World War I

Why did World War I start?

World War I (The Great War) started on July 28th, 1914. It was triggered by the
assassination of the Australian archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife, Sophie, on
June 28th, 1914. This was only the trigger. The actual causes were complicated. The
war started by Britain mobilizing troops, causing Germany to declare war on Britain,
and its allies including France and Russia. German crossed Belgium, which was
neutral, to get to Russia and France.

What Were the Main Two Sides?

Germany crossing Belgium to get to Britain gave Britain (and Belgium) an excuse to
enter the war. The allies, (Britain, Russia and France), were later joined by: The U.K,
Italy, Greece, Japan, England, Serbia, Canada, Australia, and New Zeeland. The U.S.
joined last due to massive attacks by German U-boats on American citizens.
Germany was later joined by: Austria-Hungary, The Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria.
Most of world was involved in World War I.

Witch Side Won?

There were definitely losers, (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey, and, on
the Allied side, Russia) but the only definite winners in terms of economic gain were
the U.S.A. and Arabia. A bunch of countries won territory, but ended up much poorer
economically. They were France, Italy, Romania, and Greece. Some countries, like
Canada, New Zealand, and Australia were kind of on the winning side, but lost much
in terms of men and money for potential return. The British Empire gained territory,
but the U.K. lost most of Ireland as a result of the economic strain of the war. The
Ukraine won independence after the Treaty of Brest-Litowsk ended Russia's
involvement in the war in 1917, but lost it shortly afterwards in the Russian Civil
War, and suffered immensely in the aftermath. The only real winners apart from the
U.S.A. and Arabia were those countries which won independence in the treaties of
1919,Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Yugoslavia, and those whose independence
gained in the treaty of Brest-Litowsk outlasted the Russian Civil War, namely the
Baltic states Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Memel. Only one of these
countries; which was Finland, has remained independent, while all of the other
countries were reconquered in the World War I, or in the build-up to it.

What Happened After the World War I?

After World War I, the only really bad thing was the Great Depression.
Overproduction lowered prices on farmers crops. Farmers increased spending on
new plows and machinery, and put more acres under production. But, with falling
prices they could not afford to pay their debts. Many lost their farms. The farmers
who lost their farms moved to the city. Many unemployed entered into bootlegging,
and working for gangsters, due to the newly passed prohibition law, that forbid the
selling of alcohol in USA, and gangsters increased their control over cities.
Otherwise, the treaty of verseallies was signed, soldiers returned home, and women
returned from working in factories. Then there was World War II.

Fun Facts

Germany used flamethrowers in World War I, which could fire jets of flame as
far as 130 ft.
The Allied powers lost about 6 million soldiers, while the Central Powers lost
about 4 million.
During WWI, the Spanish flu caused about 1/3 of total military deaths
Tanks were initially called landships, but British wanted to disguise them as water tanks, so they
nicknamed them tanks.
The trenches of World War I stretched 25,000 miles from the English Channel, to Switzerland.
The area was known as the Western Front.