World War I: Difference between revisions

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	<!--This is a very long article. If you have more information regarding World War I, please consider adding it to one of the articles referenced by this article that deal with specific areas of World War I rather than to this article.
	-->{{Infobox Military Conflict
	\|conflict=World War I
	\|partof=
	\|image=]
	\|caption='''Clockwise from top''': ] on the ]; a ] ] crossing a trench; ] ] ] sinking after striking a ] at the ]; a ] crew with ]s and a ] ]
	\|date=]–]
	\|place=], ], ]s, ], ], ]
	\|result=Allied victory
	\|combatant1=]:<br>],<br>],<br>],<br>],<br>],<br>],<br>],<br>],<br>]
	\|combatant2=]:<br>],<br>],<br>],<br>]
	\|casualties1='''Military dead''':5 million<br>'''Civilian dead''':3 million<br>'''Total dead''':8 million
	\|casualties2='''Military dead''':4 million<br>'''Civilian dead''':3 million<br>'''Total dead''':7 million
	}}
	The '''First World War''', or (before ]) the '''Great War''', was a ] lasting from August ] to the final ] on ], ]. The ] (led by the ], ] and until ] ], and, after 1917, the ]) defeated the ] (led by the ], ] and the ]). The war caused the collapse of four empires and a radical change in the map of Europe and the Middle East. Before 1917 the Allied powers are sometimes referred to as the Triple Entente, and the Central Powers are sometimes referred to as the Triple Alliance.
	==Introduction==
	CELESTE IS A STUPID SADISTIC FUCKING WHORE!!!FUCK YOU CELESTE!!!!!!!!!!Much of the fighting in World War I took place along the ], embodied within a system of opposing manned trenches and fortifications (separated by a "]") running from the ] to the border of Switzerland. On the ], the two sides battled on just as great a scale, but the vast eastern plains and limited rail network prevented a trench warfare stalemate from developing. Hostilities were also prosecuted by fighting on and under the sea and - for the first time - in and from the air. More than 9 million soldiers died on the various battlefields, and nearly that many more in the participating countries' home fronts on account of food shortages and ] committed under the cover of various civil wars and internal conflicts. In World War I, only some 5% of the ] (directly caused by the war) were civilian - in ], this figure was about 60%. <sup title="Needs citation"><nowiki>]<nowiki>]</nowiki></sup>]

			CELESTE IS A STUPID SADISTIC FUCKING WHORE!!!FUCK YOU CELESTE!!!!!!!!!!
	Ultimately, World War I created a decisive break with the old ] that had emerged after the ], as modified by the mid-19th century national revolutions, the processes of European national unification and European colonialism. Three European land empires were shattered and subsequently dismembered to varying degrees: the ], the ] and the ]. In the ] and the ], the ] experienced the same fate. Three European imperial ], represented by the ], the ] and the ] families in ], ] and ] respectively, also fell during the war.

	The failure of the Russian war effort led to the fall of the Czar's system. It was replaced briefly by a liberal regime that in turn fell to the Bolsheviks in late 1917 in the ]. They made peace on Germany's terms. After a complex civil war the Communists won and created the ]. In the Middle East, the Ottoman Empire was replaced by the ] and a number of successor states and territories throughout the Middle East controlled by the United Kingdom and France. In ], the new states of ], ], ], ], ] and ] were born and ], ] and ] were re-created. Shortly after the war, in 1923, ] came to power in Italy. In 1933, 14 years after the war, ] took over Germany. Problems unresolved or created by the war would be highly important factors in the outbreak, within 20 years, of ].

			I HOPE YOU FUCKING DIE YOU FUCKING BITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
	==Causes==
	{{Main\|Causes of World War I}}
	]; this event proved to be the catalyst for a wide-ranging war in Europe]]
	On ], ], ], the heir to the Austrian throne, was assassinated in ] by ] of ], a group whose aims included the unification of the South Slavs and independence from Austria (see also: ]). The ] set into motion a series of fast-moving ] that escalated into a full-scale war. However, the reasons behind the conflict are multiple and complex. Historians and political scientists have grappled with this question for nearly a century without reaching a consensus.

	====The Verdict at Versailles====
	The "official" explanation lies in Article 231 of the ], often referred to as the "War Guilt" Clause. The argument was that Austria, backed by Berlin, attacked Serbia on ] and Germany invaded Belgium on ]. Thus, Germany and Austria-Hungary were interpreted to be the initial aggressors, and therefore, seen as responsible for the outbreak of war. While the ] government accepted the Clause, it had done so under complicated circumstances including continued economic blockade and the threat of renewed hostilities. Consequently, Germany was punished for its alleged responsibility, creating an atmosphere in the country that helped the ] rise to power.

	Since 1960, the theory that Germany was primarily responsible for the war has been promoted by academics such as ], ], ], ] and ]. Fischer contended that Germany wanted to control most of Europe or, at the very least, unite it economically ''through'' the country. However, as he points out, diplomatic efforts to do so often centered around Anglo-Germanic cooperation, not war.

	====Alliances ====

	Political scientists emphasize the building of alliances, specifically the formation of the ] and ]. The alliances emboldened the diplomats into thinking they had powerful backing, and turned a Balkans regional conflict into a world war. In practice the alliances did not coordinate long-term strategic planning or military spending, and certainly never contemplated a joint wartime command. The relationship between Germany and Austria was important, but Turkey was not consulted. Likewise Russia, France and Britain in 1914 made the decision to go to war with little consultation with their allies. Once the war started, however, the alliances became much more important. Britain and France worked closely together, but waited until 1918 to set up a joint command. Both tried to help Russia. Germany and Austria worked closely during the war, and Germany to some extent took direct command of Turkish forces, as at Gallipoli. The United States refused to join any alliance and tried to operate as an independent force when it entered the war in 1917, but in practice the Americans worked closely with Britain and France.
	====Arms races ====
	The arms race between Germany and Great Britain was drastically intensified by the 1906 launch of the ], a revolutionary battleship that rendered all previous warships obsolete. This weakened Britain's relative power as a seafaring nation, as the new type of vessel opened up a new chapter in naval warfare, annihilating the old ''status-quo''. Consequently, a major naval ] in shipbuilding developed, tying in with the concept of ] and further creating a need for alliances. ] has promulgated the thesis that both nations adopted ]'s conclusion that control of the oceans was vital to a great nation. Additionally, this goal kept industries churning, unemployment down and minimized internal strife through the focus on a common, patriotic goal.
	] described the armaments race as a "a self-reinforcing cycle of heightened military preparedness", while ] viewed the shipbuilding rivalry as part of a general movement towards war. However, ] argues that Britain's ability to maintain an overall advantage signifies that change within this realm was insignificant and therefore, not a factor in the movement towards war.
	<TABLE BORDER>
	<TR> <TD COLSPAN="4"><B>
	The naval strength of the powers in 1914 </B></TD> </TR>
	<TR> <TD><B><I>
	Country</B></I></TD><TD><B><I>
	Personnel</B></I></TD><TD><B><I>
	Large naval vessels</B></I></TD><TD><B><I>
	Tonnage</B></I></TD> </TR>
	<TR> <TD>
	Russia</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,54000">
	54,000</TD><TD>
	4</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,328000">
	328,000</TD> </TR>
	<TR> <TD>
	France</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,68000">
	68,000</TD><TD>
	10</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,731000">
	731,000</TD> </TR>
	<TR> <TD>
	Britain</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,209000">
	209,000</TD><TD>
	29</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,2205000">
	2,205,000</TD> </TR>
	<TR> <TD>
	TOTAL</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,331000">
	331,000</TD><TD>
	43</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,3264000">
	3,264,000</TD> </TR>
	<TR> <TD>
	Germany </TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,79000">
	79,000</TD><TD>
	17</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,1019000">
	1,019,000</TD> </TR>
	<TR> <TD>
	Austria </TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,16000">
	16,000</TD><TD>
	3</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,249000">
	249,000</TD> </TR>
	<TR> <TD>
	TOTAL</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,95000">
	95,000</TD><TD>
	20</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,1268000">
	1,268,000</TD> </TR>
	<TR> <TD COLSPAN="4">
	Source: Ferguson 1999 p 85</TD> </TR>
	</TABLE>

