Portal:World War I

The World War I Portal

World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. It was fought between two coalitions, the Allies and the Central Powers. Fighting occurred throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died as a result of genocide, while the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war.

The first decade of the 20th century saw increasing diplomatic tension between the European great powers. This reached breaking point on 28 June 1914, when a Bosnian Serb named Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Austria-Hungary held Serbia responsible, and declared war on 28 July. Russia came to Serbia's defence, and by 4 August, defensive alliances had drawn in Germany, France, and Britain, with the Ottoman Empire joining the war in November. (Full article...)

Selected event –

The Battle of Verdun (French: Bataille de Verdun [bataj də vɛʁdœ̃]; German: Schlacht um Verdun [ʃlaxt ʔʊm ˈvɛɐ̯dœ̃]) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front in France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north of Verdun-sur-Meuse. The German 5th Army attacked the defences of the Fortified Region of Verdun (RFV, Région Fortifiée de Verdun) and those of the French Second Army on the right (east) bank of the Meuse. Using the experience of the Second Battle of Champagne in 1915, the Germans planned to capture the Meuse Heights, an excellent defensive position, with good observation for artillery-fire on Verdun. The Germans hoped that the French would commit their strategic reserve to recapture the position and suffer catastrophic losses at little cost to the German infantry.

Poor weather delayed the beginning of the attack until 21 February but the Germans captured Fort Douaumont in the first three days. The advance then slowed for several days, despite inflicting many French casualties. By 6 March, 20+1⁄2 French divisions were in the RFV and a more extensive defence in depth had been organised. Philippe Pétain ordered there to be no retreat and that German attacks were to be counter-attacked, despite this exposing French infantry to the German artillery. By 29 March, French guns on the west bank had begun a constant bombardment of Germans on the east bank, causing many infantry casualties. The German offensive was extended to the west bank of the Meuse to gain observation and eliminate the French artillery firing over the river but the attacks failed to reach their objectives.

In early May, the Germans changed tactics again and made local attacks and counter-attacks; the French recaptured part of Fort Douaumont but then the Germans ejected them and took many prisoners. The Germans tried alternating their attacks on either side of the Meuse and in June captured Fort Vaux. The Germans advanced towards the last geographical objectives of the original plan, at Fleury-devant-Douaumont and Fort Souville, driving a salient into the French defences. Fleury was captured and the Germans came within 2.5 mi (4 km) of the Verdun citadel but in July the offensive was cut back to provide troops, artillery and ammunition for the Battle of the Somme, leading to a similar transfer of the French Tenth Army to the Somme front. From 23 June to 17 August, Fleury changed hands sixteen times and a German attack on Fort Souville failed. The offensive was reduced further but to keep French troops away from the Somme, ruses were used to disguise the change. (Full article...)

List of selected events
Battle of the Somme Treaty of Versailles Brusilov offensive Battle of Tannenberg Battle of Arras (1917) Armenian genocide Battle of Jutland First Battle of the Marne Gallipoli campaign Battle of Sharon Battle of Beersheba (1917)

Selected equipment –

The Webley Revolver (also known as the Webley Top-Break Revolver or Webley Self-Extracting Revolver) was, in various designations, a standard issue service pistol for the armed forces of the United Kingdom, and countries of the British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations, from 1887 to 1970.

The Webley is a top-break revolver and breaking the revolver operates the extractor, which removes cartridges from the cylinder. The Webley Mk I service revolver was adopted in 1887 and the Mk IV rose to prominence during the Boer War of 1899–1902. The Mk VI was introduced in 1915, during wartime, and is the best-known model.

Firing large .455 Webley cartridges, Webley service revolvers are among the most powerful top-break revolvers produced. The .455 calibre Webley is no longer in military service. The .38/200 Webley Mk IV variant is still in use as a police sidearm in a number of countries. With a modified, "shaved" cylinder and the use of a half moon clip, the Webley Mk VI can in theory fire the .45 ACP cartridge, However in practice standard pressure .45 ACP cartridges exceed Webley proof loads and should not be used. (Full article...)

List of selected equipment
Chemical weapons in World War I Tanks in World War I Vickers machine gun Fokker D.VII Canon de 75 modèle 1897 Gewehr 98 Trench knife Lewis gun Paris gun 42 cm Haubitze M. 14/16

Selected quote

"Our life here is truly hellish. Fortunately, my soldiers are very brave and tougher than the enemy. What is more, their private beliefs make it easier to carry out orders which send them to their death. They see only two supernatural outcomes: victory for the faith or martyrdom. Do you know what the second means? It is to go straight to heaven. There, the houris, God's most beautiful women, will meet them and will satisfy their desires for all eternity. What great happiness!"

— Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, 20 July 1917

Featured articles -

Featured articles are displayed here, which represent some of the best content on English Wikipedia.

Image 1

Franz Ritter von Hipper (13 September 1863 – 25 May 1932) was an admiral in the German Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine). Franz von Hipper joined the German Navy in 1881 as an officer cadet. He commanded several torpedo boat units and served as watch officer aboard several warships, as well as Kaiser Wilhelm II's yacht SMY Hohenzollern. Hipper commanded several cruisers in the reconnaissance forces before being appointed commander of the I Scouting Group in October 1913. (Full article...)
Image 2
Coat of arms

The 116th Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment in the Virginia Army National Guard. (Full article...)
Image 3
Larne

HMS Larne was one of 20 Acorn-class (later H-class) destroyers built for the Royal Navy. The destroyer served in the First World War. The Acorn class were smaller than the preceding Beagle class but oil-fired and better armed. Launched in 1910, Larne participated in exercises that took place the following year, sustaining damage during the activity, and then a naval demonstration for Members of Parliament in 1912. At the start of the war, the ship served with the Second Destroyer Flotilla of the Grand Fleet. The destroyer undertook anti-submarine patrols around the British Isles, from Devonport to the Outer Hebrides. Despite being involved in many actions, the ship did not sink any enemy submarines. Larne ended the war in Brindisi with the Mediterranean Fleet. After the Armistice, the destroyer was placed in reserve before being sold to be broken up in 1921. (Full article...)
Image 4
Wyoming as completed

The Wyoming class was a pair of dreadnought battleships built for the United States Navy. Wyoming and Arkansas were authorized in early 1909, and were built between 1910 and 1912. These were the fourth dreadnought design of the US Navy, but only an incremental improvement over the preceding Florida class, and the last US battleships to use 12-inch guns. The primary changes were the adoption of a more powerful 12 in (305 mm)/50 caliber Mark 7 gun, addition of a sixth twin-gun turret and improved armor protection, including the first use of a torpedo bulkhead on American battleships. The Navy considered using more powerful 14-inch (356 mm) guns, but this would have caused delays and required larger docks. (Full article...)

Image 5A collection of photographs from the campaign. From top and left to right: Ottoman commanders including Mustafa Kemal (fourth from left); Allied warships; V Beach from the deck of SS River Clyde; Ottoman soldiers in a trench; and Allied positionsThe Gallipoli campaign, the Dardanelles campaign, the Defense of Gallipoli or the Battle of Gallipoli (Turkish: Gelibolu Muharebesi, Çanakkale Muharebeleri or Çanakkale Savaşı) was a military campaign in the First World War on the Gallipoli peninsula (now Gelibolu) from 19 February 1915 to 9 January 1916. The Entente powers, Britain, France and the Russian Empire, sought to weaken the Ottoman Empire, one of the Central Powers, by taking control of the Ottoman straits. This would expose the Ottoman capital at Constantinople to bombardment by Allied battleships and cut it off from the Asian part of the empire. With Turkey defeated, the Suez Canal would be safe and a year-round Allied supply route could be opened through the Black Sea to warm-water ports in Russia. (Full article...)

A collection of photographs from the campaign. From top and left to right: Ottoman commanders including Mustafa Kemal (fourth from left); Allied warships; V Beach from the deck of SS River Clyde; Ottoman soldiers in a trench; and Allied positions

The Gallipoli campaign, the Dardanelles campaign, the Defense of Gallipoli or the Battle of Gallipoli (Turkish: Gelibolu Muharebesi, Çanakkale Muharebeleri or Çanakkale Savaşı) was a military campaign in the First World War on the Gallipoli peninsula (now Gelibolu) from 19 February 1915 to 9 January 1916. The Entente powers, Britain, France and the Russian Empire, sought to weaken the Ottoman Empire, one of the Central Powers, by taking control of the Ottoman straits. This would expose the Ottoman capital at Constantinople to bombardment by Allied battleships and cut it off from the Asian part of the empire. With Turkey defeated, the Suez Canal would be safe and a year-round Allied supply route could be opened through the Black Sea to warm-water ports in Russia. (Full article...)

