European theatre of World war I - wikipedia European theatre of World war I This article does not cite any sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( August 2011 ) First European War Part of World War I Date 3 August 1914 -- 11 November 1918 ( 4 years, 3 months, 1 week and 1 day ) Location Europe Result Treaty of Versailles, Treaty of Brest - Litovsk Belligerents Central Powers : Austria - Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Entente Powers : Serbia Russian Empire / Republic Belgium France British Empire Australia Canada India Newfoundland New Zealand South Africa United Kingdom Italy Romania, Greece United States Commanders and leaders Franz Josef I Conrad von Hötzendorf Wilhelm II Erich von Falkenhayn Paul von Hindenburg Erich Ludendorff Mehmed V Enver Pasha Ferdinand I Nikola Zhekov Peter I Radomir Putnik Albert I Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Raymond Poincaré Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Robert Nivelle George V Herbert H. Asquith David Lloyd George Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Ferdinard I Constantin Prezan Constantine I Panagiotis Danglis Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Theatres of World War I European Western Front Eastern Front Italian Front Balkans Middle Eastern Caucasus Persia Gallipoli Mesopotamia Sinai and Palestine Arab Revolt South Arabia African South - West Africa Togoland Cameroon East Africa North Africa Asian and Pacific theatre Naval theaters U-boat Atlantic Ocean Mediterranean Although considerable conflict took place outside Europe, the European theatre was the main theatre of operations during World War I and was where the war began and ended. During the four years of conflict, battle was joined by armies of unprecedented size equipped with new mechanized technologies, leaving millions dead or wounded. Contents 1 Overview 2 Western Front 3 Eastern Front 4 Italian Front 5 Balkans Front 6 Naval conflict 7 See also 8 References Overview The European theatre is divided into four main theatres of operations : the Western Front, the Eastern Front, the Italian Front, and the Balkans Front. Not all of Europe involved in the war. Nor did fighting take place throughout all of the major combatants territory. The United Kingdom was nearly untouched by the war. Most of France was unaffected, as was most of Germany and Italy. Some large countries in Europe remained neutral for the entire war such as Sweden and Spain -- the Great War passed them by without much impact. On the other hand, some countries were conquered ( Serbia, Belgium, Romania ). Other countries like Russia and the Ottoman Empire saw armies marching over much of their lands, with a great deal of resulting devastation. Although the United States did join the war, due to Great Britain 's control over the Atlantic Ocean, the only fighting for the U.S. Army was in Europe on the Western Front. The American army was transported by ship across the ocean so it could fight the Germans in France. Western Front Main article : Western Front ( World War I ) The Western Front was the scene of continuous combat from the start of the war until the last day of the war, November 11, 1918. The fighting on the Western Front was mainly confined to the north - eastern part of France as well as Belgium. Most of France was not fought over, and the Netherlands remained neutral for the entire war. The Western Front involved the allied powers of France, the British Empire, Belgium, and America fighting against the armed forces of the German Empire. Eastern Front Main article : Eastern Front ( World War I ) The fighting on the Eastern Front was primarily contested by the German army and the Austro - Hungarian army on one side and the forces of the Russian Empire and Romania on the other. The Eastern front covered a very large territory, from the Baltic in the north to the Black Sea in the south and from Prussia and Galicia in the west to Latvia and Minsk to the east. The fighting on this front ended early, with the last significant military operation taking place in the autumn of 1917. The two Russian Revolutions of 1917 forced Russia out of the war. The Bolshevik government that took power in November 1917 had promised an end to the war and that government signed the Treaty of Brest - Litovsk which ended the war for Russia in March 1918. Italian Front Main article : Italian Campaign ( World War I ) The Italian Front covered only a small part of northern Italy and the western border of Austria - Hungary. The fighting here began on 23 May 1915 and lasted till 3 November 1918. Most of the fighting was concentrated on a very small