyrrhic victory: French strategy and operations in the Great War |isbn=978-0-674-01880-8 |publisher=Harvard University Press |access-date=5 July 2020 |archive-date=17 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240217083949/https://books.google.com/books?id=vZRmHkdGk44C |url-status=live }}
* {{citation| last=Ferguson| first=Niall| author-link=Niall Ferguson| title=The Pity of War| year=1999| publisher=Basic Books| location=New York| isbn=046505711X | oclc=41124439| chapter=| pages=563pp}}
* {{cite journal|last=Dumitru|first=Laurentiu-Cristian|title=Preliminaries of Romania's entering the World War I|volume=1|year=2012|journal=Bulletin of "Carol I" National Defence University, Bucharest|url=https://revista.unap.ro/index.php/bulletin/article/view/163-172/0|access-date=14 March 2022|archive-date=19 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319091440/https://revista.unap.ro/index.php/bulletin/article/view/163-172/0|url-status=live}}
* {{citation| last=Ferguson| first=Niall| title=The War of the World: Twentieth-Century Conflict and the Descent of the West| location=New York| publisher=Penguin Press| year=2006| isbn=1594201005}}
* {{cite book |last=Dupuy |first=R. Ernest and Trevor N. |title=The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History |edition=4th |publisher=Harper Collins Publishers |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-06-270056-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/harperencycloped0000dupu }}
* {{citation|last=Fortescue|first=Granville Roland| author-link=Granville Roland Fortescue| title=London in Gloom over Gallipoli; Captain Fortescue in Book and Ashmead-Bartlett in Lecture Declare Campaign Lost. Say Allies Can't Advance; Attack on Allied Diplomacy in Correspondent's Doleful Talk Passed by Censor| publisher=New York Times| date=28 October 1915| url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9907E3DE1E38E633A2575BC2A9669D946496D6CF}}
* {{cite book |last=Erickson |first=Edward J. |title=Ordered to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War |series=Contributions in Military Studies |volume=201 |year=2001 |location=Westport, Connecticut |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-313-31516-9 |oclc=43481698}}
* {{citation| last1=Fraser| first1=Thomas G| title=Germany and Indian Revolution, 1914–18| journal=Journal of Contemporary History | volume=12| issue=2| month=April| year=1977| publisher=Sage Publications| issn=00220094| pages=255–272| doi=10.1177/002200947701200203}}
* {{citation| last=Fromkin| first=David| author-link=David Fromkin| title=A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East| publisher=Owl Books|location=New York| year=2001| page=119| isbn=0805068848| oclc=53814831}} * {{cite book |last=Falls |first=Cyril Bentham |author-link=Cyril Falls |year=1960 |title=The First World War |publisher=Longmans |location=London |oclc=460327352 |isbn=978-1-84342-272-3}}
* {{citation| last=Fromkin| first=David| title=Europe's Last Summer: Who Started the Great War in 1914?| year=2004| publisher=Alfred A. Knopf| location=New York| isbn=0375411569| oclc=53937943}} * {{cite book |last=Farwell |first=Byron |author-link=Byron Farwell |year=1989 |title=The Great War in Africa, 1914–1918 |publisher=W.W. Norton |isbn=978-0-393-30564-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Fay|first=Sidney B|title=The Origins of the World War; Volume I|edition=2nd |date=1930}}
* {{citation| last=Gelvin| first=James L| author-link=James L. Gelvin| title=The Israel-Palestine Conflict: One Hundred Years of War| location=Cambridge| publisher=Cambridge University Press| year=2005| isbn=0521852897| oclc=59879560}}
* {{cite book |last=Ferguson |first=Niall |author-link=Niall Ferguson |title=The Pity of War |year=1999 |publisher=Basic Books |location=New York |isbn=978-0-465-05711-5 |oclc=41124439}}
* {{citation| last=Gibbs| first=Phillip| url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F05E4D61539E13ABC4850DFB6678383609EDE&scp=4&sq=Ghent+1918&st=p| title=Fall of Ghent Near, German Flank in Peril |newspaper=New York Times| date=26 October 1918 published 30 October 1918}}
* {{cite book |last=Ferguson |first=Niall |title=The War of the World: Twentieth-Century Conflict and the Descent of the West |location=New York |publisher=Penguin Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-59420-100-4}}
* {{citation | last=Gibbs| first=Phillip| url=http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=940DE1DC1239E13ABC4D52DFB7678383609EDE| title=Ghent Burghers Hail Liberators |newspaper=New York Times |date=15 November 1918 | format=PDF}}
* {{citation| last=Gray| first=Randal| last2=Argyle| first2=Christopher| year=1990| title=Chronicle of the First World War| location=New York| publisher=Facts on File| isbn=9780816025954| oclc=19398100}} * {{cite book |first1=Jeffrey |last1=Finestone |first2=Robert K. |last2=Massie |title=The last courts of Europe |year=1981 |publisher=JM Dent & Sons |isbn=978-0-460-04519-3}}
* {{cite journal|title=The Italian Army's Losses in the First World War|last=Fornassin|first=Alessio |journal=Population|date=2017|volume=72|issue=1|pages=39–62|doi=10.3917/popu.1701.0039}}
* {{citation| last=Gilbert| first=Martin| author-link=Martin Gilbert| title=The First World War: A Complete History| publisher=Owl Books| location=Clearwater, Florida| year=2004| page=306| isbn=0805076174| oclc=34792651}}
* {{cite book |last=Fromkin |first=David | author-link = David Fromkin |title=A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East |year=1989 |publisher=Henry Holt and Co |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8050-0857-9 |title-link=A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East}}
* {{citation| last=Goodspeed| first=Donald James |title=The German Wars 1914–1945| place=New York| publisher=Random House; Bonanza| year=1985| isbn=9780517467909}}
* {{citation| last=Gray| first=Randal| title=Kaiserschlacht 1918: the final German offensive| publisher=Osprey| year=1991| isbn=9781855321571}} * {{cite book |last=Fromkin |first=David |title=Europe's Last Summer: Who Started the Great War in 1914? |year=2004 |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |isbn=978-0-375-41156-4 |oclc=53937943}}
* {{cite book |last=Gardner |first=Hall |title=The Failure to Prevent World War I: The Unexpected Armageddon|isbn=978-1-4724-3056-4|year=2015 |publisher=Routledge}}
* {{citation| last=Green| first=John Frederick Norman| title=Obituary: ]| publisher=Geological Society| journal=Geological Society Quarterly Journal| volume=94| year=1938}}
* {{cite book |last=Grant |first=R.G. |title=Battle: A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years of Combat |publisher=DK Publishing |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7566-5578-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/battlevisualjour0000gran }}
* {{citation| last=Haber| first=Lutz Fritz| authorlink=Fritz Haber| title=The Poisonous Cloud: Chemical Warfare in the First World War| location=Oxford| publisher=Clarendon| year=1986| isbn=0198581424| oclc=12051072}}
* {{citation| last=Halpern| first=Paul G| title=A Naval History of World War I| publisher=Routledge| location=New York| year=1995| isbn=1857284984| oclc=60281302}} * {{cite book |last1=Gray |first1=Randal |last2=Argyle |first2=Christopher |year=1990 |title=Chronicle of the First World War |location=New York |publisher=Facts on File |isbn=978-0-8160-2595-4 |oclc=19398100}}
* {{cite book|last=Gilbert |first=Martin |title=First World War|publisher=Stoddart Publishing |year=1994|isbn=978-0-7737-2848-6}}
* {{citation| last=Harrach| first=Franz| authorlink=Harrach| title=Archduke Franz Ferdinand's Assassination, 28 June 1914: Memoir of Count Franz von Harrach| work=Primary Documents| publisher=First World War.com| accessdate=2008-02-17}}
* {{citation| last=Hartcup| first=Guy| author-link=Guy Hartcup| title=The War of Invention; Scientific Developments, 1914–18| publisher=Brassey's Defence Publishers| year=1988| isbn=0-08-033591-8 }} * {{cite book |last=Goodspeed |first=Donald James |title=The German Wars 1914–1945 |place=New York |publisher=Random House; Bonanza |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-517-46790-9}}
* {{citation| last=Havighurst| first=Alfred F| title=Britain in transition: the twentieth century| edition=4| publisher=University of Chicago Press| year=1985| isbn=9780226319711 }} * {{cite book |last=Gray |first=Randal |title=Kaiserschlacht 1918: the final German offensive |publisher=Osprey |year=1991 |isbn=978-1-85532-157-1}}
* {{cite journal |last=Green |first=John Frederick Norman |title=Obituary: Albert Ernest Kitson |journal=Geological Society Quarterly Journal |volume=94 |year=1938}}
* {{citation| last=Heer| first=Germany| title=German and Austrian Tactical Studies| year=2009| isbn=9781110765164}}
* {{citation| last=Heller| first=Charles E| title=Chemical warfare in World War I : the American experience, 1917–1918| location=Fort Leavenworth, Kansas| publisher=Combat Studies Institute| year=1984| url=http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resources/csi/Heller/HELLER.asp| oclc=123244486}} * {{cite book |last=Grotelueschen |first=Mark Ethan |title=The AEF Way of War: The American Army and Combat in World War I |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-521-86434-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Halpern |first=Paul G. |title=A Naval History of World War I |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |year=1995 |isbn=978-1-85728-498-0 |oclc=60281302}}
* {{citation| last1=Herbert|first1=Edwin| year=2003| title=Small Wars and Skirmishes 1902–1918: Early Twentieth-century Colonial Campaigns in Africa, Asia and the Americas| location=Nottingham| publisher=Foundry Books Publications| isbn=1901543056 }}
* {{cite book |title=Hammond's Frontier Atlas of the World War |publisher=C. S. Hammond & Company |date=1916 |url=https://archive.org/details/hammondsfrontier00csha/page/n4 }}
* {{citation| last=Heyman| first=Neil M| title=World War I| series=Guides to historic events of the twentieth century |publisher=Greenwood Press| location=Westport, Connecticut| year=1997| isbn=0313298807| oclc=36292837}}
* {{citation| last=Hickey| first=Michael| series=The First World War| volume=4 |title=The Mediterranean Front 1914–1923| location=New York| publisher=Routledge| year=2003| pages=60–65| isbn=0415968445| oclc=52375688}} * {{cite book |last=Harris |first=J.P. |title=Douglas Haig and the First World War |publisher=CUP|edition=2009 |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-521-89802-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Hartcup |first=Guy |author-link=Guy Hartcup |title=The War of Invention; Scientific Developments, 1914–18 |publisher=Brassey's Defence Publishers |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-08-033591-9}}
* {{citation| last=Hinterhoff| first=Eugene| title=The Campaign in Armenia| work=Marshall Cavendish Illustrated Encyclopedia of World War I| editor-last=Young| editor-first=Peter| volume=ii| publisher=Marshall Cavendish| year=1984| location=New York| isbn=0863071813}}
* {{citation| last=Hooker| first=Richard| year=1996| title=The Ottomans| url=http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/OTTOMAN/OTTOMAN1.HTM| publisher=Washington State University| accessdate=2008-12-30}} * {{cite book |last=Havighurst |first=Alfred F. |title=Britain in transition: the twentieth century|edition=4th |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-226-31971-1 }}
* {{cite journal|last=Herwig|first=Holger|title=The Failure of German Sea Power, 1914–1945: Mahan, Tirpitz, and Raeder Reconsidered|journal=The International History Review|volume=10|issue=1|year=1988|pages=68–105 |doi=10.1080/07075332.1988.9640469|jstor=40107090}}
* {{citation| last1=Hoover| first1=Herbert| last2=Wilson| first2=Woodrow| author1-link=Herbert Hoover| author2-link=Woodrow Wilson| title=Ordeal of Woodrow Wilson| year=1958| publisher=McGraw-Hill| location=New York| oclc=254607345| isbn=0943875412}}
* {{cite book |last=Heyman |first=Neil M. |title=World War I |series=Guides to historic events of the twentieth century |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport, Connecticut |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-313-29880-6 |oclc=36292837 |url=https://archive.org/details/worldwari00heym }}
* {{citation| last1=Hughes| first1=Thomas L| year=2002| title=The German Mission to Afghanistan, 1915–1916| journal=German Studies Review| volume=25| issue=3| month=October| pages=447–476| publisher=German Studies Association| issn=01497952| doi=10.2307/1432596| url=http://jstor.org/stable/1432596| jstor=10.2307/1432596 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Hinterhoff |first=Eugene |title=The Campaign in Armenia |encyclopedia=Marshall Cavendish Illustrated Encyclopedia of World War I |editor-last=Young |editor-first=Peter |volume=ii |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |year=1984 |location=New York |isbn=978-0-86307-181-2}}
* {{citation| last=Hull| first=Isabel Virginia| author-link=Isabel Virginia Hull| title=Absolute destruction: military culture and the practices of war in Imperial Germany| publisher=Cornell University Press| year=2006| isbn=9780801472930 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Holmes |first=T.M. |title=Absolute Numbers: The Schlieffen Plan as a Critique of German Strategy in 1914 |journal=] |volume=XXI |issue=2 |date=April 2014 |pages=194, 211 |issn=1477-0385}}
* {{citation| last1=Isaac| first1=Jad| last2=Hosh| first2=Leonardo| title=Roots of the Water Conflict in the Middle East| url=http://www.oranim.ac.il/courses/meast/water/Roots+of+the+Water+Conflict+in+the+Middle+East.htm| archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20060928053605/http://www.oranim.ac.il/courses/meast/water/Roots+of+the+Water+Conflict+in+the+Middle+East.htm| archivedate=2006-09-28| date=7–9 May 1992| location=]}}
* {{citation| last=Jenkins| first=Burris A| title=Facing the Hindenburg Line| publisher=BiblioBazaar| year=2009| isbn=9781110812387 }} * {{cite book|last1=Horne|first1=Alistair |title=The Price of Glory |date=1964|publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-14-017041-2|edition=1993}}
* {{cite journal |first=N.P. |last=Howard |title=The Social and Political Consequences of the Allied Food Blockade of Germany, 1918–19 |journal=German History |year=1993 |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=161–188|doi=10.1093/gh/11.2.161 }}
* {{citation| last=Johnson| first=Douglas Wilson| title=Battlefields of the World War, Western and Southern Fronts| year=1921| url=http://openlibrary.org/b/OL23383739M/Battlefields_of_the_World_War_western_and_southern_fronts| oclc=688071| publisher=Oxford University Press| location=New York| series-title=American Geographical Society Research Series No. 3| series-editor=W.L.G. Joerg| isbn=1432637398}}
* {{cite book |last=Humphries |first=Mark Osborne |chapter="Old Wine in New Bottles": A Comparison of British and Canadian Preparations for the Battle of Arras |editor-last=Hayes |editor-first=Geoffrey |editor2-last=Iarocci |editor2-first=Andrew |editor3-last=Bechthold |editor3-first=Mike |title=Vimy Ridge: A Canadian Reassessment |publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University Press |location=Waterloo |year=2007|isbn=978-0-88920-508-6}}
* {{citation| last=Johnson| first=James Edgar| author-link=Johnnie Johnson (RAF officer)| title=Full Circle: The Story of Air Fighting | year=2001| isbn=0304358606| oclc=45991828| publisher=Cassell| location=London}}
* {{cite book |last=Inglis |first=David |url=http://summit.sfu.ca/system/files/iritems1/6687/b17448906.pdf |title=Vimy Ridge: 1917–1992, A Canadian Myth over Seventy Five Years |publisher=Simon Fraser University |location=Burnaby |year=1995 |access-date=23 July 2013 |archive-date=16 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180916183818/http://summit.sfu.ca/system/files/iritems1/6687/b17448906.pdf |url-status=live }}
* {{citation| last=Jones| first=Howard| title=Crucible of Power: A History of U. S. Foreign Relations Since 1897| publisher=Scholarly Resources Books| location=Wilmington, Delaware| year=2001| isbn=0842029184| oclc=46640675}}
* {{cite book |last1=Jackson |first1=Julian |title=A Certain Idea of France: The Life of Charles de Gaulle |date=2018 |publisher=Allen Lane |isbn=978-1-84614-351-9}}
* {{citation| last=Kaplan| first=Robert D| title=Syria: Identity Crisis| url=http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/199302/kaplan| periodical=The Atlantic| year=1993| month=February| accessdate=2008-12-30}}
* {{cite journal|last=Jelavich|first=Barbara|title=Romania in the First World War: The Pre-War Crisis, 1912–1914|journal=The International History Review|year=1992|volume=14|issue=3|pages=441–451|doi=10.1080/07075332.1992.9640619|jstor=40106597}}
* {{citation| last=Karp| first=Walter| title=The Politics of War| year=1979| edition=1st| isbn=006012265X| oclc=4593327 }}, Wilson's maneuvering U.S. into war
* {{cite book |last=Jones |first=Howard |title=Crucible of Power: A History of US Foreign Relations Since 1897 |publisher=Scholarly Resources Books |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-8420-2918-6 |oclc=46640675}}
* {{citation| last=Keegan| first=John| author-link=John Keegan| title=The First World War| publisher=Hutchinson| year=1998| isbn=0091801788}}, general military history
* {{citation| last=Keene| first=Jennifer D| title=World War I| seriestitle=Daily Life Through History Series| publisher=Greenwood Press| location=Westport, Connecticut| year=2006| page=5| isbn=0313331812 |oclc=70883191}} * {{cite book |last=Karp |first=Walter |title=The Politics of War |year=1979 |publisher=Harper & Row |edition= |isbn=978-0-06-012265-2 |oclc=4593327}}
* {{citation| last=Kennedy| first=David M| year=2004| title=Over here: the First World War and American society| publisher=Oxford University Press| isbn=9780195173994}} * {{cite book |last=Keegan |first=John |author-link=John Keegan |title=The First World War |publisher=Hutchinson |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-09-180178-6}}
* {{cite book |last1=Keenan |first1=George |title=The Fateful Alliance: France, Russia and the Coming of the First World War |date=1986 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=978-0-7190-1707-0}}
* {{citation| last=Kernek| first=Sterling| date=December 1970 | title=The British Government's Reactions to President Wilson's 'Peace' Note of December 1916| journal=The Historical Journal| volume=13| issue=4| id={{jstor|2637713}} }}
* {{citation| last=Keynes| first=John Maynard| title=The Economic Consequences of the Peace| location=New York| publisher=Harcourt, Brace and Howe| year=1920| oclc=213487540| isbn=0521220955}} * {{cite book |last=Keene |first=Jennifer D |title=World War I |series=Daily Life Through History Series |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport, Connecticut |year=2006 |page=5 |isbn=978-0-313-33181-7 |oclc=70883191}}
* {{cite journal |last=Kernek |first=Sterling |date=December 1970 |title=The British Government's Reactions to President Wilson's 'Peace' Note of December 1916 |journal=The Historical Journal |volume=13 |issue=4 |jstor=2637713 |pages=721–766 |doi=10.1017/S0018246X00009481|s2cid=159979098 }}
* {{citation| last=Kitchen| first=Martin| title=Europe Between the Wars| location=New York| publisher=Longman| year=2000| origyear=1980| isbn=0582418690| oclc=247285240}}
* {{cite book |last=Kitchen |first=Martin | author-link = Martin Kitchen |title=Europe Between the Wars |location=New York |publisher=Longman |year=2000 |orig-date=1980 |isbn=978-0-582-41869-1 |oclc=247285240}}
* {{citation| editor-last=Knobler| editor-first=Stacey L| title=The Threat of Pandemic Influenza: Are We Ready? Workshop Summary| year=2005| location=Washington DC| publisher=National Academies Press| isbn=0309095042| oclc=57422232| url=http://www.nap.edu/books/0309095042/html/7.html}}
* {{cite book |title=The Threat of Pandemic Influenza: Are We Ready? Workshop Summary |year=2005 |location=Washington DC |publisher=National Academies Press |isbn=978-0-309-09504-4 |oclc=57422232 |doi=10.17226/11150 |pmid=20669448 |others=Contributors: Institute of Medicine; Board on Global Health; Forum on Microbial Threats |editor-last1=Knobler |editor-first1=S. L. |editor-last2=Mack |editor-first2=A. |editor-last3=Mahmoud |editor-first3=A. |editor-last4=Lemon |editor-first4=S. M.}}
* {{citation| last=Kurlander| first=Eric| year=2006 title=Steffen Bruendel. Volksgemeinschaft oder Volksstaat: Die "Ideen von 1914" und die Neuordnung Deutschlands im Ersten Weltkrieg| url=http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=101921145898314| publisher=H-net| format=Book review| accessdate=2009-11-17}}
* {{citation| editor1-last=Lehmann| editor1-first=Hartmut| editor2-last=van der Veer| editor2-first=Peter| title=Nation and religion: perspectives on Europe and Asia| publisher=Princeton University Press| location=Princeton, New Jersey| year=1999| isbn=0691012326| oclc=39727826}} * {{cite book |editor1-last=Lehmann |editor1-first=Hartmut |editor2-last=van der Veer |editor2-first=Peter |title=Nation and religion: perspectives on Europe and Asia |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, New Jersey |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-691-01232-2 |oclc=39727826}}
* {{cite book |last1=Lieven |first1=Dominic |title=Towards the Flame: Empire, War and the End of Tsarist Russia |date=2016 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-14-139974-4}}
* {{citation| last=Lewy| first=Guenter| title=The Armenian Massacres in Ottoman Turkey: A Disputed Genocide| location=Salt Lake City, Utah| publisher=University of Utah Press| year=2005| isbn=0874808499| oclc=61262401}}
* {{citation| last=Love| first=Dave| date=May 1996| title=The Second Battle of Ypres, April 1915| journal=Sabretasche| volume=26| issue=4| url=http://www.worldwar1.com/sf2ypres.htm}} * {{cite journal |last=Love |first=Dave |date=May 1996 |title=The Second Battle of Ypres, April 1915 |journal=Sabretache |volume=26 |issue=4 |url=http://www.worldwar1.com/sf2ypres.htm |access-date=20 November 2009 |archive-date=16 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180916183801/http://www.worldwar1.com/sf2ypres.htm |url-status=live }}
* {{citation| last=Lyons| first=Michael J| title=World War I: A Short History| edition=2nd| publisher=Prentice Hall| year=1999| isbn=0130205516}} * {{cite book|author-link=Margaret MacMillan|last=MacMillan|first=Margaret|title=The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914|publisher=Profile Books|year=2013|isbn=978-0-8129-9470-4}}
* {{cite book |last=Magliveras |first=Konstantinos D. |year=1999 |title=Exclusion from Participation in International Organisations: The Law and Practice behind Member States' Expulsion and Suspension of Membership |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers |isbn=978-90-411-1239-2}}
* {{citation| last=Ludendorff| first=Erich| authorlink=Erich Ludendorff| title=My War Memories, 1914–1918| oclc=60104290| year=1919 }} also published by Harper as "Ludendorff's Own Story, August 1914&nbsp;– November 1918: The Great War from the Siege of Liege to the Signing of the Armistice as Viewed from the Grand Headquarters of the German Army" {{OCLC|561160}} (original title ''Meine Kriegserinnerungen, 1914–1918'')
* {{cite journal |last=Marks |first=Sally |title=The Myths of Reparations |journal=] |volume=11 |issue=3 |year=1978 |pages=231–255 |doi=10.1017/S0008938900018707|s2cid=144072556 }}
* {{citation| last=Magliveras| first=Konstantinos D| year=1999| title=Exclusion from Participation in International Organisations: The Law and Practice behind Member States' Expulsion and Suspension of Membership| publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers| isbn=9041112391}}
* {{cite book |last=Martel|first=Gordon|year=2014|title=The Month that Changed the World: July 1914|publisher=OUP|isbn=978-0-19-966538-9}}
* {{citation| last=Maurice| first=Frederick Barton| authorlink=Frederick Barton Maurice| url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B02EFD6103BEE3ABC4052DFBE668383609EDE&scp=8&sq=Ludendorff+Amiens+1918&st=p| title=Foe's reserves now only 16 divisions; Allies' Counteroffensive has reduced them from 60, Gen. Maurice says Ludendorff in dilemma; he must choose between giving up offensive projects and shortening his line| newspaper=New York Times| date=18 August 1918}}
* {{cite book | last1=Marshall | first1=S. L. A. | last2=Josephy | first2=Alvin M. | title=The American heritage history of World War I | publisher=American Heritage Pub. Co. : Bonanza Books : Distributed by Crown Publishers | year=1982 | isbn=978-0-517-38555-5 | oclc=1028047398 | url=https://archive.org/details/americanheritage00mars }}
* {{citation|last=Mawdsley |first=Evan |year=2008 |title=The Russian Civil War |edition=Edinburgh |publisher=Birlinn location| isbn=1843410419 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last=McLellan |first=Edwin N. |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AMH/XX/WWI/USMC/USMC-WWI.html#XIV |title=The United States Marine Corps in the World War |access-date=26 October 2009 |archive-date=16 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180916183800/http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AMH/XX/WWI/USMC/USMC-WWI.html#XIV |url-status=live }}
* {{citation| last=McDermott| first= T. P.|url=http://www.sossi.org/journal/scouts-ww1-liberty-bonds.pdf|title=USA's Boy Scouts and World War I Liberty Loan Bonds}}
* {{cite book |last=McMeekin |first=Sean |title=July 1914: Countdown to War|year=2014|publisher=Icon Books|isbn=978-1-84831-657-7}}
* {{citation| last=McLellan| first=Edwin N| url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AMH/XX/WWI/USMC/USMC-WWI.html#XIV |title=The United States Marine Corps in the World War}}
* {{citation| last=Meyer| first=Gerald J| year=2006| title=A World Undone: The Story of the Great War 1914 to 1918| publisher=Random House| isbn=9780553803549}} * {{cite book |last=McMeekin |first=Sean |title=The Ottoman Endgame: War, Revolution and the Making of the Modern Middle East, 1908–1923 |year=2015|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-0-7181-9971-5|edition=2016}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Medlicott |first1=W.N. |title=Bismarck and the Three Emperors' Alliance, 1881–87 |journal=Transactions of the Royal Historical Society |date=1945 |volume=27 |pages=61–83 |doi=10.2307/3678575 |jstor=3678575|s2cid=154285570 }}
* {{citation| last1=Millett| first1=Allan Reed| last2=Murray| first2=Williamson| title=Military Effectiveness| location=Boston| publisher=Allen Unwin| year=1988| isbn=0044450532| oclc=220072268}}
* {{cite book |last=Meyer |first=Gerald J |year=2006 |title=A World Undone: The Story of the Great War 1914 to 1918 |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-0-553-80354-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/worldundonestory00gjme }}
* {{citation| last=Moon| first=John Ellis van Courtland| title=United States Chemical Warfare Policy in World War II: A Captive of Coalition Policy?| id={{jstor|2944522}}| journal=The Journal of Military History| volume=60| issue=3| month=July| year=1996| pages=495–511| doi=10.2307/2944522| url=http://jstor.org/stable/2944522| publisher=Society for Military History| jstor=10.2307/2944522}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Moll |first1=Kendall D |last2=Luebbert |first2=Gregory M |title=Arms Race and Military Expenditure Models: A Review |journal=The Journal of Conflict Resolution |date=1980 |volume=24 |issue=1|pages=153–185 |jstor=173938|doi=10.1177/002200278002400107 |s2cid=155405415 }}
* {{citation| last=Morton| first=Desmond| last2=Granatstein| first2=Jack L| author2-link=Jack Granatstein| title=Marching to Armageddon: Canadians and the Great War 1914–1919| year=1989| isbn=0886192099| oclc=21449019}}
* {{citation| last=Morton| first=Desmond| title=Silent Battle: Canadian Prisoners of War in Germany, 1914–1919| year=1992| location=Toronto| publisher=Lester Publishing| isbn=1895555175| oclc=29565680}} * {{cite book |last=Neiberg |first=Michael S. |author-link = Michael S. Neiberg |title=Fighting the Great War: A Global History |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-674-01696-5 |oclc=56592292}}
* {{citation| last=Mosier| first=John| title=Myth of the Great War: How the Germans Won the Battles and How the Americans Saved the Allies| year=2001| publisher=Harper Collins| location=New York| isbn=0060196769| chapter=Germany and the Development of Combined Arms Tactics}} * {{cite book |last=Northedge |first=F.S. |year=1986 |title=The League of Nations: Its Life and Times, 1920–1946 |publisher=Holmes & Meier |location=New York |isbn=978-0-7185-1316-0}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Phillimore |first1=George Grenville |last2=Bellot |first2=Hugh H.L. |title=Treatment of Prisoners of War |journal=Transactions of the Grotius Society |volume=5 |year=1919 |pages=47–64 |oclc=43267276}}
* {{citation| last=Muller| first=Jerry Z| title=Us and Them&nbsp;– The Enduring Power of Ethnic Nationalism| periodical=Foreign Affairs| publisher=]| url=http://www.foreignaffairs.com/20080301faessay87203/jerry-z-muller/us-and-them.html| year=2008| month=March/April| accessdate=2008-12-30}}
* {{citation| last=Neiberg| first=Michael S| title=Fighting the Great War: A Global History| location=Cambridge, Mass| publisher=Harvard University Press| year=2005| isbn=0674016963| oclc=56592292}} * {{cite book |last=Price |first=Alfred |title=Aircraft versus Submarine: the Evolution of the Anti-submarine Aircraft, 1912 to 1980 |publisher=Jane's Publishing |location=London |year=1980 |isbn=978-0-7106-0008-0 |oclc=10324173}} Deals with technical developments, including the first dipping ]
* {{cite journal |last=Raudzens |first=George |title=War-Winning Weapons: The Measurement of Technological Determinism in Military History |journal=The Journal of Military History |volume=54 |issue=4 |date=October 1990 |pages=403–434 |doi=10.2307/1986064 |jstor=1986064}}
* {{citation| last=Nicholson| first=Gerald WL| title=Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1914–1919: Official History of the Canadian Army in the First World War| year=1962| edition=1st |location=Ottawa| publisher=Queens Printer and Controller of Stationary| oclc=2317262| url=http://www.censol.ca/research/greatwar/nicholson/index.htm}}
* {{cite journal |last=Rickard |first=J. |date=5 March 2001 |url=http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/people_ludendorff.html |title={{sic |nolink=y|Erich von Ludendorff |expected=Erich Ludendorff}}, 1865–1937, German General |journal=Military History Encyclopedia on the Web |access-date=6 February 2008 |archive-date=10 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080110050355/http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/people_ludendorff.html |url-status=live }}
* {{citation|last=Northedge| first=FS| year=1986| title=The League of Nations: Its Life and Times, 1920–1946| publisher=Holmes & Meier| location=New York| isbn=0718513169}}
* {{cite web |last=Rickard |first=J. |date=27 August 2007 |title=The Ludendorff Offensives, 21 March–18 July 1918 |url=http://www.historyofwar.org/scripts/fluffy/fcp.pl?words=20+July+1918&d=/battles_ludendorff.html |access-date=12 September 2018 |website=historyofwar.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010071517/http://www.historyofwar.org/scripts/fluffy/fcp.pl?words=20+July+1918&d=%2Fbattles_ludendorff.html |archive-date=10 October 2017 |url-status=live }}
* {{citation| url=http://net.lib.byu.edu/estu/wwi/comment/Italy/Page04.htm| first=Thomas Nelson| last=Page| title=Italy and the World War| at=Chapter XI| publisher=Brigham Young University}} cites "Cf. articles signed XXX in ''La Revue de Deux Mondes'', March 1 and March 15, 1920"
* {{citation| last=Perry| first=Frederick W|year=1988| title=The Commonwealth armies: manpower and organisation in two world wars| publisher=Manchester University Press| isbn=9780719025952}} * {{cite book|last=Rothschild |first=Joseph |title=East-Central Europe between the Two World Wars|publisher=University of Washington Press|year=1975|isbn=978-0-295-95350-2}}
* {{cite news |last=Saadi |first=Abdul-Ilah |title=Dreaming of Greater Syria |publisher=Al Jazeera |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/arabunity/2008/02/2008525183842614205.html |date=12 February 2009 |access-date=14 August 2014 |archive-date=13 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513110319/http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/arabunity/2008/02/2008525183842614205.html |url-status=live }}
* {{citation| last1=Phillimore| first1=George Grenville| last2=Bellot| first2=Hugh HL| title=Treatment of Prisoners of War| journal=Transactions of the Grotius Society| volume=5| year=1919| pages=47–64| oclc=43267276}}
* {{cite book |last=Sachar |first=Howard Morley |title=The emergence of the Middle East, 1914–1924 |publisher=Allen Lane |year=1970 |oclc=153103197 |isbn=978-0-7139-0158-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/emergenceofmiddl0000sach }}
* {{citation| last=Pitt| first=Barrie| title=1918: The Last Act| location=Barnsley| publisher=Pen and Sword| isbn=0850529743| oclc=56468232| year=2003}}
* {{cite journal |last=Schindler |first=J. |title=Steamrollered in Galicia: The Austro-Hungarian Army and the Brusilov Offensive, 1916 |journal=War in History |volume=10 |issue=1 |year=2003 |pages=27–59 |doi=10.1191/0968344503wh260oa|s2cid=143618581 }}
* {{citation| last=Price| first=Alfred| title=Aircraft versus Submarine: the Evolution of the Anti-submarine Aircraft, 1912 to 1980| publisher=Jane's Publishing| location=London| year=1980| isbn=0710600089| oclc=10324173}} Deals with technical developments, including the first dipping hydrophones
* {{cite journal |first=John R. |last=Schindler |title=Disaster on the Drina: The Austro-Hungarian Army in Serbia, 1914 |journal=War in History |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=159–195 |year=2002 |doi=10.1191/0968344502wh250oa |s2cid=145488166 }}
* {{citation| last=Prior| first=Robin| year=1999| title=The First World War| location=London| publisher=Cassell| isbn=030435256X}}
* {{cite book |last1=Shapiro |first1=Fred R. |last2=Epstein |first2=Joseph |title=The Yale Book of Quotations |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-300-10798-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780300107982 }}
* {{citation| last=Raudzens| first=George| title=War-Winning Weapons: The Measurement of Technological Determinism in Military History| journal=The Journal of Military History| volume=54| issue=4| date=October 1990| pages=403–434| id={{jstor|1986064}}| doi=10.2307/1986064| url=http://jstor.org/stable/1986064| publisher=Society for Military History| jstor=10.2307/1986064 }}
* {{cite book |first1=David James |last1=Smith |title=One Morning in Sarajevo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GzsnSU9J5sAC |year=2010 |publisher=Hachette UK |quote=He was photographed on the way to the station and the photograph has been reproduced many times in books and articles, claiming to depict the arrest of Gavrilo Princip. But there is no photograph of Gavro's arrest—this photograph shows the arrest of Behr. |isbn=978-0-297-85608-5 |access-date=5 July 2020 |archive-date=7 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207124130/https://books.google.com/books?id=GzsnSU9J5sAC |url-status=live }}
* {{citation| last=Repington| first=Charles à Court| authorlink=Charles à Court Repington| title=The First World War, 1914–1918| year=1920| volume=2| publisher=Constable| location=London| url=http://www.archive.org/details/firstworldwar19102repiuoft| isbn=1113197641}}
* {{cite book |last=Souter |first=Gavin |title=Lion & Kangaroo: the initiation of Australia |year=2000 |publisher=Text Publishing |location=Melbourne |oclc=222801639}}
* {{citation| last=Rickard| first=J| date=5 March 2001| url=http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/people_ludendorff.html| title=Erich von Ludendorff, 1865–1937, German General| work=Military History Encyclopedia on the Web| publisher=HistoryOfWar.org| accessdate=2008-02-06}}
* {{cite web |last=Smele |first=Jonathan |title=War and Revolution in Russia 1914–1921 |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/eastern_front_01.shtml |publisher=BBC |website=World Wars in-depth |access-date=12 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111023214328/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/eastern_front_01.shtml |url-status=live |archive-date=23 October 2011 }}
* {{citation| last=Rickard| first=J| date=27 August 2007| url=http://www.historyofwar.org/scripts/fluffy/fcp.pl?words=20+July+1918&d=/battles_ludendorff.html| title=The Ludendorff Offensives, 21 March-18 July 1918}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Spreeuwenberg |first1=P |title=Reassessing the Global Mortality Burden of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic. |journal=] |volume=187|issue=12|pages=2561–2567|year=2018 |doi=10.1093/aje/kwy191 |pmid=30202996|pmc=7314216 }}
* {{citation| last=Roden| first=Mike| url=http://www.aftermathww1.com/lostgen.asp| title=The Lost Generation&nbsp;– myth and reality| work=Aftermath&nbsp;– when the boys came home| accessdate=2009-11-06}}
* {{citation| last=Ross| first=Stewart Halsey| title=Propaganda for War: How the United States was Conditioned to Fight the Great War of 1914–1918| publisher=McFarland| location=Jefferson, North Carolina| year=1996| isbn=0786401117| oclc=185807544 }} * {{cite book |last=Stevenson |first=David |title=The First World War and International Politics |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-19-873049-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Stevenson |first=David |author-link=David Stevenson (historian) |title=Armaments and the Coming of War: Europe, 1904–1914 |year=1996 |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-820208-0 |oclc=33079190}}
* {{citation| last=Saadi| first=Abdul-Ilah|title=Dreaming of Greater Syria| publisher=Al Jazeera English| url=http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/arabunity/2008/02/2008525183842614205.html | accessdate=2009-11-17}}
* {{citation| last=Sachar| first=Howard Morley| title=The emergence of the Middle East, 1914–1924| publisher=Allen Lane| year=1970| oclc=153103197| isbn=0713901586 }} * {{cite book |last=Stevenson |first=David |title=Cataclysm: The First World War as Political Tragedy |year=2004 |pages=560 |isbn=978-0-465-08184-4 |oclc=54001282 |publisher=Basic Books |location=New York}}
* {{cite book |last1=Stevenson |first1=David |title=1914–1918: The History of the First World War |date=2012 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-7181-9795-7}}
* {{citation| last=Salibi| first=Kamal Suleiman| year=1993| publisher=I.B. Tauris| chapter=How it all began&nbsp;– A concise history of Lebanon| title=A House of Many Mansions&nbsp;– the history of Lebanon reconsidered| url=http://almashriq.hiof.no/lebanon/900/902/Kamal-Salibi/| isbn=1850430918| oclc=224705916}}
* {{cite book |last1=Stevenson |first1=David |editor-last=Mahnken |editor-first=Thomas |title=Land armaments in Europe, 1866–1914 in Arms Races in International Politics: From the Nineteenth to the Twenty-First Century |date=2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-873526-7}}
* {{citation| last=Schindler| first=J| title=Steamrollered in Galicia: The Austro-Hungarian Army and the Brusilov Offensive, 1916| journal=War in History| volume=10| issue=1| year=2003| pages=27–59| doi=10.1191/0968344503wh260oa}}
* {{citation| last=Shanafelt| first=Gary W| title=The secret enemy: Austria-Hungary and the German alliance, 1914–1918| year=1985| publisher=East European Monographs| isbn=9780880330800}} * {{cite book |last=Strachan |first=Hew |author-link=Hew Strachan |title=The First World War: Volume I: To Arms |year=2003 |location=New York |publisher=Viking |isbn=978-0-670-03295-2 |oclc=53075929}}
* {{citation| last1=Shapiro| first1=Fred R| last2=Epstein| first2=Joseph| title=The Yale Book of Quotations| publisher=Yale University Press| year=2006| isbn=0300107986}} * {{cite book |last=Taliaferro |first=William Hay |title=Medicine and the War |orig-date=1944 |year=1972 |publisher=Books for Libraries Press |isbn=978-0-8369-2629-3}}
* {{cite journal |last=Taylor |first=John M. |title=Audacious Cruise of the Emden |journal=The Quarterly Journal of Military History |volume=19 |issue=4 |date=Summer 2007 |pages=38–47 |issn=0899-3718 |url=https://www.historynet.com/audacious-cruise-of-the-emden.htm |access-date=5 July 2021 |archive-date=14 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814021234/https://www.historynet.com/audacious-cruise-of-the-emden.htm |url-status=live }}
* {{citation| last=Singh| first=Jaspal| publisher=panjab.org.uk| url=http://www.panjab.org.uk/english/histGPty.html| title=History of the Ghadar Movement| accessdate=2007-10-31}}
* {{cite book |last=Thompson |first=Mark |title=The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front, 1915–1919|year=2009 |publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=978-0-571-22333-6}}
* {{citation| last=Sisemore| first=James D| year=2003| url=http://cgsc.cdmhost.com/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/p4013coll2&CISOPTR=113| title=The Russo-Japanese War, Lessons Not Learned| publisher=]}}
* {{cite book |first=Jozo |last=Tomasevich |author-link=Jozo Tomasevich |title=War and Revolution in Yugoslavia: 1941–1945 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fqUSGevFe5MC&pg=PA485 |access-date=4 December 2013 |year=2001 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-0-8047-7924-1 |archive-date=4 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104165249/http://books.google.com/books?id=fqUSGevFe5MC&pg=PA485 |url-status=live }}
* {{citation| last=Smele| first=Jonathan| title=War and Revolution in Russia 1914–1921| url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/eastern_front_01.shtml| publisher=BBC| work=World Wars in-depth| accessdate=2009-11-12}}
* {{cite journal|url=https://esirc.emporia.edu/bitstream/handle/123456789/311/136.pdf?sequence=1|title=Romania's Entry into the First World War: The Problem of Strategy|last=Torrie|first=Glenn E.|journal=Emporia State Research Studies|date=1978|volume=26|issue=4|pages=7–8|publisher=]|access-date=12 April 2022|archive-date=10 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190810055824/https://esirc.emporia.edu/bitstream/handle/123456789/311/136.pdf?sequence=1|url-status=live}}
* {{citation| last=Speed| first=Richard B, III| title=Prisoners, Diplomats and the Great War: A Study in the Diplomacy of Captivity| year=1990| location=New York| publisher=Greenwood Press| isbn=0313267294| oclc=20694547 }}
* {{cite book |last=Tschanz |first=David W. |url=http://www.entomology.montana.edu/historybug/WWI/TEF.htm |title=Typhus fever on the Eastern front in World War I |publisher=Montana State University |access-date=12 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611212917/http://entomology.montana.edu/historybug/WWI/TEF.htm |archive-date=11 June 2010 }}
* {{citation| last=Stevenson| first=David| author-link=David Stevenson (WW1 historian)| title=Armaments and the Coming of War: Europe, 1904–1914| year=1996| location=New York| publisher=Oxford University Press| isbn=0198202083| oclc=33079190 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Tucker |first1=Spencer C. |last2=Roberts |first2=Priscilla Mary |title=Encyclopedia of World War I |location=Santa Barbara |publisher=ABC-Clio |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-85109-420-2 |oclc=61247250}}
* {{citation| last=Stevenson| first=David| title=Cataclysm: The First World War As Political Tragedy| year=2004| pages=560pp| isbn=0465081843| oclc=54001282| publisher=Basic Books| location=New York}}, major reinterpretation
* {{cite book |last1=Tucker |first1=Spencer C. |last2=Wood |first2=Laura Matysek |last3=Murphy |first3=Justin D. |title=The European powers in the First World War: an encyclopedia |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=1999 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gv3GEyB19wIC |isbn=978-0-8153-3351-7 |access-date=6 June 2020 |archive-date=1 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801142143/https://books.google.com/books?id=gv3GEyB19wIC |url-status=live }}
* {{citation| last=Stevenson| first=David| title=The First World War and International Politics| year=2005| publisher=Clarendon| location=Oxford| isbn=| oclc=248297941 }}
* {{citation| last=Gilbert| first=Martin| title=First World War| publisher=Stoddart Publishing| year=1994| isbn=9780773728486 }} * {{cite book|last=Tucker|first=Spencer|title=The Great War, 1914–1918|publisher=Routledge|year=2002|isbn=978-1-134-81750-4}}
* {{cite book |last=Velikonja |first=Mitja |title=Religious Separation and Political Intolerance in Bosnia-Herzegovina |url=https://archive.org/details/religiousseparat0000veli/page/141 |year=2003 |publisher=Texas A&M University Press |isbn=978-1-58544-226-3 |page= }}
* {{citation| last=Strachan| first=Hew| authorlink=Hew Strachan| title=The First World War: Volume I: To Arms| year=2004| location=New York| publisher=Viking| isbn=0670032956| oclc=53075929 }}: the major scholarly synthesis. Thorough coverage of 1914
* {{cite book |author-link1=Edward Von der Porten |last=von der Porten |first=Edward P. |title=German Navy in World War II |url=https://archive.org/details/germannavyinworl00vond |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=T.Y. Crowell |year=1969 |oclc=164543865 |isbn=978-0-213-17961-8 }}
* {{citation| last=Stumpp| first=Karl| last2=Weins| first2=Herbert| last3=Smith| first3=Ingeborg W (trans)| year=1997| title=A People on the Move: Germans in Russia and in the Former Soviet Union: 1763–1997| orig-title=Volk auf dem Weg: Deutsche in Rußland und in der GUS: 1763–1997| publisher=North Dakota State University Libraries| url=http://lib.ndsu.nodak.edu/grhc/history_culture/history/people.html}}
* {{cite book |last=Westwell |first=Ian |title=World War I Day by Day |publisher=MBI Publishing |location=St. Paul, Minnesota |year=2004 |pages=192pp |isbn=978-0-7603-1937-6 |oclc=57533366}}
* {{citation| last=Swietochowski| first=Tadeusz| title=Russian Azerbaijan, 1905–1920: The Shaping of a National Identity in a Muslim Community| volume=42 |series-title=Cambridge Russian, Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies| publisher=Cambridge University Press| year=2004 |isbn=9780521522458}}, reviewed at {{jstor|1866737}}
* {{cite book|last1=Wheeler-Bennett|first1=John W.|title=Brest-Litovsk:The forgotten peace |date=1938 |publisher=Macmillan}}
* {{citation|last=Taylor|first=Alan John Percivale| author-link=A.J.P. Taylor|title=The First World War: An Illustrated History|publisher=Hamish Hamilton |year=1963|isbn=|oclc=2054370}}
* {{citation| last=Taylor| first=Alan John Percivale| title=The First World War and its aftermath, 1914–1919| location=London| publisher=Folio Society| oclc=49988231| year=1998| series-title=Century of Conflict, 1848–1948}} * {{cite book |last=Willmott |first=H.P. |year=2003 |title=World War I |publisher=Dorling Kindersley |isbn=978-0-7894-9627-0 |oclc=52541937}}
* {{cite book |editor-last1=Winter |editor-first1=Jay |title=The Cambridge History of the First World War |date=2014 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |edition=2016|isbn=978-1-316-60066-5 }}
* {{citation| last=Taylor| first=John M| title=Audacious Cruise of the Emden| journal=The Quarterly Journal of Military History| volume=19| issue=4| date=Summer 2007| pages=38–47| issn=0899-3718| doi=10.1353/jmh.2007.0331| doi_brokendate=2010-07-26}}
* {{citation| last=Terraine| first=John| title=Ordeal of Victory| year=1963| publisher=Lippincott| location=Philadelphia| pages=508pp| oclc=1345833| isbn= }} * {{cite book| last=Zeldin|first=Theodore|title=France, 1848–1945: Volume II: Intellect, Taste, and Anxiety|year=1977|publisher=Clarendon Press|edition=1986|isbn=978-0-19-822125-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Zieger |first=Robert H. |title=America's Great War: World War I and the American experience |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2001|isbn=978-0-8476-9645-1}}
* {{citation| last=Tschanz| first=David W| url=http://www.entomology.montana.edu/historybug/WWI/TEF.htm| title=Typhus fever on the Eastern front in World War I| publisher=Montana State University| accessdate=2009-11-12}}
* {{citation| last=Tuchman| first=Barbara Wertheim| author-link=Barbara Tuchman| title=]|location=New York| publisher=Macmillan| year=1962| isbn=| oclc=192333}}, tells of the opening diplomatic and military manoeuvres
* {{citation| last=Tuchman| first=Barbara Wertheim| title=]| location=New York| publisher=Macmillan| year=1966| edition=2nd| isbn=0026203200| oclc=233392415}}
* {{citation| last=Tucker| first=Spencer C| title=European Powers in the First World War: An Encyclopedia| year=1999| edition=| isbn=081533351X| oclc=40417794 }}
* {{citation| last=Tucker| first=Spencer C| last2=Roberts| first2=Priscilla Mary| title=Encyclopedia of World War I| location=Santa Barbara| publisher=ABC-Clio| year=2005| edition=| isbn=1851094202| oclc=61247250}}
* {{citation| last=Tucker| first=Spencer C| last2=Wood| first2=Laura Matysek| last3=Murphy| first3=Justin D| title=The European powers in the First World War: an encyclopedia| publisher=Taylor & Francis| year=1999| isbn=9780815333517}}
* {{citation| last=von der Porten| first=Edward P| title=German Navy in World War II| location=New York| publisher=T. Y. Crowell| year=1969| oclc=164543865| isbn=021317961X}}
* {{citation| last=Westwell| first=Ian| title=World War I Day by Day| publisher=MBI Publishing| location=St. Paul, Minnesota| year=2004| pages=192pp| isbn=0760319375| oclc=57533366}}
* {{citation| last=Wiggin| first=Addision| title=Bretton Woods agreement| work=The Daily Reckoning| publisher=Port Phillip Publishing| date=29 November 2006| url=www.dailyreckoning.com.au/bretton-woods-agreement/2006/11/29/}}
* {{citation| last=Wilgus| first=William John| title=Transporting the A. E. F. in Western Europe, 1917–1919| location=New York| publisher=Columbia University Press| year=1931| oclc=1161730}}
* {{citation| last=Willmott| first=H.P.| year=2003| title=World War I| location=New York| publisher=Dorling Kindersley| isbn=0789496275| oclc=52541937}}
* {{citation| last=Winegard| first=Timothy| title=Here at Vimy: A Retrospective&nbsp;– The 90th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge| journal=Canadian Military Journal| volume=8| issue=2| url=http://www.journal.forces.gc.ca/vo8/no2/winegard-eng.asp}}
* {{citation| last=Winter| first=Denis| title=The First of the Few: Fighter Pilots of the First World War| year=1983| publisher=Penguin| isbn=9780140052565}}
* {{citation| last=Wohl| first=Robert| title=The Generation of 1914| edition=3| year=1979| publisher=Harvard University Press| isbn=9780674344662}}
* {{citation| last=Zieger| first=Robert H| title=America's Great War: World War I and the American experience| publisher=Rowman & Littlefield| location=Lanham, Maryland| year=2001| page=50| isbn=0847696456}}
* {{citation| periodical=The Economist| title=Country Briefings: Israel| date=28 July 2005| url=http://www.economist.com/countries/Israel/profile.cfm?folder=History%20in%20brief| accessdate=2008-12-30}}
* {{citation| author=Israeli Foreign Ministry| title=Ottoman Rule| publisher=Jewish Virtual Library| url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Ottoman.html| accessdate=2008-12-30}}
{{Refend}} {{Refend}}


