- 1912
- 1913
- 1914
- 1915
World War I, also known as the Great War, began on July 28, 1914, and lasted until November 11, 1918.
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist, on June 28, 1914, is often cited as the immediate trigger for the war. However, the underlying causes were more complex and rooted in a web of political alliances, militarism, and imperialism that had been building for decades.
The war involved most of the world’s nations, with two opposing alliances: the Allies and the Central Powers. The Allies consisted of France, Russia, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, and the United States (from 1917). The Central Powers consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria.
World War I was one of the deadliest conflicts in human history, resulting in an estimated 16-20 million deaths, including both military and civilian casualties. It also had a profound impact on the political, social, and economic landscape of the world, leading to the collapse of empires, the rise of new nations, and the establishment of international organizations like the League of Nations