bit of land between the Alps and the Adriatic, near the town of Trieste. The fighting primarily involved Italy and Austria - Hungary but also included smaller contingents from France, the UK, and the US ( who fought on the side of Italy ), and Germany ( who was allied with Austria - Hungary ). Balkans Front Main article : Balkans Campaign ( World War I ) The Balkans Front covered all of Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, and Romania. It also covered northern Greece, the western part of Bulgaria, and the south and eastern parts of Austria - Hungary. Very little fighting took place in this theatre for long periods of time. It was considered a lesser theatre of war by the Great Powers. The Central Powers of Austria - Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire were opposed by the allied powers of Serbia, France, the United Kingdom, Romania, Russia, Montenegro, and Greece. Naval conflict Main article : Naval warfare of World War I Because of the dominance of the British and French navies, only limited fighting took place in the seas around Europe. The German U-Boat fleet tried to sink British merchant ships, with some success early in the war. German U-Boats had only moderate cruising range in this war and operated mostly in the North Sea, the Irish Sea and in the Mediterranean. The German U-Boat threat was drastically reduced when the British finally adopted a convoy system in early 1917. There was one great battle in the waters near Europe : the Battle of Jutland 31 May 1916 -- 1 June 1916 between the German High Seas Fleet and the British Grand Fleet. This was one of the largest sea battles in world history though, in some respects, the battle was inconclusive. In the Adriatic, some very limited sea combat took place between the navy of Austria - Hungary and the Allied navies of France, Britain, and Italy. The strategy of the Allies was to blockade the Adriatic and monitor the movements of the Austrian fleet. In general, this strategy was successful but the Germans and the Austrians were able to send submarines out into the Mediterranean where they did some damage. The main sea base for the Austrian and German fleet in the Adriatic was Pola ( modern day Pula in Croatia ). Japan, an ally of the United Kingdom, sent some destroyers to the Mediterranean and they were very effective in patrol and anti-submarine activity. By contrast the Italian Navy was `` languid and apathetic '' ( Cyril Falls `` The Great War '' p. 295 ). The only significant naval battle occurred on 15 May 1917 when three Austrian cruisers under Captain Miklós Horthy staged a raid on some Italian and British transports near Valona Albania. The raid was a partial success but the raiders were nearly destroyed by shell fire from Italian ships that chased them back to Pola. In the Black Sea, the Russian fleet was dominant and it was led by two skilled commanders, Admiral Eberhart and then Admiral Kolchak ( who took over in 1916 ). By the end of 1915, the Russian fleet had nearly complete control of the sea. The Black Sea fleet was used mainly to support General Yudenich in his Caucasus Campaign. In the Baltic Sea, the Russian fleet was essentially inactive, hiding behind the belts of mines which stretched across the entry into the Gulf of Finland. So the German Baltic fleet dominated the sea and was of occasional use to the German army on the Eastern front. See also Finnish Civil War World War I Europe References World War I Home fronts Theatres European Balkans Western Front Eastern Front Italian Front Middle Eastern Gallipoli Sinai and Palestine Caucasus Persia Mesopotamia South Arabia African South - West East Kamerun Togoland North Asian and Pacific Tsingtao German New Guinea and Samoa At sea North Atlantic U-boat campaign Mediterranean North Sea Baltic Indian, Pacific and South Atlantic Oceans Papeete Madras Penang Cocos Coronel Falkland Islands Más a Tierra Principal participants ( people ) Entente powers Belgium Brazil China France French Empire Greece Italy Japan Montenegro Portuguese Empire Romania Russia Russian Empire Russian Republic Serbia United Kingdom British Empire United States Central Powers Germany Austria - Hungary Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Timeline Pre-War conflicts Scramble for Africa ( 1880 -- 1914 ) Russo - Japanese War ( 1905 ) First Moroccan ( Tangier ) Crisis ( 1905 -- 06 ) Agadir Crisis ( 1911 ) Italo - Turkish War ( 1911 -- 12 ) French conquest of Morocco ( 1911 -- 12 ) First Balkan War ( 1912 -- 13 ) Second Balkan War ( 1913 ) Prelude Origins Sarajevo assassination Anti-Serb riots in Sarajevo July Crisis Autumn 1914 Battle of the Frontiers