The Great War concludes at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. That morning, at 5 a.m., Germany, lacking in manpower and supplies and anticipating imminent invasion, signed an armistice agreement with the Allies inside a railroad car positioned outside Compiégne, France.
The First World War resulted in the deaths of nine million soldiers and left 21 million wounded. Each of the major powers, including Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, France, and Great Britain, suffered casualties of nearly a million or more. Additionally, the civilian toll was significant, with at least five million dying from disease, starvation, or exposure.
On June 28, 1914, an event commonly recognized as the catalyst for World War I occurred when Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, along with his wife, was assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia, by Bosnian Serb Gavrilo Princip. Despite the threat posed by Serbian nationalists desiring Austro-Hungarian territories to join an independent Serbia, Ferdinand was inspecting his uncle’s imperial forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Austria-Hungary blamed the Serbian government for the assassination and sought to use the situation to address Slavic nationalism definitively. However, Russia’s support for Serbia delayed Austria-Hungary’s declaration of war until assurances were received from German Kaiser Wilhelm II regarding Germany’s support in the event of Russian intervention.
On July 28, Austria-Hungary initiated a declaration of war against Serbia, leading to the collapse of the fragile peace among Europe’s dominant powers. The following day,
Austro-Hungarian forces began artillery bombardments of the Serbian capital, Belgrade, prompting Russia, Serbia’s ally, to mobilize troops against Austria-Hungary. France, allied with Russia, also mobilized on August 1, with both France and Germany declaring war on each other by August 3. The German army invaded Belgium after crossing through neutral Luxembourg on the night of August 3-4, which led Great Britain, an ally of Belgium, to declare war on Germany.
The initial outbreak of war was met with enthusiasm by most Europeans, who patriotically believed their nations would achieve swift victory. Among the early belligerents, Germany was the most prepared, having developed a sophisticated military strategy known as the “Schlieffen Plan,” which aimed to conquer France through a sweeping offensive via Belgium and into northern France, while Austro-Hungarian forces kept Russia occupied.
Although nearly successful, the Schlieffen Plan faced a turning point in early September when the French managed to halt the German advance at the bloody Battle of the Marne, located near Paris. By the year’s end in 1914, the battlefields of Europe had seen the deaths of well over a million soldiers, with no final victory in sight for either the Allies or the Central Powers. On the western front, which stretched across northern France and Belgium, combatants entrenched themselves, leading to a grueling war of attrition.
Attempts to break the stalemate in 1915 by the Allies, through an amphibious invasion of Turkey (which had allied with the Central Powers in October 1914), resulted in heavy losses and a retreat by early 1916. The year 1916 featured significant offensives by both Germany and Britain along the western front, yet neither managed a decisive victory. Meanwhile, in the east, Germany found more success, with the disorganized Russian army incurring severe casualties, contributing to the onset of the Russian Revolution in 1917. By the close of 1917, power had shifted to the Bolsheviks in Russia, who promptly sought peace negotiations with Germany. The influx of American troops and resources into the western front in 1918 ultimately shifted the balance in favor of the Allies. As a result, Germany signed an armistice agreement with the Allies on November 11, 1918.
World War I gained a reputation as the “war to end all wars” due to its immense devastation and carnage. Regrettably, the peace treaty that formally concluded the conflict—the Treaty of Versailles in 1919—imposed harsh terms on Germany, destabilizing Europe and laying the groundwork for World War II.
