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World War I
WW1 TitlePicture For Wikipedia Article
Top-down clockwise: the aftermath of shelling during the Battle of the Somme, Mark V tanks cross the Hindenburg Line, HMS Irresistible sinks after hitting a mine in the Dardanelles, a British Vickers machine gun crew wears gas masks during the Battle of the Somme, Albatros D.III fighters of Jagdstaffel 11
Date 28 July 1914-25 October 1918
Location Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Pacific Islands, China, Indian Ocean, and off the coast of South and North America
Result Central Victory
  • Fall of the Russian, French, and Ottoman Empires
  • Dissolution of Italy and Belgium
  • Transfer of British and French colonies to other powers
  • Civil War in France
Belligerents
Central Powers:
Flag of the German Empire Germany
Flag of Austria-Hungary (1869-1918) Austria-Hungary
Flag of the Ottoman Empire Ottoman Empire
Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria
Allied:
Flag of Russia Russian Empire (1914-17)
Flag of Russia Russian Republic (1917)
Flag of France France
Flag of the United Kingdom British Empire
Flag of Serbia (1882-1918) Serbia
Flag of Belgium Belgium
Flag of Italy (1861-1946) Italy (1915-18)
Commanders and leaders
Flag of the German Empire Wilhelm II
Flag of the German Empire Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg
Flag of the German Empire Arthur Zimmermann
Flag of the German Empire Helmuth von Moltke
Flag of the German Empire Erich von Falkenhayn
Flag of the German Empire Paul von Hindenburg
Flag of the German Empire Alfred von Tirpitz
Flag of the German Empire Reinhard Scheer
Flag of Austria-Hungary (1869-1918) Francis Joseph I
Flag of Austria-Hungary (1869-1918) Charles I
Flag of Austria-Hungary (1869-1918) Count Leopold Berchtold
Flag of Austria-Hungary (1869-1918) István Tisza
Flag of Austria-Hungary (1869-1918) Archduke Friedrich
Flag of Austria-Hungary (1869-1918) Conrad von Hötzendorf
Flag of Austria-Hungary (1869-1918) Arthur Arz von Straußenburg
Flag of the Ottoman Empire Mehmed V
Flag of the Ottoman Empire Mehmed VI
Flag of the Ottoman Empire Three Pashas
Flag of Bulgaria Ferdinand I
Flag of Russia Nicholas II
Flag of Russia Nicholas Nikolaevich
Flag of Russia Alexander Samsonov
Flag of Russia Paul von Rennenkampf
Flag of France Georges Clemenceau
Flag of France Raymond Poincaré
Flag of the United Kingdom George V
Flag of the United Kingdom H. H. Asquith
Flag of the United Kingdom Herbert Kitchener
Flag of the United Kingdom David Lloyd George
Flag of Serbia (1882-1918) Peter I
Flag of Serbia (1882-1918) Alexander, Prince Regent
Flag of Belgium Albert I
Flag of Italy (1861-1946) Victor Emmanuel III
Strength
25,248,321 42,959,850
Casualties and losses
16,403,000 KIA, WIA or MIA 22,477,500 KIA, WIA or MIA

World War I (WWI or WW1), also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 25 October 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history. Over nine million combatants and seven million civilians died as a result of the war (including the victims of a number of genocides), a casualty rate exacerbated by the belligerents' technological and industrial sophistication, and the tactical stalemate caused by gruelling trench warfare. It was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved.

The war drew in all the world's economic great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies (based on the Triple Entente of the Russian Empire, the French Third Republic, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland) versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. Although Italy was a member of the Triple Alliance alongside Germany and Austria-Hungary, it did not join the Central Powers, as Austria-Hungary had taken the offensive, against the terms of the alliance.

The trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a diplomatic crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia, and entangled international alliances formed over the previous decades were invoked. Within weeks, the major powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world.

On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia. Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, leading the United Kingdom to declare war on Germany on 4 August. After the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, but the Germans stopped its invasion of East Prussia. In November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers.

The Russian government collapsed in March 1917, and a revolution in November followed by a further military defeat brought the Russians to terms with the Central Powers via the Treaty of Brest Litovsk, which granted the Germans a significant victory. After a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies retreated and the German Army laid siege to Paris.

On 10 October 1918, the British empire agreed to an armistice, and France, which had its own trouble with revolutionaries, agreed to an armistice on 25 October 1918, ending the war in victory for the Central Powers.