	====Plans, Distrust and Mobilization: The ''First out of the Gate'' Theory====
	Closely related is the thesis adopted by many political scientists that the war plans of Germany, France and Russia automatically escalated the conflict. Fritz Fischer and his followers have emphasized the inherently aggressive nature of Germany's ], which outlined how Germany would defend itself if at war with both France and Russia. Conflict on two fronts meant that Germany had to quickly eliminate one of its opponents in a timlely fashion before taking on the other. This led to a timetable that made a violation of Belgian (and possibly Dutch) neutrality necessary, leading to a number of unexpected problems. In a greater context, France's own ] called for an offensive thrust into Germany's industrial ], crippling the German ability to wage war. Russia's revised Plan XIX implied a mobilization of its armies against both Austria-Hungary and Germany. All three created an atmosphere where generals and planning staffs were anxious to take the initiative and seize decisive victories. These elaborate mobilization plans with precise timetables. Once the mobilization orders were issued it was understood by both generals and statesman alike that there was little or no possibility of turning back or a key advantage would be sacrificed. Furthermore, the problem of communications in 1914 should not be underestimated; all nations still used ] and ambassadors as the main form of communication, resulting in delays from hours to even days.

	====Militarism and Autocracy====
	President of the United States ] and other observers blamed the war on ]. The idea was that aristocrats and military elites had too much control over Germany, Russia and Austria, and the war was a consequence of their thirst for military power and disdain for ]. This was a theme that figured prominently in anti-German propaganda, which cast Kaiser ] and Prussian military tradition in a negative light. Consequently, supporters of this theory called for the abdication of such rulers, the end of the aristocratic system and the end of militarism - all of which justified American entry into the war once Czarist Russia dropped out of the Allied camp. Wilson hoped the ] and universal disarmament would secure a lasting peace, and also acknowledged variations of militarism, found in the British and French political systems.{{fn\|1}}

	====Economic Imperialism====
	] famously asserted that the worldwide system of ] was responsible for the war. In this he drew upon the economic theories of English economist ] who had earlier predicted the outcome of economic imperialism, or unlimited competition for expanding markets, would lead to a global military conflict in his 1902 book entitled 'Imperialism'. This argument proved persuasive in the immediate wake of the war and assisted in the rise of ] and ] in the wake of the conflict. Lenin's 1917 pamphlet "Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism" made the argument, specifically, that large banking interests in the various capitalist-imperialist powers had pulled the strings in the various governments and led them into the war.

	====Nationalism, Romanticism and the "New Era"====
	The civilian leaders of the European powers found themselves facing a wave of ] zeal that had been building across Europe for years, as memories of war faded or were convoluted into a ] fantasy that resonated in the public conscience. Frantic diplomatic efforts to mediate the Austrian-Serbian quarrel simply became irrelevant, as public opinion (and elite opinion) in key countries demanded war to uphold national honor. Most of the belligerents envisioned swift victory and glorious consequences. The patriotic enthusiasm, unity and ultimate euphoria that took hold during the '']'' was full of that very optimism regarding the post-war future. Also, the Socialist-Democratic movement had begun to exert pressure on aristocrats throughout Europe, who optimistically hoped that victory would reunite their countries via the consolidation of their domestic hegemony.

	====A Culmination of European History====
	A localized war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia was almost a given due to the former's deteriorating world position and the ] separatist movement in the ], which had the support of the Russian Empire. The decay of the ], which had formerly held sway over much of the Balkans, led to a rivalry between Austria-Hungary and Russia for regional hegemony. Russia supported the ] separatist movement there, motivated by ethnic loyalties and its centuries-old dream of a ].{{fn\|2}} For the Germans, both the ] and ] were characterized by incursions, which had a lasting psychological effect; it was Germany's precarious position in the center of Europe that ultimately led to the decision for an active defense, culminating in the Schlieffen Plan.{{fn\|3}} At the same time, the transfer of the contested ] and ] territories and defeat in the ] influenced French policy, giving birth to a desire for revenge, or ]. After the ] fell apart, France formed an alliance with Russia and a two-front war became a distinct possibility for Germany.

	]. The ] are depicted in green, the ] in orange, and neutral countries in grey.]]

	==Participants in World War I==
	{{main\|Participants in World War I}}

	The warring parties were divided into two camps:
	* ]
	* ]

	==July Crisis and the declarations of war==
	After the assassination of the ] on June 28, Austria-Hungary waited for 3 weeks before deciding on a course of action. This wait was due to a large part of the army being on leave to help in gathering the harvest, which practically denied Austria the possibility of military action at the time. On July 23, assured by unconditional ('carte blanche') support of the Germans should war break out, it sent an ] to Serbia containing many demands, among them that Austrian agents would be allowed to take part in the investigation, and in general holding Serbia responsible for the assassination. The Serbian government accepted all the terms, except that of the participation of the Austrian agents in the inquiry, which it saw as a violation of its sovereignty. Emboldened by last minute Russian support, Serbia rejected the ultimatum. Austria-Hungary, in turn, rejected the Serbian reply on July 26. Breaking diplomatic relations, the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Serbia on July 28, proceeding to bombard Belgrade on July 29. On July 30 Austria-Hungary and Russia both ordered general mobilization of their armies.

	The Germans, having pledged their support to Austria-Hungary, sent Russia an ultimatum to stop mobilization within 12 hours on July 31. On August 1, with the ultimatum expired, the German ambassador to Russia formally declared war. On August 2 Germany occupied Luxembourg, as a preliminary step to the invasion of Belgium and the ] (i.e. Germany had planned to attack France first according to the plan, and then Russia, which had already gone wrong) the same day yet another ultimatum was delivered to Belgium, requesting free passage for the German army on the way to France. The Belgians refused. At the very last moment, the Kaiser ] asked ], the German Chief of General Staff, to cancel the invasion of France in the hope this would keep Britain out of the war. Moltke, horrified by the prospect of the utter ruin of the Schlieffen Plan, refused on the grounds that it would be impossible to change the rail schedule- "once settled, it cannot be altered" <ref>Moltke's memoir, pages 19-23, quoted in Tuchman's ''The Guns of August'', page xxx </ref>. On August 3 Germany declared war on France, and on August 4 invaded Belgium. This act, violating Belgian neutrality to which Germany, France, and Britain were all committed to guarantee, gave Britain, which up to that point had yet to choose a side in the conflict, a reason to declare war on Germany on August 4.

	==Opening hostilities==
	Some of the first hostilities of the war occurred in Africa and in the Pacific Ocean, in the colonies and territories of the European powers. On August 1914 a combined French and British Empire forces invaded the German protectorate of ] in ]. Shortly thereafter, on August 10, German forces based in ] attacked ], part of the British Empire. ], occupied ] (later Western Samoa) on 30 August; on September 11 the ] landed on the island of ] (later New Britain), which formed part of ]. Japan seized Germany's Micronesian colonies and 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. Sporadic and fierce fighting, however, continued in Africa for the remainder of the war.

