The First World War began as a diplomatic crisis between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June 1914. It soon grew into a conflict that engaged all of the world's major powers. On one side was a group of nations known as the Central Powers, including Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. They waged war against the Allied Powers, including France, Britain, Russia, Italy, and eventually the United States. New developments in modern warfare, such as the machine gun, the tank, aerial bombardments, and poisonous gas, resulted in wide-scale destruction and the deaths of more than 15 million people. This book in the MAJOR U.S. HISTORICAL WARS series examines the events that led up to World War I. It discusses the political and military strategies that the Allies and the Central Powers employed, and provides information about key people, battles, and events. The most devastating conflict to that point in history, the First World War helped shape our modern world.
