Portal:World War I

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The badly shelled main road to Bapaume.jpg

World War I (abbreviated WWI), also known as the First World War, the Great War and The War to End War was a global military conflict that took place mostly in Europe between 1914 and 1918. The main combatants were the Allied Powers, led by France, the Russian Empire, the British Empire, Serbia, Belgium, and later Italy, Romania and the United States, who fought against the Central Powers: Austria-Hungary, the German Empire, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire (present day Turkey).

Much of the fighting in World War I took place along the Western Front, within a system of opposing manned trenches and fortifications (separated by a "no man's land") running from the North Sea to the border of Switzerland. On the Eastern Front, the vast eastern plains and limited rail network prevented a trench warfare stalemate from developing, although the scale of the conflict was just as large. Hostilities also occurred on and under the sea and — for the first time — in the air. More than nine million soldiers died on the various battlefields, and millions more civilians perished.

The war caused the disintegration of four empires: the Austro-Hungarian, German, Ottoman, and Russian. Germany lost its overseas empire, and states such as Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia were created, or recreated, as in the cases of Lithuania and Poland. This contributed to a decisive break with the world order that had emerged after the Napoleonic Wars, which was modified by the mid-19th century’s nationalistic revolutions. The results of World War I would also be important factors in the development of World War II just over two decades later. Template:/box-footer

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The Brusilov Offensive (Russian: Брусиловский прорыв) was the greatest Russian feat of arms during World War I, and among the most lethal battles in world history. It was a major offensive against the armies of the Central Powers on the Eastern Front, launched on June 4, 1916 and lasting until early August. It took place in what today is Ukraine, in the general vicinity of the towns of Lemberg, Kovel, and Lutsk. The offensive was named after the Russian commander in charge of the Southwestern Front, Aleksei Brusilov.

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Vickers machine gun in the Battle of Passchendaele - September 1917.jpg

The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a name primarily used to refer to the water-cooled .303 inch (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by the Vickers Limited company, originally for the British Army. The machine gun typically required a six to eight-man team to operate: one to fire, one to feed the ammunition, and the rest to help carry the weapon, its ammunition and spare parts.

The gun had a reputation for great solidity and reliability. Ian V. Hogg, in Weapons & War Machines, describes an action that took place in August, 1916, during which the 100th Company of the Machine Gun Corps fired their ten Vickers guns continuously for twelve hours. They firing a million rounds between them, using one hundred new barrels, without a single breakdown. "It was this absolute foolproof reliability which endeared the Vickers to every British soldier who ever fired one."

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The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.
Edward Grey, July 1914

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Submarine U-14 (LOC) (6358166395).jpg

The German submarine U-14 arriving in port.

Photo credit: Photographer unknown, image scanned froma public domain text by the Great War Primary Documents Archive.

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Ferdinand Foch pre 1915.jpg

Ferdinand Foch OM GCB (October 2, 1851 – March 20, 1929) was a French soldier, military educator and author credited for possessing "the most original and subtle mind in the French Army." He served as general in the French Army during World War I and made Marshal of France in its final year, 1918.

He was chosen as supreme commander of the allied armies during World War I, on March 26, 1918, five days after the start of the Spring Offensive, the final attempt by Germany to win the war. He served until November 11, 1918, when he accepted the German Surrender.

He advocated harsh peace terms that would make Germany unable to ever pose a threat to France again. His word after the Treaty of Versailles, “This is not a peace. It is an armistice for 20 years”, would prove prophetic.

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FA A.E.J. Collins

FA Arthur Ernest Percival

FA Arthur Henry Cobby

FA Battle of Arras (1917)

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FA Dreadnought

FA Edgar Towner

FA Edwin Taylor Pollock

FA Finnish Civil War

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FA George Jones (RAAF officer)

FA German occupation of Luxembourg in World War I

FA Harry Murray

FA HMS Royal Oak (1914)

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FA List of First World War Victoria Cross recipients

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FA Prince Louis of Battenberg

FA Raymond Brownell

FA Richard Williams (RAAF officer)

FA Second Ostend Raid

FA Stanley Goble

FA Ronald Niel Stuart

FA Thomas Crisp

FA Western Front (World War I)

FA William Bostock

FA Władysław Sikorski

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