==External links== == External links ==
{{Spoken Misplaced Pages-3|2006-06-24|World_War_I_(part_1).ogg|World_War_I_(part_2).ogg|World_War_I_(part_3).ogg}} {{Spoken Misplaced Pages|date=24 June 2006 |World War I (part 1).ogg |World War I (part 2).ogg |World War I (part 3).ogg}}
{{Wikisource|Wikisource:World War I|World War I}} {{Sister project links|voy=World War I|World War I}}
===Archival materials===
{{commons cat}}
* from World War I Document Archive
*
* , from Brigham Young U.
* Online film archive containing extensive coverage of World War I
*
*
* from the UK Parliamentary Collections
* ''BBC News'' 10 November 1998
*
*
* European Newspapers from the and the
*
* on the European Film Gateway
* Royal Engineers and the First World War
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324234810/http://www.britishpathe.com/workspaces/page/ww1-the-definitive-collection |date=24 March 2019 }}
* , Washington State Library and Washington State Archives
* – A sampling of images distributed by the British government during the war to diplomats overseas, from the UBC Library Digital Collections
* Wiki, Brigham Young University
* , Veterans History Project, ]
* &nbsp;– Images of all sections of the military cemetery and allied forces burial plots and memorials.
* {{--}} A collection of WWI Pamphlets 1913-1920 contributed by ], available online on ]
*
=== Library guides ===
*
*
*
*
*, a Canadian Lieutenant in WWI (from the (virtual book)
*
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605065400/http://libraries.iub.edu/guide-world-war-i-resources |date=5 June 2015 }}
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405020007/http://guides.nyu.edu/content.php?pid=568692 |date=5 April 2015 }}
*
*