Image 6
Air Vice-Marshal Anderson, c. 1940

Air Vice-Marshal William Hopton Anderson, (30 December 1891 – 30 December 1975) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). He flew with the Australian Flying Corps in World War I, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Belgian Croix de guerre, and leading Nos. 3 and 7 Squadrons. Anderson commanded the Australian Air Corps during its brief existence in 1920–21, before joining the fledgling RAAF. The service's third most senior officer, he primarily held posts on the Australian Air Board in the inter-war years. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1934, and promoted to air commodore in 1938. (Full article...)
Image 7
Lenin in 1920

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (22 April [O.S. 10 April] 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian lawyer, revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1924 and of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1924. Under his administration, Russia, and later the Soviet Union, became a one-party socialist state governed by the Communist Party. Ideologically a Marxist, his development of the ideology is known as Leninism. (Full article...)
Image 8
"Goodbyeee", or "Plan F: Goodbyeee", is the sixth and final episode of Blackadder Goes Forth, the fourth and final series of British historical sitcom Blackadder. The episode was first broadcast on BBC1 in the United Kingdom on 2 November 1989, shortly before Armistice Day. Apart from the one-off short film Blackadder: Back & Forth made a decade later, it was the last episode of Blackadder to be produced and transmitted. (Full article...)
Image 9
Raleigh visiting Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1921

HMS Raleigh was one of five Hawkins-class heavy cruisers built for the Royal Navy during the First World War, although the ship was not completed until 1921. She was assigned to the North America and West Indies Station when she commissioned and often served as a flagship. After visiting ports in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and both coasts of the United States and Canada in 1921–1922, Raleigh ran aground off Labrador in August 1922 with the loss of a dozen crewmen. The ship was partially salvaged in place and was demolished with explosives in 1926, although she remains a diveable wreck in very shallow water. (Full article...)
Image 10
SS West Arrow underway in mid 1918
SS West Arrow underway in mid 1918

SS Black Osprey was a cargo ship for the American Diamond Lines and the British Cairn Line. She was formerly known as SS West Arrow when she was launched for the United States Shipping Board (USSB) during World War I. The ship was inspected by the United States Navy for possible use as USS West Arrow (ID-2585) but was neither taken into the Navy nor ever commissioned under that name. (Full article...)

