World War I
World War I—also known as the Great War—pitted Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire against Great Britain, the United States, France, Russia, Italy and Japan. New military technology resulted in unprecedented carnage. By the time the war was over and the Allied Powers claimed victory, more than 16 million people—soldiers and civilians alike—were dead.
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This World War I timeline of battles outlines the most important engagements of the 1914-1918 war, from the first Battle of Mons to the final 1918 armistice.
When Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia in 1914, each of their allies quickly joined the fight.
World War I’s legacy of debt, protectionism and crippling reparations set the stage for a global economic disaster.
These World War I inventions made life easier during—and after—the war.
3 Military Technologies Deployed for the First Time in World War I
The Harlem Hellfighters
The Harlem Hellfighters
The Harlem Hellfighters were an African-American infantry unit in WWI who spent more time in combat than any other American unit. Despite their courage, sacrifice and dedication to their country, they returned home to face racism and segregation from their fellow countrymen.
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The factory workers painted luminous numbers on watches, clocks and instrument dials using radium-laced paint—and then sued as they faced dire health consequences.
The seeds of the devastating conflict had been planted long before the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
Begun in 1914, World War I saw unprecedented levels of carnage.
U.S. Army general John J. Pershing (1860-1948) commanded the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in Europe during World War I. The president and first captain of the West Point class of 1886, he served in the Spanish- and Philippine-American Wars and was tasked to lead a punitive raid against the Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa.
Look back at the moment when the holiday spirit sparked impromptu ceasefires along World War I’s Western Front.
Once Europe’s most prominent striptease performer, Dutch dancer Mata Hari was executed by a French firing squad on October 15, 1917.
These World War I inventions made life easier during—and after—the war.
If you can't hide from the enemy, confuse them.
How the Plattsburg camps for young men tried to raise a volunteer army ahead of World War I.
After millions perished, people turned to séances, Ouija boards and more to help communicate with their dearly departed.
The Armenian genocide was the systematic killing and deportation of millions of Armenians by Ottoman Empire Turks from 1915-1920, during and after World War I.
It wasn't because of World War I.
Doctors first tried injecting patients with blood plasma in the early 1900s. The method has been used against diphtheria, the 1918 flu pandemic, measles and Ebola.
Amid fierce controversy, public health officials in both cities decided children would be better off in classrooms.