===Animated maps===
*
*
*
{{World War I}} {{World War I}}
{{WWI history by nation}}
{{American conflicts}}
{{Balkan Wars}}
]
{{Great Power diplomacy}}
{{Western world}}
{{Eastern world}}
{{Authority control}}

]<!--Please leave the empty space as standard.-->
]
] ]
] ]
] ]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
]
] ]
] ]
]
] ]
] ]
Line 845: Line 795:
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
]
] ]
]
] ]
]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
]
] ]
] ]
]
]
] ]
] ]
] ]
]
]
] ]
]
] ]
]
] ]
] ]
] ]
]

{{Link GA|zh}}
{{Link FA|ast}}
{{Link FA|de}}
{{Link FA|eo}}
{{Link FA|ka}}
{{Link FA|krc}}
{{Link FA|sw}}
{{Link FA|vi}}

]

]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 09:38, 11 January 2025

1914–1918 global conflict 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
From top to bottom, left to right:
Date28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918
(4 years, 3 months and 14 days)
Location
Result Allied Powers victory (see Aftermath of World War I)
Territorial
changes
Belligerents
Allied Powers:  and Empire: and others ... Central Powers: and others ...
Commanders and leaders
See Main Allied leaders See Main Central leaders
Casualties and losses
  • Military dead:
  • Over 5,525,000
  • Civilian dead:
  • Over 4,000,000
  • Total dead:
  • Over 9,000,000
  • ...further details
  • Military dead:
  • Over 4,386,000
  • Civilian dead:
  • Over 3,700,000
  • Total dead:
  • Over 8,000,000
  • ...further details
Theatres of World War I
Europe
Middle East
Africa
Asia-Pacific
Naval theatres

World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, 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 in parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific, and in Europe was characterised by trench warfare; the widespread use of artillery, machine guns, and chemical weapons (gas); and the introductions of tanks and aircraft. World War I was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, resulting in an estimated 10 million military dead and more than 20 million wounded, plus some 10 million civilian dead from causes including genocide. The movement of large numbers of people was a major factor in the deadly Spanish flu pandemic.

The causes of World War I included the rise of Germany and decline of the Ottoman Empire, which disturbed the long-standing balance of power in Europe, as well as economic competition between nations triggered by 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. After Russia mobilised in Serbia's defence, Germany declared war on Russia and France, who had an alliance. The United Kingdom entered after Germany invaded Belgium, whose neutrality it guaranteed, and the Ottomans joined the Central Powers in November. Germany's strategy in 1914 was to quickly defeat France, then to transfer its forces to the east, but its advance was halted in September, 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 gained a decisive advantage, despite costly offensives. 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, and 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 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 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

Before World War II, the events of 1914–1918 were generally known as the Great War or simply the World War. In August 1914, the magazine The Independent wrote "This is the Great War. It names itself". In October 1914, the Canadian magazine Maclean's similarly wrote, "Some wars name themselves. This is the Great War." Contemporary Europeans also referred to it as "the war to end war" and it was also described as "the war to end all wars" due to their perception of its unparalleled scale, devastation, and loss of life. The first recorded use of the term First World War was in September 1914 by German biologist and philosopher Ernst Haeckel who stated, "There is no doubt that the course and character of the feared 'European War' ... will become the first world war in the full sense of the word."

Background

Main article: Causes of World War I

Political and military alliances

Map of Europe focusing on Austria-Hungary and marking the central location of ethnic groups in it including Slovaks, Czechs, Slovenes, Croats, Serbs, Romanians, Ukrainians, Poles.
Rival military coalitions in 1914:   Triple Entente  Triple Alliance

For much of the 19th century, the major European powers maintained a tenuous balance of power, known as the Concert of Europe. After 1848, this was challenged by Britain's withdrawal into so-called splendid isolation, the decline of the Ottoman Empire, New Imperialism, and the rise of Prussia under Otto von Bismarck. Victory in the 1870–1871 Franco-Prussian War allowed Bismarck to consolidate a German Empire. Post-1871, the primary aim of French policy was to avenge this defeat, but by the early 1890s, this had switched to the expansion of the French colonial empire.

In 1873, Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors, which included Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Germany. After the 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War, the League was dissolved due to Austrian concerns over the expansion of Russian influence in the Balkans, an area they considered to be of vital strategic interest. Germany and Austria-Hungary then formed the 1879 Dual Alliance, which became the Triple Alliance when Italy joined in 1882. For Bismarck, the purpose of these agreements was to isolate France by ensuring the three empires resolved any disputes between themselves. In 1887, Bismarck set up the Reinsurance Treaty, a secret agreement between Germany and Russia to remain neutral if either were attacked by France or Austria-Hungary.

World empires and colonies c. 1914

For Bismarck, peace with Russia was the foundation of German foreign policy, but in 1890, he was forced to retire by Wilhelm II. The latter was persuaded not to renew the Reinsurance Treaty by his new Chancellor, Leo von Caprivi. This gave France an opening to agree to the Franco-Russian Alliance in 1894, which was then followed by the 1904 Entente Cordiale with Britain. The Triple Entente was completed by the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention. While not formal alliances, by settling longstanding colonial disputes in Asia and Africa, British support for France or Russia in any future conflict became a possibility. This was accentuated by British and Russian support for France against Germany during the 1911 Agadir Crisis.

Arms race

SMS Rheinland, a Nassau-class battleship, Germany's first response to the British Dreadnought, 1910

German economic and industrial strength continued to expand rapidly post-1871. Backed by Wilhelm II, Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz sought to use this growth to build an Imperial German Navy, that could compete with the British Royal Navy. This policy was based on the work of US naval author Alfred Thayer Mahan, who argued that possession of a blue-water navy was vital for global power projection; Tirpitz had his books translated into German, while Wilhelm made them required reading for his advisors and senior military personnel.

However, it was also an emotional decision, driven by Wilhelm's simultaneous admiration for the Royal Navy and desire to surpass it. Bismarck thought that the British would not interfere in Europe, as long as its maritime supremacy remained secure, but his dismissal in 1890 led to a change in policy and an Anglo-German naval arms race began. Despite the vast sums spent by Tirpitz, the launch of HMS Dreadnought in 1906 gave the British a technological advantage. Ultimately, the race diverted huge resources into creating a German navy large enough to antagonise Britain, but not defeat it; in 1911, Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg acknowledged defeat, leading to the Rüstungswende or 'armaments turning point', when he switched expenditure from the navy to the army.

This decision was not driven by a reduction in political tensions but by German concern over Russia's quick recovery from its defeat in the Russo-Japanese War and subsequent 1905 Russian Revolution. Economic reforms led to a significant post-1908 expansion of railways and transportation infrastructure, particularly in its western border regions. Since Germany and Austria-Hungary relied on faster mobilisation to compensate for their numerical inferiority compared to Russia, the threat posed by the closing of this gap was more important than competing with the Royal Navy. After Germany expanded its standing army by 170,000 troops in 1913, France extended compulsory military service from two to three years; similar measures were taken by the Balkan powers and Italy, which led to increased expenditure by the Ottomans and Austria-Hungary. Absolute figures are difficult to calculate due to differences in categorising expenditure since they often omit civilian infrastructure projects like railways which had logistical importance and military use. It is known, however, that from 1908 to 1913, military spending by the six major European powers increased by over 50% in real terms.

Conflicts in the Balkans

Ethno-linguistic map of Austria-Hungary, 1910. Bosnia-Herzegovina was annexed in 1908.
Photo of large white building with one sign saying "Moritz Schiller" and another in Arabic; in front is a cluster of people looking at a poster on the wall.
Sarajevo citizens reading a poster with the proclamation of the Austrian annexation in 1908

The years before 1914 were marked by a series of crises in the Balkans, as other powers sought to benefit from the Ottoman decline. While Pan-Slavic and Orthodox Russia considered itself the protector of Serbia and other Slav states, they preferred the strategically vital Bosporus straits to be controlled by a weak Ottoman government, rather than an ambitious Slav power like Bulgaria. Russia had ambitions in northeastern Anatolia while its clients had overlapping claims in the Balkans. These competing interests divided Russian policy-makers and added to regional instability.

