The First World War occurred between 1914-1918. The conflict was a power struggle between the Allies and the Central Powers.
A huge shift in the balance of power led to the catalyst for World War I. One major cause was the rise of power in Germany. Another was the decline of the Ottoman Empire. Other factors included economic competition, tensions between the powers, and the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
This assassination pulled in Russia. Shortly after, Germany, France, and the UK were drawn in. The United States did not enter the war until 1917 on the Allied side.
Most of the fighting took places in Europe and the Middle East. World War I was primarily fought with trench warfare, artillery, tanks, and chemical warfare.
The war came to a formal end in 1919 with the signing of the peace treaty, The Treaty of Versailles. This treaty ended the war between Germany and the Allied Powers.
The death toll in War World I added up to over 9 million military deaths, 8 million civilians deaths, and 23 million wounded. This was one of the deadliest conflicts in history.
Let’s take a look at some of the images from the battlefields and from the point of view of those who were there.
July 1916 during the Battle of the SommeSoldiers at the Battle of the Somme, 1916Australian infantry wearing Small Box RespiratorsFrench soldiers moving into attack from their trench during the Verdun battle, 1916.Wounded tended on the battlefieldSoldiers making a meal in the trenchesTanks used to navigate difficult terrainSoldiers trying to dry their feet out to prevent trench footFirst aid on the battlefield, SommeNew Zealand soldiers with a copy of ‘New Zealand at the Front’Soldiers getting a nap when they couldGerman soldier during World War OneSoldiers on the front hunkering in the trenchesInjured Indian soldiers of the British Army during World War One being treatedSalvage of the battlefield near BapaumeU.S. troops in France just week’s before Germany’s surrenderBringing in the wounded from the battlefield – April 1917U.S. troops man a captured German communications outpostWading through waterlogged trenches1917: Canadian troops sit and take a break in a field during a pause in their attack on the Cambrai front, France, Western FrontDecember 1915: Canadian cavalrymenStretcher bearers and dressersDispatch rider of the Royal Naval Division Signal CompanyA soldier stands at the junction of two trenches – Gourlay Trench and Gordon AlleyJohn Meintz, punished during World War IGerman Infantry on the BattlefieldWomen’s War work during the First World WarThe Royal Navy during the First World WarArms production in BritainAustralian Field AmbulanceAmerican Troops – Uniform and Equipment during the First World WarIndustry during the First World War
