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World War I[/b] (abbreviated [b]WWI[/b] or [b]WW1[/b]; also known as the [b]First World War[/b], the [b]Great War[/b], and the [b]War to End All Wars[/b]) was a [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/World_war][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]global[/u][/color][/size][/url] [url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/War][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]war[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] which took place primarily in [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Europe][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Europe[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] from 1914 to 1918.[/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/l%20cite_note-1][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff][2][/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] Over 40 million [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/World_War_I_casualties][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]casualties[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] resulted, including approximately 20 million military and civilian deaths.[/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/l%20cite_note-2][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff][3][/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] Over 60 million European soldiers were mobilized from 1914 to 1918.[/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/l%20cite_note-3][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff][4][/u][/color][/size][size=21]HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-4"[/size][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff][5][/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21]
The act that is considered to have triggered the succession of events that led to war was the 28 June 1914 [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Assassination_of_Archduke_Franz_Ferdinand][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21], heir to the [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Austria-Hungary][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Austro-Hungarian[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] throne, by [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Gavrilo_Princip][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Gavrilo Princip[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21], a [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Bosnian_Serbs][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Bosnian Serb[/u][/color][/size][/url] [url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Citizen][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]citizen[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] of [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Austria-Hungary][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Austria-Hungary[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] and member of the [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Young_Bosnia][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Young Bosnia[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21]. The retaliation by Austria-Hungary against the [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Kingdom_of_Serbia][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Kingdom of Serbia[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] activated a series of alliances that set off a [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Causality][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]chain reaction[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] of war declarations. Within a month, much of Europe was in a state of open warfare.
The underlying causes of the war dated back in part to the [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Unification_of_Germany][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]unification of Germany[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] and the changing balances of power among the European [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Congress_of_Vienna][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Great Powers[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] in the early part of the 20th century. These causes included continuing French [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Revanchism][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]resentment[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] over the [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Treaty_of_Frankfurt_(1871)][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]loss of territory to Germany[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] in the 19th century; the growing economic and military competition between Britain and Germany; and the German desire for a "[/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Place_in_the_sun][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]place in the sun[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21]" equal to that of the more established countries of Europe.
The war was fought between two major alliances. The [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Allies_of_World_War_I][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Entente Powers[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] initially consisted of [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/French_Third_Republic][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]France[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21], the [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Ireland][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]United Kingdom[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21], [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Russian_Empire][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Russia[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21], and their associated empires and dependencies. Numerous other states joined these allies, most notably [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Japan][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Japan[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] in August 1914, [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Kingdom_of_Italy_(1861%E2%80%931946)][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Italy[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] in April 1915, and the [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/United_States][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]United States[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] in April 1917. The [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Central_Powers][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Central Powers[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21], so named because of their central location on the European continent, initially consisted of [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/German_Empire][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Germany[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] and [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Austria-Hungary][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Austria-Hungary[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] and their associated empires. The [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Ottoman_Empire][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Ottoman Empire[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] joined the Central Powers in October 1914, followed a year later by [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Kingdom_of_Bulgaria][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Bulgaria[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21]. By the conclusion of the war, only The [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Netherlands][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Netherlands[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21], [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Switzerland][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Switzerland[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21], [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Spain][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Spain[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21], the [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Scandinavia][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Scandinavian nations[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] and [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Monaco][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Monaco[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] remained officially neutral among the European countries, though several may have provided financial and [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Materiel][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]materiel[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] support to one side or the other.
The fighting of the war mostly took place along several fronts that broadly encircled the European continent. The [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Western_Front_(World_War_I)][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Western Front[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] was marked by a system of trenches, breastworks, and fortifications separated by an area known as [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/No_man%27s_land][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]no man's land[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21].[/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/l%20cite_note-Ashworth-5][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff][6][/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] These fortifications stretched 475 miles (more than 600 kilometres)[/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/l%20cite_note-Ashworth-5][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff][6][/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] and precipitated a style of fighting known as [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Trench_warfare][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]trench warfare[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21]. On the [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Eastern_Front_(World_War_I)][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Eastern Front[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21], the vastness of the eastern plains and the limited railroad network prevented the stalemate of the Western Front, though the scale of the conflict was just as large. There was heavy fighting on the [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Balkans_Campaign_(World_War_I)][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Balkan Front[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21], the [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Middle_Eastern_theatre_of_World_War_I][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Middle Eastern Front[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] and the [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Italian_Campaign_(World_War_I)][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Italian Front[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21]; there were also hostilities at sea and in the air.
The war was ended by several treaties, most notably the [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Treaty_of_Versailles][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]Treaty of Versailles[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21], signed on 28 June 1919, though the Allied powers had an [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Armistice_with_Germany_(Compi%C3%A8gne)][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]armistice with Germany[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] in place since 11 November 1918. One of the most striking [/size][url=https://algassania2.mam9.com/wiki/Aftermath_of_World_War_I][u][size=21][color:145d=#0000ff]results of the war[/u][/color][/size][/url][size=21] was a large redrawing of the map of Europe. All of the Central Powers lost territory, and several new nations were created.[/size]
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