	] are depicted in puce, the ] in grey and neutral countries in yellow]]

	In Europe, the Central Powers — the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire - suffered from mutual miscommunication and lack of intelligence regarding the intentions of each other's army. Germany had originally guaranteed to support Austria-Hungary's invasion of Serbia, but practical interpretation of this idea differed. Austro-Hungarian leaders believed Germany would cover her northern flank against Russia. Germany, however, had planned for Austria-Hungary to focus the majority of its troops on Russia while Germany dealt with France on the Western Front. This confusion forced the ] to split its troop concentrations. Somewhat more than half went to fight the Russians on their border, a somewhat smaller force was allocated to invade and conquer Serbia.
	{{main\|Serbian Campaign %28WWI%29}} <br />
	The Serbian army fought a defensive battle against the invading Austrian army (called the ]) starting on 12 August. The Serbians occupied defensive positions on the south side of the ] and Save rivers. Over the next two weeks Austrian attacks were thrown back with heavy losses. This marked the first major Allied victory of the war. Austrian expectations of a swift victory over Serbia were not realized and as a result, Austria had to keep a very sizable force on the Serbian front, weakening their armies which faced Russia.

	], France 1917. A complete set of these images can be found at ]

	The German war plan to deal with the Franco-Russian alliance (called the Schlieffen plan) involved delivering a knock-out blow to the French and then turning to deal with the more slowly mobilized Russian army. Rather than invading eastern France directly, German planners deemed it prudent to attack France from the north. To do so, the German army had to march through Belgium. Germany demanded free passage from the Belgian government, promising to treat Belgium as Germany's firm ally if permission was granted. The Belgian government's refusal to come to terms at zero-hour was an unpleasant surprise but the German army chose to follow through with its plan just the same. After entering Belgian territory, it soon encountered resistance at a fortified ]. Although the army as a whole continued to make rapid progress into France, it was Britain's decision to declare war on Germany and honor a dated protection pact with Belgium that left the German government in disbelief and seriously hindered the military's plans. Britain sent an army to France (the ], or BEF) which advanced into Belgium and slowed the Germans. The first British soldier killed in the war was ], on ] ], near Mons.

	Initially the Germans had great successes in the ] (14–] ]). However, Russia attacked in ], diverting German forces intended for the ]. Germany defeated Russia in a series of battles collectively known as the Second ] (17 August – 2 September). This diversion exacerbated problems of insufficient speed of advance from railheads, not allowed for by the German ], allowed French and British forces to finally halt the German advance on Paris at the ] (September 1914) and the Entente forced the Central Powers into fighting 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 in the months of August and September. Yet staff incompetence and leadership timidity (e. g. ] needlessly transferred troops from the right to protect ]) cost Germany the chance for an early victory over France with its very ambitious war plan.

	==Early stages: from romanticism to the Western Front trenches==
	===Hopes and fears===
	]s, ], 1917.]]

	In 1914, the perception of war was ] by many people, and its declaration was met with great unexpected enthusiasm, in a period known as the "August Madness." The common view on both sides was that it would be a short war of maneuver (typically estimated at the length of three months, six months for pessimists), with a few sharp actions (to "teach the enemy a lesson") and would end with a victorious entry into the enemy capital, then home for a victory parade or two and back to "normal" life. Many thought it would be finished by Christmas of that year. A few government officials, however, regarded the upcoming war with great pessimism and worry. Some military figures, such as ] and ] had predicted modern, industrialized warfare to be a lengthy excursion but were often simply ignored and thought crazy. Some political leaders, such as ] in Germany, were concerned by the potential social consequences of a war. International bond and financial markets entered severe crises in late July and early August reflecting worry about the financial consequences of war.

	The perceived excitement of war captured the imagination of many in the warring nations. Spurred on by propaganda and nationalist fervor, many eagerly joined the ranks in search of adventure. Few were prepared for what they actually encountered at the front.

	{{seealso\|Recruitment to the British Army during WW I}}

	===Trench warfare begins===
	{{main\|Western Front (World War I)}}
	Advances in military technology meant that defensive firepower out-weighed offensive capabilities, making the war particularly murderous, as tactics had failed to keep up. ] was a significant hindrance to massed infantry advances; ], now vastly more lethal than in the 1870s, coupled with ]s, made crossing open ground a nightmarish prospect. Germans began using ] in 1915, and soon, both sides were using gas. Neither side ever won a battle with gas, but it made life even more miserable in the trenches and became one of the most feared, and longest remembered, horrors of the war. Unfortunately few drastic changes in tactics could have been made even if the military leaders of the time were open to them. The war saw the invention of ] as another attempt to break the trench warfare stalemate. They were primarily used by the British and French, though the Germans used captured Allied tanks and a small number of their own design.

	After the ], both Entente and German forces began a series of outflanking manoeuvres to try to force the other to retreat, in the so-called ]. The United Kingdom and France soon found themselves facing entrenched German positions from ] to Belgium's ] coast. The United Kingdom and France sought to take the offensive, while Germany defended occupied territories. One consequence was that German trenches were much better constructed than those of their enemy: Anglo-French trenches were only intended to be 'temporary' before their forces broke through German defences. Some hoped to break the stalemate by utilizing science and technology. In April 1915, the Germans used ] for the first time, opening a four mile wide hole in the Allied lines when French colonial troops retreated before it. This breach was closed by allied soldiers at the ] (where over 5000 mainly ] soldiers were gassed to death) and ], where ] forces took the village of ] with the help of allied powers.

	Neither side proved able to deliver a decisive blow for the next four years, though protracted German action at ] throughout 1916, and the Entente's failure at the ], in the summer of 1916, brought the exhausted French army to the brink of collapse. Futile attempts at frontal assault - with a rigid adherence to unimaginative manoeuver - came at a high price for both the British and the French ] (infantry) and led to widespread mutinies especially during the time of the ] in the spring of 1917. News of the ] gave a new incentive to socialist sentiments among the troops, with its seemingly inherent promise of peace. Red flags were hoisted and the ] was sung on several occasions. At the height of the mutiny, 30,000 to 40,000 French soldiers participated.
	] troops advancing behind a tank at the ].]]

	Throughout 1915-17, the British Empire and France suffered far more casualties than Germany. However, while the Germans only mounted a single main offensive at ], each failed attempt by the Entente to break through German lines was met with an equally fierce German counteroffensive to recapture lost positions. Around 800,000 soldiers from the British Empire were on the Western Front at any one time. 1,000 battalions, each occupying a sector 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 6,000 miles of trenches. Each battalion held its sector for around 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.

	In the British-led ] during the 1917 campaign, the only military success was the capture of ] by the Canadian forces under ] and ]. It provided the British allies with great military advantage that had a lasting impact on the war and is considered by many historians as the ] of Canada. See the ] for more information. {{-}}

	==Southern theatres==
	===Ottoman Empire===
	{{main\|Middle Eastern theatre of World War I}} {{Russo-Ottoman War Series}}
	The ] joined the Central Powers in October–November 1914, due to the secret ] signed in August 1914. It threatened Russia's ] territories and Britain's communications with ] and the East via the ]. The British Empire opened another front in the South with the ] (1915) and ] campaigns. In Gallipoli, the ] were successful in repelling the ANZACs (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps), forcing their eventual withdrawal and evacuation. In ], by contrast, after the disastrous ] (1915–16), British Empire forces reorganised and captured ] in March 1917. Further to the west in the ], initial British failures were overcome with ] being captured in December 1917 and the ], under Field Marshall ], going on to break the Ottoman forces at the ] in September 1918.

	Russian armies generally had the best of it in the ].
	''Vice-Generalissimo'' ], supreme commander of the Turkish armed forces, was a very ] man, with a dream to conquer ]. He was not, however, a practical soldier. He launched an offensive with 100,000 troops against the Russians in the Caucasus in December of 1914. Insisting on a frontal attack against Russian positions in the mountains in the heart of winter, Enver lost 86% of his force at the ].

	In 1917, Russian ] assumed senior control over the Caucasus front. Nicholas tried to have a railway built from ] to the conquered territories with a view to bringing up more supplies for a new offensive in 1917. But, in March of 1917 (February in the pre-revolutionary Russian calendar), the Czar was overthrown in the ] and the Russian army began to slowly fall apart.

