World War I

**World War I**, often abbreviated as **WWI** or **WW1**, also known as the **First World War** or the **Great War**, was a global war that began on 28 July 1914 and ended on 11 November 1918. It involved much of Europe, as well as Russia, the United States and Turkey, and was also fought in the Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia. One of the deadliest conflicts in history, an estimated 9 million were killed in combat, while over 5 million civilians died from occupation, bombardment, hunger or disease. The genocides perpetrated by the Ottomans and the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic spread by the movement of combatants during the war caused many millions of additional deaths worldwide.

1914 and 1915

In 1914, the Great Powers were divided into two opposing alliances, the Triple Entente, consisting of France, Russia, and Britain, and the Triple Alliance, made up of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. Tensions in the Balkans came to a head on 28 June 1914 following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Austro-Hungarian heir, by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb. Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia and the interlocking alliances involved the Powers in a series of diplomatic exchanges known as the July Crisis. On 28 July, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia; Russia came to Serbia's defence and by 4 August, the conflict had expanded to include Germany, France and Britain, along with their respective colonial empires. In November, the Ottoman Empire, Germany and Austria formed the Central Powers, while in April 1915, Italy joined Britain, France, Russia and Serbia as the Allied Powers.

Facing a war on two fronts, German strategy in 1914 was to defeat France, then shift its forces to the East and knock out Russia, commonly known as the Schlieffen Plan. This failed when their advance into France was halted at the Marne; by the end of 1914, the two sides faced each other along the Western Front, a continuous series of trench lines stretching from the Channel to Switzerland that changed little until 1917. By contrast, the Eastern Front was far more fluid, with Austria-Hungary and Russia gaining, then losing large swathes of territory. Other significant theatres included the Middle East, the Alpine Front and the Balkans, bringing Bulgaria, Romania and Greece into the war.

1916

In Feb. 21st the battle of Verdun would begin and 4 days later the Germans would take Fort Douaumont from the French and the next day the attack would end or at least the first attack. On March 18th on the Eastern Front Russia started an offensive against German positions in Vilna. They made limited territorial gains but suffered very heavy casualties.

On July 1st Start of the Battle of the Somme. Allied air supremacy was confirmed with 386 Allied fighters pitted against 129 German aircraft. Later in Verdun on the 10th of July the Germans final attack begun. On September 15th first en masse use of tanks at the Somme – the Battle of Flers-Courcelette. On October 8th the German airforce was offically created. On November 18th the battle of the Somme would end and on the 16th of December the battle of Verdun would also end.

1917

On January 19th the Zimmerman telegram was sent, intercepted by the British and passed on to the Americans and 3 days later Woodrow Wilson made his “peace without victory” speech to the Senate. On the 31st of January Germany told neutral nations that the would resume unrestricted submarine warfare. On March 15th the Tsar Nicholas II abdicated. On April 6th America declared war on Germany. On June 17th Gotha bombers bombed London. 158 were killed with 425 wounded. – the worst British civilian casualties of the war. On November 26th Russia requested an armistice with the Germans. On December 6th An armistice was signed between Germany and Russia.

1918

On Febuary 18th Germany resumed her war against Russia after the failure to secure a peace settlement. 6 days later Russia accepted Germany’s peace terms. On March 23rd The Germans made major advances using Storm Troops. Paris was hit with long-range artillery. The British 5th Army suffered major losses. On July 15th Last major German offensive of the war when 52 divisions attacked in the Marne-Reims Offensive. On August 8th The Allies continued their advance against the Germans. The RAF dropped 1,563 bombs and fired 122,150 rounds of ammunition in support of ground forces. This day is known as the “Black Day of the German Army”. On October Turkey made peace with the Allies. On November 9th Wilhelm II of Germany abdicated. The next day Wilhelm II crossed into the Netherlands after it became clear that the German Army and Navy no longer supported him. On the 11th Of November Germany signed an armistice with the Allies, which came into force at 11.00. World War One ended.