Outline of World War I

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The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to World War I:

Contents

World War I major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918. It involved all the world's great powers, [1] which were assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies (centred on the Triple Entente of Britain, France and Russia) and the Central Powers (originally centred on the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy). [2] More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history. [3] [4] More than 9 million combatants were killed, largely because of great technological advances in firepower without corresponding advances in mobility. It was the sixth deadliest conflict in world history, subsequently paving the way for various political changes such as revolutions in the nations involved. [5]

Nature of World War I

World War I can be described as all of the following:

World War I was further characterized by the following types of warfare:

Causes of World War I

Long term influences leading to World War I

Cultural and strategic factors:

Destabilizing of the European balance of power:

Web of alliances:

Short term influences leading to World War I

Participants in World War I

World War I was fought between the Allies and the Central Powers.

The Central Powers (Triple Alliance)

The Allies (Triple Entente)

Main Allied countries

Other military allies

Other states that had military participation:

Nominal Allies

States that declared war, but had no military involvement:

Conduct of the war

World War I theatres, fronts, and campaign

World War I by country

Central Powers

Allies

Main allies

Other allies

Nominal allies

World War I impact on neutral countries

People in World War I

Leaders in World War I

Military forces of World War I

Allies

Central powers

Technology during World War I

Equipment of World War I

Vehicles of World War I

Weapons of World War I

List of infantry weapons of World War I

Common military awards

Russian Empire

United States

United States service medals of the World Wars

British Empire

France and Belgium

Imperial Germany

Kingdom of Serbia

Austria-Hungary

War Crimes

The First World War saw many instances of war crimes being committed by both the Allied and Centeral powers:

Geoncides

Massacres

Terrorism

Mistreatment of civillians

The end of World War I

Aftermath of World War I

Non-fiction

Fiction

World War I remembered

See also

Notes

  1. Since Russia was using the Julian calendar, the date was February in Russia, but March for countries using the Gregorian calendar
  2. Italy was part of the Triple Alliance (1882) with Germany and Austria-Hungary, but due to tensions declared neutrality when war broke out, and later left the alliance on May 3rd

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Powers</span> Military coalition in World War I

The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires, were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria; this was also known as the Quadruple Alliance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triple Alliance (1882)</span> Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy

The Triple Alliance was a defensive military alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. It was formed on 20 May 1882 and renewed periodically until it expired in 1915 during World War I. Germany and Austria-Hungary had been closely allied since 1879. Italy was looking for support against France shortly after it lost North African ambitions to the French. Each member promised mutual support in the event of an attack by any other great power. The treaty provided that Germany and Austria-Hungary were to assist Italy if it was attacked by France without provocation. In turn, Italy would assist Germany if attacked by France. In the event of a war between Austria-Hungary and Russia, Italy promised to remain neutral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balkan League</span> 1912 anti-Ottoman military alliance

The League of the Balkans was a quadruple alliance formed by a series of bilateral treaties concluded in 1912 between the Eastern Orthodox kingdoms of Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro, and directed against the Ottoman Empire, which at the time still controlled much of Southeastern Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aftermath of World War I</span> Events after the end of the war in 1918

The aftermath of World War I saw far-reaching and wide-ranging cultural, economic, and social change across Europe, Asia, Africa, and even in areas outside those that were directly involved. Four empires collapsed due to the war, old countries were abolished, new ones were formed, boundaries were redrawn, international organizations were established, and many new and old ideologies took a firm hold in people's minds. Additionally, culture in the nations involved was greatly changed. World War I also had the effect of bringing political transformation to most of the principal parties involved in the conflict, transforming them into electoral democracies by bringing near-universal suffrage for the first time in history, as in Germany, Great Britain, and Turkey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triple Entente</span> Early 20th-century understandings between France, Russia, and Great Britain

The Triple Entente describes the informal understanding between the Russian Empire, the French Third Republic, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was built upon the Franco-Russian Alliance of 1894, the Entente Cordiale of 1904 between France and Britain, and the Anglo-Russian Entente of 1907. It formed a powerful counterweight to the Triple Alliance of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Kingdom of Italy. The Triple Entente, unlike the Triple Alliance or the Franco-Russian Alliance itself, was not an alliance of mutual defence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Causes of World War I</span> Explanations, hypotheses and claims for how the war started

The identification of the causes of World War I remains a debated issue. World War I began in the Balkans on July 28, 1914, and hostilities ended on November 11, 1918, leaving 17 million dead and 25 million wounded. Moreover, the Russian Civil War can in many ways be considered a continuation of World War I, as can various other conflicts in the direct aftermath of 1918.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allies of World War I</span> Opposing side to the Central Powers

The Allies, the Entente or the Triple Entente was an international military coalition of countries led by France, the United Kingdom, Russia, the United States, Italy, and Japan against the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria in World War I (1914–1918).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middle Eastern theatre of World War I</span> Scene of action between 29 October 1914 and 30 October 1918

The Middle Eastern theatre of World War I saw action between 30 October 1914 and 30 October 1918. The combatants were, on one side, the Ottoman Empire, with some assistance from the other Central Powers; and on the other side, the British as well as troops from the British Dominions of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, the Russians, and the French from among the Allied Powers. There were five main campaigns: the Sinai and Palestine, Mesopotamian, Caucasus, Persian, and Gallipoli campaigns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russo-Turkish wars</span>