	===Italian participation===
	{{main\|Italian Campaign (World War I)}}
	] had been allied to the German and Austro-Hungarian Empires since 1882, but had its own designs against Austrian territory in the ], ] and ], and maintained a secret 1902 understanding with France, effectively nullifying its alliance commitments. Italy refused to join Germany and Austria-Hungary at the beginning of the war, because their alliance was defensive, while Austria had declared war on Serbia. The Austrian government started negotiations to obtain Italian neutrality in exchange for French territories (]), but Italy joined the ] by signing the ] in April and declaring war on Austria-Hungary in May 1915; it declared war against Germany fifteen months later.

	In general, the Italians enjoyed numerical superiority, but were poorly equipped. The Italians went on the offensive to relieve pressure on the other Allied fronts and achieve their territorial goals. In the ] front, the Austro-Hungarian defence took advantage of the elevation of their bases in the mostly ] terrain, which was anything but suitable for military offensives. After an initial Austro-Hungaric strategic retreat to better positions, the front remained mostly unchanged, while Austrian ] and ] and Italian ] fought bitter close combat battles during summer and tried to survive during winter in the high mountains. The Austro-Hungarians counter-attacked in the ] towards Verona and Padua in the spring of 1916 (''Strafexpedition''), but they also made little progress.

	Beginning in 1915, the Italians mounted 11 major offensives along the Isonzo river north of ], known as the First through Eleventh Battles of the ]. These attacks were repelled by the Austro-Hungarians, who had the higher ground. In the summer of 1916, the Italians captured the town of ]. After this minor victory, the front remained practically stable for over one year, despite several Italian offensives, again all on the Isonzo front. In the fall of 1917, thanks to the improving situation on the Eastern front, the Austrians received large reinforcements, including German assault troops. The Central Powers launched a crushing offensive on October the 26th that was spearheaded by German troops and supported by the Austrians and Hungarians. The attack resulted in the victory of ]: the Italian army was routed, but after retreating more than 100km, it was able to reorganise and hold at the ]. In 1918, the Austrians repeatedly failed to break the Italian line, and, decisively defeated in the ], surrendered to the Entente powers in November.

	===The War in the Balkans===
	{{main\|Serbian_Campaign_%28WWI%29}} <br />

	Faced with the Russian threat, Austria-Hungary could spare only one-third of its army for ]. After suffering tremendous losses, the Austrians briefly captured the Serbian capital, but Serb counterattacks succeeded in expelling the invaders from the country by the end of 1914. For the first 10 months of 1915. Austria used most of its spare armies to fight Italy. However, German and Austria diplomats scored a great coup by convincing ] to join in a new attack on Serbia.

	The conquest of Serbia was finally accomplished in a little more than a month, starting on October 7, when the Austrians and Germans attacked from the north. Four days later the Bulgarians attacked from the east. The Serbian army, attacked from two directions and facing certain defeat, retreated east and south into ] and then, by ship, to ]. In late 1915, a Franco-British force landed at ] in Greece to offer assistance and to pressure the Greek government into war against the Central Powers. Unfortunately for the Allies, the pro-allied Greek government of ] was dismissed, by the pro-German ], before the allied expeditionary force had even arrived.

	The Salonica Front proved entirely immobile, so much so that it was joked that Salonica was the largest German ] camp. Only at the very end of the war, after most of the German and Austro-Hungarian troops had been removed, leaving the Front held by the Bulgarians alone, were the Entente powers able to make a breakthrough. This led to Bulgaria's signing an ] on ], ].

	==The Eastern Front==
	===Initial Actions===
	]. Picture taken in February 1915, just before the German winter-offensive started in heavy snowstorms.]]
	{{main\|Eastern Front (World War I)}}

	While the Western Front had reached stalemate in the trenches, the war continued in the east. The Russian initial plans for war had called for simultaneous invasions of Austrian ] and German ]. Although Russia's initial advance into Galicia was largely successful, they were driven back from East Prussia by the victories of the German generals ] and ] at ] and the ] in August and September 1914. Russia's less-developed industrial base and ineffective military leadership was instrumental in the events that unfolded. By the spring of 1915, the Russians were driven back in Galicia, and, in May, the Central Powers achieved a remarkable breakthrough on ]'s southern fringes, capturing ] on ] and forcing the Russians to withdraw from all of Poland, an action known as the "Great Retreat" by the Russian Empire and the "Great Advance" by Germany.

	===The Russian Revolution===
	{{main\|Russian Revolution of 1917}}
	Dissatisfaction with the Russian government's conduct of the war grew despite the success of the June 1916 ] in eastern ] against the Austrians. The Russian success was undermined by the reluctance of other generals to commit their forces in support of the victorious sector commander. Allied and Russian forces revived only temporarily with ]'s entry into the war on ]: German forces came to the aid of embattled Austrian units in ], and ] fell to the Central Powers on ]. Meanwhile, internal unrest grew in Russia, as the ] remained out of touch at the front, while ]'s increasingly incompetent rule drew protests from all segments of Russian political life, resulting in the murder of Alexandra's favorite ] by conservative noblemen at the end of 1916.

	]]]

	In March 1917, demonstrations in ] culminated in the abdication of ] and the appointment of a weak ], which shared power with the socialists of the ]. This division of power led to confusion and chaos, both on the front and at home, and the army became increasingly ineffective.

	The war, and the government, became more and more unpopular, and the discontent led to a rise in popularity of the ] ], led by ], who were able to gain power. The ] in November was followed in December by an armistice and negotiations with Germany. At first, the Bolsheviks refused to agree to the harsh German terms, but when Germany resumed the war and marched with impunity across ], the new government acceded to the ] on ] ], which took Russia out of the war and ceded vast territories, including ], the ], ] and ] to the Central Powers.

	After the Russians dropped out of the war, the Entente no longer existed. The Allied powers led a small-scale invasion of Russia. The invasion was made with intent primarily to stop Germany from exploiting Russian resources and, to a lesser extent, to support the Whites in the Russian Revolution. Troops landed in ] (see ]) and in ].

	==1917-18==
	]es: A carrying party of the ] in a communications trench on the ], 1 July 1916]]

	Events of 1917 would prove decisive in ending the war, although their effects would not be fully felt until 1918. The British naval blockade of Germany began to have a serious impact on morale and productivity on the German home-front. In response, in February 1917, the German General Staff (]) were able to convince ] ] to declare ], with the goal of starving the United Kingdom out of the war. Tonnage sunk rose above 500,000 tons per month from February until July, peaking at 860,000 tons in April. After July, the reintroduced ] system was extremely effective in neutralizing the ] threat, thanks to American experimentation. Britain was safe from the threat of starvation and the German war industry remained deprived materially.

	The decisive victory of Germany at the ] led to the Allied decision at the ] to form the ] at ] to co-ordinate plans and action. Previously British and French armies had operated under separate command systems.

	In December, the Central Powers signed an Armistice with Russia, thereby releasing troops from the eastern front for use in the west. Ironically, German troop transfers could have been greater if their territorial acquisitions had not been so dramatic. With both German reinforcements and new ] troops pouring into the Western Front, the final outcome of the war was to be decided in that front. The Central Powers knew that they could not win a protracted war now that American forces were certain to be arriving in increasing numbers, but held high hopes for a rapid offensive in the West, using their reinforced troops and new infantry tactics. Furthermore, the rulers of both the Central Powers and the Allies became more fearful of the threat first raised by ] in 1899, that protracted industrialized war threatened social collapse and revolution throughout Europe. Both sides urgently sought a decisive, rapid victory on the Western Front as they were both fearful of collapse or stalemate.

	===Entry of the United States===
	] ].]]