Selected images

Image 1Austro-Hungarian trench at 3,850 metres in the Ortler Alps, one of the most challenging fronts of the war (from World War I)
Image 2German casualties, the Somme 1916 (from World War I)
Image 3Battleships of the Hochseeflotte, 1917 (from World War I)
Image 4A Russian armoured car, 1919 (from World War I)
Image 5World empires and colonies around 1914 (from World War I)
Image 6Ottoman troops in Jerusalem (from World War I)
Image 7Austro-Hungarian soldiers executing men and women in Serbia, 1916 (from World War I)
Image 8Crowds on the streets in the aftermath of the anti-Serb riots in Sarajevo, 29 June 1914 (from World War I)
Image 9Cheering crowds in London and Paris on the day war was declared. (from World War I)
Image 10Luftstreitkräfte Fokker Dr.I being inspected by Manfred von Richthofen, also known as the Red Baron. (from World War I)
Image 1116th Bn (Canadian Scottish), advancing during the Battle of the Canal du Nord, 1918 (from World War I)
Image 12French bayonet charge during the Battle of the Frontiers; by the end of August, French casualties exceeded 260,000, including 75,000 dead. (from World War I)
Image 13British Vickers machine gun, 1917 (from World War I)
Image 14British Indian Army infantry divisions in France; these troops were withdrawn in December 1915, and served in the Mesopotamian campaign. (from World War I)
Image 15British infantry advance near Ginchy. Photo by Ernest Brooks. (from Western Front (World War I))
Image 16British volunteer recruits in London, August 1914 (from World War I)
Image 17Poster showing women workers, 1915 (from World War I)
Image 18Emergency military hospital during the Spanish flu pandemic, which killed about 675,000 people in the United States alone, Camp Funston, Kansas, 1918 (from World War I)
Image 19French infantry advance on the Chemin des Dames, April 1917 (from World War I)
Image 20The Russian battleship Slawa, crippled by German gunfire and sinking off Ösel, Baltic Sea, October 1917.
Photo credit: Image taken from Der Weltkrieg in seiner rauen Wirklichkeit. Original photographer unknown.
Image 21President Wilson asking Congress to declare war on Germany, 2 April 1917 (from World War I)
Image 22Territory lost by Russia under the 1918 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (from Eastern Front (World War I))
Image 23Map of the Western Front, 1915–16 (from Western Front (World War I))
Image 24Emperor Nicholas II and Grand Duke Nikolaevich following the Russian capture of Przemyśl, the longest siege of the war. (from World War I)
Image 25Brusilov offensive (from Eastern Front (World War I))
Image 26Greek prime minister Eleftherios Venizelos signing the Treaty of Sèvres (from World War I)
Image 27A typical village war memorial to soldiers killed in World War I (from World War I)
Image 28Map of territorial changes in Europe after World War I (as of 1923) (from World War I)
Image 29Dissolution of Austria-Hungary after war (from World War I)
Image 30"They shall not pass", a phrase typically associated with the defence of Verdun (from World War I)
Image 31Sarajevo citizens reading a poster with the proclamation of the Austrian annexation in 1908 (from World War I)
Image 32Australian soldiers in Chateau Wood, near Hooge, in the Ypres Salient, 29 October, 1917.
Photo credit: Frank Hurley.
Image 331917 political cartoon about the Zimmermann Telegram. The message was intercepted by the British; its publication caused outrage and contributed to the U.S. entry into World War I. (from World War I)
Image 34Bulgarian major Ivanov with white flag surrendering to Serbian 7th Danube regiment near Kumanovo (from World War I)
Image 35Map of the Western Front, 1917 (from Western Front (World War I))
Image 36Serbian Army Blériot XI "Oluj", 1915 (from World War I)
Image 37British 55th (West Lancashire) Division soldiers blinded by tear gas during the Battle of Estaires, 10 April 1918 (from World War I)
Image 38A Gotha G.II bomber. Only ten were built before the aircraft was withdrawn due to repeated engine failures, but it set the pattern for the Gotha G.III through G.V bombers, with 460 more built for the later marks.
Public domain photograph, original source unknown.
Image 39Two United States soldiers run toward a bunker past the bodies of two German soldiers. (from Western Front (World War I))
Image 40German Revolution, Kiel, 1918 (from World War I)
Image 41The German submarine U-14 arriving in port.
Photo credit: Photographer unknown, image scanned from a public domain text by the Great War Primary Documents Archive.
Image 42German tank in Roye, 21 March 1918 (from Western Front (World War I))
Image 43World War I caricature from Russia depicting Wilhelm II, Franz Joseph I and Mehmed V. Top: "If only we could get to the top – it would be ours!" Bottom: "Let me help you with that!" (from Eastern Front (World War I))
Image 44Eastern Front as of 1917 (from Eastern Front (World War I))
Image 45Military recruitment in Melbourne, Australia, 1914 (from World War I)
Image 46HMS Baralong (from World War I)
Image 47Possible execution at Verdun at the time of the mutinies in 1917. The original French text accompanying this photograph notes, however, that the uniforms are those of 1914–15 and that the execution may be that of a spy at the beginning of the war. (from World War I)
Image 48French soldiers of the 87th Regiment, 6th Division, at Côte 304, (Hill 304), northwest of Verdun, 1916.
Photo credit: Public domain image, original photographer unknown.
Image 49The Deserter, 1916: Anti-war cartoon depicting Jesus facing a firing squad with soldiers from five European countries (from World War I)
Image 50An American gun crew from the 23rd Infantry, 2nd Division, firing on German entrenched positions during the Meuse-Argonne offensive, 1918 (from World War I)
Image 51David Lloyd George, Vittorio Orlando, Georges Clemenceau and Woodrow Wilson at the Versailles conference, 1919.
Photo credit: Captain Jackson of the US Army Signal Corps
Image 52British Indian soldiers digging trenches in Laventie, France (1915). (from World War I)
Image 53Italian Bersaglieri with a machine-gun instructor in Palestine (from World War I)
Image 54Australian troops charging near a Turkish trench during the Gallipoli Campaign (from World War I)
Image 55A United States Army recruiting poster shows Uncle Sam pointing his finger at the viewer to try and persuade them to enlist in the U.S. Army during World War I. (from World War I)
Image 56Royal Air Force Sopwith Camel. In April 1917, the average life expectancy of a British pilot on the Western Front was 93 flying hours. (from World War I)
Image 57Ruins of Carency after it was recaptured by France (from Western Front (World War I))
Image 58The Allied Avenue, 1917 painting by Childe Hassam, that depicts Manhattan's Fifth Avenue decorated with flags from Allied nations (from World War I)
Image 59Romanian troops during the Battle of Mărășești, 1917 (from World War I)
Image 60Refugee transport from Serbia in Leibnitz, Styria, 1914 (from World War I)
Image 61Czechoslovak Legion, Vladivostok, 1918 (from World War I)
Image 62German soldier on the Western Front in 1916 (from Western Front (World War I))
Image 63The evacuation of W Beach, Helles, on 7 January, 1916.
