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Definition: World War I from The Macquarie Dictionary
1.

the war, conducted mainly in Europe and the Middle East, between the Triple Entente (Great Britain, France, and Russia, aided by the US, Belgium, Japan, countries of the British Empire including Australia and New Zealand, and others) and the Central Powers (Germany and Austria-Hungary, aided by Turkey and Bulgaria) from 28 July 1914, when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, until the Central Powers' surrender on 11 November 1918.

WW I

Britain\xe2\x80\x99s declaration of war on Germany on 4 August 1914 meant that Australia was automatically also at war. Australians were enthusiastic in their support of Britain. Andrew Fisher, prime minister at the time of the outbreak of the war, had earlier, while opposition leader, pledged to help the British Empire \xe2\x80\x98to the last man and last shilling\xe2\x80\x99 and large numbers joined the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). A small force occupied German New Guinea at little cost in September 1914, and in November the German cruiser Emden was outfought by HMAS Sydney. On 25 April 1915 Anzacs landed on the Gallipoli peninsula. When the Anzacs were evacuated in December they joined thousands of new recruits in Egypt. The Australian Light Horse spent the rest of the war as an important part of the British force fighting Turkey in the Middle East. The other men in the AIF were formed into five infantry divisions which, from April 1916, were moved to the Western Front. The terrible losses suffered there persuaded the Australian prime minister, WM Hughes, of the need to enlarge the AIF through conscription. This proposal was twice defeated at bitterly fought referenda. In 1918, after two years of carnage, the AIF played a significant role in a series of Allied victories, including the momentous attack on the German army near Hamel on 8 August and the capture of Mont St Quentin and Péronne in September. Of the 331 000 Australians (out of a population of 4 875 000) who served overseas, about some 60 000 lost their lives and a further 152 000 were wounded; as a proportion of forces fielded, the Australian casualty rate was the highest in the British Empire. After the war, Australia secured German New Guinea as a mandated territory under the League of Nations.


World War I

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
1914–18, also known as the Great War, conflict, chiefly in Europe, among most of the great Western powers. It was the largest war the world had yet seen. World War I was immediately precipitated by the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary by a Serbian nationalist in 1914. There were, however, many factors that had led toward war. Prominent causes were the imperialistic, territorial, and economic rivalries that had been intensifying from the late 19th cent., particularly among Germany, France, Great Britain, Russia, and Austria-Hungary. Of equal importance was the rampant spirit of nationalism, especially unsettling in the empire of Austria-Hungary and perhaps also in France. Nationalism had brought the unification of Germany by “blood and iron,” and France, deprived of Alsace and Lorraine by the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, had been left with its own nationalistic cult seeking revenge against Germany. While French nationalists were hostile to Germany, which…
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Full text Article World War I

From Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace and Conflict Full text Article Contents by Subject Area
World War I in World History Protagonists Features of World War I Course of Events Peace Settlement and War Guilt Debate Further Reading GLOSSARY Central Powers Alliance between Imperial Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire. Dominions Self-governing entities of the British…
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Full text Article World War I

From Encyclopedia of Intelligence & Counterintelligence
American and French artillery spotters on the...
The belligerents in World War I (1914-18) used intelligence and counterintelligence to levels unprecedented in previous conflicts. Each of the major powers and many of the minor ones established departments of intelligence, sending their agents into neutral and enemy countries. The Germans, the…
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Full text Article World War I

From The Great American History Fact-Finder
The first truly global conflict involving more countries than any war except World War II; also called “the war to end all wars” and “the Great War.” The fighting took place mostly in Europe. The Allies included Great Britain, France, Russia (until 1917), Italy, and the United States (1917–18). The…
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Full text Article World War 1

From Philip's Encyclopedia
(Great War, 1914-18) International conflict precipitated by the assassination of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Serbs in Sarajevo (June 28, 1914). Austria declared war on Serbia (July 28), Russia mobilized in support of Serbia (from July 29), Germany declared war on Russia (August 1) and…
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Full text Article World War I

From Encyclopedia of American Literature Full text Article Volume 3
The war that came to be known as World War I began in August 1914 with Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire (the Central Powers) pitted against Britain, France, and Russia (the Allies). President Woodrow Wilson soon declared America's neutrality. After several American ships were sunk in…
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Full text Article World War I

From The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Houghton Mifflin
World War I
A war fought from 1914 to 1918 between the Allies , notably Britain , France , Russia , and Italy (which entered in 1915), and the Central Powers : Germany , Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria , and the Ottoman Empire . The war was sparked by the assassination in 1914 of the heir to the throne of Austria ( …
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Full text Article World War I

From Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History
World War I (1914–18) was a bloody and costly global conflict that pitted many of the world's economic and military powers in fighting that was focused in Europe but spread around the world. Also known as the Great War, World War I was the outcome of tumultuous political changes, rapid…
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Full text Article World War I

From Encyclopedia of American Studies
President Wilson declaring war on Germany....
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Full text Article World War I: Survey

From Encyclopedia of African History
The Great War of 1914-1918 was the major imperialist war of the twentieth century, and the first truly total war of the industrial era, an essentially European conflict in which distant colonial command of African human and material resources formed a significant element in the war effort of several…
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Full text Article World War I alliances

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
The two opposing groups that fought in World War I were the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey) and the Allies , an alliance that grew from the three members of the Triple Entente (Britain and the British Empire, France, and Russia) to incorporate 27 Allied and Associated…
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