	America's policy of insisting on neutral rights while also trying to broker a peace resulted in tensions with both Berlin and London. US president ] repeatedly warned that he would not tolerate ], and the Germans repeatedly promised to stop. In January 1917 the German military decided that unrestricted submarine warfare was the best way to choke British trade and drive the British to surrender. The German high command gambled that the surrender would take place before the submarine warfare caused the United States to enter the war and before US troops could arrive in significant numbers. A proposal to ] to join the war against the Allies was exposed in February, bringing war closer. (See ]). After further U-boat (German submarines) attacks on American merchant ships, Wilson requested that Congress declare war on Germany, which it did on ], ] (see: '']'' on ]). The House of Representatives approved the war resolution 373-50, the Senate 82-6, with opposition coming mostly from ] districts. Wilson hoped war could be avoided with Austria-Hungary; however, when it kept its loyalty to Germany, the US declared war on ] in December 1917.

	Although the American contribution to the war was important, particularly in terms of the threat posed by an increasing US infantry presence in Europe, the United States was never formally a member of the Allies, but an "Associated Power". Significant numbers of fresh American troops only arrived in Europe in the summer of 1918, when they started arriving at 10,000 a day.

	Germany miscalculated that it would be many more months before large numbers of American troops could be sent to Europe, and that, in any event, the U-boat offensive would prevent their arrival.

	The ] sent a battleship group to ] to join with the ], a number of ] to ], Ireland and several ] to the ] and to ], Ireland to help guard ]s. Several regiments of ] were also dispatched to France. However, it would be some time before the United States would be able to contribute significant manpower to the Western and Italian fronts.

	The British and French wanted the United States to send its infantry to reinforce their troops already on the battlelines, and not use scarce shipping to bring over supplies. Thus the Americans primarily used British and French artillery, airplanes and tanks. However, General ], ] (AEF) commander, refused to break up American units to be used as reinforcements for British Empire and French units (though he did allow ] combat units to be used by the French). Pershing ordered the use of frontal assaults, which had been discarded by that time by British Empire and French commanders as too costly in lives of their troops. To the astonishment of the Allies, the dispirited Germans broke and ran when the Americans came running, and the AEF suffered the lowest casualty rate of any army on the Western Front, with most recorded deaths being attributed to disease.


	===German Spring Offensive of 1918===
	]]]
	{{main\|Spring Offensive}}

	German General ] drew up plans (] ]) for a 1918 general offensive along the ]. This ] sought to divide the British Empire and French armies in a series of feints and advances. The German leadership hoped to strike a decisive blow against the enemy before significant United States forces could be deployed. Before the offensive even began, Ludendorff made what may have been a fatal mistake by leaving the elite ] in Russia and sending over only a small portion of the German forces from the east to aid the offensive in the west.

	Operation Michael opened on ], ], with an attack against British Empire forces, towards the rail junction at ]. It was Ludendorff's intention to split the British Empire and French armies at this point. German forces achieved an unprecedented advance of 60 km. For the first time since 1914, maneuver had returned to the battlefield.

	British and French trenches were defeated using novel ]. Up to this time, attacks had been characterized by long artillery bombardments and continuous-front mass assaults. However, in the Spring Offensive, the German Army used artillery briefly and infiltrated small groups of infantry at weak points, attacking command and logistics areas and surrounding points of serious resistance. These isolated positions were then destroyed by more heavily armed infantry. German success relied greatly on this tactic.

	The front line had now moved to within 120 kilometers of Paris. Three super-heavy ] ]s advanced and fired 183 shells on Paris, causing many Parisians to flee the city. The initial stages of the offensive were so successful that German ] declared ] a national holiday. Many Germans thought victory to be close; however, after heavy fighting, the German offensive was halted. The Germans had brilliant new stormtrooper, or ] tactics that avoided the trenches and sent small units on preplanned raids deep behind the lines to control and communication centers. That worked very well but the Germans, lacking tanks or motorized artillery, were unable to consolidate their positions. The British and French learned that they had to fall back a few miles and the Germans would be disorganized and vulnerable to counterattack.

	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 command of Allied forces was created at the Doullens Conference, in which British Field Marshal ] handed control of his forces over to ].

	Following ], Germany launched ] to the north against the ] ports. This was halted, by the Allies, with less significant territorial gains to Germany. ] were then conducted by the German Army to the south, broadly towards Paris. Next, Operation Marne was launched on 15 July as an attempt to encircle ], beginning the ]. The resulting Allied counterattack marked their first successful offensive of the war. By July 20, the Germans were back at their Kaiserschlacht starting lines, having achieved nothing. Following this last phase of the ground war in the West, the German Army never again held the initiative. German casualties between March and April 1918 were 270,000, including many of the highly trained stormtroopers. Their best soldiers were gone, just as the Americans started arriving.

	Meanwhile, Germany was crumbling internally as well. Anti-war marches were a frequent occurrence and morale within the army was at low levels. Industrial output had fallen 53% from 1913.

	===Allied victory: summer and autumn 1918===
	] in September 1918]]
	{{main articles\|] and ]}}

	The Allied counteroffensive, known as the ] began on ] ]. The ] developed with III Corps ] on the left, the ] on the right, and the ] and ] spearheading the offensive in the centre. It involved 414 ]s of the ] and ] type, and 120,000 men. They advanced as far as twelve kilometres into German-held territory in just seven hours. ] referred to this day as "the Black Day of the German army".

	However, after a few days, the offensive had slowed down— British Empire units had encountered problems with all but seven tanks. On 15 August, General Haig called a halt and began planning a new offensive in ]. This ] began on August 21. Some 130,000 United States troops were involved, along with soldiers from ] and ] British Armies. It was an overwhelming success for the Allies. The ] was pushed back over a 55km front. The town of ] was captured on ] and by ], the Germans were on the ], the starting point of the War.

	The Allied attempt to take the Hindenburg Line (the ]) began ], as 260,000 American soldiers went "over the top". All divisions were successful in capturing their initial objectives, except the ], which met stiff resistance at ] and took an extra day to capture the objective.

	By the start of October, it was evident that Germany could no longer mount a successful defense, let alone a counterattack. Numerically on the frontline they were increasingly outnumbered, with the few new recruits too young or too old to help much. Rations were cut for men and horses because the food supply was critical. Ludendorff had decided, by October 1, that Germany had two ways out of the War—total annihilation or an armistice. He recommended the latter to senior German officials at a summit on that very same day. During October, Pershing's artillery continued to unrelentingly pound the exhausted and bewildered Germans, all along the Meuse-Argonne front. The Allied pressure did not let up until the end of the war.

	Meanwhile, news of Germany's impending military defeat had spread throughout the German Armed forces. The threat of general mutiny was rife. Naval commander Admiral ] and Ludendorff decided to launch a last ditch attempt to restore the "valour" of the German Navy. Knowing any such action would be vetoed by the government of ], 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 nothing more than a suicide bid. It was Ludendorff who took the blame for this—the Kaiser dismissed him on 26 October.

	With power coming into the hands of new men in Berlin, further fighting became impossible. With 6 million German casualties (1.8 million dead), they moved toward peace. ] took charge of the new German government. Negotiations for a peace began immediately upon his appointment. In the matter of the German monarchy, he was torn between the idea of a ] - in which he himself was in line for the crown - or a republic. Wilson demanded the abdication of the Kaiser and there was no resistance when the ] ] on November 9 declared Germany to be a republic. Von Baden then announced that the Kaiser was to abdicate, along with all other princes in the ]. Imperial Germany was dead; a new Germany had been born: the ].

	==End of the war==
	]'' on Armistice Day, ] ].]]

	The collapse of the Central Powers came swiftly. Bulgaria was the first to sign an armistice (] ]). Faced with the opening of a second front in the Austrian rear, Ludendorff and Hindenberg demanded that the government pursue a negotiated peace. On ], Germany and Austria-Hungary appealed to President Wilson for an immediate armistice. The sailors of Germany's ] mutinied starting ], and rebellion quickly spread throughout western Germany. On ], the Ottoman Empire capitulated. On ], the ] was granted to take effect at three o'clock on the afternoon. Austria and Hungary signed separate armistices following the overthrow of the ] and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

	Following the outbreak of the ], a republic was proclaimed on ], marking the end of the monarchy. The Kaiser fled the next day to the neutral Netherlands, which granted him political asylum (see ] for details).