Photo credit: Lt. Ernest Brooks.
Image 64The Moltke-class SMS Goeben (from World War I)
Image 65Border changes in favor of Romania as stipulated in the Treaty of Bucharest (from Eastern Front (World War I))
Image 66German trench on the Western Front, 1915. (from Western Front (World War I))
Image 67An artist's rendition of Canadian troops at the Second Battle of Ypres (from Western Front (World War I))
Image 68Map of the Western Front and the Race to the Sea, 1914 (from Western Front (World War I))
Image 69A Canadian soldier with mustard gas burns, c. 1917–1918 (from World War I)
Image 70The British battle cruiser Lion burning after being struck by a salvo during the Battle of Jutland.
Photo credit:This photograph originally appeared in The Literary Digest History of the World War. The photographer is Miles van den Berg.
Image 71Italian troops reach Trento during the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, 1918. Italy's victory marked the end of the war on the Italian Front and secured the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. (from World War I)
Image 722nd Lt. Ecaterina Teodoroiu, killed in action at Mărășești in 1917, regarded as a national heroine in Romania (from Eastern Front (World War I))
Image 73Ruins of Arras in April 1917 (from Western Front (World War I))
Image 74Ferdinand Foch, second from right, pictured outside the carriage in Compiègne after agreeing to the armistice that ended the war there. The carriage was later chosen by Nazi Germany as the symbolic setting of Pétain's June 1940 armistice. (from World War I)
Image 75British poster, welcoming Romania's decision to join the Entente (from Eastern Front (World War I))
Image 7610.5 cm Feldhaubitze 98/09 and Ottoman artillerymen at Hareira in 1917 before the Southern Palestine offensive (from World War I)
Image 77Traditionally thought to show the arrest of Gavrilo Princip (right), this photo is now believed by historians to depict an innocent bystander, Ferdinand Behr (from World War I)
Image 78Mobile radio station in German South West Africa, using a hydrogen balloon to lift the antenna (from World War I)
Image 79Canadian Corps troops at the Battle of Vimy Ridge, 1917 (from World War I)
Image 80British prisoners guarded by Ottoman forces after the First Battle of Gaza in 1917 (from World War I)
Image 81The Hindenburg Line at Bullecourt seen from the air (from Western Front (World War I))
Image 82Tanks on parade in London at the end of World War I (from World War I)
Image 83Bolshevik leaders Lenin and Trotsky promised "Peace, Land and Bread" to the impoverished masses (from World War I)
Image 84The signing of the Treaty of Versailles in the Hall of Mirrors, Versailles, 28 June 1919, by Sir William Orpen (from World War I)
Image 85Aerial view of ruins of Vaux-devant-Damloup, France, 1918 (from World War I)
Image 86SMS Rheinland, a Nassau-class battleship, Germany's first response to the British Dreadnought (from World War I)
Image 87Bulgarian soldiers in a trench, preparing to fire against an incoming aeroplane (from World War I)
Image 88A 1919 book for veterans, from the US War Department (from World War I)
Image 89Hindenburg at Tannenberg,
by Hugo Vogel (from Eastern Front (World War I))
Image 90Austro-Hungarian troops executing captured Serbians, 1917. Serbia lost about 850,000 people during the war, a quarter of its pre-war population. (from World War I)
Image 91German soldiers on the way to the front in 1914; at this stage, all sides expected the conflict to be a short one. (from World War I)
Image 92Illustration from the French magazine Le Petit Journal on the Bosnian Crisis. Bulgaria declares its independence and its prince Ferdinand is named Tsar. Austria-Hungary, in the person of Emperor Francis Joseph, annexes Bosnia and Herzegovina, while the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II looks on helplessly. (from Eastern Front (World War I))
Image 93A timeline of events on the Eastern and Middle-Eastern theatres of World War I (from Eastern Front (World War I))
Image 94An engagement in Hungary (from Eastern Front (World War I))
Image 95Kaiser Wilhelm II inspecting Turkish troops of the 15th Corps in East Galicia, Austria-Hungary (now Poland). Prince Leopold of Bavaria, the Supreme Commander of the German Army on the Eastern Front, is second from the left. (from World War I)
Image 96Mehmed V greeting Wilhelm II on his arrival at Constantinople (from World War I)
Image 97Russian troops going to the front: Support for the imperial guard being hurried into the fighting line (from Eastern Front (World War I))
Image 98Italian regiments in 1918 (from Western Front (World War I))
Image 99Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps First Contingent in Bermuda, winter 1914–1915, before joining 1 Lincolnshire Regiment in France in June 1915. The dozen remaining after Guedecourt on 25 September 1916, merged with a Second Contingent. The two contingents suffered 75% casualties. (from World War I)
Image 100Poster urging women to join the British war effort, published by the Young Women's Christian Association (from World War I)
Image 101Italian soldiers in trench, 1918 (from World War I)
Image 102French soldiers under General Gouraud, with machine guns amongst the ruins of a church near the Marne, 1918 (from World War I)
Image 103Ethno-linguistic map of Austria-Hungary, 1910. Bosnia-Herzegovina was annexed in 1908. (from World War I)
Image 104Armenians killed during the Armenian Genocide. Image taken from Ambassador Morgenthau's Story, written by Henry Morgenthau Sr. and published in 1918. (from World War I)
Image 105U-155 exhibited near Tower Bridge in London, after the 1918 Armistice (from World War I)
Image 106Sackville Street (now O'Connell Street) after the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin (from World War I)
Image 107French soldiers observing enemy movements (from Western Front (World War I))
Image 108German troops pose with a captured British Mark II tank, April 1917.
Photo credit: Personal photograph, source unknown.
Image 109Russian forest trench at the Battle of Sarikamish, 1914–1915 (from World War I)
Image 110Isonzo Offensives 1915-1917 (from World War I)
Image 111Between April and November 1918, the Allies increased their front-line rifle strength while German strength fell by half. (from World War I)
Image 112British Army advancing on the Western Front (March 1917) (from Western Front (World War I))
Image 113The Italian Redipuglia War Memorial, which contains the remains of 100,187 soldiers (from World War I)
Image 114Map of the final German offensives, 1918 (from Western Front (World War I))
Image 115Transporting Ottoman wounded at Sirkeci (from World War I)
Image 116British artillery battery on Mount Scopus in the Battle of Jerusalem, 1917. Foreground, a battery of 16 heavy guns. Background, conical tents and support vehicles. (from World War I)
Image 11738-cm "Lange Max" of Koekelare (Leugenboom), the biggest gun in the world in 1917 (from World War I)
Image 118Rival military coalitions in 1914: Triple Entente in green; Triple Alliance in brown. Only the Triple Alliance was a formal "alliance"; the others listed were informal patterns of support. (from World War I)