Austrian statesmen viewed the Balkans as essential for the continued existence of their Empire and saw Serbian expansion as a direct threat. The 1908–1909 Bosnian Crisis began when Austria annexed the former Ottoman territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which it had occupied since 1878. Timed to coincide with the Bulgarian Declaration of Independence from the Ottoman Empire, this unilateral action was denounced by the European powers, but accepted as there was no consensus on how to resolve the situation. Some historians see this as a significant escalation, ending any chance of Austria cooperating with Russia in the Balkans, while also damaging diplomatic relations between Serbia and Italy.

Tensions increased after the 1911–1912 Italo-Turkish War demonstrated Ottoman weakness and led to the formation of the Balkan League, an alliance of Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Greece. The League quickly overran most of the Ottomans' territory in the Balkans during the 1912–1913 First Balkan War, much to the surprise of outside observers. The Serbian capture of ports on the Adriatic resulted in partial Austrian mobilisation, starting on 21 November 1912, including units along the Russian border in Galicia. The Russian government decided not to mobilise in response, unprepared to precipitate a war.

The Great Powers sought to re-assert control through the 1913 Treaty of London, which had created an independent Albania while enlarging the territories of Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and Greece. However, disputes between the victors sparked the 33-day Second Balkan War, when Bulgaria attacked Serbia and Greece on 16 June 1913; it was defeated, losing most of Macedonia to Serbia and Greece, and Southern Dobruja to Romania. The result was that even countries which benefited from the Balkan Wars, such as Serbia and Greece, felt cheated of their "rightful gains", while for Austria it demonstrated the apparent indifference with which other powers viewed their concerns, including Germany. This complex mix of resentment, nationalism and insecurity helps explain why the pre-1914 Balkans became known as the "powder keg of Europe".

Prelude

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of World War I.

Sarajevo assassination

Main article: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Traditionally thought to show the arrest of Gavrilo Princip (right), this photo is now believed by historians to depict an innocent bystander, Ferdinand Behr on 28 June 1914.

On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, visited Sarajevo, the capital of the recently annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina. Cvjetko Popović, Gavrilo Princip, Nedeljko Čabrinović, Trifko Grabež, Vaso Čubrilović (Bosnian Serbs) and Muhamed Mehmedbašić (from the Bosniaks community), from the movement known as Young Bosnia, took up positions along the Archduke's motorcade route, to assassinate him. Supplied with arms by extremists within the Serbian Black Hand intelligence organisation, they hoped his death would free Bosnia from Austrian rule.

Čabrinović threw a grenade at the Archduke's car and injured two of his aides. The other assassins were also unsuccessful. An hour later, as Ferdinand was returning from visiting the injured officers in hospital, his car took a wrong turn into a street where Gavrilo Princip was standing. He fired two pistol shots, fatally wounding Ferdinand and his wife Sophie.

According to historian Zbyněk Zeman, in Vienna "the event almost failed to make any impression whatsoever. On 28 and 29 June, the crowds listened to music and drank wine, as if nothing had happened." Nevertheless, the impact of the murder of the heir to the throne was significant, and has been described by historian Christopher Clark as a "9/11 effect, a terrorist event charged with historic meaning, transforming the political chemistry in Vienna".

Expansion of violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Crowds on the streets in the aftermath of the anti-Serb riots in Sarajevo, 29 June 1914

Austro-Hungarian authorities encouraged subsequent anti-Serb riots in Sarajevo. Violent actions against ethnic Serbs were also organised outside Sarajevo, in other cities in Austro-Hungarian-controlled Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia. Austro-Hungarian authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina imprisoned approximately 5,500 prominent Serbs, 700 to 2,200 of whom died in prison. A further 460 Serbs were sentenced to death. A predominantly Bosniak special militia known as the Schutzkorps was established, and carried out the persecution of Serbs.

July Crisis

Main article: July Crisis See also: German entry into World War I, Austro-Hungarian entry into World War I, and Russian entry into World War I
Cheering crowds in London and Paris on the day war was declared.

The assassination initiated the July Crisis, a month of diplomatic manoeuvring between Austria-Hungary, Germany, Russia, France and Britain. Believing that Serbian intelligence helped organise Franz Ferdinand's murder, Austrian officials wanted to use the opportunity to end their interference in Bosnia and saw war as the best way of achieving this. However, the Foreign Ministry had no solid proof of Serbian involvement. On 23 July, Austria delivered an ultimatum to Serbia, listing ten demands made intentionally unacceptable to provide an excuse for starting hostilities.

Serbia ordered general mobilization on 25 July, but accepted all the terms, except for those empowering Austrian representatives to suppress "subversive elements" inside Serbia, and take part in the investigation and trial of Serbians linked to the assassination. Claiming this amounted to rejection, Austria broke off diplomatic relations and ordered partial mobilisation the next day; on 28 July, they declared war on Serbia and began shelling Belgrade. Russia ordered general mobilization in support of Serbia on 30 July.

Anxious to ensure backing from the SPD political opposition by presenting Russia as the aggressor, German Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg delayed the commencement of war preparations until 31 July. That afternoon, the Russian government were handed a note requiring them to "cease all war measures against Germany and Austria-Hungary" within 12 hours. A further German demand for neutrality was refused by the French who ordered general mobilization but delayed declaring war. The German General Staff had long assumed they faced a war on two fronts; the Schlieffen Plan envisaged using 80% of the army to defeat France, then switching to Russia. Since this required them to move quickly, mobilization orders were issued that afternoon. Once the German ultimatum to Russia expired on the morning of 1 August, the two countries were at war.

At a meeting on 29 July, the British cabinet had narrowly decided its obligations to Belgium under the 1839 Treaty of London did not require it to oppose a German invasion with military force; however, Prime Minister Asquith and his senior Cabinet ministers were already committed to supporting France, the Royal Navy had been mobilised, and public opinion was strongly in favour of intervention. On 31 July, Britain sent notes to Germany and France, asking them to respect Belgian neutrality; France pledged to do so, but Germany did not reply. Aware of German plans to attack through Belgium, French Commander-in-Chief Joseph Joffre asked his government for permission to cross the border and pre-empt such a move. To avoid violating Belgian neutrality, he was told any advance could come only after a German invasion. Instead, the French cabinet ordered its Army to withdraw 10 km behind the German frontier, to avoid provoking war. On 2 August, Germany occupied Luxembourg and exchanged fire with French units when German patrols entered French territory; on 3 August, they declared war on France and demanded free passage across Belgium, which was refused. Early on the morning of 4 August, the Germans invaded, and Albert I of Belgium called for assistance under the Treaty of London. Britain sent Germany an ultimatum demanding they withdraw from Belgium; when this expired at midnight, without a response, the two empires were at war.

Progress of the war

Further information: Diplomatic history of World War I

Opening hostilities

Confusion among the Central Powers

Germany promised to support Austria-Hungary's invasion of Serbia, but interpretations of what this meant differed. Previously tested deployment plans had been replaced early in 1914, but those had never been tested in exercises. Austro-Hungarian leaders believed Germany would cover its northern flank against Russia.

Serbian campaign

Main article: Serbian campaign
Serbian Army Blériot XI "Oluj", 1915

Beginning on 12 August, the Austrians and Serbs clashed at the battles of the Cer and Kolubara; over the next two weeks, Austrian attacks were repulsed with heavy losses. As a result, Austria had to keep sizeable forces on the Serbian front, weakening their efforts against Russia. Serbia's victory against Austria-Hungary in the 1914 invasion has been called one of the major upset victories of the twentieth century. In 1915, the campaign saw the first use of anti-aircraft warfare after an Austrian plane was shot down with ground-to-air fire, as well as the first medical evacuation by the Serbian army.

German offensive in Belgium and France

Main article: Great Retreat
German soldiers on the way to the front in 1914; at this stage, all sides expected the conflict to be a short one.

Upon mobilisation, in accordance with the Schlieffen Plan, 80% of the German Army was located on the Western Front, with the remainder acting as a screening force in the East. Rather than a direct attack across their shared frontier, the German right wing would sweep through the Netherlands and Belgium, then swing south, encircling Paris and trapping the French army against the Swiss border. The plan's creator, Alfred von Schlieffen, head of the German General Staff from 1891 to 1906, estimated that this would take six weeks, after which the German army would transfer to the East and defeat the Russians.

The plan was substantially modified by his successor, Helmuth von Moltke the Younger. Under Schlieffen, 85% of German forces in the west were assigned to the right wing, with the remainder holding along the frontier. By keeping his left-wing deliberately weak, he hoped to lure the French into an offensive into the "lost provinces" of Alsace-Lorraine, which was the strategy envisaged by their Plan XVII. However, Moltke grew concerned that the French might push too hard on his left flank and as the German Army increased in size from 1908 to 1914, he changed the allocation of forces between the two wings to 70:30. He also considered Dutch neutrality essential for German trade and cancelled the incursion into the Netherlands, which meant any delays in Belgium threatened the viability of the plan. Historian Richard Holmes argues that these changes meant the right wing was not strong enough to achieve decisive success.

French bayonet charge during the Battle of the Frontiers; by the end of August, French casualties exceeded 260,000, including 75,000 dead.

The initial German advance in the West was very successful. By the end of August, the Allied left, which included the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), was in full retreat, and the French offensive in Alsace-Lorraine was a disastrous failure, with casualties exceeding 260,000. German planning provided broad strategic instructions while allowing army commanders considerable freedom in carrying them out at the front, but von Kluck used this freedom to disobey orders, opening a gap between the German armies as they closed on Paris. The French army, reinforced by the British expeditionary corps, seized this opportunity to counter-attack and pushed the German army 40 to 80 km back. Both armies were then so exhausted that no decisive move could be implemented, so they settled in trenches, with the vain hope of breaking through as soon as they could build local superiority.

In 1911, the Russian Stavka agreed with the French to attack Germany within fifteen days of mobilisation, ten days before the Germans had anticipated, although it meant the two Russian armies that entered East Prussia on 17 August did so without many of their support elements.

By the end of 1914, German troops held strong defensive positions inside France, controlled the bulk of France's domestic coalfields, and inflicted 230,000 more casualties than it lost itself. However, communications problems and questionable command decisions cost Germany the chance of a decisive outcome, while it had failed to achieve the primary objective of avoiding a long, two-front war. As was apparent to several German leaders, this amounted to a strategic defeat; shortly after the First Battle of the Marne, Crown Prince Wilhelm told an American reporter "We have lost the war. It will go on for a long time but lost it is already."

Asia and the Pacific

Main article: Asian and Pacific theatre of World War I
Japanese soldiers occupy a captured German trench during the Siege of Tsingtao, 1914

On 30 August 1914, New Zealand occupied German Samoa (now Samoa). On 11 September, the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force landed on the island of New Britain, then part of German New Guinea. On 28 October, the German cruiser SMS Emden sank the Russian cruiser Zhemchug in the Battle of Penang. Japan declared war on Germany before seizing territories in the Pacific, which later became the South Seas Mandate, as well as German Treaty ports on the Chinese Shandong peninsula at Tsingtao. After Vienna refused to withdraw its cruiser SMS Kaiserin Elisabeth from Tsingtao, Japan declared war on Austria-Hungary, and the ship was sunk in November 1914. Within a few months, Allied forces had seized all German territories in the Pacific, leaving only isolated commerce raiders and a few holdouts in New Guinea.

African campaigns

Main article: African theatre of World War I
British artillery in Kamerun, 1915.

Some of the first clashes of the war involved British, French, and German colonial forces in Africa. On 6–7 August, French and British troops invaded the German protectorates of Togoland and Kamerun. On 10 August, German forces in South-West Africa attacked South Africa; sporadic and fierce fighting continued for the rest of the war. The German colonial forces in German East Africa, led by Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, fought a guerrilla warfare campaign and only surrendered two weeks after the armistice took effect in Europe.

Indian support for the Allies

Main article: Indian Army during World War I Further information: Hindu–German Conspiracy, Niedermayer–Hentig Expedition, and Third Anglo-Afghan War
British Indian Army infantry divisions in France; these troops were withdrawn in December 1915, and served in the Mesopotamian campaign.

Before the war, Germany had attempted to use Indian nationalism and pan-Islamism to its advantage, a policy continued post-1914 by instigating uprisings in India, while the Niedermayer–Hentig Expedition urged Afghanistan to join the war on the side of Central Powers. However, contrary to British fears of a revolt in India, the outbreak of the war saw a reduction in nationalist activity. Leaders from the Indian National Congress and other groups believed support for the British war effort would hasten Indian Home Rule, a promise allegedly made explicit in 1917 by Edwin Montagu, the Secretary of State for India.

In 1914, the British Indian Army was larger than the British Army itself, and between 1914 and 1918 an estimated 1.3 million Indian soldiers and labourers served in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. In all, 140,000 soldiers served on the Western Front and nearly 700,000 in the Middle East, with 47,746 killed and 65,126 wounded. The suffering engendered by the war, as well as the failure of the British government to grant self-government to India afterward, bred disillusionment, resulting in the campaign for full independence led by Mahatma Gandhi.

Western Front

Main article: Western Front (World War I)

Trench warfare begins

British Indian soldiers digging trenches in Laventie, France, 1915

Pre-war military tactics that had emphasised open warfare and individual riflemen proved obsolete when confronted with conditions prevailing in 1914. Technological advances allowed the creation of strong defensive systems largely impervious to massed infantry advances, such as barbed wire, machine guns and above all far more powerful artillery, which dominated the battlefield and made crossing open ground extremely difficult. Both sides struggled to develop tactics for breaching entrenched positions without heavy casualties. In time, technology enabled the production of new offensive weapons, such as gas warfare and the tank.

After the First Battle of the Marne in September 1914, Allied and German forces unsuccessfully tried to outflank each other, a series of manoeuvres later known as the "Race to the Sea". By the end of 1914, the opposing forces confronted each other along an uninterrupted line of entrenched positions from the Channel to the Swiss border. Since the Germans were normally able to choose where to stand, they generally held the high ground, while their trenches tended to be better built; those constructed by the French and English were initially considered "temporary", only needed until an offensive would destroy the German defences. Both sides tried to break the stalemate using scientific and technological advances. On 22 April 1915, at the Second Battle of Ypres, the Germans (violating the Hague Convention) used chlorine gas for the first time on the Western Front. Several types of gas soon became widely used by both sides and though it never proved a decisive, battle-winning weapon, it became one of the most feared and best-remembered horrors of the war.

Continuation of trench warfare

German casualties at the Somme, 1916

In February 1916, the Germans attacked French defensive positions at the Battle of Verdun, lasting until December 1916. Casualties were greater for the French, but the Germans bled heavily as well, with anywhere from 700,000 to 975,000 casualties between the two combatants. Verdun became a symbol of French determination and self-sacrifice.

The Battle of the Somme was an Anglo-French offensive from July to November 1916. The opening day on 1 July 1916 was the bloodiest single day in the history of the British Army, which suffered 57,500 casualties, including 19,200 dead. As a whole, the Somme offensive led to an estimated 420,000 British casualties, along with 200,000 French and 500,000 Germans. The diseases that emerged in the trenches were a major killer on both sides. The living conditions led to disease and infection, such as trench foot, lice, typhus, trench fever, and the 'Spanish flu'.

Naval war

Main article: Naval warfare of World War I
Battleships of the Hochseeflotte, 1917

At the start of the war, German cruisers were scattered across the globe, some of which were subsequently used to attack Allied merchant shipping. These were systematically hunted down by the Royal Navy, though not before causing considerable damage. One of the most successful was the SMS Emden, part of the German East Asia Squadron stationed at Qingdao, which seized or sank 15 merchantmen, a Russian cruiser and a French destroyer. Most of the squadron was returning to Germany when it sank two British armoured cruisers at the Battle of Coronel in November 1914, before being virtually destroyed at the Battle of the Falkland Islands in December. The SMS Dresden escaped with a few auxiliaries, but after the Battle of Más a Tierra, these too were either destroyed or interned.

Soon after the outbreak of hostilities, Britain began a naval blockade of Germany. This proved effective in cutting off vital supplies, though it violated accepted international law. Britain also mined international waters which closed off entire sections of the ocean, even to neutral ships. Since there was limited response to this tactic, Germany expected a similar response to its unrestricted submarine warfare.

The Battle of Jutland in May/June 1916 was the only full-scale clash of battleships during the war, and one of the largest in history. The clash was indecisive, though the Germans inflicted more damage than they received; thereafter the bulk of the German High Seas Fleet was confined to port.

U-155 exhibited near Tower Bridge in London, after the 1918 Armistice

German U-boats attempted to cut the supply lines between North America and Britain. The nature of submarine warfare meant that attacks often came without warning, giving the crews of the merchant ships little hope of survival. The United States launched a protest, and Germany changed its rules of engagement. After the sinking of the passenger ship RMS Lusitania in 1915, Germany promised not to target passenger liners, while Britain armed its merchant ships, placing them beyond the protection of the "cruiser rules", which demanded warning and movement of crews to "a place of safety" (a standard that lifeboats did not meet). Finally, in early 1917, Germany adopted a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, realising the Americans would eventually enter the war. Germany sought to strangle Allied sea lanes before the United States could transport a large army overseas, but, after initial successes, eventually failed to do so.

The U-boat threat lessened in 1917, when merchant ships began travelling in convoys, escorted by destroyers. This tactic made it difficult for U-boats to find targets, which significantly lessened losses; after the hydrophone and depth charges were introduced, destroyers could potentially successfully attack a submerged submarine. Convoys slowed the flow of supplies since ships had to wait as convoys were assembled; the solution was an extensive program of building new freighters. Troopships were too fast for the submarines and did not travel the North Atlantic in convoys. The U-boats sunk more than 5,000 Allied ships, at the cost of 199 submarines.

World War I also saw the first use of aircraft carriers in combat, with HMS Furious launching Sopwith Camels in a successful raid against the Zeppelin hangars at Tondern in July 1918, as well as blimps for antisubmarine patrol.

Southern theatres

War in the Balkans

Main articles: Balkans theatre, Bulgaria during World War I, Serbian campaign, and Macedonian front
Refugee transport from Serbia in Leibnitz, Styria, 1914

Faced with Russia in the east, Austria-Hungary could spare only one-third of its army to attack Serbia. After suffering heavy losses, the Austrians briefly occupied the Serbian capital, Belgrade. A Serbian counter-attack in the Battle of Kolubara succeeded in driving them from the country by the end of 1914. For the first 10 months of 1915, Austria-Hungary used most of its military reserves to fight Italy. German and Austro-Hungarian diplomats scored a coup by persuading Bulgaria to join the attack on Serbia. The Austro-Hungarian provinces of Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia provided troops for Austria-Hungary. Montenegro allied itself with Serbia.

Bulgarian soldiers in a trench, preparing to fire against an incoming aeroplane

Bulgaria declared war on Serbia on 14 October 1915 and joined in the attack by the Austro-Hungarian army under Mackensen's army of 250,000 that was already underway. Serbia was conquered in a little more than a month, as the Central Powers, now including Bulgaria, sent in 600,000 troops in total. The Serbian army, fighting on two fronts and facing certain defeat, retreated into northern Albania. The Serbs suffered defeat in the Battle of Kosovo. Montenegro covered the Serbian retreat toward the Adriatic coast in the Battle of Mojkovac on 6–7 January 1916, but ultimately the Austrians also conquered Montenegro. The surviving Serbian soldiers were evacuated to Greece. After the conquest, Serbia was divided between Austro-Hungary and Bulgaria.

In late 1915, a Franco-British force landed at Salonica in Greece to offer assistance and to pressure its government to declare war against the Central Powers. However, the pro-German King Constantine I dismissed the pro-Allied government of Eleftherios Venizelos before the Allied expeditionary force arrived.

The Macedonian front was at first mostly static. French and Serbian forces retook limited areas of Macedonia by recapturing Bitola on 19 November 1916 following the costly Monastir offensive, which brought stabilisation of the front.

Austro-Hungarian troops executing captured Serbians, 1917. Serbia lost about 850,000 people during the war, a quarter of its pre-war population.

Serbian and French troops finally made a breakthrough in September 1918 in the Vardar offensive, after most German and Austro-Hungarian troops had been withdrawn. The Bulgarians were defeated at the Battle of Dobro Pole, and by 25 September British and French troops had crossed the border into Bulgaria proper as the Bulgarian army collapsed. Bulgaria capitulated four days later, on 29 September 1918. The German high command responded by despatching troops to hold the line, but these forces were too weak to re-establish a front.