	On ], ] was signed in a railroad carriage at ] in France where Germans had previously dictated terms to France, ending the ] in 1871.

	At 1100 hours of 11-11-1918 a ceasefire came into effect and the opposing armies on the Western Front began to withdraw from their positions. Canadian ] is traditionally regarded as the last soldier killed in the Great War: he was shot by a German sniper and died at 1058 hours.

	A formal state of war between the two sides persisted for another seven months until it was finally ended by the signing of the ] on ], ] with Germany and the following treaties with Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and The Ottoman Empire signed at ], ], ] and ] respectively. However, the latter treaty with the Ottoman Empire was followed by strife (the ]) and a final peace treaty was signed by the Allied Powers and the country that would shortly become the ], at ] on ] ].

	Some ]s date the end of the war as being when the Versailles treaty was signed, 1919; by contrast, most commemorations of the war's end concentrate on the Armistice of November 11, 1918. Legally the last formal peace treaties were not signed until 1923.

	{{further\|]}}

	==Economics and Manpower issues==
	] (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 percent. In Austria, for example, most of the pigs were slaughtered and, at war's end, there was no meat.

	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 US, Britain cashed in its massive investments in American railroads, then began borrowing heavily on Wall Street. Wilson was on the verge of cutting off the loans in late 1916, but with war imminent with Germany, he allowed a massive increase in US government lending to the Allies. After 1919, the US 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.

	One of the most dramatic effects was the expansion of governmental powers and responsibilities in the United Kingdom, France, the United States, and the ] 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 war effort, many of which have lasted to this day.

	At the same time, the war strained the abilities of the formerly large and bureaucratized governments such as in Austria-Hungary and Germany. Here, however, the long term effects were clouded by the defeat of these governments.

	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 least in many of the Entente powers. At the same time, industry needed to replace the lost laborers sent to war. This aided the struggle for ].

	As the war slowly turned into a war of attrition, ] was implemented in some countries. This issue was particularly explosive in ], and opened a political gap between the French-Canadians, who claimed their true loyalty was to Canada and not the British Empire, and the English-speaking majority which saw the war as a duty to both Empire and Canada, and a way of demonstrating leadership and high-contribution to the British Empire. Prime Minister ] pushed through a ] that caused the ].

	In Britain rationing was finally imposed in early 1918 and was limited to meat, sugar and fats (butter and oleo) - 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 1917-18 as the unions expressed grievances regarding prices, liquor control, pay disputes, "dilution", fatigue from overtime and from Sunday work, and inadequate housing. Conscription put into uniform nearly every physically fit man, six million out of ten million eligible in Britain. 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.

	==Technology==
	]
	{{seealso\|Technology during World War I}}

	The First World War was a clash of 20th century ] with 19th century ]. This time, millions of soldiers, both ]s and ]s fought on all sides, with ] being a notable all volunteer force.

	Much of the war's combat involved ], where hundreds often died for each metre of land gained. Many of the deadliest battles in history occurred during the First World War. Such battles include ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. Artillery was responsible for the largest number of casualties during the First World War. The war consumed vast quantities of explosives. During the war, the ] of nitrogen fixation was employed to provide the German forces with a continuing supply of powder for the ongoing conflict in the face of British naval control over the trade routes for naturally occurring nitrates.

	The First World War also saw the use of ] and aerial bombardment, both of which had been outlawed under the 1907 ].

	Chemical warfare was ]. Gases used ranged from ] to disabling chemicals such as ] and killing ] like ]. Only a small proportion of total war casualties were caused by gas, but it achieved harassment and psychological effects. Effective countermeasures to gas were found in ]s and hence in the later stages of the war, as the use of gas increased, in many cases its effectiveness was diminished.

	] were ]. Initial uses consisted primarily of ], though this developed into ] and ] duties as well. ] aircraft were created principally by the Germans and British, though the former used ]s to this end as well.

	]s (]) were used in combat shortly after the war began. Alternating between restricted and ] during the ], they were employed by the ] in a strategy of defeating the British Empire through a tonnage war. The deaths of British merchantmen and the invulnerability of U-boats led to the development of several countermeasures: ] (1916), ] (passive ], 1917), ]s, ] submarines (HMS ''R-1'', 1917), ], & dipping hydrophones (both abandoned 1918). To extend their operations, the Germans proposed supply submarines (1916). Most of these would be forgotten in the interwar period until World War II revived the need.

	Tanks were introduced in World War I by the British and created ] that dominated the rest of the 20th century. The ] was nicknamed ''Mother''. The first use of tanks was during the ] on ] ]. This was not as successful as intended, but as a start the tanks proved their value against the machine gun. Trenches, the ], air reconnaissance, barbed wire, and modern artillery with ]s helped stalemate the battle lines of World War I by making massed infantry attacks deadly for the attacker. The infantry was armed mostly with a ] magazine rifle, but the machine gun with the ability to fire hundreds of rounds per minute blunted infantry attacks as an offensive weapon; therefore, the British sought a solution and created the tank. Their first use proved tanks needed infantry support and massed formations, but within a year the British were fielding tanks by the hundreds and showed their potential during the ], in November 1917, breaking the Hindenburg Line while capturing 8000 enemy and 100 artillery guns.

	Dirigible balloons were used as stationary reconnaissance points on the front lines. Balloons commonly had a crew of two with parachutes: upon an enemy air attack on the flammable balloon the balloon crew would parachute out. Recognised for their value as observer platforms, they were important targets of enemy aircraft; fixed, they were also heavily defended by antiaircraft guns. Blimps and balloons helped contribute to the stalemate of the trench warfare of World War I, and the dirigible balloons contributed to air to air combat among the aircraft to defend the skies for air superiority due to its significant reconnaissance value. The Germans conducted air raids during 1915 and 1916 on England and London with dirigible balloons with the intent of damaging the morale and will to fight of the British and cause aircraft to be reassigned to England away from the front lines. Dirigible balloons were part of the new found ] of World War I.

	==Aftermath==
	{{main\|Aftermath of World War I}}
	The First World War ended with a Europe scarred by trenches, spent resources, and littered with the bodies of the millions who died in battle. The direct consequences of World War I brought many old regimes crashing to the ground, and ultimately, would lead to the end of 300 years of European hegemony in the world.

	No other war had changed the map of Europe so dramatically--four empires were shattered: the ], the ], the ] and the ]. Their four dynasties, the ]s, the ]s, the ]s, and the ]s, who had roots of power back to the days of the ]s, all fell during or after the war.

	In ] and ] popular legend, the First World War is known as the nation's "baptism of fire", as it was the first major war which the newly established countries fought, and is one of the first cases where Australian troops fought as Australians, not just subjects of the ]. ] (Australia New Zealand Army Corps) is thus held in great reverence by many Australians and New Zealanders.

	Similarly, Anglo-Canadians believe that they proved they were their own country, not just subjects of the British Empire. Indeed, many Canadians refer to their country as a nation "forged from fire," as ] were respected internationally as an independent nation from the conflagrations of war and bravery. Like their ] counterparts, Canadians commemorate the war dead on ].

	===Social trauma===
	The experiences of the war led to a sort of collective national trauma afterwards for all the participating countries. The optimism of 1900 was entirely gone and those who fought in the war became what is known as "the ]" because they never fully recovered from their experiences. For the next few years, much of Europe began its mourning; memorials were erected in thousands of villages and towns.

