World War I: Causes and Timeline (Video)

Ferdinand Foch

Ferdinand Foch was a French military leader who served as supreme commander of the Allied armies during the final months of World War I. He played a pivotal role in the negotiations of the Treaty of Versailles, which formally ended the conflict.

Paul von Hindenburg

Paul von Hindenburg was a significant and controversial political figure in German history who served as the second president of the Weimar Republic. While some praised him for stabilizing Germany in the wake of World War I sanctions, Hindenburg played a key role in Adolf Hitler’s rise to power.

British Field Marshal Sir John Denton Pinkstone French

John French

Field Marshal Sir John French, Earl of Ypres, served as the commander in chief of the British Expeditionary Forces during World War I.

Joseph Joffre

Joseph Joffre, one of France’s most influential military leaders, played a significant role in shaping the outcome of World War I.

HISTORY: World War I Battles, WWI Timeline

World War I Battles: Timeline

For four years, from 1914 to 1918, World War I raged across Europe’s western and eastern fronts after growing tensions and then the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria ignited the war. Trench warfare and the early use of tanks, submarines and airplanes meant the war’s battles were devastatingly bloody, claiming an estimated 40 […]

World War IArchduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife assassinated in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia on June 28, 1914. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

Outbreak of World War I

Europe by 1914 Almost exactly a century before, a meeting of the European states at the Congress of Vienna had established an international order and balance of power that lasted for almost a century. By 1914, however, a multitude of forces was threatening to tear it apart. The Balkan Peninsula, in southeastern Europe, was a […]

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6 Things You Didn’t Know About Tanks

Check out six fun facts about the history of tanks.

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League of Nations

What Was the League of Nations? The League of Nations has its origins in the Fourteen Points speech of President Woodrow Wilson, part of a presentation given in 1918 outlining of his ideas for peace after the carnage of World War I. Wilson envisioned an organization that was charged with resolving conflicts before they exploded […]

Crowds along Fifth Avenue in New York City celebrated Armistice Day in November 1918.

US Entry Into World War I

World War I Begins On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his wife Sophie were assassinated by a Bosnian Serb nationalist in Sarajevo, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian province of Bosnia and Herzegovina. One month later, on July 28, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Within a […]

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World War I Alliances

In the years leading up to WWI, a series of agreements between the powers of Europe helped determine where and when battlelines were drawn.

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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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Legacy of World War I

A look back at the legacy of World War I nearly 100 years after the conflict began.

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