The disappearance of the Macedonian front meant that the road to Budapest and Vienna was now opened to Allied forces. Hindenburg and Ludendorff concluded that the strategic and operational balance had now shifted decidedly against the Central Powers and, a day after the Bulgarian collapse, insisted on an immediate peace settlement.

Ottoman Empire

Main article: Ottoman Empire in World War I See also: Middle Eastern theatre of World War I
Australian troops charging near a Turkish trench during the Gallipoli campaign

The Ottomans threatened Russia's Caucasian territories and Britain's communications with India via the Suez Canal. The Ottoman Empire took advantage of the European powers' preoccupation with the war and conducted large-scale ethnic cleansing of the Armenian, Greek, and Assyrian Christian populations—the Armenian genocide, Greek genocide, and Sayfo respectively.

The British and French opened overseas fronts with the Gallipoli (1915) and Mesopotamian campaigns (1914). In Gallipoli, the Ottoman Empire successfully repelled the British, French, and Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs). In Mesopotamia, by contrast, after the defeat of the British defenders in the siege of Kut by the Ottomans (1915–1916), British Imperial forces reorganised and captured Baghdad in March 1917. The British were aided in Mesopotamia by local Arab and Assyrian fighters, while the Ottomans employed local Kurdish and Turcoman tribes.

The Suez Canal was defended from Ottoman attacks in 1915 and 1916; in August 1916, a German and Ottoman force was defeated at the Battle of Romani by the ANZAC Mounted Division and the 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division. Following this victory, an Egyptian Expeditionary Force advanced across the Sinai Peninsula, pushing Ottoman forces back in the Battle of Magdhaba in December and the Battle of Rafa on the border between the Egyptian Sinai and Ottoman Palestine in January 1917.

Russian forest trench at the Battle of Sarikamish, 1914–1915

Russian armies generally had success in the Caucasus campaign. Enver Pasha, supreme commander of the Ottoman armed forces, dreamed of re-conquering central Asia and areas that had been previously lost to Russia. He was, however, a poor commander. He launched an offensive against the Russians in the Caucasus in December 1914 with 100,000 troops, insisting on a frontal attack against mountainous Russian positions in winter. He lost 86% of his force at the Battle of Sarikamish. General Yudenich, the Russian commander from 1915 to 1916, drove the Turks out of most of the southern Caucasus.

Kaiser Wilhelm II and Prince Leopold of Bavaria inspecting Turkish troops of the 15th Corps in East Galicia, Austria-Hungary (now Poland).

The Ottoman Empire, with German support, invaded Persia (modern Iran) in December 1914 to cut off British and Russian access to petroleum reservoirs around Baku. Persia, ostensibly neutral, had long been under British and Russian influence. The Ottomans and Germans were aided by Kurdish and Azeri forces, together with a large number of major Iranian tribes, while the Russians and British had the support of Armenian and Assyrian forces. The Persian campaign lasted until 1918 and ended in failure for the Ottomans and their allies. However, the Russian withdrawal from the war in 1917 led Armenian and Assyrian forces to be cut off from supply lines, outnumbered, outgunned and isolated, forcing them to fight and flee towards British lines in northern Mesopotamia.

The Arab Revolt, instigated by the British Foreign Office, started in June 1916 with the Battle of Mecca, led by Sharif Hussein. The Sharif declared the independence of the Kingdom of Hejaz and, with British assistance, conquered much of Ottoman-held Arabia, resulting finally in the Ottoman surrender of Damascus. Fakhri Pasha, the Ottoman commander of Medina, resisted for more than 2+1⁄2 years during the siege of Medina before surrendering in January 1919.

The Senussi tribe, along the border of Italian Libya and British Egypt, incited and armed by the Turks, waged a small-scale guerrilla war against Allied troops. The British were forced to dispatch 12,000 troops to oppose them in the Senussi campaign. Their rebellion was finally crushed in mid-1916.

Total Allied casualties on the Ottoman fronts amounted to 650,000 men. Total Ottoman casualties were 725,000, with 325,000 dead and 400,000 wounded.

Italian Front

Main articles: Italian front (World War I), White War, and Military history of Italy during World War I
Isonzo Offensives 1915–1917

Though Italy joined the Triple Alliance in 1882, a treaty with its traditional Austrian enemy was so controversial that subsequent governments denied its existence and the terms were only made public in 1915. This arose from nationalist designs on Austro-Hungarian territory in Trentino, the Austrian Littoral, Rijeka and Dalmatia, considered vital to secure the borders established in 1866. In 1902, Rome secretly had agreed with France to remain neutral if the latter was attacked by Germany, effectively nullifying its role in the Triple Alliance.

When the war began in 1914, Italy argued the Triple Alliance was defensive and it was not obliged to support an Austrian attack on Serbia. Opposition to joining the Central Powers increased when Turkey became a member in September, since in 1911 Italy had occupied Ottoman possessions in Libya and the Dodecanese islands. To secure Italian neutrality, the Central Powers offered them Tunisia, while in return for an immediate entry into the war, the Allies agreed to their demands for Austrian territory and sovereignty over the Dodecanese. Although they remained secret, these provisions were incorporated into the April 1915 Treaty of London; Italy joined the Triple Entente and, on 23 May, declared war on Austria-Hungary, followed by Germany fifteen months later.

Austro-Hungarian trench at 3,850 metres in the Ortler Alps, one of the most challenging fronts of the war

The pre-1914 Italian army was short of officers, trained men, adequate transport and modern weapons; by April 1915, some of these deficiencies had been remedied but it was still unprepared for the major offensive required by the Treaty of London. The advantage of superior numbers was offset by the difficult terrain; much of the fighting took place high in the Alps and Dolomites, where trench lines had to be cut through rock and ice and keeping troops supplied was a major challenge. These issues were exacerbated by unimaginative strategies and tactics. Between 1915 and 1917, the Italian commander, Luigi Cadorna, undertook a series of frontal assaults along the Isonzo, which made little progress and cost many lives; by the end of the war, Italian combat deaths totalled around 548,000.

In the spring of 1916, the Austro-Hungarians counterattacked in Asiago in the Strafexpedition, but made little progress and were pushed by the Italians back to Tyrol. Although Italy occupied southern Albania in May 1916, their main focus was the Isonzo front which, after the capture of Gorizia in August 1916, remained static until October 1917. After a combined Austro-German force won a major victory at Caporetto, Cadorna was replaced by Armando Diaz who retreated more than 100 kilometres (62 mi) before holding positions along the Piave River. A second Austrian offensive was repulsed in June 1918. On 24 October, Diaz launched the Battle of Vittorio Veneto and initially met stubborn resistance, but with Austria-Hungary collapsing, Hungarian divisions in Italy demanded they be sent home. When this was granted, many others followed and the Imperial army disintegrated, the Italians taking over 300,000 prisoners. On 3 November, the Armistice of Villa Giusti ended hostilities between Austria-Hungary and Italy which occupied Trieste and areas along the Adriatic Sea awarded to it in 1915.

Eastern Front

Main article: Eastern Front (World War I)

Initial actions

Tsar Nicholas II and Grand Duke Nikolaevich following the Russian capture of Przemyśl, the longest siege of the war.

As previously agreed with French president Raymond Poincaré, Russian plans at the start of the war were to simultaneously advance into Austrian Galicia and East Prussia as soon as possible. Although their attack on Galicia was largely successful, and the invasions achieved their aim of forcing Germany to divert troops from the Western Front, the speed of mobilisation meant they did so without much of their heavy equipment and support functions. These weaknesses contributed to Russian defeats at Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes in August and September 1914, forcing them to withdraw from East Prussia with heavy losses. By spring 1915, they had also retreated from Galicia, and the May 1915 Gorlice–Tarnów offensive allowed the Central Powers to invade Russian-occupied Poland.

Despite the successful June 1916 Brusilov offensive against the Austrians in eastern Galicia, shortages of supplies, heavy losses and command failures prevented the Russians from fully exploiting their victory. However, it was one of the most significant offensives of the war, diverting German resources from Verdun, relieving Austro-Hungarian pressure on the Italians, and convincing Romania to enter the war on the side of the Allies on 27 August. It also fatally weakened both the Austrian and Russian armies, whose offensive capabilities were badly affected by their losses and increased disillusion with the war that ultimately led to the Russian revolutions.

Meanwhile, unrest grew in Russia as Tsar Nicholas II remained at the front, with the home front controlled by Empress Alexandra. Her increasingly incompetent rule and food shortages in urban areas led to widespread protests and the murder of her favourite, Grigori Rasputin, at the end of 1916.

Romanian participation

Main article: Romania in World War I World War I is located in RomaniaBucharestBucharestTimișoara (Banat)Timișoara (Banat)Cluj (Transylvania)Cluj (Transylvania)Chișinău (Moldova)Chișinău (Moldova)Constanța (Dobruja)Constanța (Dobruja)BulgariaBulgariaHungaryHungaryMărășeștiMărășeștiOituzOituzclass=notpageimage| Romania key locations 1916–1918 (using 2025 borders)

Despite secretly agreeing to support the Triple Alliance in 1883, Romania increasingly found itself at odds with the Central Powers over their support for Bulgaria in the Balkan Wars and the status of ethnic Romanian communities in Hungarian-controlled Transylvania, which comprised an estimated 2.8 million of the 5.0 million population. With the ruling elite split into pro-German and pro-Entente factions, Romania remained neutral for two years while allowing Germany and Austria to transport military supplies and advisors across Romanian territory.

In September 1914, Russia acknowledged Romanian rights to Austro-Hungarian territories including Transylvania and Banat, whose acquisition had widespread popular support, and Russian success against Austria led Romania to join the Entente in the August 1916 Treaty of Bucharest. Under the strategic plan known as Hypothesis Z, the Romanian army planned an offensive into Transylvania, while defending Southern Dobruja and Giurgiu against a possible Bulgarian counterattack. On 27 August 1916, they attacked Transylvania and occupied substantial parts of the province before being driven back by the recently formed German 9th Army, led by former Chief of Staff Erich von Falkenhayn. A combined German-Bulgarian-Turkish offensive captured Dobruja and Giurgiu, although the bulk of the Romanian army managed to escape encirclement and retreated to Bucharest, which surrendered to the Central Powers on 6 December 1916.

In the summer of 1917, a Central Powers offensive began in Romania under the command of August von Mackensen to knock Romania out of the war, resulting in the battles of Oituz, Mărăști and Mărășești where up to 1,000,000 Central Powers troops were present. The battles lasted from 22 July to 3 September and eventually, the Romanian army was victorious advancing 500 km. August von Mackensen could not plan for another offensive as he had to transfer troops to the Italian Front. Following the Russian revolution, Romania found itself alone on the Eastern Front and signed the Treaty of Bucharest with the Central Powers, which recognised Romanian sovereignty over Bessarabia in return for ceding control of passes in the Carpathian Mountains to Austria-Hungary and leasing its oil wells to Germany. Although approved by Parliament, King Ferdinand I refused to sign it, hoping for an Allied victory in the west. Romania re-entered the war on 10 November 1918 on the side of the Allies and the Treaty of Bucharest was formally annulled by the Armistice of 11 November 1918.

Central Powers peace overtures

On 12 December 1916, after ten brutal months of the Battle of Verdun and a successful offensive against Romania, Germany attempted to negotiate a peace with the Allies. However, this attempt was rejected out of hand as a "duplicitous war ruse".

"They shall not pass", a phrase typically associated with the defence of Verdun

US president Woodrow Wilson attempted to intervene as a peacemaker, asking for both sides to state their demands. Lloyd George's War Cabinet considered the German offer to be a ploy to create divisions among the Allies. After initial outrage and much deliberation, they took Wilson's note as a separate effort, signalling that the US was on the verge of entering the war against Germany following the "submarine outrages". While the Allies debated a response to Wilson's offer, the Germans chose to rebuff it in favour of "a direct exchange of views". Learning of the German response, the Allied governments were free to make clear demands in their response of 14 January. They sought restoration of damages, the evacuation of occupied territories, reparations for France, Russia and Romania, and a recognition of the principle of nationalities. The Allies sought guarantees that would prevent or limit future wars. The negotiations failed and the Entente powers rejected the German offer on the grounds of honour, and noted Germany had not put forward any specific proposals.

Final years of the war

Main article: Timeline of World War I (1917–1918)

Russian Revolution and withdrawal

Main articles: Russian Revolution, February Revolution, and October Revolution
Territory lost by Russia under the 1918 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

By the end of 1916, Russian casualties totalled nearly five million killed, wounded or captured, with major urban areas affected by food shortages and high prices. In March 1917, Tsar Nicholas ordered the military to forcibly suppress strikes in Petrograd but the troops refused to fire on the crowds. Revolutionaries set up the Petrograd Soviet and fearing a left-wing takeover, the State Duma forced Nicholas to abdicate and established the Russian Provisional Government, which confirmed Russia's willingness to continue the war. However, the Petrograd Soviet refused to disband, creating competing power centres and causing confusion and chaos, with frontline soldiers becoming increasingly demoralised.

Following the tsar's abdication, Vladimir Lenin—with the help of the German government—was ushered from Switzerland into Russia on 16 April 1917. Discontent and the weaknesses of the Provisional Government led to a rise in the popularity of the Bolshevik Party, led by Lenin, which demanded an immediate end to the war. The Revolution of November was followed in December by an armistice and negotiations with Germany. At first, the Bolsheviks refused the German terms, but when German troops began marching across Ukraine unopposed, they acceded to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on 3 March 1918. The treaty ceded vast territories, including Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and parts of Poland and Ukraine to the Central Powers.

With the Russian Empire out of the war, Romania found itself alone on the Eastern Front and signed the Treaty of Bucharest with the Central Powers in May 1918. Under the terms of the treaty, Romania ceded territory to Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria and leased its oil reserves to Germany. However, the terms also included the Central Powers' recognition of the union of Bessarabia with Romania.

United States enters the war

Main article: American entry into World War I
President Wilson asking Congress to declare war on Germany, 2 April 1917

The United States was a major supplier of war material to the Allies but remained neutral in 1914, in large part due to domestic opposition. The most significant factor in creating the support Wilson needed was the German submarine offensive, which not only cost American lives but paralysed trade as ships were reluctant to put to sea.

On 6 April 1917, Congress declared war on Germany as an "Associated Power" of the Allies. The US Navy sent a battleship group to Scapa Flow to join the Grand Fleet, and provided convoy escorts. In April 1917, the US Army had fewer than 300,000 men, including National Guard units, compared to British and French armies of 4.1 and 8.3 million respectively. The Selective Service Act of 1917 drafted 2.8 million men, though training and equipping such numbers was a huge logistical challenge. By June 1918, over 667,000 members of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) were transported to France, a figure which reached 2 million by the end of November.

Despite his conviction that Germany must be defeated, Wilson went to war to ensure the US played a leading role in shaping the peace, which meant preserving the AEF as a separate military force, rather than being absorbed into British or French units as his Allies wanted. He was strongly supported by AEF commander General John J. Pershing, a proponent of pre-1914 "open warfare" who considered the French and British emphasis on artillery misguided and incompatible with American "offensive spirit". Much to the frustration of his Allies, who had suffered heavy losses in 1917, he insisted on retaining control of American troops, and refused to commit them to the front line until able to operate as independent units. As a result, the first significant US involvement was the Meuse–Argonne offensive in late September 1918.

Nivelle Offensive (April–May 1917)

Further information: Nivelle offensive and 1917 French Army mutinies
Files of soldiers with rifles slung follow close behind a tank, there is a dead body in the foreground
Canadian Corps troops at the Battle of Vimy Ridge, 1917

In December 1916, Robert Nivelle replaced Pétain as commander of French armies on the Western Front and began planning a spring attack in Champagne, part of a joint Franco-British operation. Poor security meant German intelligence was well informed on tactics and timetables, but despite this, when the attack began on 16 April the French made substantial gains, before being brought to a halt by the newly built and extremely strong defences of the Hindenburg Line. Nivelle persisted with frontal assaults and, by 25 April, the French had suffered nearly 135,000 casualties, including 30,000 dead, most incurred in the first two days.

Concurrent British attacks at Arras were more successful, though ultimately of little strategic value. Operating as a separate unit for the first time, the Canadian Corps' capture of Vimy Ridge is viewed by many Canadians as a defining moment in creating a sense of national identity. Though Nivelle continued the offensive, on 3 May the 21st Division, which had been involved in some of the heaviest fighting at Verdun, refused orders to go into battle, initiating the French Army mutinies; within days, "collective indiscipline" had spread to 54 divisions, while over 20,000 deserted.

Sinai and Palestine campaign (1917–1918)

Main article: Sinai and Palestine campaign
British artillery battery on Mount Scopus in the Battle of Jerusalem, 1917.

In March and April 1917, at the First and Second Battles of Gaza, German and Ottoman forces stopped the advance of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, which had begun in August 1916 at the Battle of Romani. At the end of October 1917, the Sinai and Palestine campaign resumed, when General Edmund Allenby's XXth Corps, XXI Corps and Desert Mounted Corps won the Battle of Beersheba. Two Ottoman armies were defeated a few weeks later at the Battle of Mughar Ridge and, early in December, Jerusalem had been captured following another Ottoman defeat at the Battle of Jerusalem. About this time, Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein was relieved of his duties as the Eighth Army's commander, replaced by Djevad Pasha, and a few months later the commander of the Ottoman Army in Palestine, Erich von Falkenhayn, was replaced by Otto Liman von Sanders.

In early 1918, the front line was extended and the Jordan Valley was occupied, following the First Transjordan and the Second Transjordan attacks by British Empire forces in March and April 1918.

German offensive and Allied counter-offensive (March–November 1918)

Main articles: German spring offensive and Hundred Days Offensive
Between April and November 1918, the Allies increased their front-line rifle strength while German strength fell by half.

In December 1917, the Central Powers signed an armistice with Russia, thus freeing large numbers of German troops for use in the West. With German reinforcements and new American troops pouring in, the outcome was to be decided on the Western Front. The Central Powers knew that they could not win a protracted war, but they held high hopes for success in a final quick offensive. Ludendorff drew up plans (Operation Michael) for the 1918 offensive on the Western Front. The operation commenced on 21 March 1918, with an attack on British forces near Saint-Quentin. German forces achieved an unprecedented advance of 60 kilometres (37 mi). The initial offensive was a success; after heavy fighting, however, the offensive was halted. Lacking tanks or motorised artillery, the Germans were unable to consolidate their gains. The problems of re-supply were also exacerbated by increasing distances that now stretched over terrain that was shell-torn and often impassable to traffic. Germany launched Operation Georgette against the northern English Channel ports. The Allies halted the drive after limited territorial gains by Germany. The German Army to the south then conducted Operations Blücher and Yorck, pushing broadly towards Paris. Germany launched Operation Marne (Second Battle of the Marne) on 15 July, in an attempt to encircle Reims. The resulting counter-attack, which started the Hundred Days Offensive on 8 August, led to a marked collapse in German morale.

Allied advance to the Hindenburg Line

See also: Meuse-Argonne offensive
American soldiers firing on German entrenched positions during the Meuse-Argonne offensive, 1918

By September, the Germans had fallen back to the Hindenburg Line. The Allies had advanced to the Hindenburg Line in the north and centre. German forces launched numerous counterattacks, but positions and outposts of the Line continued falling, with the BEF alone taking 30,441 prisoners in the last week of September. On 24 September, the Supreme Army Command informed the leaders in Berlin that armistice talks were inevitable.

The final assault on the Hindenburg Line began with the Meuse-Argonne offensive, launched by American and French troops on 26 September. Two days later the Belgians, French and British attacked around Ypres, and the day after the British at St Quentin in the centre of the line. The following week, cooperating American and French units broke through in Champagne at the Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge (3–27 October), forcing the Germans off the commanding heights, and closing towards the Belgian frontier. On 8 October, the Hindenburg Line was pierced by British and Dominion troops of the First and Third British Armies at the Second Battle of Cambrai.

Breakthrough of Macedonian front (September 1918)

Main articles: Vardar offensive and Battle of Dobro Pole
Bulgarian major Ivanov with white flag surrendering to Serbian 7th Danube regiment near Kumanovo

Allied forces started the Vardar offensive on 15 September at two key points: Dobro Pole and near Dojran Lake. In the Battle of Dobro Pole, the Serbian and French armies had success after a three-day-long battle with relatively small casualties, and subsequently made a breakthrough in the front, something which was rarely seen in World War I. After the front was broken, Allied forces started to liberate Serbia and reached Skopje at 29 September, after which Bulgaria signed an armistice with the Allies on 30 September.