	This social trauma manifested itself in many different ways. Some people were revolted by ] and what it had supposedly caused and began to work toward a more ] world, supporting organizations such as the ]. ] became increasingly popular. Others had the opposite reaction, feeling that only strength and ] could be relied on for protection in a chaotic and inhumane world that did not respect hypothetical notions of civilization. "]" views were a reaction against the many changes taking place within society. The rise of ] and ] included a revival of the nationalistic spirit of the pre-war years and, on principle, a rejection of many post-war changes. Similarly, the popularity of the ] was a testement to the psychological state of the defeated, as acceptance of the scapegoating mythos signified a rejection of the "lessons" of the war and therefore, a rejection of its popular resulting perspective. Certainly a sense of ] and ] became pronounced, with ] growing in popularity. This disillusionment towards humanity found a cultural climax with the ]ist artistic movement. Many people believed that the war heralded the end of the world as they had known it, including the collapse of ] and ]. ] and ] movements around the world drew strength from this theory, enjoying a level of popularity they had never known before. These feelings were most pronounced in areas directly or particularly harshly affected by the war, especially within Europe.

	==Other names==
	World War I has also been called "The Great War" (a title previously used to refer to the ]) or sometimes "the ]" until ]. The term "First World War", implying an event distinct from a "Second World War" has fallen into disfavour by some scholars, who regard World War I as merely the first phase of a three-decade long war spanning the period 1914–1945.{{fn\|4}}

	==Quotations==
	] color picture made in 1917.]]
	''"The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime."'' - ], British Foreign Secretary, at the beginning of the war.

	''"Yesterday I visited the battlefield of last year. The place was scarcely recognisable. Instead of a wilderness of ground torn up by shell, the ground was a garden of wild flowers and tall grasses. Most remarkable of all was the appearance of many thousands of white butterflies which fluttered around. It was as if the souls of the dead soldiers had come to haunt the spot where so many fell. It was eerie to see them. And the silence! It was so still that I could almost hear the beat of the butterflies' wings".'' - a British officer, 1919.

	''"The First World War killed fewer victims than the Second World War, destroyed fewer buildings, and uprooted millions instead of tens of millions - but in many ways it left even deeper scars both on the mind and on the map of Europe. The old world never recovered from the shock".'' - Edmond Taylor, in ''"The Fossil Monarchies"''

	''"Soldiers! Heroes! The supreme command has erased our regiment from its records. Our regiment has been sacrificed for the honor of Belgrade and the Fatherland. Therefore, you no longer have to worry for your lives - they do not exist anymore. So, forward to glory! For King and Homeland! Long live the king! Long live Belgrade!"'' — Major ], to defenders of ] in ]

	] who wrote the famous poem ]. McCrae died in 1918 from ] and ] while serving in a hospital from France.]]

	''In Flanders fields the poppies blow<br>
	''Between the crosses, row on row,<br>
	''That mark our place; and in the sky<br>
	''The larks, still bravely singing, fly<br>
	''Scarce heard amid the guns below.''<br>
	- ] ] ], from the poem ''"]"''

	''What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?<br>
	''Only the monstrous anger of the guns.''<br>
	- ], from '']''

	''"]"'' was a common slogan of the German Army, which means ''"May God punish England"''.

	''"In war-time the word patriotism means suppression of truth".'' - ] in 'Memoirs of an Infantry Officer'.

	''"In war there are three courses of action open to the enemy, and he usually chooses the fourth".'' - General Helmuth von Moltke'.

	''"We will support Britain to the last man and the last shilling".'' - ], Australian Prime Minister at the outbreak of the war.

	==Movies, Novels, Poetry==
	''in chronological order''
	* ''In Flanders Fields'' (1915) poem by ]
	*''Le Feu'' (or Under Fire) (1916) novel by ]
	*''Over The Brazier'' (1916), poems by ]
	*'']'' (1917) poem by ]
	*'']'', autobiography of ]. First published 1920 and revised several times through 1961
	*'']'' (1921), movie directed by ] based on a novel by ]
	*'']'' (1921) novel by ]
	*'']'' (1926), movie directed by Rex Ingram based on a novel by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez
	*'']'' (1928), play written by ]
	*'']'' (1929), novel written by ]
	*''] (])'' by ]
	*]'' (1929) novel by ]
	*'']'', (1929) novel by ]
	*'']'', (1929) autobiography of ]
	*'']'' (1930), movie directed by ]
	* ''Memoirs of an Infantry Officer'', novel by ] (1930)
	*'']'' (1941), movie directed by ]
	*'']" (1942) directed by ]
	*'']'' (1957), movie directed by ] based on the novel by Humphrey Cobb (1935)
	*'']'' (1966), movie directed by John Guillermin
	*'']'' (1979), movie directed by Dalton Trumbo
	*'']'' (1981), movie directed by Peter Weir
	*''Regeneration'' (1997), movie directed by Gillies MacKinnon based on the novel by ] (1991)
	*'']'' (2001), movie and screenplay directed by ]
	*'']'' (2004), movie directed by ]

	==See also==
	*]
	*]

	===Main articles===
	{{World War I}}

	===Media===
	{{multi-video start}}
	{{multi-video item\|filename=Bombers of WW1.ogg\|title=Bombers of WWI\|description= Video clip of allied bombing runs over German lines.\|format=]}}
	{{multi-video item\|filename=Tanks of WWI.ogg\|title=Tanks of WWI\|description=Primitive WWI tanks help the Allies with an advance in Langres, France (1918).\|format=]}}
	{{multi-video end}}

	==References==
	===Reference books===
	<references/>
	*Higham, Robin and Dennis E. Showalter, eds. ''Researching World War I: A Handbook'' (2003)
	*Pope, Stephen and Wheal, Elizabeth-Anne, eds. ''The Macmillan Dictionary of the First World War'' (1995)
	*Tucker, Spencer, ed. ''The Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social, and Military History'' (5 vol 2005), online at eBook.com
	*Tucker, Spencer, ed. ''European Powers in the First World War: An Encyclopedia'' (1999)

	===Overviews===
	*Buchan, John. ''A History of the Great War'' (1922). 4 Vols
	*Carver, Michael, Field Marshal Sir. ''War Lords''. Boston: Little, Brown, 1976 Includes brief bios of Hamilton, Foch, Haig, von Falkenhayn
	* Cassar, George H. ''Kitchener's War: British Strategy from 1914 to 1916'' (2004)
	*Cruttwell, C. R. M. F. ''A History of the Great War, 1914-1918'' (1934)], British perspective
	*Ferguson, Niall ''The Pity of War'' (1999)
	*Herwig, Holger H. ''The First World War: Germany and Austria-Hungary 1914-1918'' (1996)
	*Howard, Michael. ''The First World War'' (2002)
	*Hubatsch, Walther. ''Germany and the Central Powers in the World War, 1914- 1918'' (1963)
	*Liddell Hart, B. H., ''The Real War 1914-1918,'' (1930).
	*Lincoln, W. Bruce. ''Passage Through Armageddon: The Russians in War and Revolution, 1914-1918'' (1986)
	*Lyons, Michael J. ''World War I: A Short History'' (2nd Edition), Prentice Hall, 1999.
	*Morrow Jr., John H.. ''The Great War: An Imperial History'' (2003)
	*Robbins, Keith. ''The First World War'' (1993)
	*Stokesbury, James. ''A Short History of World War I'' (1981)
	*] ''The First World War: Volume I: to arms'' (2004)' the major scholarly synthesis. Thorough coverage of 1914
	*Winter, J. M. ''The Experience of World War I'' (2nd ed 2005)
	{{col-begin}}

	===Causes and diplomacy===
	*Evans, R. J. W., and Hartmut Pogge Von Strandman, eds. ''The Coming of the First World War'' (1990), essays by scholars from both sides
	*Gilpin, Robert. ''War and Change in World Politics'' Cambridge University Press, New York: 1981.
	*Hamilton, Richard F. and Holger H. Herwig. ''Decisions for War, 1914-1917'' (2004)
	*Henig, Ruth ''The Origins of the First World War'' (2002)
	*Joll, James. ''The Origins of the First World War'' (1984)
	*Kennedy, Paul M. (ed.). ''The War Plans of the Great Powers, 1880-1914.'' (1979)
	*Kennedy, Paul M. ''The Rise of the Anglo-German Antagonism, 1860-1914'' (1981)
	*Knutsen, Torbjørn L. ''The Rise and Fall of World Orders'' Manchester University Press, New York: 1999.
	*Lee, Dwight E. ed. ''The Outbreak of the First World War: Who Was Responsible?'' (1958), readings from multiple points of view
	*Ponting, Clive. ''Thirteen Days: Diplomacy and Disaster - The Countdown to the Great War'' (2002)
	*Stevenson, David. ''Cataclysm: The First World War As Political Tragedy'' (2004) major reinterpretation
	*Stevenson, David. ''The First World War and International Politics'' (2005)

