The Great War (Nazi Cold War)

The Great War was waged primarily in Europe from 1914 to 1919, but spilled over into Africa, the Middle East, and the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.

On one side of the war were the Central Powers: Austria-Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire. The major Allies consisted of the British and French Empires, the Russian Empire (until 1917), Italy, Japan, and after 1917 the United States.

World War One saw the first major use of poison gas, large artillery, armored tanks, and airplanes. It was a "total war" because the governments involved took control over the economy and factories, giving first priority to the goods needed for war. Wage and price controls were imposed, there was rationing of goods for civilians, and free speech was limited. The governments put out propaganda to maximize support for the war and dislike of the enemy. Many of the techniques of population manipulation and central government control which we see today were first pioneered by European powers during The Great War.

Causes
The causes of the Great War range from the immediate to the remote. While some historians believe the war to have been accidental, others have said that the accumulating factors made it inevitable.

The rise of Germany, for instance, was seen as a threat by the French and British. Germany, unified in 1870, defeated France in the Franco-Prussian War and annexed Lorraine and Alsace. Afterwards, Germany became a serious rival for the British, starting a naval arms race.

In eastern Europe, meanwhile, Austria and Russia contended with one another over interests in the Balkan Peninsula.

The final nail in the coffin, however, would be when Serbian Black Hand terrorist Gavrilo Princip killed Austrian heir Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophia. The Germans immediately came to Austria's side, but Russia sided with their Slavic cousins, the Serbs.

Soon, France, who was in an alliance with Russia, ordered a state of mobilization. This prompted Germany to send its army into Belgium, which made Britain take part in the conflict.

1917
The year 1917 saw the end not only of the Ottoman Empire, but Russia as well.

1918
1918

1919
1919