Armistices and capitulations

Main articles: Armistice of Salonica, Armistice of Villa Giusti, and Armistice of Mudros Further information: Armistice of Belgrade
Italian troops reach Trento during the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, 1918

The collapse of the Central Powers came swiftly. Bulgaria was the first to sign an armistice, the Armistice of Salonica on 29 September 1918. Wilhelm II, in a telegram to Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria described the situation thus: "Disgraceful! 62,000 Serbs decided the war!". On the same day, the German Supreme Army Command informed Wilhelm II and the Imperial Chancellor Count Georg von Hertling, that the military situation facing Germany was hopeless.

On 24 October, the Italians began a push that rapidly recovered territory lost after the Battle of Caporetto. This culminated in the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, marking the end of the Austro-Hungarian Army as an effective fighting force. The offensive also triggered the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During the last week of October, declarations of independence were made in Budapest, Prague, and Zagreb. On 29 October, the imperial authorities asked Italy for an armistice, but the Italians continued advancing, reaching Trento, Udine, and Trieste. On 3 November, Austria-Hungary sent a flag of truce and accepted the Armistice of Villa Giusti, arranged with the Allied Authorities in Paris. Austria and Hungary signed separate armistices following the overthrow of the Habsburg monarchy. In the following days, the Italian Army occupied Innsbruck and all Tyrol, with over 20,000 soldiers.

On 30 October, the Ottoman Empire capitulated, and signed the Armistice of Mudros.

German government surrenders

Main article: Armistice of 11 November 1918
Ferdinand Foch (second from right) pictured outside the carriage in Compiègne after agreeing to the armistice that ended the war there.

With the military faltering and with widespread loss of confidence in the kaiser, Germany moved towards surrender. Prince Maximilian of Baden took charge on October 3 as Chancellor of Germany. Negotiations with President Wilson began immediately, in the hope that he would offer better terms than the British and French. Wilson demanded a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary control over the German military.

The German Revolution of 1918–1919 began at the end of October 1918. Units of the German Navy refused to set sail for a large-scale operation in a war they believed to be as good as lost. The sailors' revolt, which then ensued in the naval ports of Wilhelmshaven and Kiel, spread across the whole country within days and led to the proclamation of a republic on 9 November 1918, shortly thereafter to the abdication of Wilhelm II, and German surrender.

Aftermath

Main article: Aftermath of World War I

In the aftermath of the war, the German, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian empires disappeared. Numerous nations regained their former independence, and new ones were created. Four dynasties fell as a result of the war: the Romanovs, the Hohenzollerns, the Habsburgs, and the Ottomans. Belgium and Serbia were badly damaged, as was France, with 1.4 million soldiers dead, not counting other casualties. Germany and Russia were similarly affected.

Formal end of the war

The signing of the Treaty of Versailles in the Hall of Mirrors, Versailles, 28 June 1919, by Sir William Orpen

A formal state of war between the two sides persisted for another seven months, until the signing of the Treaty of Versailles with Germany on 28 June 1919. The US Senate did not ratify the treaty despite public support for it, and did not formally end its involvement in the war until the Knox–Porter Resolution was signed on 2 July 1921 by President Warren G. Harding. For the British Empire, the state of war ceased under the provisions of the Termination of the Present War (Definition) Act 1918 concerning:

  • Germany on 10 January 1920.
  • Austria on 16 July 1920.
  • Bulgaria on 9 August 1920.
  • Hungary on 26 July 1921.
  • Turkey on 6 August 1924.
Greek prime minister Eleftherios Venizelos signing the Treaty of Sèvres

Some war memorials date the end of the war as being when the Versailles Treaty was signed in 1919, which was when many of the troops serving abroad finally returned home; by contrast, most commemorations of the war's end concentrate on the armistice of 11 November 1918.

Peace treaties and national boundaries

Map of territorial changes in Europe after World War I (as of 1923)

The Paris Peace Conference imposed a series of peace treaties on the Central Powers officially ending the war. The 1919 Treaty of Versailles dealt with Germany and, building on Wilson's 14th point, established the League of Nations on 28 June 1919.

The Central Powers had to acknowledge responsibility for "all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by" their aggression. In the Treaty of Versailles, this statement was Article 231. This article became known as the "War Guilt Clause", as the majority of Germans felt humiliated and resentful. The Germans felt they had been unjustly dealt with by what they called the "diktat of Versailles". German historian Hagen Schulze said the Treaty placed Germany "under legal sanctions, deprived of military power, economically ruined, and politically humiliated." Belgian historian Laurence Van Ypersele emphasises the central role played by memory of the war and the Versailles Treaty in German politics in the 1920s and 1930s:

Active denial of war guilt in Germany and German resentment at both reparations and continued Allied occupation of the Rhineland made widespread revision of the meaning and memory of the war problematic. The legend of the "stab in the back" and the wish to revise the "Versailles diktat", and the belief in an international threat aimed at the elimination of the German nation persisted at the heart of German politics. Even a man of peace such as Stresemann publicly rejected German guilt. As for the Nazis, they waved the banners of domestic treason and international conspiracy in an attempt to galvanise the German nation into a spirit of revenge. Like a Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany sought to redirect the memory of the war to the benefit of its policies.

Meanwhile, new nations liberated from German rule viewed the treaty as a recognition of wrongs committed against small nations by much larger aggressive neighbours.

Dissolution of Austria-Hungary after war

Austria-Hungary was partitioned into several successor states, largely but not entirely along ethnic lines. Apart from Austria and Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Poland, Romania and Yugoslavia received territories from the Dual Monarchy (the formerly separate and autonomous Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia was incorporated into Yugoslavia). The details were contained in the treaties of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Trianon. As a result, Hungary lost 64% of its total population, decreasing from 20.9 million to 7.6 million, and losing 31% (3.3 out of 10.7 million) of its ethnic Hungarians. According to the 1910 census, speakers of the Hungarian language included approximately 54% of the entire population of the Kingdom of Hungary. Within the country, numerous ethnic minorities were present: 16.1% Romanians, 10.5% Slovaks, 10.4% Germans, 2.5% Ruthenians, 2.5% Serbs and 8% others. Between 1920 and 1924, 354,000 Hungarians fled former Hungarian territories attached to Romania, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia.

The Russian Empire lost much of its western frontier as the newly independent nations of Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland were carved from it. Romania took control of Bessarabia in April 1918.

National identities

Further information: Sykes–Picot Agreement

After 123 years, Poland re-emerged as an independent country. The Kingdom of Serbia and its dynasty, as a "minor Entente nation" and the country with the most casualties per capita, became the backbone of a new multinational state, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later renamed Yugoslavia. Czechoslovakia, combining the Kingdom of Bohemia with parts of the Kingdom of Hungary, became a new nation. Romania would unite all Romanian-speaking people under a single state, leading to Greater Romania.

In Australia and New Zealand, the Battle of Gallipoli became known as those nations' "Baptism of Fire". It was the first major war in which the newly established countries fought, and it was one of the first times that Australian troops fought as Australians, not just subjects of the British Crown, and independent national identities for these nations took hold. Anzac Day, named after the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), commemorates this defining moment.

In the aftermath of World War I, Greece fought against Turkish nationalists led by Mustafa Kemal, a war that eventually resulted in a massive population exchange between the two countries under the Treaty of Lausanne. According to various sources, several hundred thousand Greeks died during this period, which was tied in with the Greek genocide.

Casualties

Main article: World War I casualties Further information: Spanish flu
Men transporting a wounded Ottoman soldier at Sirkeci

The total number of military and civilian casualties in World War I was about 40 million: estimates range from around 15 to 22 million deaths and about 23 million wounded military personnel, ranking it among the deadliest conflicts in human history. The total number of deaths includes between 9 and 11 million military personnel, with an estimated civilian death toll of about 6 to 13 million.

Of the 60 million European military personnel who were mobilised from 1914 to 1918, an estimated 8 million were killed, 7 million were permanently disabled, and 15 million were seriously injured. Germany lost 15.1% of its active male population, Austria-Hungary lost 17.1%, and France lost 10.5%. France mobilised 7.8 million men, of which 1.4 million died and 3.2 million were injured. Approximately 15,000 deployed men sustained gruesome facial injuries, causing social stigma and marginalisation; they were called the gueules cassées (broken faces). In Germany, civilian deaths were 474,000 higher than in peacetime, due in large part to food shortages and malnutrition that had weakened disease resistance. These excess deaths are estimated as 271,000 in 1918, plus another 71,000 in the first half of 1919 when the blockade was still in effect. Starvation caused by famine killed approximately 100,000 people in Lebanon.

Emergency military hospital during the Spanish flu pandemic in Camp Funston, Kansas, 1918

Diseases flourished in the chaotic wartime conditions. In 1914 alone, louse-borne epidemic typhus killed 200,000 in Serbia. Starting in early 1918, a major influenza epidemic known as Spanish flu spread across the world, accelerated by the movement of large numbers of soldiers, often crammed together in camps and transport ships with poor sanitation. The Spanish flu killed at least 17 to 25 million people, including an estimated 2.64 million Europeans and as many as 675,000 Americans. Between 1915 and 1926, an epidemic of encephalitis lethargica affected nearly 5 million people worldwide.

Eight million equines mostly horses, donkeys and mules died, three-quarters of them from the extreme conditions they worked in.

War crimes

Main article: War crimes in World War I

Chemical weapons in warfare

Main article: Chemical weapons in World War I
French soldiers making a gas and flame attack on German trenches in Flanders

The German army was the first to successfully deploy chemical weapons during the Second Battle of Ypres (April–May 1915), after German scientists under the direction of Fritz Haber at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute developed a method to weaponize chlorine. The use of chemical weapons had been sanctioned by the German High Command to force Allied soldiers out of their entrenched positions, complementing rather than supplanting more lethal conventional weapons. Chemical weapons were deployed by all major belligerents throughout the war, inflicting approximately 1.3 million casualties, of which about 90,000 were fatal. The use of chemical weapons in warfare was a direct violation of the 1899 Hague Declaration Concerning Asphyxiating Gases and the 1907 Hague Convention on Land Warfare, which prohibited their use.

Genocides by the Ottoman Empire

Main articles: Armenian genocide, Sayfo, and Greek genocide See also: Late Ottoman genocides and Armenian genocide denial
Armenians killed during the Armenian genocide. Image taken from Ambassador Morgenthau's Story, written by Henry Morgenthau Sr. and published in 1918.

The ethnic cleansing of the Ottoman Empire's Armenian population, including mass deportations and executions, during the final years of the Ottoman Empire is considered genocide. The Ottomans carried out organised and systematic massacres of the Armenian population at the beginning of the war and manipulated acts of Armenian resistance by portraying them as rebellions to justify further extermination. In early 1915, several Armenians volunteered to join the Russian forces and the Ottoman government used this as a pretext to issue the Tehcir Law (Law on Deportation), which authorised the deportation of Armenians from the Empire's eastern provinces to Syria between 1915 and 1918. The Armenians were intentionally marched to death and a number were attacked by Ottoman brigands. While the exact number of deaths is unknown, the International Association of Genocide Scholars estimates around 1.5 million. The government of Turkey continues to deny the genocide to the present day, arguing that those who died were victims of inter-ethnic fighting, famine, or disease during World War I; these claims are rejected by most historians.

Other ethnic groups were similarly attacked by the Ottoman Empire during this period, including Assyrians and Greeks, and some scholars consider those events to be part of the same policy of extermination. At least 250,000 Assyrian Christians, about half of the population, and 350,000–750,000 Anatolian and Pontic Greeks were killed between 1915 and 1922.

Prisoners of war

Main article: Prisoners of war in World War I
British prisoners guarded by Ottoman forces after the First Battle of Gaza in 1917

About 8 million soldiers surrendered and were held in POW camps during the war. All nations pledged to follow the Hague Conventions on fair treatment of prisoners of war, and the survival rate for POWs was generally much higher than that of combatants at the front.

Around 25–31% of Russian losses (as a proportion of those captured, wounded, or killed) were to prisoner status; for Austria-Hungary 32%; for Italy 26%; for France 12%; for Germany 9%; for Britain 7%. Prisoners from the Allied armies totalled about 1.4 million (not including Russia, which lost 2.5–3.5 million soldiers as prisoners). From the Central Powers, about 3.3 million soldiers became prisoners; most of them surrendered to Russians.

Soldiers' experiences

Allied personnel was around 42,928,000, while Central personnel was near 25,248,000. British soldiers of the war were initially volunteers but were increasingly conscripted. Surviving veterans returning home often found they could discuss their experiences only among themselves, so formed "veterans' associations" or "Legions".

Conscription

Further information: Conscription Crisis of 1917, Conscription Crisis of 1918, World War I conscription in Australia, Recruitment to the British Army during World War I, and Conscription in the United States § World War I
U.S. Army recruiting poster with Uncle Sam, 1917

Conscription was common in most European countries. However, it was controversial in English-speaking countries, It was especially unpopular among minority ethnicities—especially the Irish Catholics in Ireland, Australia, and the French Catholics in Canada.

In the US, conscription began in 1917 and was generally well-received, with a few pockets of opposition in isolated rural areas. The administration decided to rely primarily on conscription, rather than voluntary enlistment, to raise military manpower after only 73,000 volunteers enlisted out of the initial 1 million target in the first six weeks of war.

Military attachés and war correspondents

Main articles: List of military attachés in World War I and List of military attachés and war correspondents in World War I

Military and civilian observers from every major power closely followed the course of the war. Many were able to report on events from a perspective somewhat akin to modern "embedded" positions within the opposing land and naval forces.

Economic effects

Main articles: Economic history of World War I and Post–World War I recession Further information: Home front during World War I and Financial crisis of 1914

Macro- and micro-economic consequences devolved from the war. Families were altered by the departure of many men. With the death or absence of the primary wage earner, women were forced into the workforce in unprecedented numbers. At the same time, the industry needed to replace the lost labourers sent to war. This aided the struggle for voting rights for women.

Poster showing women workers, 1915

In all nations, the government's share of GDP increased, surpassing 50% in both Germany and France and nearly reaching that level in Britain. To pay for purchases in the US, Britain cashed in its extensive investments in American railroads and then began borrowing heavily from Wall Street. President Wilson was on the verge of cutting off the loans in late 1916 but allowed a great increase in US government lending to the Allies. After 1919, the US demanded repayment of these loans. The repayments were, in part, funded by German reparations that, in turn, were supported by American loans to Germany. This circular system collapsed in 1931 and some loans were never repaid. Britain still owed the United States $4.4 billion of World War I debt in 1934; the last installment was finally paid in 2015.

Britain turned to her colonies for help in obtaining essential war materials whose supply from traditional sources had become difficult. Geologists such as Albert Kitson were called on to find new resources of precious minerals in the African colonies. Kitson discovered important new deposits of manganese, used in munitions production, in the Gold Coast.

Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles (the so-called "war guilt" clause) stated Germany accepted responsibility for "all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies." It was worded as such to lay a legal basis for reparations, and a similar clause was inserted in the treaties with Austria and Hungary. However, neither of them interpreted it as an admission of war guilt. In 1921, the total reparation sum was placed at 132 billion gold marks. However, "Allied experts knew that Germany could not pay" this sum. The total sum was divided into three categories, with the third being "deliberately designed to be chimerical" and its "primary function was to mislead public opinion ... into believing the 'total sum was being maintained.'" Thus, 50 billion gold marks (12.5 billion dollars) "represented the actual Allied assessment of German capacity to pay" and "therefore ... represented the total German reparations" figure that had to be paid.

This figure could be paid in cash or in-kind (coal, timber, chemical dyes, etc.). Some of the territory lost—via the Treaty of Versailles—was credited towards the reparation figure as were other acts such as helping to restore the Library of Louvain. By 1929, the Great Depression caused political chaos throughout the world. In 1932 the payment of reparations was suspended by the international community, by which point Germany had paid only the equivalent of 20.598 billion gold marks. With the rise of Adolf Hitler, all bonds and loans that had been issued and taken out during the 1920s and early 1930s were cancelled. David Andelman notes "Refusing to pay doesn't make an agreement null and void. The bonds, the agreement, still exist." Thus, following the Second World War, at the London Conference in 1953, Germany agreed to resume payment on the money borrowed. On 3 October 2010, Germany made the final payment on these bonds.

The Australian prime minister, Billy Hughes, wrote to the British prime minister, David Lloyd George, "You have assured us that you cannot get better terms. I much regret it, and hope even now that some way may be found of securing agreement for demanding reparation commensurate with the tremendous sacrifices made by the British Empire and her Allies." Australia received £5,571,720 in war reparations, but the direct cost of the war to Australia had been £376,993,052, and, by the mid-1930s, repatriation pensions, war gratuities, interest and sinking fund charges were £831,280,947.

Support and opposition for the war

Support

Further information: Propaganda in World War I, British propaganda during World War I, and Propaganda and censorship in Italy during the First World War
Poster urging women to join the British war effort, published by the Young Women's Christian Association, 1915

In the Balkans, Yugoslav nationalists such as the leader, Ante Trumbić, strongly supported the war, desiring the freedom of Yugoslavs from Austria-Hungary and other foreign powers and the creation of an independent Yugoslavia. The Yugoslav Committee, led by Trumbić, was formed in Paris on 30 April 1915 but shortly moved its office to London. In April 1918, the Rome Congress of Oppressed Nationalities met, including Czechoslovak, Italian, Polish, Transylvanian, and Yugoslav representatives who urged the Allies to support national self-determination for the peoples residing within Austria-Hungary.

In the Middle East, Arab nationalism soared in Ottoman territories in response to the rise of Turkish nationalism during the war, with Arab nationalist leaders advocating the creation of a pan-Arab state. In 1916, the Arab Revolt began in Ottoman-controlled territories of the Middle East to achieve independence.

In East Africa, Iyasu V of Ethiopia was supporting the Dervish state who were at war with the British in the Somaliland campaign. Von Syburg, the German envoy in Addis Ababa, said, "now the time has come for Ethiopia to regain the coast of the Red Sea driving the Italians home, to restore the Empire to its ancient size." The Ethiopian Empire was on the verge of entering World War I on the side of the Central Powers before Iyasu's overthrow at the Battle of Segale due to Allied pressure on the Ethiopian aristocracy.

Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps First Contingent in Bermuda, winter 1914–1915, before joining 1 Lincolnshire Regiment in France in June 1915. The dozen remaining after Guedecourt on 25 September 1916, merged with a Second Contingent. The two contingents suffered 75% casualties.

Several socialist parties initially supported the war when it began in August 1914. But European socialists split on national lines, with the concept of class conflict held by radical socialists such as Marxists and syndicalists being overborne by their patriotic support for the war. Once the war began, Austrian, British, French, German, and Russian socialists followed the rising nationalist current by supporting their countries' intervention in the war.

Italian nationalism was stirred by the outbreak of the war and was initially strongly supported by a variety of political factions. One of the most prominent and popular Italian nationalist supporters of the war was Gabriele D'Annunzio, who promoted Italian irredentism and helped sway the Italian public to support intervention in the war. The Italian Liberal Party, under the leadership of Paolo Boselli, promoted intervention in the war on the side of the Allies and used the Dante Alighieri Society to promote Italian nationalism. Italian socialists were divided on whether to support the war or oppose it; some were militant supporters of the war, including Benito Mussolini and Leonida Bissolati. However, the Italian Socialist Party decided to oppose the war after anti-militarist protestors were killed, resulting in a general strike called Red Week. The Italian Socialist Party purged itself of pro-war nationalist members, including Mussolini. Mussolini formed the pro-interventionist Il Popolo d'Italia and the Fasci Rivoluzionario d'Azione Internazionalista ("Revolutionary Fasci for International Action") in October 1914 that later developed into the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento in 1919, the origin of fascism. Mussolini's nationalism enabled him to raise funds from Ansaldo (an armaments firm) and other companies to create Il Popolo d'Italia to convince socialists and revolutionaries to support the war.

Patriotic funds

On both sides, there was large-scale fundraising for soldiers' welfare, their dependents and those injured. The Nail Men were a German example. Around the British Empire, there were many patriotic funds, including the Royal Patriotic Fund Corporation, Canadian Patriotic Fund, Queensland Patriotic Fund and, by 1919, there were 983 funds in New Zealand. At the start of the next world war the New Zealand funds were reformed, having been criticised as overlapping, wasteful and abused, but 11 were still functioning in 2002.