Selected biography –

Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty (17 January 1871 – 12 March 1936) was a Royal Navy officer. After serving in the Mahdist War and then the response to the Boxer Rebellion, he commanded the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron at the Battle of Jutland in 1916, a tactically indecisive engagement after which his aggressive approach was contrasted with the caution of his commander Admiral Sir John Jellicoe. He is remembered for his comment at Jutland that "There seems to be something wrong with our bloody ships today", after two of his ships exploded. Later in the war he succeeded Jellicoe as Commander in Chief of the Grand Fleet, in which capacity he received the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet at the end of the war. He then followed Jellicoe's path a second time, serving as First Sea Lord—a position that Beatty held longer (7 years 9 months) than any other First Sea Lord. While First Sea Lord, he was involved in negotiating the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 in which it was agreed that the United States, Britain and Japan should set their navies in a ratio of 5:5:3, with France and Italy maintaining smaller ratio fleets of 1.75 each. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies
Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig Ferdinand Foch Aleksei Brusilov Hunter Liggett Helmuth von Moltke the Younger William II, German Emperor Faisal bin Hussein Armando Diaz Gavrilo Princip John Monash Živojin Mišić

Did you know...?

...that the Royal Air Force ordered 1,291 De Havilland DH.10s (pictured) for use in World War I, but they were only used in a single bombing mission before the armistice ended the fighting?

