World War I
World War I (1914-1918) was a global conflict centered in Europe that resulted in the deaths of an estimated 20 million people and reshaped the political map of the continent.
The war began following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary in Sarajevo in June 1914, which triggered a rapid chain of alliances that drew major European powers into conflict.
The war introduced devastating new technologies including machine guns, poison gas, and tanks, and became infamous for grueling trench warfare on the Western Front that resulted in enormous casualties for minimal territorial gain.
The war ended in November 1918 with the defeat of the Central Powers, and the subsequent Treaty of Versailles imposed harsh terms on Germany that historians widely view as contributing to the rise of Nazism and World War II two decades later.