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426 History

WHY DID WAR BREAK OUT?

In the 20th century, European nations formed

competing military alliances. War finally broke out in

1914 when a Serbian nationalist assassinated the heir

to the throne of Austria. Austria went to war against

Serbia, and many other countries joined in. On one

side were the British, the French and Russian empires,

Italy, and Japan (the Entente Powers). On the other

side were the Germans, Austrians, Hungarians,

Bulgarians, and Turks (the Central Powers).

World War I (1914–1918) was the first

war in history to be fought by many

different nations around the world.

About eight million men were killed,

many in horrific. TRENCH WARFARE,

before the. ARMISTICE in 1918.

1914 Germany invades

Belgium in order

to attack France

1915 Gallipoli

offensive in

Turkey; Italy

joins the Entente

1916 Naval battle off

Jutland, Denmark

1917 USA enters the

war on the side

of the Entente;

Russia leaves the

war; Italy

defeated by the

Austrians; Arabs

revolt against

Turks

1918 Armistice ends

the war

In World War I, both sides dug long trenches as lines of defence,

which stretched across Western Europe. These trenches filled up

with stinking mud. Any order to go “over the top” and attack the

enemy resulted in thousands of deaths.

WHERE WAS NO-MAN’S LAND?

The territory between the two front lines was called

“no-man’s land”. It was a sea of mud, with broken

stumps of trees and barbed wire entanglements. The

area was raked by machine gun fire and pounded by

heavy artillery, leaving craters big enough for soldiers

to drown in.

1 WAR ACROSS THE REGIONS

Europe lay at the centre of the fighting. Troops came here from as far away as Africa, India,

New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. The Western Front stretched from Belgium to Switzerland.

The Eastern Front extended from the Baltic to the Black Sea. There was an Arab revolt against

the Ottoman Empire in 1917 and Britain invaded most of the Middle East.

1 TANKS INTO BATTLE

Tanks were a British invention. They appeared in 1916 and were first used on

a large scale in battle at Cambrai, France, in 1917. Tanks were armour-plated.

Their tracks could cross muddy trenches and crash through barbed wire.

TRENCH WARFARE

World War I

DEATH IN GALLIPOLI 3

The Gallipoli campaign between

the Entente Powers and Turkey

in 1915 included some of

the worst trench fighting of the

war. The campaign was a failure

and cost the lives of many

Australians and New Zealanders.

Guns fired

from side

turrets

WAR AND PEACE

Greatest advance

of Central Powers

Front lines

November 1918

Central Powers

and allies

Entente Powers

and allies

Neutral

Powers

ATLANTIC

OCEAN

Me

dite

rranean Sea

Black Sea

North

Sea

GREECE

PORTUGAL

SPAIN OTTOMAN

EMPIRE

BULGARIA

FRANCE

ROMANIA

SWITZERLAND

AUSTRIA-

HUNGARY

BELGIUM

GERMANY

NETH.

RUSSIAN

DENMARK EMPIRE

BRITAIN

I

T

A

L

Y

N

O

RW

AY

S

W

E

D

E

N

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0 miles 1000

1000

500

500