Opposition

Main articles: Opposition to World War I and 1917 French Army mutinies

Many countries jailed those who spoke out against the conflict. These included Eugene Debs in the US and Bertrand Russell in Britain. In the US, the Espionage Act of 1917 and Sedition Act of 1918 made it a federal crime to oppose military recruitment or make any statements deemed "disloyal". Publications at all critical of the government were removed from circulation by postal censors, and many served long prison sentences for statements of fact deemed unpatriotic.

Sackville Street (now O'Connell Street) after the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin

Several nationalists opposed intervention, particularly within states that the nationalists were hostile to. Although the vast majority of Irish people consented to participate in the war in 1914 and 1915, a minority of advanced Irish nationalists had staunchly opposed taking part. The war began amid the Home Rule crisis in Ireland that had resurfaced in 1912, and by July 1914 there was a serious possibility of an outbreak of civil war in Ireland. Irish nationalists and Marxists attempted to pursue Irish independence, culminating in the Easter Rising of 1916, with Germany sending 20,000 rifles to Ireland to stir unrest in Britain. The British government placed Ireland under martial law in response to the Easter Rising, though once the immediate threat of revolution had dissipated, the authorities did try to make concessions to nationalist feeling. However, opposition to involvement in the war increased in Ireland, resulting in the Conscription Crisis of 1918.

Other opposition came from conscientious objectors—some socialist, some religious—who had refused to fight. In Britain, 16,000 people asked for conscientious objector status. Some of them, most notably prominent peace activist Stephen Hobhouse, refused both military and alternative service. Many suffered years of prison, including solitary confinement. Even after the war, in Britain, many job advertisements were marked "No conscientious objectors need to apply".

On 1–4 May 1917, about 100,000 workers and soldiers of Petrograd, and after them, the workers and soldiers of other Russian cities, led by the Bolsheviks, demonstrated under banners reading "Down with the war!" and "all power to the Soviets!". The mass demonstrations resulted in a crisis for the Russian Provisional Government. In Milan, in May 1917, Bolshevik revolutionaries organised and engaged in rioting calling for an end to the war, and managed to close down factories and stop public transportation. The Italian army was forced to enter Milan with tanks and machine guns to face Bolsheviks and anarchists, who fought violently until May 23 when the army gained control of the city. Almost 50 people (including three Italian soldiers) were killed and over 800 people were arrested.

Technology

See also: Technology during World War I
Royal Air Force Sopwith Camel. In April 1917, the average life expectancy of a British pilot on the Western Front was 93 flying hours.

World War I began as a clash of 20th-century technology and 19th-century tactics, with the inevitably large ensuing casualties. By the end of 1917, however, the major armies had modernised and were making use of telephone, wireless communication, armoured cars, tanks (especially with the advent of the prototype tank, Little Willie), and aircraft.

Captain Marcel Courmes, pilot of the French 2nd Bombardment, Group GB 2, in August 1915

Artillery also underwent a revolution. In 1914, cannons were positioned in the front line and fired directly at their targets. By 1917, indirect fire with guns (as well as mortars and even machine guns) was commonplace, using new techniques for spotting and ranging, notably, aircraft and the field telephone.

Fixed-wing aircraft were initially used for reconnaissance and ground attack. To shoot down enemy planes, anti-aircraft guns and fighter aircraft were developed. Strategic bombers were created, principally by the Germans and British, though the former used Zeppelins as well. Towards the end of the conflict, aircraft carriers were used for the first time, with HMS Furious launching Sopwith Camels in a raid to destroy the Zeppelin hangars at Tønder in 1918.

Diplomacy

Main article: Diplomatic history of World War I
1917 political cartoon about the Zimmermann Telegram

The non-military diplomatic and propaganda interactions among the nations were designed to build support for the cause or to undermine support for the enemy. For the most part, wartime diplomacy focused on five issues: propaganda campaigns; defining and redefining the war goals, which became harsher as the war went on; luring neutral nations (Italy, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria, Romania) into the coalition by offering slices of enemy territory; and encouragement by the Allies of nationalistic minority movements inside the Central Powers, especially among Czechs, Poles, and Arabs. In addition, multiple peace proposals were coming from neutrals, or one side or the other; none of them progressed very far.

Legacy and memory

Main articles: List of last surviving World War I veterans, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and American Battle Monuments Commission Further information: World War I in popular culture

Memorials

Main article: World War I memorials
The Italian Redipuglia War Memorial, which contains the remains of 100,187 soldiers

Memorials were built in thousands of villages and towns. Close to battlefields, those buried in improvised burial grounds were gradually moved to formal graveyards under the care of organisations such as the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the American Battle Monuments Commission, the German War Graves Commission, and Le Souvenir français. Many of these graveyards also have monuments to the missing or unidentified dead, such as the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing and the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme.

In 1915, John McCrae, a Canadian army doctor, wrote the poem In Flanders Fields as a salute to those who perished in the war. It is still recited today, especially on Remembrance Day and Memorial Day.

A typical village war memorial to soldiers killed in World War I

National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri, is a memorial dedicated to all Americans who served in World War I. The Liberty Memorial was dedicated on 1 November 1921.

The British government budgeted substantial resources to the commemoration of the war during the period 2014 to 2018. The lead body is the Imperial War Museum. On 3 August 2014, French President François Hollande and German President Joachim Gauck together marked the centenary of Germany's declaration of war on France by laying the first stone of a memorial in Vieil Armand, known in German as Hartmannswillerkopf, for French and German soldiers killed in the war. As part of commemorations for the centenary of the 1918 Armistice, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the site of the signing of the Armistice of Compiègne and unveiled a plaque to reconciliation.

Historiography

Main article: Historiography of World War I Further information: Historiography of the causes of World War I

... "Strange, friend," I said, "Here is no cause to mourn."
"None," said the other, "Save the undone years"... 

— Wilfred Owen, Strange Meeting, 1918

The first efforts to comprehend the meaning and consequences of modern warfare began during the initial phases of the war and are still underway more than a century later. Teaching World War I has presented special challenges. When compared with World War II, the First World War is often thought to be "a wrong war fought for the wrong reasons"; it lacks the metanarrative of good versus evil that characterizes retellings of the Second World War. Lacking recognizable heroes and villains, it is often taught thematically, invoking simplified tropes that obscure the complexity of the conflict.

Historian Heather Jones argues that the historiography has been reinvigorated by a cultural turn in the 21st century. Scholars have raised entirely new questions regarding military occupation, radicalisation of politics, race, medical science, gender and mental health. Among the major subjects that historians have long debated regarding the war include: Why the war began; why the Allies won; whether generals were responsible for high casualty rates; how soldiers endured the poor conditions of trench warfare; and to what extent the civilian home front accepted and endorsed the war effort.

Unexploded ordnance

Further information: Zone rouge and Iron harvest

As late as 2007, unexploded ordnance at battlefield sites like Verdun and Somme continued to pose a danger. In France and Belgium, locals who discover caches of unexploded munitions are assisted by weapons disposal units. In some places, plant life has still not recovered from the effects of the war.

See also

Footnotes

  1. The Russian Empire during 1914–1917, the Russian Republic during 1917. The Bolshevik government signed a separate peace with the Central Powers shortly after their armed seizure of power, resulting in a Central Powers victory on the Eastern Front of the war, and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic's defeat. However, this peace treaty was nullified by an Allied Powers victory on the Western Front, and the end of the war.
  2. Often abbreviated as WWI or WW1
  3. Only the Triple Alliance was a formal "alliance"; the others listed were informal patterns of support.
  4. German: Skagerrakschlacht, or "Battle of the Skagerrak"
  5. Bessarabia remained part of Romania until 1940, when it was annexed by Joseph Stalin as the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic; following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, it became the independent Republic of Moldova
  6. Unlike the others, the successor state to the Russian Empire, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, retained similar external borders, via retaining or quickly recovering lost territories.
  7. A German attempt to use chemical weapons on the Russian front in January 1915 failed to cause casualties.
  8. 10 in this context – see Long and short scales
  9. World War I officially ended when Germany paid off the final amount of reparations imposed on it by the Allies.

