The First World War, or World War I for short, was an imperialist dispute that burst onto the international scene at the beginning of the 20th century.
The war arose from the incongruous contradictions of the transition from the capitalist countries to imperialism, and the fierce confrontation between the old and new colonialism between the colonies and the semi-colonies after the partition of the great powers.
The war burned mainly in Europe and spread around the world, with a total of 33 countries intervening, 70 million people engaged in the fighting, and 1.5 billion people suffering from the war. The flames of this war were triggered by the Sarajevo Incident in June 1914. At that time, the Austro-Hungarian Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated by members of the ** party, which became the catalyst for the war.
At the beginning of the war, the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria formed an alliance against the Entente powers of the British Empire, the French Third Republic, the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Italy, the United States, the Kingdom of Serbia, the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of Romania, and the Kingdom of Greece.
The fiercest battles took place on the Western Front, including the battles of the Marne, Verdun, and the Somme.
In particular, the Battle of Verdun in 1916, known as the "Verdun meat grinder" because of its heavy casualties, lasted 100 days, resulting in millions of **. On the Eastern Front, ** was at war with Germany and Austria, and Serbia was on the Southern Front against Austria-Hungary. Although Italy was an Allied Power, it joined the Entente because of the territorial pledges made by Britain, France, and Russia.
More than four years of fighting came to an end when Germany surrendered in November 1918. The war was one of the most devastating in European history, killing 8.5 million soldiers and 13 million civilians, and wounding 21 million.
Its economic losses amounted to $270 billion. After the end of the war, the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919, which imposed severe penalties on Germany and other defeated countries. However, the treaty failed to solve the fundamental problem and instead laid the groundwork for World War II.
The First World War had far-reaching global repercussions. First of all, it has promoted the rapid development of science and technology, and new types such as tanks, airplanes, and poison gas have been widely used in warfare. Second, the war led to great changes in the world pattern, with colonialism gradually declining and the United States and the Soviet Union rising.
Finally, war has made the peoples of all countries deeply appreciate the preciousness of peace and tranquility. All in all, the First World War was a devastating conflict that not only changed the world but also caused deep scars on the human psyche.
However, it was precisely this war that gave birth to the progress of science and technology and the evolution of international relations, laying the cornerstone for the development of human history.