World War I The First World War was an international conflict that lasted from 1914 to 1918 that involved most of the European nations. The war was mainly between the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and turkey) and the Allies (France, Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan) and from 1917, the United States.
World War I led to the fall of four great imperial dynasties (in Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey), resulted in the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, and, in its destabilization of European society, laid the groundwork for World War II.
The direct cause of WWI was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. However historians feel that a number of factors contributed to the rivalry between the Great powers that
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• Russia and Austria over the Balkans.
•Britain and Germany over their navies and economic power.
Militarism
In the years before the WWI began many European nations rivaled each other and began stockpiling weapons and distrust. The colonial rivalry between Britain and Germany seriously worsened relations between both countries and started a warship in the naval armed race.
Nationalism
The outbreak of war in August 1914 was generally greeted with confidence and jubilation by the peoples of Europe, among whom it inspired a wave of patriotic feeling and celebration. The war was welcomed either patriotically, as a defensive one imposed by national necessity, or idealistically, as one for upholding right against might, the sanctity of treaties, and international morality.
Domestic political factors/Domestic issues
Socialism had become a very popular political creed in Germany, Austria, Russia, Italy and France. The ruling class in some of these countries hoped that a short victorious war would put an end to class differences and reduce the support for socialism that threatened the existing order.
United States role during the