	===New weapons: air, tank, gas, submarine===
	*Haber, L. F. ''The Poisonous Cloud: Chemical Warfare in the First World War'' (1986);
	* Palazzo, Albert. ''Seeking Victory on the Western Front: The British Army and Chemical Warfare in World War I'' (2000)
	*Lawson, Eric and Jane Lawson. ''The First Air Campaign, August 1914-November 1918'' (1996)
	*Kennett, Lee B. ''The First Air War, 1914-1918'' (1992)
	*Morrow, John. ''German Air Power in World War I''. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1982. Contains design and production figures, as well as economic influences.
	*Winter, Denis. ''First of the Few''. London: Allen Lane/Penguin, 1982. Coverage of the British air war, with extensive bibliographical notes.
	*Gray, Edwyn A. ''The U-Boat War, 1914-1918'' (1994)
	*van der Vat, Dan. ''The Atlantic Campaign'' Harper & Row, 1988. Connects submarine and antisubmarine operations between wars, and suggests a continuous war.
	*Fuller, J.F.C. ''Tanks in the Great War'' 1920.
	**Guderian, Heinz. ''Achtung! Panzer'' (2003 from 1937 edition) ''Panzer Leader'' (1952) is revised on the basis of wartime experience.

	===Intelligence===
	*Beesly, Patrick. ''Room 40'' London: Hamish Hamilton, 1982. Covers the breaking of German codes by RN intelligence, including the Turkish bribe, Zimmermann telegram, and failure at Jutland.
	*Kahn, David. ''The Codebreakers'' Scribners, 1996. Covers the breaking of Russian codes and the victory at Tannenberg.
	* David Kahn ''The Reader of Gentlemen's Mail: Herbert O. Yardley and the Birth of American Codebreaking'' (2004)
	by David Kahn "In 1890, the center of population
	*Tuchman, Barbara W. ''The Zimmermann Telegram'' (1966)

	===USA and Canada at war===
	*Beaver, Daniel R. ''Newton D. Baker and the American War Effort, 1917-1919'' (1966)
	*Chambers, John W., II. ''To Raise an Army: The Draft Comes to Modern America'' (1987)
	*Coffman, Edward M. ''The War to End All Wars: The American Military Experience in World War I'' (1998)
	*Hallas, James H. ''Doughboy War: The American Expeditionary Force in World War I'' (2000)
	*Holley, I. B. ''Ideas and Weapons: Exploitation of the Aerial Weapon by the United States During World War I''(1983)
	*Howarth, Stephen. ''To Shining Sea: A History of the United States Navy, 1775-1991'' (1991)
	*Hurley, Alfred F. ''Billy Mitchell, Crusader for Air Power'' (1975)
	*Kennedy, David M. ''Over Here: The First World War and American Society'' (1982)], covers politics & economics & society
	*Koistinen, Paul. ''Mobilizing for Modern War: The Political Economy of American Warfare, 1865-1919''
	*Milner, Marc, Prof. ''Canadian Military History''. Toronto: Copp Clark Putnam, 1993. Includes problems of Canadian recruiting and the 1917 draft crisis (with its problems over Quebec)
	*Morton, Desmond, and J. L. Granatstein ''Marching to Armageddon: Canadians and the Great War 1914-1919'' (1989)
	*Slosson, Preston William. ''The Great Crusade and after, 1914-1928'' (1930). U.S. social history
	*Trask, David F. ''The United States in the Supreme War Council: American War Aims and Inter-Allied Strategy, 1917-1918'' (1961)
	*Venzon, Anne ed. ''The United States in the First World War: An Encyclopedia'' (1995)
	*Wade, Mason. ''The French Canadians, 1760-1945'' (1955), ch 12
	*Wynn, Neil A. ''From Progressivism to Prosperity: World War I and American Society'' (1986)

	===Europe: economic and social===
	*Broadberry, Stephen and Mark Harrison, eds. ''The Economics of World War I'' (2005) ISBN 0-521-85212-9. Covers France, UK, USA, Russia, Italy, Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Netherlands
	*Hardach, Gerd. ''The First World War 1914-1918'' (1977), economics
	*Stubbs, Kevin D. ''Race to the Front: The Materiel Foundations of Coalition Strategy in the Great War'' (2002)
	*Shotwell, James T. ''Economic and Social History of the World War'' (1924)
	*Turner, John, ed. ''Britain and the First World War'' (1988)
	*Winter, J. M. ''The Experience of World War I'' (2nd ed 2005)
	*Winter, J. M. ''Capital Cities at War: Paris, London, Berlin, 1914-1919'' (1999)

	===Infantry and specialty military topics===
	*Bidwell, Shelford, and Dominick Graham. ''Firepower: British Army Weapons and Theories of War, 1904-1945'' (1992)
	*Gudmundsson, Bruce I. ''Stormtroop Tactics: Innovation in the German Army, 1914-1918'' (1989)
	* German Spring Offensive in 1918
	* statistics and how compiled for US Army
	* Messenger, Charles. ''Call To Arms: The British Army 1914-1918'' (2005) (ISBN 0297846957), recruitment, training, supplying of officers & men
	*Sheffield, G. D. ''Leadership in the Trenches: Officer-Man Relations, Morale and Discipline in the British Army in the Era of the First World War'' (2000)
	*Smith, Leonard V. ''Between Mutiny and Obedience. The Case of the French Fifth Infantry Division during World War I'' (1994)
	*Tuchman, Barbara. '']'', tells of the opening diplomatic and military manoeuvres

	===Popular books and films===
	*Keegan, John. ''The First World War'' (1999)
	*] ''The First World War: An Illustrated History'', Hamish Hamilton, 1963
	*Editors of ''American Heritage''. ''History of WWI''. Simon & Schuster, 1964. popular
	*'']'' (1939) by ]
	*] ed. ''The Oxford Illustrated History of the First World War'', a collection of chapters from various scholars
	*Toland, John. ''No Man's Land. 1918 - The Last Year of the Great War'' (1980)
	*''The Great War'', television documentary by the ].
	*''Aces: A Story of the First Air War'', written by George Pearson, historical advice by Brereton Greenhous and Philip Markham, ], 1993. Argues aircraft created trench stalemate

	===Notes===
	*{{fnb\|1}} October 30, 1918 in Herbert Hoover, ''Ordeal of Woodrow Wilson'' p 47
	*{{fnb\|2}} "Warm Water Friendship" Time Magazine, November 14, 1955 <http://www.time.com/time/archive/printout/0,23657,823942,00.html> (membership required) ''See also'': http://www.historyhome.co.uk/europe/russia1.htm
	*{{fnb\|3}} Citino, Robert. The German Way of War: From the Thirty Years' War to the Third Reich
	*{{fnb\|4}} Gilpin, p 200; Knutsen, p 6-7; Tammem, p 51-52; Rasler & Thompson, p 4

	==External links==
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	* with numerous pictures (many in color!)
	* The Royal Engineers and the First World War
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	* — Illustrated Historical Essay
	* — A personal account in diary format of one man's experiences throughout the Great War
	* A personal account, war postcards and propaganda comic postcards
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	* — French site with many color photographs from WWI
	* — NVR's Film & Discussion Series in Public Libraries
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Revision as of 15:18, 2 May 2006

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