World War I Books

About World War I

World War I (1914–1918), also known as the Great War, was a global conflict that reshaped the modern world. Triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary, the war spiraled into a confrontation between two major alliances: the Allies (including France, Britain, Russia, and later the United States) and the Central Powers (led by Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire). The war introduced unprecedented scale and destruction, with trench warfare, machine guns, chemical weapons, tanks, and airplanes contributing to massive casualties. Major battles such as the Somme, Verdun, and Gallipoli became symbols of human suffering and military stalemate. The Eastern Front saw fluid movement, while the Western Front was largely static. In 1917, the U.S. entered the war, tipping the balance in favor of the Allies. The Russian Empire exited after the Bolshevik Revolution. The war ended with the Armistice of November 11, 1918, followed by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, which imposed harsh terms on Germany. The war resulted in the collapse of four empires (German, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian) and redrew national borders, giving rise to new states and political ideologies. It left over 16 million dead and countless wounded. World War I profoundly changed the geopolitical landscape, laid the groundwork for World War II, and ushered in a century marked by global conflict and rapid technological change.