Russo-Turkish wars or Russo-Ottoman wars were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European history. Except for the war of 1710–11, as well as the Crimean War which is often treated as a separate event, the conflicts ended disastrously for the Ottoman Empire, which was undergoing a long period of stagnation and decline; conversely, they showcased the ascendancy of Russia as a European power after the modernization efforts of Peter the Great in the early 18th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balkans theatre</span> Theatre of WWI

The Balkans theatre or Balkan campaign was a theatre of World War I fought between the Central Powers and the Allies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World War I</span> 1914–1918 global conflict

World War I or the First World War, also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers. Fighting took place mainly in Europe and the Middle East, as well as in parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific, and in Europe was characterised by trench warfare and the use of artillery, machine guns, and chemical weapons (gas). World War I was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, resulting in an estimated 9 million military dead and 23 million wounded, plus up to 8 million civilian deaths from causes including genocide. The movement of large numbers of troops and civilians was a major factor in spreading the Spanish flu pandemic, which killed millions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romania in World War I</span> Role of Romania in WWI

The Kingdom of Romania was neutral for the first two years of World War I, entering on the side of the Allied powers from 27 August 1916 until Central Power occupation led to the Treaty of Bucharest in May 1918, before reentering the war on 10 November 1918. It had the most significant oil fields in Europe, and Germany eagerly bought its petroleum, as well as food exports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European theatre of World War I</span> Main theatre of operations during World War I

Although considerable conflict took place outside Europe, the European theatre was the main theatre of operations during World War I and was where the war began and ended. During the four years of conflict, battle was joined by armies of unprecedented size, which were equipped with new mechanized technologies. The conflict left tens of millions dead or wounded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Partition of the Ottoman Empire</span> Division of Ottoman territory after World War I

The Partition of the Ottoman Empire was a geopolitical event that occurred after World War I and the occupation of Constantinople by British, French, and Italian troops in November 1918. The partitioning was planned in several agreements made by the Allied Powers early in the course of World War I, notably the Sykes–Picot Agreement, after the Ottoman Empire had joined Germany to form the Ottoman–German alliance. The huge conglomeration of territories and peoples that formerly comprised the Ottoman Empire was divided into several new states. The Ottoman Empire had been the leading Islamic state in geopolitical, cultural, and ideological terms. The partitioning of the Ottoman Empire after the war led to the domination of the Middle East by Western powers such as Britain and France, and saw the creation of the modern Arab world and the Republic of Turkey. Resistance to the influence of these powers came from the Turkish National Movement but did not become widespread in the other post-Ottoman states until the period of rapid decolonization after World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bulgaria during World War I</span>

The Kingdom of Bulgaria participated in World War I on the side of the Central Powers from 14 October 1915, when the country declared war on Serbia, until 30 September 1918, when the Armistice of Salonica came into effect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ottoman entry into World War I</span> Entrance of the Ottoman Empire into the First World War

The Ottoman Empire's entry into World War I began when two recently purchased ships of its navy, which were still crewed by German sailors and commanded by their German admiral, carried out the Black Sea Raid, a surprise attack against Russian ports, on 29 October 1914. Russia replied by declaring war on 1 November 1914. Russia's allies, Britain and France, declared war on the Ottoman Empire on 5 November 1914. The reasons for the Ottoman action were not immediately clear. The Ottoman government had declared neutrality in the recently started war, and negotiations with both sides were underway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ottoman Empire in World War I</span>

The Ottoman Empire was one of the Central Powers of World War I. It entered the war on 29 October 1914 with a small surprise attack on the Black Sea coast of Russia, which prompted Russia to declare war on 2 November 1914. Ottoman forces fought the Entente in the Balkans and the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. The Ottoman Empire's defeat in the war in 1918 was crucial in the eventual dissolution of the empire in 1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreign policy of the Russian Empire</span>

The foreign policy of the Russian Empire covers Russian foreign relations from their origins in the policies of the Tsardom of Russia down to the end of the Russian Empire in 1917. Under the system tsarist autocracy, the Emperors/Empresses made all the main decisions in the Russian Empire, so a uniformity of policy and a forcefulness resulted during the long regimes of powerful leaders such as Peter the Great and Catherine the Great. However, several weak tsars also reigned—such as children with a regent in control—and numerous plots and assassinations occurred. With weak rulers or rapid turnovers on the throne, unpredictability and even chaos could result.

The diplomatic history of World War I covers the non-military interactions among the major players during World War I. For the domestic histories of participants see home front during World War I. For a longer-term perspective see international relations (1814–1919) and causes of World War I. For the following (post-war) era see international relations (1919–1939). The major "Allies" grouping included Great Britain and its empire, France, Russia, Italy and the United States. Opposing the Allies, the major Central Powers included Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) and Bulgaria. Other countries also joined the Allies. For a detailed chronology see timeline of World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Italian entry into World War I</span>

Italy entered into the First World War in 1915 with the aim of completing national unity: for this reason, the Italian intervention in the First World War is also considered the Fourth Italian War of Independence, in a historiographical perspective that identifies in the latter the conclusion of the unification of Italy, whose military actions began during the revolutions of 1848 with the First Italian War of Independence.

References

  1. Willmott 2003 , pp. 10–11
  2. Willmott 2003 , p. 15
  3. Keegan 1998 , p. 8
  4. Bade & Brown 2003 , pp. 167–168
  5. Willmott 2003 , p. 307

Sources

Further reading