THE FIRST WORLD WAR (1914-1918)

At the beginning of the 20th century, when Europe was living a long period of prosperity, a devastating conflict took place,the First World War (July 1914 - November 1918) that was known at the time as the Great War because of its unprecedented levels of destruction and casualties (over 9 million combatants died, 20 million wounded or crippled) .

On June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria, was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Bosnia.This was the immediate cause of the conflict, since it was followed by an escalation of threats and mobilisation orders, but there were several underlying long-term causes that led to the war (nationalism, arms race, colonial rivalry, conflicts in the Balcans, a system of alliances....).

The two sides of the war were known as the Allied Powers (mainly France, Great Britain, Russia, Italy and after 1917 the United States) and the Central Powers (mainly Germany, Austria- Hungary and the Ottoman Empire).

The majority of fighting occured in Europe along two fronts, the Western Front when Germany invaded France through neutral Belgium, and the Eastern Front concerning Russia, however military campaigns took place across the globe because of the colonial empires.