KEY FIGURES OF 8 WORLD WAR I World War I was one of the most momentous events of the 20th century It led to the fall of four great imperial dynasties in Germany Russia Austria Hungary and Turkey resulted in the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia and in its destabilization of European society laid the groundwork for World War II World War I was the most deadly and destructive war the world had ever seen to that time More than 25 countries eventually participated aligned with either the Allies or the Central Powers More than 65 million soldiers were mobilized for the armies navies and air forces Some 8 5 million lost their lives and more than 21 million were wounded Civilian populations worked as never before to produce enormous quantities of guns munitions and other supplies Because civilians played such an important role World War I was the first conflict to be called total war The early 20th century was a time of great industrial and technological development While technology and innovation made lives easier World War I proved that technology also had a negative side Military minds on both sides constructed new machines of war and weapons of destruction Tanks airplanes ships and submarines brought about a new level of destruction that was not possible in the days of hand to hand combat Troops manned powerful machine guns that could cut down charging forces with little effort Poisonous gases were deployed for the first time on battlefield
INTRODUCTION 9 trenches causing blindness horrible burns lifelong ailments and death by the thousands The purpose of this book is to help you learn about the events of World War I as well as the individuals who masterminded and executed the bloodiest conflict the world had seen so far From the stories of the people featured in this book you will find out how the decisions and actions of individuals helped to change the world forever
CHAPTER ONE WORLD WAR BEGINS or many years leading up to World War I tensions between rival European nations had been escalating In anticipation of war nations had made treaties and alliances By 1914 Europe had been divided into two camps Germany Austria Hungary and Italy were members of the Triple Alliance Later after the withdrawal of Italy and the addition of the Ottoman Empire the Triple Alliance took a new name the Central Powers Russia France and Britain formed the rival Triple Entente Later they were called the Allies These alliances were brought into action following an incident in the Balkans in the summer of 1914 THE ON SET OF WAR On June 28 1914 Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria Hungary was assassinated He was murdered at Sarajevo the capital of the Austrian province of Bosnia The assassin was Gavrilo Princip a Serbian trained Bosnian terrorist 10
WORLD WAR BEGINS 11 Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife Sophie leave a reception in Sarajevo Bosnia shortly before their assassination by Gavrilo Princip Austria claimed that Serbian government officials had trained and equipped Princip s group which was known as the Black Hand For many years Serbia and Austria Hungary had been unfriendly because Serbian nationalists wanted to unite all Slavic peoples living in the Balkan
