British Leaders
T.E. Lawrence and Earl Jellicoe both had important roles in the British involvement in World War I. Biographies of other major British figures in the First World War are presented in this section.
Central Powers
Major figures for the Central Powers include Paul von Hindenberg and Baron Manfred von Richthofen. You can learn about them and read the biographies of other important Central Powers figures in this section.
French Leaders
In the First World War, people, such as Joseph J.C. Joffre and Ferdinand Foch led France in the fight against the Central Powers. Here you can learn about these men and other French leaders in World War I.
Overview & Background
World War I was the first major world-wide modern war. Learn about the outbreak and major battles of World War I.
- What was the Christmas truce?
World War I lasted more than four horrific years and took the lives of 8.5 million people. So why did soldiers spontaneously put down their guns and shake hands? And why did they start fighting again? - Overview of World War I World War I was the great armed conflict of 1914–18. Until World War II, it was often called the Great War because it was the most destructive and widespread war the world had ever seen.
- Aerial and Colonial Warfare in World War I - 1914-1918 The use of aircraft in warfare led to great changes in intelligence gathering and tactics.
- Economic and Social Aspects of World War I To sustain huge armies in the field, each nation had to wage total war —that is, commit all resources to the war effort.
- WWI in 1914 Invasion of Belgium. On July 27 Belgium and Luxembourg were informed by Germany of its intention to pass through.
- WWI in 1915 The Western Front. In November, 1914, Moltke was relieved of his duties as supreme commander and in December was replaced by General Erich von Falkenhayn.
- WWI in 1916 Two great battles were fought on the Western Front in 1916—at Verdun (February 21-July 11) and the Somme (July 1-November 18).
- WWI in 1917 In early 1917 the United States was finally pushed into the war. On January 31, Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare, in an attempt to halt the imports of food and supplies into Britain.
- WWI in 1918 At the beginning of 1918 the peoples of Europe were weary of war. Among the Central Powers, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey were near collapse.
Key Events & Terms
The sinking of the Lusitania was one of the events that brought the United States into World War I. The topics in this section cover some of the major concepts and events related to the start of the First World War.
- Gallipoli Campaign
- Algeciras Conference
- American Expeditionary Forces
- Balfour Declaration
- Battle of Belleau Wood
- Curzon Line
- Fourteen Points
- Gas Mask
- Lausanne Conference
- League of Nations
- Liberty Loans
- Lusitania
- Neutrality
- Pact of London
- Selective Service System
- Treaties of Rapallo
- Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
- Treaty of Neuilly
- Treaty of Saint-Germain
- Treaty of Versailles
- Triple Alliance
- Triple Entente
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U.S. Leaders
John J. Pershing was one of the most important United States figures that were invovled in World War I. You can read his biography and biographies of other notable United States figures in this section about World War I.
Other Allied Leaders
A.F. Kerensky and Armando Diaz are other important figures that were involved in World War I. Their biographies and the biographies of other important figures that were involved in The Great War are presented here.
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