World War 1 also known as ‘The Great War’, was the most prominent war to ever happen in the world. It was on 4th August 1914 when Britain declared war on Germany. Everyone in Britain woke up the next day in the morning and found war had started. The fight was between two powerful fronts. We had the opposing side led by Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary. This group was known as “The Triple Alliance.” On the other hand, was “The Triple Entente” led by Great Britain, Russia, and France. Long before this war began, tensions had grown in the whole of Europe. Several countries in these groups had agreed to work together in case there was a war. Therefore, when the actual war Broke out in 1914, many nations in Europe were already divided into two parts.
While World War I occurred because of the several events that happened before 1914, the spark that triggered World War 1 took place in Sarajevo, Bosnia. It was here that Archduke Franz Ferdinand the heir to Austro-Hungarian Empire got shot dead alongside his wife Sophie by a Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip on 28th June 1914. Princip and the rest of other nationalists were fighting to bring to an end Austro-Hungarian rule perpetuated by Bosnia and Herzegovina.
What happened next, Russia joined the war since it had an agreement with Serbia. Germany declared war on Russia because it had an alliance with Austria-Hungary. Britain declared war on Germany due to its invasion of neutral Belgium. There was an agreement that Britain should protect France and Belgium. World War 1 resulted in the loss of lives of more than 9 million soldiers, and 21 million were wounded. More than 10 million civilians and causalities were severely injured. There was massive destruction of property due to the advanced weapons used in the war. The aftermath of the World War 1 was unprecedented. The war came to an end at 11 am on 11th of November 1818. On this day Germany signed a peace treaty for no more fighting.
Sources
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/world-war-i-history
https://www.thoughtco.com/wwi-timeline-1779202
World War I is recorded as one of the most devastating events in the history of mankind. It began in July 1914 and lasted 52 months before coming to a halt in November 1918. Even though a number of factors have been highlighted as having contributed to the beginning of the war, it is widely believed that the war was sparked by the assassination of Austria-Hungary’s Archduke Ferdinand and his wife by a Serbian national. The other factors noted to have caused World War I are the rise of nationalism, imperialism, militarism, and the formation of alliances among the nations. In fact, the warring nations were divided into two. The central powers included Germany, Turkey, and Austria-Hungary, and they fought against the Allies, which was comprised of Britain, France, Japan, United States, Russia, and Italy.
Technological advancements in weaponry, such as the introduction of machine guns, poison gas, and grenades, brought a new dimension to warfare. The weapons were not only increasingly efficient, they were also more destructive. By the end of the war, over 18 million civilians and soldiers had lost their lives and approximately 21 million were permanently maimed. Destruction worth trillions was recorded, and Germany’s economy suffered greatly due to heavy reparations that were imposed on it. The war generally caused mistrust among the nations and served to set the ground for the outbreak of World War II hardly twenty years later.
http://www.centre-robert-schuman.org/userfiles/files/REPERES%20%E2%80%93%20module%201-1-1%20-%20explanatory%20notes%20%E2%80%93%20World%20War%20I%20casualties%20%E2%80%93%20EN.pdf
https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/staff/mharrison/papers/ww1toronto2.pdf
https://www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/standards/guide.pdf
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