World War I (nov 1, 1946 – oct 1, 1957)

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World War I is widely believed to have started due to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, who was killed on June 28, 1914, in Sarajevo, which is in present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina. The lead-up to the war involved several other factors, including militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism. Prior to World War I, many countries expanded their militaries and competed for control of colonies. Additionally, two main alliances contributed to the global turmoil: the Allied Powers and the Central Powers. The Allied Powers included Britain, France, Russia, and later the U.S., among others. The Central Powers comprised Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria. Within Europe, numerous ethnic groups sought independence, further heightening tensions.

On August 4, 1914, Germany invaded Belgium and France, prompting Britain to declare war on the same day. About a year later, on May 7, 1915, trench warfare dominated the Western Front, with opposing forces digging extensive trench systems stretching from the North Sea to the Swiss border. This led to challenging conditions for soldiers and created a deadly no-man’s land, where neither side made significant territorial gains. On that date, a British passenger ship was torpedoed by a German submarine, resulting in the deaths of 1,198 individuals, including 128 Americans. This incident outraged the U.S., while Germans justified the attack as a defensive action against the ammunition Britain was importing, which further strained U.S.-German relations and gradually drew the U.S. into the conflict.

From February 21 to December 18, 1916, the Battles of Verdun and the Somme resulted in millions of casualties. The Battle of Verdun, one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the war, took place in Verdun, France. Germany bombarded France and captured Fort Douaumont and Fort Vaux, which led to French counterattacks. By the end of the battle, France had reclaimed most of the territory lost to Germany, but at a high cost, with approximately 400,000 French and 350,000 German casualties.

The Battle of the Somme, which occurred from July 1 to November 18, 1916, was an Allied offensive intended to relieve pressure on Verdun. This British-led attack marked the first major use of tanks in warfare. On the first day alone, there were 57,470 British casualties, marking the worst day in British military history. The battle ultimately ended due to adverse weather conditions, and the Allies gained only 6 miles of ground, resulting in around 1.2 million deaths and injuries.

On April 16, 1917, the U.S. officially declared war on Germany. This overview does not encompass many other significant events of World War I. By 1918, the Allies pushed back against the Central Powers, leading to Germany's surrender on November 11, 1918, known as Armistice Day. The war had numerous consequences, including the Treaty of Versailles, the establishment of the League of Nations, and over 16 million deaths. Ultimately, the unresolved tensions from World War I directly contributed to the outbreak of World War II.

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