World War 1
The main cause of World War I also known as the great war was said to of officially begun with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand who was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Throne. The assignation was committed by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. The war took place from 1914-1918 and was fought between the Central Powers of the time Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Germany and the Allied Powers meaning Great Britain, France, The United States, Italy and Japan.
One of the first major events to take place in the war was when Germany went through neutral Belgium and invaded France. The Allies created defensive lines in France during the First Battle of The Mame in 1914. One thing which defines World War 1 is Infantry Trench line Warfare which used machine guns and what was considered at the times to be modern artillery. Not much ground was gained due to this style of warfare and as a result a sad loss of human life on both sides took place. One notable event were lots of lives were lost was at the Battles of Verdun and The Somme, both of which were fought in 1916.
The Russian Army was repulsed Several times on the Eastern Front, due to being unable to damage or break the defensive lines created by Germany and Austria-Hungary. These failures and losses caused huge unhappiness which eventually caused the Russian Revolution of 1917. The World War was also fought on other fronts, which included the Dardanelles Campaign against Turkey, Italy, Egypt and Mesopotamia, and at sea where German and Great British fleets fought the inconclusive Battle of Jutland.
Cease fire happened on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the eleventh month of 1918, and opposing armies started to take their troops away from the Western Front. Although this happened a state of war still took place and World War One did not officially finish until The Treaty of Versailles on June 28th 1919. It is believed by some that this signing did not just close the book on World War One but also created the beginning of World War 2 some twenty years after.
The effects of World War One are still evident today, Old countries vanished and new Countries came about, international leagues such as The League of Nations, were established. Germany was made to make economic justifications for starting World War One, but France would later pay the price for this under the Murderous regime of Adolph Hitler.
Reminders of World War One are still apparent in the world today. France and its Champagne region particularly have quantities of unexploded shells and ammunition where trench lines were located. Farmers who accidently plough these weapons refer to them as “iron harvest”. Still today these shells cause some fatalities. It’s estimated that France will not be cleared of shells for over several hundred years.