...that Kenneth Cummins was one of the last 5 confirmed British surviving veterans of World War I , having served in the Royal and Merchant Navies in the First and Second World War respectively?

...that The Cenotaph is Singapore's first major war memorial built in memory of the people who gave their lives in World War I, and was unveiled by the young Prince Edward of Wales, later King Edward VIII?

...that Flora Sandes, who served with the Serbian Army, was the only British woman to officially enrol as a soldier in World War I?

Major topics

Things you can do

From the World War I task force of the Military history WikiProject:

Attention needed: ...to referencing and citation • ...to coverage and accuracy • ...to structure • ...to grammar • ...to supporting materials
Popular pages: Full list
Cleanup needed: Adriatic Campaign of World War I • Atlantic U-boat campaign of World War I • Balkans Campaign (World War I) • Battle of Belleau Wood • Battle of Gully Ravine • Battle of Pozières • Battle of Sari Bair • Eastern Front (World War I) • Italian Front (World War I) • Robert Nivelle • Serbian Campaign of World War I • South-West Africa Campaign • Landing at Suvla Bay • Max von Boehn (General) • Johannes von Eben • Naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign • Naval warfare in the Mediterranean during World War I • Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service
Requested articles: Bombardment of Samogneux • Götz von König de • Black Sea Campaign (World War I) • Battle of the Nete • Battle of Musalla • Battle of Qasr-i-Shirin • Battle of Qom • Battle of Hamadan • Occupation of Tabriz • Affair of Umm at Tubal • Battle of Namacurra • Makombe rebellion • Auguste Clément Gérôme • Konrad von Hippel • Hermann von Ziegesar • Josef Freiherr Roth von Limanowa-Lapanów • Adolf Freiherr von Rhemen zu Barenfels • Hugo Martiny von Malastów • Battle of Kyurdamir • Army Detachment Scheffer • Egon Graf von Schmettow • Army Group Boroević (currently a redirect) • Max Hofmann (general)
Expansion needed: Battle of Behobeho • Battle of Cambrai (1918) • Battle of Caporetto • Battle of Courtrai (1918) • Battle of Dodoma • Battle of Dutumi • Battle of Kahe • Battle of Kibata (1916) • Battle of Kibata (1917) • Battle of Kidodi • Battle of Kilosa • Battle of Kimbaramba • Battle of Krithia Vineyard • Battle of Lukigura • Battle of the Lys (1918) • Battle of Nambanje • Battle of Mahiwa • Battle of Matamondo • Battle of Mlali • Battle of Morogoro • Battle of Mkalamo • Battle of Mouquet Farm • Battle of Narungombe • Battle of Njinjo • Occupation of German Samoa • Battle of Rumbo • Samarra offensive • Battle of Scimitar Hill • Battle of Sharqat • Battle of St. Quentin Canal • Battle of Utete • Battle of Wami • Demilitarisation • First Battle of Villers-Bretonneux • Second Battle of Krithia • Second Battle of Kut • Second Battle of the Isonzo • Third Battle of Krithia • Third Battle of the Isonzo • Fifth Battle of the Isonzo • Seventh Battle of the Isonzo • Ninth Battle of the Isonzo • Tenth Battle of the Isonzo • Operation Marne-Rheims • Joseph B. Sanborn • Robert Kosch de • Second attack on Anzac Cove • Barue uprising • Yser Front • Ettore Mambretti • Ukrainian Sich Riflemen
Images needed: Battle of Robănești
Merging needed: Add an article here!
Citations needed: Hundred Days Offensive • Asian and Pacific theatre of World War I • 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company &bull Landing at Suvla Bay • Battle of Gully Ravine • Battle of Kumkale • Victory Medal (Romania) • Battle of Augustów (1914) • Draft:Vilno-Dvinsk offensive
Translation needed: de:Schlacht in den Karpaten (Large battle in the Carpathians) • fr:Mémorial Interallié

Related portals

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Commons
Free media repository
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals
Wikinews
Free-content news
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations
Wikisource
Free-content library
Wikiversity
Free learning tools
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus

Discover Wikipedia using portals

List of all portals

List of all portals
The arts portal

The arts portal
Biography portal

Biography portal
Current events portal

Current events portal
Geography portal

Geography portal
History portal

History portal
Mathematics portal

Mathematics portal
Science portal

Science portal
Society portal

Society portal
Technology portal

Technology portal
Random portal

Random portal
WikiProject Portals

WikiProject Portals

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.