the great war In honor of those who served in the world war in defense of liberty and our country Inscription on the Liberty Memorial tower in downtown Kansas City Missouri U S The Great War 1914-1918 was the world’s first global conflict American soldiers left home to fight in faraway places in Europe and many never returned The War began with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary He was assassinated in Sarajevo on June 28 1914 In reaction Austria-Hungary immediately declared war on Serbia Within the next months Germany would declare war on Russia France and Belgium By January 1915 it seemed as though the entire world was at war 4
Soldiers protected themselves from gunfire by digging holes called trenches and hiding in them The military also used tanks and other new weapons to try and gain an advantage over the enemy 5
Historians believe that there were several causes of this Great War Germany a young power had new leadership and decided not to renew its friendship with Russia The European countries were also experiencing growth of industry and technology They were interested in expanding their wealth and territories This upset the balance of power and created both new alliances and great conflict 6
norway Denmark Sweden Ireland North Sea Baltic Great Britain Netherlands Belgium Luxembourg Bay France Switzerland of Biscay Austro Hungarian Empire Romania Black Sea Spain Italy Serbia Mont Bulgaria Albania Greece Ottoman Empire Mediterranean Sea 1917 American soldiers nicknamed doughboys fought the enemy along the borders of Germany France and Belgium in
