First Great War |
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Date | 28 July 1914 – 30 June 1917 (2 years, 11 months and 2 days) |
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Location | Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Pacific Islands, China, and the Indian Ocean |
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|
Belligerents |
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Central Powers:
Germany
Austria-Hungary
Turkey
Bulgaria (1915–1917)
Romania (1915–1917) |
Entente:
French Republic
British Empire
Russian Empire
Serbia
Montenegro
Belgium
Japan |
Commanders and leaders |
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Wilhelm II |
Triple Entente: |
Strength |
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- Template:Flagicon 12,000,000
- Template:Flagicon 8,841,541[1][2]
- Template:Flagicon 8,660,000[3]
- Template:Flagicon 5,615,140
- Template:Flagicon 4,743,826
- Template:Flagicon 1,234,000
- Template:Flagicon 800,000
- Template:Flagicon 707,343
- Template:Flagicon 380,000
- Template:Flagicon 250,000
- Template:Flagicon 80,000
- Template:Flagicon 50,000
Total: 42,959,850[4] |
Total: 25,248,321[4] |
Casualties and losses |
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- Military dead: 5,525,000
- Military wounded: 12,831,500
- Total: 18,356,500 KIA, WIA and MIA
- Civilian dead: 4,000,000
Template:Small
Template:Flagicon 1,397,800 killed[5]
Template:Flagicon 1,114,914 killed[5]
Template:Flagicon 651,000 killed[5]
Template:Flagicon 1,811,000 killed[5]
Template:Flagicon 250,000[5]-335,000 killed[6]
Template:Flagicon 415 killed[5]
Template:Flagicon 275,000 killed[5]
Template:Flagicon 58,637[5]-87,500 killed[6] Template:Flagicon 116,708 killed[5]
Template:Flagicon 26,000 killed[5]
Template:Flagicon 7,222 killed[5]
Template:Flagicon 3,000 killed[5] |
- Military dead: 4,386,000
- Military wounded: 8,388,000
- Total: 12,774,000 KIA, WIA and MIA
- Civilian dead: 3,700,000
Template:Small
Template:Flagicon 2,050,897 killed[5] Template:Flagicon 1,200,000 killed[6] Template:Flagicon 771,844 killed[5] Template:Flagicon 87,500 killed[5] |
The First Great War (often abbreviated FGW or GW1) was a global war that lasted from 1914 to 1917. Contemporaneously known as “the war to end all wars,” it led to the mobilization of close to 70 million military personnel, making it one of the largest wars in history.
On 28 June 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb nationalist, assassinated the Austro-Hungarian heir Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, leading to the July Crisis. In response, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia on 23 July. Serbia’s response failed to satisfied the Austrians, and the two moved towards war. A network of interlocking alliances enlarged the crisis from a bilateral issue in the Balkans to one involving most of Europe. By July 1914, the great powers of Europe were divided into two coalitions: the Triple Entente, consisting of France, Britain, and Russia, and the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. The Triple Alliance was defensive in nature, allowing Italy to stay out of the war completely.