Battle of Cer First Battle of the Marne Siege of Tsingtao Battle of Tannenberg Battle of Galicia Battle of the Masurian Lakes Battle of Kolubara Battle of Sarikamish Race to the Sea First Battle of Ypres 1915 Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes Second Battle of Ypres Battle of Gallipoli Second Battle of Artois Battles of the Isonzo Great Retreat Second Battle of Champagne Kosovo Offensive Siege of Kut Battle of Loos 1916 Erzurum Offensive Battle of Verdun Lake Naroch Offensive Battle of Asiago Battle of Jutland Battle of the Somme first day Brusilov Offensive Baranovichi Offensive Battle of Romani Monastir Offensive Battle of Transylvania 1917 Capture of Baghdad First Battle of Gaza Zimmermann Telegram Second Battle of Arras Second Battle of the Aisne Kerensky Offensive Third Battle of Ypres ( Passchendaele ) Battle of Mărășești Battle of Caporetto Southern Palestine Offensive Battle of Cambrai Armistice of Erzincan 1918 Operation Faustschlag Treaty of Brest - Litovsk Spring Offensive Second Battle of the Marne Battle of Baku Hundred Days Offensive Vardar Offensive Battle of Megiddo Third Transjordan attack Meuse - Argonne Offensive Battle of Vittorio Veneto Battle of Aleppo Armistice of Salonica Armistice of Mudros Armistice of Villa Giusti Armistice with Germany Other conflicts Mexican Revolution ( 1910 -- 20 ) Somaliland Campaign ( 1910 -- 20 ) Libyan resistance movement ( 1911 -- 43 ) Maritz Rebellion ( 1914 -- 15 ) Zaian War ( 1914 -- 21 ) Indo - German Conspiracy ( 1914 -- 19 ) Senussi Campaign ( 1915 -- 16 ) Volta - Bani War ( 1915 -- 17 ) Easter Rising ( 1916 ) Anglo - Egyptian Darfur Expedition ( 1916 ) Kaocen Revolt ( 1916 -- 17 ) Russian Revolution ( 1917 ) Finnish Civil War ( 1918 ) Post-War conflicts Russian Civil War ( 1917 -- 21 ) Ukrainian -- Soviet War ( 1917 -- 21 ) Armenian -- Azerbaijani War ( 1918 -- 20 ) Georgian -- Armenian War ( 1918 ) German Revolution ( 1918 -- 19 ) Revolutions and interventions in Hungary ( 1918 -- 20 ) Hungarian -- Romanian War ( 1918 -- 19 ) Greater Poland Uprising ( 1918 -- 19 ) Estonian War of Independence ( 1918 -- 20 ) Latvian War of Independence ( 1918 -- 20 ) Lithuanian Wars of Independence ( 1918 -- 20 ) Third Anglo - Afghan War ( 1919 ) Egyptian Revolution ( 1919 ) Polish -- Ukrainian War ( 1918 -- 19 ) Polish -- Soviet War ( 1919 -- 21 ) Irish War of Independence ( 1919 -- 21 ) Turkish War of Independence Greco - Turkish War ( 1919 -- 23 ) Turkish -- Armenian War ( 1920 ) Iraqi revolt ( 1920 ) Polish -- Lithuanian War ( 1920 ) Vlora War ( 1920 ) Franco - Syrian War ( 1920 ) Soviet -- Georgian War ( 1921 ) Irish Civil War ( 1922 -- 23 ) Aspects Opposition Pacifism Anti-war movement Deployment Schlieffen Plan ( German ) Plan XVII ( French ) Warfare Military engagements Naval warfare Convoy system Air warfare Cryptography Room 40 Horse use Poison gas Railways Strategic bombing Technology Trench warfare Total war Christmas truce Last surviving veterans Civilian impact Atrocities Prisoners Casualties Economic history 1918 flu pandemic Destruction of Kalisz Rape of Belgium German occupation of Belgium German occupation of Luxembourg German occupation of northeastern France Ober Ost Ottoman people ( Armenian Genocide, Assyrian genocide, Pontic Greek genocide ) Blockade of Germany Women ( Australia ) Popular culture German prisoners of war in the United States Agreements Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire Sykes -- Picot Agreement Agreement of Saint - Jean - de-Maurienne French - Armenian Agreement Damascus Protocol Paris Peace Conference Venizelos -- Tittoni agreement Treaties Treaty of Brest - Litovsk Treaty of Lausanne Treaty of London Treaty of Neuilly Treaty of St. Germain Treaty of Sèvres Treaty of Trianon Treaty of Versailles Consequences Aftermath `` Fourteen Points '' League of Nations World War I memorials Centenary ( commemorations ) Portal World War I at Wiktionary WWI textbooks at Wikibooks WWI quotations at Wikiquote WWI source texts at Wikisource WWI images & media at Commons WWI news stories at Wikinews World War I portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=European_theatre_of_World_War_I&oldid=793964331 '' Categories : European theatre of World War I Campaigns and theatres of World War I 1910s in Europe Hidden categories : Articles lacking sources from August 2011 All articles lacking sources Talk Contents About Wikipedia Беларуская Español Français Italiano עברית Українська Edit links This page was last edited on 5 August 2017, at 00 : 08. 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Question: where did most of the fighting in ww1 take place
Answer: European theatre