World War I
Industrial-scale trench warfare across Europe, the Middle East, and colonial theatres. New weapons — artillery, gas, aircraft, tanks — made it unprecedentedly lethal. Ended with the collapse of four empires and the Versailles Treaty.
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Belligerents
- Allied Powers (UK, France, Russia, USA)
- Central Powers (Germany, Austria, Ottoman)
Casualties
~20 million dead
Key events
- 1914 — Marne stops German advance
- 1916 — Verdun (300,000+ dead) / Somme (1M casualties)
- 1917 — US entry / Russian Revolution
- 1918 — Armistice
Aftermath
Ended four empires (German, Austro-Hungarian, Russian, Ottoman). Treaty of Versailles's punitive terms set up WWII. Spanish Flu (~50M dead) spread along troop movements. Russian Revolution birthed the USSR. Mandate system carved up the Middle East — borders still contested today (Iraq, Syria, Israel/Palestine).
Weapons & matériel
- Bolt-action rifles (Lee-Enfield, Mauser 98, Springfield)
- Machine guns (Maxim, Vickers — defining weapon)
- Heavy artillery (60–70% of casualties)
- Poison gas (chlorine, phosgene, mustard)
- Tanks (Mark I, 1916)
- Aircraft (recon → fighters → strategic bombing)
- U-boats
- Dreadnought battleships
Technology
Industrial-scale killing: artillery, machine gun, gas, tank, aircraft, submarine all matured. Set conditions for blitzkrieg
Economy
Total war: war economies, rationing, women in industry. Collapse of Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, Russian, German empires
Cost
~$208 billion (1918 dollars) — roughly $4–5 trillion in 2025 dollars. Britain's war debt to the US: $4.3B
Sources
- Hew Strachan, The First World War
- Marc Ferro
- Imperial War Museum archives