References

  1. Braybon 2004, p. 8.
  2. "The Great War". The Independent. 17 August 1914. p. 228. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  3. "great, adj., adv., and n". Oxford English Dictionary. Archived from the original on 14 May 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  4. "The war to end all wars". BBC News. 10 November 1998. Archived from the original on 19 June 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  5. Shapiro & Epstein 2006, p. 329.
  6. Clark 2013, pp. 121–152.
  7. Zeldin 1977, p. 117.
  8. Bertrand Joly, "La France et la Revanche (1871–1914)", Revue d'Histoire Moderne & Contemporaine. 1999, vol. 46-2, pp. 325–347 Archived 27 January 2024 at the Wayback Machine
  9. Keegan 1998, p. 52.
  10. Medlicott 1945, pp. 66–70.
  11. Keenan 1986, p. 20.
  12. Willmott 2003, p. 15.
  13. Fay 1930, pp. 290–293.
  14. ^ Willmott 2003, p. 21.
  15. Herwig 1988, pp. 72–73.
  16. Moll & Luebbert 1980, pp. 153–185.
  17. Stevenson 2016, p. 45.
  18. Crisp 1976, pp. 174–196.
  19. Stevenson 2016, p. 42.
  20. McMeekin 2015, pp. 66–67.
  21. Clark 2013, p. 86.
  22. Clark 2013, pp. 251–252.
  23. McMeekin 2015, p. 69.
  24. McMeekin 2015, p. 73.
  25. Willmott 2003, pp. 2–23.
  26. Clark 2013, p. 288.
  27. Keegan 1998, pp. 48–49.
  28. Bennett, G. H. (1995). Bennett, G. H. (ed.). "Eastern Europe: Cordon Sanitaire or Powder-Keg?". British Foreign Policy during the Curzon Period, 1919–24. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp. 41–59. doi:10.1057/9780230377356_3. ISBN 978-0-230-37735-6. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  29. Stefanova, Radoslava (2001). "Balkan Clutter: American and European Handling of a Powder Keg". Revival: The New Transatlantic Agenda (2001). Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781315186405-8 (inactive 1 November 2024). ISBN 978-1-315-18640-5. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.{{citation}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  30. Nelson, Daniel N. (1984). "South-Eastern Europe After Tito: A Powder-Keg for the 1980s? Edited by David Carlton and Carlo Schaerf. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1983. xviii, 211 pp. Map. $22.50". Slavic Review. 43 (4): 717–718. doi:10.2307/2499359. ISSN 0037-6779. JSTOR 2499359. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  31. Finestone & Massie 1981, p. 247.
  32. Smith 2010.
  33. Butcher 2014, p. 103.
  34. Butcher 2014, pp. 188–189.
  35. Gilbert 1994, p. 16.
  36. Willmott 2003, p. 26.
  37. Clark, Christopher (25 June 2014). Month of Madness. BBC Radio 4. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  38. Djordjević, Dimitrije; Spence, Richard B. (1992). Scholar, patriot, mentor: historical essays in honour of Dimitrije Djordjević. East European Monographs. p. 313. ISBN 978-0-88033-217-0. Archived from the original on 17 February 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2018. Following the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in June 1914, Croats and Muslims in Sarajevo joined forces in an anti-Serb pogrom.
  39. Reports Service: Southeast Europe series. American Universities Field Staff. 1964. p. 44. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2013. ... the assassination was followed by officially encouraged anti-Serb riots in Sarajevo ...
  40. Kröll, Herbert (2008). Austrian-Greek encounters over the centuries: history, diplomacy, politics, arts, economics. Studienverlag. p. 55. ISBN 978-3-7065-4526-6. Archived from the original on 17 February 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2013. ... arrested and interned some 5.500 prominent Serbs and sentenced to death some 460 persons, a new Schutzkorps, an auxiliary militia, widened the anti-Serb repression.
  41. Tomasevich 2001, p. 485.
  42. Schindler, John R. (2007). Unholy Terror: Bosnia, Al-Qa'ida, and the Rise of Global Jihad. Zenith Imprint. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-61673-964-5. Archived from the original on 17 February 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  43. Velikonja 2003, p. 141.
  44. Stevenson 1996, p. 12.
  45. MacMillan 2013, p. 532.
  46. Willmott 2003, p. 27.
  47. Fromkin 2004, pp. 196–197.
  48. MacMillan 2013, p. 536.
  49. Lieven 2016, p. 326.
  50. Clark 2013, pp. 526–527.
  51. Martel 2014, p. 335.
  52. Gilbert 1994, p. 27.
  53. Clayton 2003, p. 45.
  54. Clark 2013, pp. 539–541.
  55. Gilbert 1994, p. 29.
  56. MacMillan 2013, pp. 579–580, 585.
  57. Crowe 2001, pp. 4–5.
  58. Willmott 2003, p. 29.
  59. Clark 2013, pp. 550–551.
  60. Strachan 2003, pp. 292–296, 343–354.
  61. Tucker & Roberts 2005, p. 172.
  62. Schindler 2002, pp. 159–195.
  63. "Veliki rat – Avijacija". rts.rs. RTS, Radio televizija Srbije, Radio Television of Serbia. Archived from the original on 10 July 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  64. "How was the first military airplane shot down". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 31 August 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  65. ^ Stevenson 2004, p. 22.
  66. Horne 1964, p. 22.
  67. Stevenson 2004, p. 23.
  68. Holmes 2014, pp. 194, 211.
  69. Stevenson 2012, p. 54.
  70. Jackson 2018, p. 55.
  71. Lieven 2016, p. 327.
  72. Tucker & Roberts 2005, pp. 376–378.
  73. Horne 1964, p. 221.
  74. Donko 2012, p. 79.
  75. Keegan 1998, pp. 224–232.
  76. Falls 1960, pp. 79–80.
  77. Farwell 1989, p. 353.
  78. Brown 1994, pp. 197–198.
  79. Brown 1994, pp. 201–203.
  80. Kant, Vedica (24 September 2014). "India and WWI: Piecing together the impact of the Great War on the subcontinent". LSE. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  81. "Participants from the Indian subcontinent in the First World War". Memorial Gates Trust. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2008.
  82. Horniman, Benjamin Guy (1984). British administration and the Amritsar massacre. Mittal Publications. p. 45.
  83. Raudzens 1990, p. 424.
  84. Raudzens 1990, pp. 421–423.
  85. Gilbert 1994, p. 99.
  86. Goodspeed 1985, p. 199.
  87. Duffy, Michael (22 August 2009). "Weapons of War: Poison Gas". Firstworldwar.com. Archived from the original on 21 August 2007. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  88. Love 1996.
  89. Dupuy 1993, p. 1042.
  90. Grant 2005, p. 276.
  91. Lichfield, John (21 February 2006). "Verdun: myths and memories of the 'lost villages' of France". The Independent. Archived from the original on 22 October 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  92. Harris 2008, p. 271.
  93. Chorba, Terence (November 2018). "Trench Conflict with Combatants and Infectious Disease". Emerging Infectious Diseases. 24 (11). CDC: 2136–2137. doi:10.3201/eid2411.ac2411. ISSN 1080-6040. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  94. Taylor 2007, pp. 39–47.
  95. Keene 2006, p. 5.
  96. Halpern 1995, p. 293.
  97. Zieger 2001, p. 50.
  98. Jeremy Black (June 2016). "Jutland's Place in History". Naval History. 30 (3): 16–21.
  99. ^ Sheffield, Garry. "The First Battle of the Atlantic". World Wars in Depth. BBC. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
  100. Gilbert 1994, p. 306.
  101. von der Porten 1969.
  102. Jones 2001, p. 80.
  103. Nova Scotia House of Assembly Committee on Veterans Affairs (9 November 2006). "Committee Hansard". Hansard. Archived from the original on 23 November 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  104. Chickering, Roger; Förster, Stig; Greiner, Bernd (2005). A world at total war: global conflict and the politics of destruction, 1937–1945. Publications of the German Historical Institute. Washington, DC: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-83432-2. Archived from the original on 17 February 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  105. Price 1980
  106. Tucker & Roberts 2005, p. 241–.
  107. Neiberg 2005, pp. 54–55.
  108. Tucker & Roberts 2005, pp. 1075–1076.
  109. DiNardo 2015, p. 102.
  110. Neiberg 2005, pp. 108–110.
  111. Hall, Richard (2010). Balkan Breakthrough: The Battle of Dobro Pole 1918. Indiana University Press. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-253-35452-5.
  112. "The Balkan Wars and World War I". p. 28. Library of Congress Country Studies.
  113. Tucker, Wood & Murphy 1999, pp. 150–152.
  114. Korsun, N. "The Balkan Front of the World War" (in Russian). militera.lib.ru. Archived from the original on 9 August 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  115. Doughty 2005, p. 491.
  116. Gettleman, Marvin; Schaar, Stuart, eds. (2003). The Middle East and Islamic world reader (4th ed.). New York: Grove Press. pp. 119–120. ISBN 978-0-8021-3936-8.
  117. January, Brendan (2007). Genocide: modern crimes against humanity. Minneapolis, Minn.: Twenty-First Century Books. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-7613-3421-7.
  118. Lieberman, Benjamin (2013). The Holocaust and Genocides in Europe. New York: Continuum Publishing Corporation. pp. 80–81. ISBN 978-1-4411-9478-7.
  119. Arthur J. Barker, The Neglected War: Mesopotamia, 1914–1918 (London: Faber, 1967)
  120. Crawford, John; McGibbon, Ian (2007). New Zealand's Great War: New Zealand, the Allies and the First World War. Exisle Publishing. pp. 219–220.
  121. Fromkin 2004, p. 119.
  122. ^ Hinterhoff 1984, pp. 499–503
  123. The Encyclopedia Americana, 1920, v. 28, p. 403
  124. Northcote, Dudley S. (1922). "Saving Forty Thousand Armenians". Current History. New York Times Co. Archived from the original on 9 September 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  125. Sachar 1970, pp. 122–138.
  126. Gilbert 1994.
  127. Hanioglu, M. Sukru (2010). A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire. Princeton University Press. pp. 180–181. ISBN 978-0-691-13452-9.
  128. Thompson 2009, p. 13.
  129. Thompson 2009, pp. 9–10.
  130. Gardner 2015, p. 120.
  131. Thompson 2009, p. 14.
  132. Thompson 2009, pp. 30–31.
  133. Gilbert 1994, p. 166.
  134. Thompson 2009, p. 57.
  135. Marshall & Josephy 1982, p. 108.
  136. Fornassin 2017, pp. 39–62.
  137. Thompson 2009, p. 163.
  138. Gilbert 1994, p. 317.
  139. Gilbert 1994, p. 482.
  140. Gilbert 1994, p. 484.
  141. Thompson 2009, p. 364.
  142. Gilbert 1994, p. 491.
  143. Tucker & Roberts 2005, p. 715.
  144. Meyer 2006, pp. 152–154, 161, 163, 175, 182.
  145. Smele
  146. Schindler 2003, p. ?.
  147. Tucker 2002, p. 119.
  148. Lawrence Goodrich (2011). Cultural Studies. Jones & Bartlett Learning. p. 376. ISBN 9781449637286. Archived from the original on 20 August 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  149. Jelavich 1992, pp. 441–442.
  150. ^ Dumitru 2012, p. 171.
  151. Dumitru 2012, p. 170.
  152. ^ Gilbert 1994, p. 282.
  153. Torrie 1978, pp. 7–8.
  154. Barrett 2013, pp. 96–98.
  155. România în anii primului război mondial, vol.2, p. 831
  156. Keith Hitchins, Clarendon Press, 1994, Rumania 1866–1947, p. 269
  157. Crampton 1994, pp. 24–25.
  158. Béla 1998, p. 429.
  159. Rothschild 1975, p. 314.
  160. ^ Alexander Lanoszka; Michael A. Hunzeker (11 November 2018). "Why the First War lasted so long". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 12 April 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  161. Keegan 1998, p. 345.
  162. Kernek 1970, pp. 721–766.
  163. Beckett 2007, p. 523.
  164. Winter 2014, pp. 110–132.
  165. Wheeler-Bennett 1938, pp. 36–41.
  166. Treaty of Bucharest with the Central Powers in May 1918
  167. R. J. Crampton, Eastern Europe in the twentieth century, Routledge, 1994, ISBN 978-0-415-05346-4, pp. 24–25
  168. Stevenson 2012, pp. 315–316.
  169. Stevenson 2012, p. 317.
  170. Gilbert 1994, p. 318.
  171. Grotelueschen 2006, pp. 14–15.
  172. Stevenson 2012, p. 318.
  173. Grotelueschen 2006, pp. 44–46.
  174. Stevenson 2012, p. 403.
  175. Clayton 2003, p. 124.
  176. Clayton 2003, p. 129.
  177. Strachan 2003, p. 244.
  178. Inglis 1995, p. 2.
  179. Humphries 2007, p. 66.
  180. Horne 1964, p. 323.
  181. Erickson 2001, p. 163.
  182. Moore, A. Briscoe (1920). The Mounted Riflemen in Sinai & Palestine: The Story of New Zealand's Crusaders. Christchurch: Whitcombe & Tombs. p. 67. OCLC 156767391.
  183. Falls, Cyril (1930). Military Operations. Part I Egypt & Palestine: Volume 2 From June 1917 to the End of the War. Official History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Maps compiled by A.F. Becke. London: HM Stationery Office. p. 59. OCLC 1113542987.
  184. Wavell, Earl (1968) . "The Palestine Campaigns". In Sheppard, Eric William (ed.). A Short History of the British Army (4th ed.). London: Constable & Co. pp. 153–155. OCLC 35621223.
  185. "Text of the Decree of the Surrender of Jerusalem into British Control". First World War.com. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  186. Bruce, Anthony (2002). The Last Crusade: The Palestine Campaign in the First World War. London: John Murray. p. 162. ISBN 978-0-7195-5432-2.
  187. "Who's Who – Kress von Kressenstein". First World War.com. Archived from the original on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  188. "Who's Who – Otto Liman von Sanders". First World War.com. Archived from the original on 27 December 2007. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  189. Erickson 2001, p. 195.
  190. Ayers 1919, p. 104.
  191. Heyman 1997, pp. 146–147.
  192. Westwell 2004.
  193. Gray 1991, p. 86.
  194. Rickard 2007.
  195. Schreiber, Shane B. (2004) . Shock Army of the British Empire: The Canadian Corps in the Last 100 Days of the Great War. St. Catharines, ON: Vanwell. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-55125-096-0. OCLC 57063659.
  196. Rickard 2001.
  197. Brown, Malcolm (1999) . 1918: Year of Victory. London: Pan. p. 190. ISBN 978-0-330-37672-3.
  198. Gray & Argyle 1990
  199. McLellan, p. 49.
  200. Christie 1997, p. ?.
  201. "The Battle of Dobro Polje – The Forgotten Balkan Skirmish That Ended WW1". Militaryhistorynow.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  202. "The Germans Could no Longer Keep up the Fight". historycollection.co. 22 February 2017. Archived from the original on 23 December 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  203. ^ "1918 Timeline". League of Nations Photo Archive. Archived from the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  204. "The Battle of Dobro Polje – The Forgotten Balkan Skirmish That Ended WW1". Militaryhistorynow.com. 21 September 2017. Archived from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  205. "The Germans Could no Longer Keep up the Fight". historycollection.com. 22 February 2017. Archived from the original on 23 December 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  206. Axelrod 2018, p. 260.
  207. Andrea di Michele (2014). "Trento, Bolzano e Innsbruck: l'occupazione militare italiana del Tirolo (1918–1920)" [Trento, Bolzano and Innsbruck: The Italian Military Occupation of Tyrol (1918–1920)] (PDF). Trento e Trieste. Percorsi degli Italiani d'Austria dal '48 all'annessione (in Italian): 436–437. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 October 2018. La forza numerica del contingente italiano variò con il passare dei mesi e al suo culmine raggiunse i 20–22.000 uomini.
  208. "Clairière de l'Armistice" (in French). Ville de Compiègne. Archived from the original on 27 August 2007.
  209. Stevenson 2004, p. 385.
  210. K. Kuhl. "Die 14 Kieler Punkte" [The Kiel 14 points] (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  211. Dähnhardt, D. (1978). Revolution in Kiel. Neumünster: Karl Wachholtz Verlag. p. 91. ISBN 978-3-529-02636-2.
  212. Wette, Wolfram (2006). "Die Novemberrevolution – Kiel 1918". In Fleischhauer; Turowski (eds.). Kieler Erinnerungsorte. Boyens.
  213. Stevenson 2004, p. 383.
  214. Stevenson 2004, Chapter 17.
  215. "France's oldest WWI veteran dies" Archived 28 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News, 20 January 2008.
  216. ^ Tucker & Roberts 2005, p. 273
  217. Hastedt, Glenn P. (2009). Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy. Infobase Publishing. p. 483. ISBN 978-1-4381-0989-3.
  218. Murrin, John; Johnson, Paul; McPherson, James; Gerstle, Gary; Fahs, Alice (2010). Liberty, Equality, Power: A History of the American People. Vol. II. Cengage Learning. p. 622. ISBN 978-0-495-90383-3.
  219. "Harding Ends War; Signs Peace Decree at Senator's Home. Thirty Persons Witness Momentous Act in Frelinghuysen Living Room at Raritan". The New York Times. 3 July 1921. Archived from the original on 4 December 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  220. "No. 31773". The London Gazette. 10 February 1920. p. 1671.
  221. "No. 31991". The London Gazette. 23 July 1920. pp. 7765–7766.
  222. "No. 13627". The London Gazette. 27 August 1920. p. 1924.
  223. "No. 32421". The London Gazette. 12 August 1921. pp. 6371–6372.
  224. "No. 32964". The London Gazette. 12 August 1924. pp. 6030–6031.
  225. "Dates on war memorials" (PDF). War Memorials Trust. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  226. Magliveras 1999, pp. 8–12.
  227. Northedge 1986, pp. 35–36.
  228. Morrow, John H. (2005). The Great War: An Imperial History. London: Routledge. p. 290. ISBN 978-0-415-20440-8.
  229. Schulze, Hagen (1998). Germany: A New History. Harvard U.P. p. 204.
  230. Ypersele, Laurence Van (2012). "Mourning and Memory, 1919–45". In Horne, John (ed.). A Companion to World War I. Wiley. p. 584.
  231. "The Surrogate Hegemon in Polish Postcolonial Discourse Ewa Thompson, Rice University" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  232. "Open-Site:Hungary". Archived from the original on 3 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  233. Frucht, p. 356.
  234. Kocsis, Károly; Hodosi, Eszter Kocsisné (1998). Ethnic Geography of the Hungarian Minorities in the Carpathian Basin. Geographical Research Institute, Research Centre and Earth Sciences. p. 19. ISBN 978-963-7395-84-0.
  235. Clark 1927.
  236. "Appeals to Americans to Pray for Serbians" (PDF). The New York Times. 27 July 1918. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 September 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  237. "Serbia Restored" (PDF). The New York Times. 5 November 1918. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 September 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  238. Simpson, Matt (22 August 2009). "The Minor Powers During World War One – Serbia". firstworldwar.com. Archived from the original on 27 April 2010. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  239. Cas Mudde. Racist Extremism in Central and Eastern Europe Archived 15 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  240. "'ANZAC Day' in London; King, Queen, and General Birdwood at Services in Abbey". The New York Times. 26 April 1916. Archived from the original on 15 July 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  241. Australian War Memorial. "The ANZAC Day tradition". Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 1 May 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  242. "The Diaspora Welcomes the Pope" Archived 4 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Der Spiegel Online. 28 November 2006.
  243. Rummel, R.J. (1998). "The Holocaust in Comparative and Historical Perspective". Idea Journal of Social Issues. 3 (2).
  244. Hedges, Chris (17 September 2000). "A Few Words in Greek Tell of a Homeland Lost". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 25 November 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  245. ^ "World War I: Killed, wounded, and missing". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  246. "War Losses". International Encyclopedia of the First World War. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  247. Kitchen 2000, p. 22.
  248. Sévillia, Jean, Histoire Passionnée de la France, 2013, p. 395
  249. Howard 1993, p. 166.
  250. Saadi 2009.
  251. Tschanz.
  252. Spreeuwenberg 2018, pp. 2561–2567.
  253. Knobler et al. 2005.
  254. Ansart, Séverine; Pelat, Camille; Boelle, Pierre-Yves; Carrat, Fabrice; Flahault, Antoine; Valleron, Alain-Jacques (May 2009). "Mortality burden of the 1918–1919 influenza pandemic in Europe". Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses. 3 (3). Wiley: 99–106. doi:10.1111/j.1750-2659.2009.00080.x. PMC 4634693. PMID 19453486.
  255. K. von Economo.Wiener klinische Wochenschrift, 10 May 1917, 30: 581–585. Die Encephalitis lethargica. Leipzig and Vienna, Franz Deuticke, 1918.
  256. Reid, A. H.; McCall, S.; Henry, J. M.; Taubenberger, J. K. (2001). "Experimenting on the Past: The Enigma of von Economo's Encephalitis Lethargica". J. Neuropathol. Exp. Neurol. 60 (7): 663–670. doi:10.1093/jnen/60.7.663. PMID 11444794. S2CID 40754090.
  257. "War Horse: The True Story". Alberta Animal Health Source. 10 November 2020. Archived from the original on 8 January 2024. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  258. "History of United States' Involvement in Chemical Warfare". www.denix.osd.mil. Archived from the original on 1 March 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  259. ^ Fitzgerald, Gerard (April 2008). "Chemical Warfare and Medical Response During World War I". American Journal of Public Health. 98 (4): 611–625. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2007.11930. PMC 2376985. PMID 18356568.
  260. Taylor, Telford (1993). The Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials: A Personal Memoir. Little, Brown and Company. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-316-83400-1. Retrieved 20 June 2013 – via Internet Archive.
  261. Graham, Thomas; Lavera, Damien J. (2003). Cornerstones of Security: Arms Control Treaties in the Nuclear Era. University of Washington Press. pp. 7–9. ISBN 978-0-295-98296-0. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  262. Henry Morgenthau (1918). "XXV: Talaat Tells Why He "Deports" the Armenians". Ambassador Mogenthau's story. Brigham Young University. Archived from the original on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  263. ^ International Association of Genocide Scholars (13 June 2005). "Open Letter to the Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan". Archived from the original on 6 October 2007.
  264. Vartparonian, Paul Leverkuehn; Kaiser (2008). A German officer during the Armenian genocide: a biography of Max von Scheubner-Richter. translated by Alasdair Lean; with a preface by Jorge and a historical introduction by Hilmar. London: Taderon Press for the Gomidas Institute. ISBN 978-1-903656-81-5. Archived from the original on 26 March 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  265. Ferguson 2006, p. 177.
  266. "International Association of Genocide Scholars" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  267. Fromkin 1989, pp. 212–215.
  268. International Association of Genocide Scholars. "Resolution on genocides committed by the Ottoman empire" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 April 2008.
  269. Gaunt, David (2006). Massacres, Resistance, Protectors: Muslim-Christian Relations in Eastern Anatolia during World War I. Piscataway, New Jersey: Gorgias Press.
  270. Schaller, Dominik J.; Zimmerer, Jürgen (2008). "Late Ottoman genocides: the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and Young Turkish population and extermination policies – introduction". Journal of Genocide Research. 10 (1): 7–14. doi:10.1080/14623520801950820. S2CID 71515470.
  271. Whitehorn, Alan (2015). The Armenian Genocide: The Essential Reference Guide: The Essential Reference Guide. ABC-CLIO. pp. 83, 218. ISBN 978-1-61069-688-3. Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  272. Phillimore & Bellot 1919, pp. 4–64.
  273. Ferguson 1999, pp. 368–369.
  274. Tucker & Roberts 2005, p. 2733.
  275. Havighurst 1985, p. 131.
  276. Ward, Alan J. (1974). "Lloyd George and the 1918 Irish conscription crisis". Historical Journal. 17 (1): 107–129. doi:10.1017/S0018246X00005689. S2CID 162360809.
  277. J.M. Main, Conscription: the Australian debate, 1901–1970 (1970) abstract Archived 7 July 2015 at archive.today
  278. "Commonwealth Parliament from 1901 to World War I". Parliament of Australia. 4 May 2015. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  279. "The Conscription Crisis". CBC. 2001. Archived from the original on 13 July 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  280. Chelmsford, J.E. "Clergy and Man-Power", The Times 15 April 1918, p. 12
  281. Chambers, John Whiteclay (1987). To Raise an Army: The Draft Comes to Modern America. New York: The Free Press. ISBN 978-0-02-905820-6.
  282. Zinn, Howard (2003). A People's History of the United States. Harper Collins. p. 134. ISBN 9780060528423.
  283. Pedersen, Sarah (1 May 2002). "A Surfeit of Socks? The Impact of the First World War on Women Correspondents to Daily Newspapers". Journal of Scottish Historical Studies. 22 (1): 50–72. doi:10.3366/jshs.2002.22.1.50. hdl:10059/294. ISSN 1748-538X. PMID 19489175. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  284. Trumpener, Ulrich (4 November 1987). "The Service Attachés and Military Plenipotentiaries of Imperial Germany, 1871–1918". The International History Review. 9 (4): 621–638. doi:10.1080/07075332.1987.9640462. ISSN 0707-5332. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  285. Craig, Gordon A. (1949). "Military Diplomats in the Prussian and German Service: The Attachés, 1816- 1914". Political Science Quarterly. 64 (1): 65–94. doi:10.2307/2144182. ISSN 0032-3195. JSTOR 2144182. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  286. Noakes, Lucy (2006). Women in the British Army: War and the Gentle Sex, 1907–1948. Abingdon, England: Routledge. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-415-39056-9.
  287. Cosgrave, Jenny (10 March 2015). "UK finally finishes paying for World War I". CNBC. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  288. Green 1938, p. cxxvi.
  289. Anton Kaes; Martin Jay; Edward Dimendberg, eds. (1994). "The Treaty of Versailles: The Reparations Clauses". The Weimar Republic Sourcebook. University of California Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-520-90960-1. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  290. Marks 1978, pp. 231–232
  291. ^ Marks 1978, p. 237
  292. Marks 1978, pp. 223–234
  293. Stone, Norman (2008). World War One: A Short History. London: Penguin. ISBN 978-0-14-103156-9.
  294. Marks 1978, p. 233
  295. Hall, Allan (28 September 2010). "First World War officially ends". The Telegraph. Berlin. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  296. Suddath, Claire (4 October 2010). "Why Did World War I Just End?". Time. Archived from the original on 5 October 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  297. "World War I to finally end for Germany this weekend". CNN. 30 September 2010. Archived from the original on 16 March 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  298. MacMillan, Margaret (25 December 2010). "Ending the War to End All Wars". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 16 March 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  299. Souter 2000, p. 354.
  300. Tucker & Roberts 2005, p. 1189.
  301. ^ Tucker & Roberts 2005, p. 1001
  302. Tucker & Roberts 2005, p. 117.
  303. Mukhtar, Mohammed (2003). Historical Dictionary of Somalia. Scarecrow Press. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-8108-6604-1. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  304. "How Ethiopian prince scuppered Germany's WW1 plans". BBC News. 25 September 2016. Archived from the original on 13 April 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  305. Tucker & Roberts 2005, p. 1069.
  306. Tucker & Roberts 2005, p. 884.
  307. Tucker & Roberts 2005, p. 335.
  308. Tucker & Roberts 2005, p. 219.
  309. Tucker & Roberts 2005, p. 209.
  310. ^ Tucker & Roberts 2005, p. 596
  311. Tucker & Roberts 2005, p. 826.
  312. Denis Mack Smith. 1997. Modern Italy: A Political History. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. p. 284.
  313. "No Immediate Need. Te Awamutu Courier". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 22 September 1939. Archived from the original on 16 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  314. "Chapter 4 – Response from the Home Front". nzetc.victoria.ac.nz. 1986. Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  315. "5.2: Provincial patriotic councils". Office of the Auditor-General New Zealand. 2005. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  316. Karp 1979
  317. Pennell, Catriona (2012). A Kingdom United: Popular Responses to the Outbreak of the First World War in Britain and Ireland. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-959058-2.
  318. Tucker & Roberts 2005, p. 584.
  319. O'Halpin, Eunan, The Decline of the Union: British Government in Ireland, 1892–1920, (Dublin, 1987)
  320. Lehmann & van der Veer 1999, p. 62.
  321. Brock, Peter, These Strange Criminals: An Anthology of Prison Memoirs by Conscientious Objectors to Military Service from the Great War to the Cold War, p. 14, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2004, ISBN 978-0-8020-8707-2
  322. "Winchester Whisperer: The secret newspaper made by jailed pacifists". BBC News. 24 February 2014. Archived from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  323. Richard Pipes (1990). The Russian Revolution. Knopf Doubleday. p. 407. ISBN 978-0-307-78857-3. Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  324. ^ Seton-Watson, Christopher. 1967. Italy from Liberalism to Fascism: 1870 to 1925. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd. p. 471
  325. Lawson, Eric; Lawson, Jane (2002). The First Air Campaign: August 1914 – November 1918. Da Capo Press. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-306-81213-2.
  326. Hartcup 1988, p. 154.
  327. Hartcup 1988, pp. 82–86.
  328. Sterling, Christopher H. (2008). Military Communications: From Ancient Times to the 21st Century. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-85109-732-6 p. 444.
  329. Cross 1991
  330. Cross 1991, pp. 56–57.
  331. Stevenson 1988, p. .
  332. Zeman, Z. A. B. (1971). Diplomatic History of the First World War. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. ISBN 978-0-297-00300-7.
  333. See Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (1921). Scott, James Brown (ed.). Official Statements of War Aims and Peace Proposals: December 1916 to November 1918. Washington, D.C., The Endowment.
  334. "Memorials to the Missing of the First and Second World Wars". Department of Veterans' Affairs. Commonwealth of Australia. 10 October 2023. Archived from the original on 1 March 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  335. "Thiepval Anglo-French Cemetery". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  336. "John McCrae". Nature. 100 (2521). Historica: 487–488. 1918. Bibcode:1918Natur.100..487.. doi:10.1038/100487b0. S2CID 4275807.
  337. David, Evans (1918). "John McCrae". Nature. 100 (2521): 487–488. Bibcode:1918Natur.100..487.. doi:10.1038/100487b0. S2CID 4275807. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  338. "Monumental Undertaking". kclibrary.org. 21 September 2015. Archived from the original on 29 May 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  339. "Commemoration website". 1914.org. Archived from the original on 8 February 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  340. "French, German Presidents Mark World War I Anniversary". France News.Net. Archived from the original on 3 April 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  341. "Armistice Day: Macron and Merkel mark end of World War One". BBC News. 10 November 2018. Archived from the original on 10 December 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  342. Wilfred Owen: poems, 1917, (Faber and Faber, 2004)
  343. ^ Neiberg, Michael (2007). The World War I Reader. p. 1.
  344. Jones, Heather (2013). "As the centenary approaches: the regeneration of First World War historiography". Historical Journal. 56 (3): 857–878 . doi:10.1017/S0018246X13000216.
  345. see Christoph Cornelissen, and Arndt Weinrich, eds. Writing the Great War – The Historiography of World War I from 1918 to the Present (2020) free download Archived 29 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine; full coverage for major countries.

Bibliography

For a comprehensive bibliography, see Bibliography of World War I.

External links

Listen to this article
(3 parts, 59 minutes)
Spoken Misplaced Pages iconThese audio files were created from a revision of this article dated 24 June 2006 (2006-06-24), and do not reflect subsequent edits.(Audio help · More spoken articles)

Archival materials

Library guides

World War I
Theatres
European
Middle Eastern
African
Asian and Pacific
Naval warfare
Principal
participants
Entente Powers
Central Powers
Timeline
Pre-War conflicts
Prelude
1914
1915
1916
1917
1918
Co-belligerent conflicts
Post-War conflicts
Aspects
Warfare
Conscription
Casualties /
Civilian impact
Disease
Occupations
POWs
Refugees
War crimes
Diplomacy
Entry into the war
Declarations of war
Agreements
Peace treaties
Other
History of World War I by region and country
Africa
Americas
Asia
Europe
Oceania
Balkan Wars
Background
First Balkan War
Battles
Diplomacy and politics
Second Balkan War
Battles
Diplomacy and politics
Other
General
Aftermath
Atrocities
Participants
International relations (1814–1919)
Great powers
Alliances
Trends
Treaties and
agreements
Events
Wars
Western world and culture
Foundations
History
Culture
Philosophy
Religion
Law
Contemporary
integration
Eastern world and culture
Foundations
History
Culture
Philosophy
Religion
Contemporary
integration
Categories: