World War I
Overview
 
World War I which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war
World war
A world war is a war affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations. World wars span multiple countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in multiple theaters....

 centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918. It involved all the world's great powers, which were assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...

 (centred around the Triple Entente
Triple Entente
The Triple Entente was the name given to the alliance among Britain, France and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907....

 of Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

) and the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...

 (originally centred around the Triple Alliance
Triple Alliance (1882)
The Triple Alliance was the military alliance between Germany, Austria–Hungary, and Italy, , that lasted from 1882 until the start of World War I in 1914...

 of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

 and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

).
Timeline

1914    Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria and his wife Sophie are assassinated in Sarajevo by young Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip, the ''casus belli'' of World War I.

1914    World War I: Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia after Serbia rejects the conditions of an ultimatum sent by Austria on July 23 following the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand.

1914    Germany declares war on Russia at the opening of World War I. The Swiss Army mobilises because of World War I

1914    Germany declares war on Russia at the opening of World War I. The Swiss Army mobilises because of World War I

1914    World War I: Germany declares war against France.

1914    World War I: Germany invades Belgium. In response, the United Kingdom declares war on Germany. The United States declare their neutrality.

1914    World War I: the German minelayer ''Königin Luise'' lays a minefield about 40 miles of the Thames Estuary (Lowestoft). She is intercepted and sunk by the British light-cruiser ''HMS Amphion''.

1914    World War I: World War I: World War I: [[First Battle of the Atlantic

1914    World War I: the United Kingdom declares war on Austria-Hungary; the countries of the British Empire follow suit.

1914    World War I: Battle of Cer begins.

Quotations

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?Only the monstrous anger of the guns.

Wilfred Owen|Wilfred Owen, from Anthem for Doomed Youth|Anthem for Doomed Youth

In war-time the word patriotism means suppression of truth”.

Siegfried Sassoon|Siegfried Sassoon in Memoirs of an Infantry Officer

The day has passed when armies on the ground or navies on the sea can be the arbiter of a nation's destiny in war. The main power of defense and the power of initiative against an enemy has passed to the air.

Brigadier General Billy Mitchell|Billy Mitchell, November 1918

Any one of them could have been me. Millions of men came to fight in this war and I find it incredible that I am the only one left.

Harry Patch|Harry Patch, last surviving veteran to have fought in the trenches of the First World War. Commenting on graves at a Flanders war cemetery, July 2007

 
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