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The big questions about the Great War.

Each topic is one guide that answers the whole question, with the key dates and links to the chronicle's articles for more.

  1. Causes of the First World WarWhy did the First World War break out?The war was triggered by the crisis after Sarajevo, but alliances, imperialism, the arms race, war plans and Balkan nationalism made it possible.Alliances and two camps (1879–1907)Imperialism and great-power rivalryCrises that did not end in warThe arms race and war plansNationalism and the BalkansThe Sarajevo assassination and the July CrisisWhose fault? The historians' debate7 sections31 datesabout 16 minRead →
  2. Consequences of the First World WarWhat were the consequences of the First World War?The war killed millions, toppled four empires and redrew the map of Europe. It left debts, inflation, many invalids, new ideologies and the League of Nations.The human costThe fall of four empiresNew states and new bordersThe Paris peace and the Treaty of VersaillesEconomy and societyPolitics and ideologiesThe road to the next war7 sections37 datesabout 13 minRead →
  3. The Polish question in the First World WarHow did Poland regain its independence?A war between the three partitioning powers led to Poland's rebirth: from the Legions and the Act of 5 November to Versailles and 11 November 1918.The Polish lands in 1914The Legions and the war on Polish soil (1914–1915)Occupation and the Act of 5 November (1915–1916)The Polish question on the international stage (1917)1918: from Brest to 11 NovemberBorders and the first battlesThe balance sheetWho won independence8 sections38 datesabout 16 minRead →
  4. New weapons of the First World WarWhat new weapons changed the First World War?Machine guns and artillery drove armies into trenches, and attempts to break the deadlock brought gas, tanks, air combat and unrestricted submarine warfare.Artillery and the machine gunChemical weaponsTanksAircraft and airshipsSubmarinesOther innovationsWhat came of itHistorians' debates8 sections35 datesabout 13 minRead →
  5. The war on Polish soilWhat was the war like on Polish soil?The front swept across Galicia and the Kingdom several times, the retreating Russians burned and deported, and occupiers took the food. The damage was immense.The partition border becomes a frontGalicia, 1914Battles in the Kingdom and before KrakówThe turning point of 1915Bezhenstvo and destructionUnder occupation1916–1918Toll and memory8 sections52 datesabout 16 minRead →
  6. The Russian revolutions of 1917How did tsarism fall and the Bolsheviks take power?How the war brought down tsarism: from the Petrograd garrison's mutiny and Nicholas II's abdication through Kerensky's rule to the Bolshevik coup and Brest.Russia at war (1914–1916)The February RevolutionThe Provisional Government and the warThe Bolshevik coupBrest: leaving the warThe beginning of the civil warConsequences for the war and for PolandFebruary or March? Dates and historians' debates8 sections60 datesabout 17 minRead →
  7. The submarine war 1914–1918Why did Germany wage unrestricted submarine warfare?Germany hoped that by sinking ships bound for Britain without warning it would starve Britain into peace before America could help. Convoys defeated it.A new weapon at seaThe first campaign, 1915The dispute in BerlinUnrestricted submarine warfare, 1917Convoys and the crisis of spring 1917The last yearThe balanceHistorians' debates8 sections40 datesabout 13 minRead →
  8. Why Germany lost the warWhy did Germany lose the First World War?Germany failed to win the war quickly and lost the long one. Blockade, attrition and US entry tipped the balance, and in 1918 its army and allies collapsed.A war on two fronts and a plan that failedBlockade and hungerAttritionThe United StatesThe last gamble of 1918The Hundred DaysThe collapse of the allies and the home frontThe stab-in-the-back legend8 sections49 datesabout 13 minRead →
  9. The Central Powers and the EntenteWho fought whom in the First World War?Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria fought the Entente, that is France, Russia, Britain and more than twenty states that joined them.Two blocs before 1914Summer 1914: who went to warWho joined, and whyWar aimsHow the coalitions workedWho left the warHow many were there7 sections129 datesabout 14 minRead →
  10. The Armenian genocideWhat happened to the Armenians in the First World War?In 1915–1916 the Ottoman authorities deported the Armenians to the Syrian deserts and killed them en masse. Between about 600,000 and over a million died.The Armenians in the Ottoman EmpireWar and the first decisions1915: arrests and deportationsDeath marches and the camps in SyriaThe numbersResponsibility and trialsRaphael Lemkin and the concept of genocideMemory and recognition8 sections27 datesabout 16 minRead →
  11. Life in the trenchesWhat was life like for a soldier in the trenches?A soldier spent a few days at a time in the front line, in mud, among rats and lice, under fire, and then rested in reserve and behind the lines.How the trenches came aboutThe trench systemDaily life at the frontDeath and woundsThe Christmas truce and moments of respiteOther frontsVoices from the trenchesHow historians judge the trench war8 sections36 datesabout 15 minRead →
  12. Women in the First World WarHow did the war change women's lives?Women replaced men in factories, offices and on the land, nursed the wounded and bore the hunger of the home front. In many countries they won the vote.The war comes homeWorkNurses and doctorsIn uniformThe home frontThe votePolish women in the warWhat remained after the war8 sections36 datesabout 14 minRead →
  13. Polish military formations 1914–1918Which Polish formations fought in the First World War?Poles fought in their own units on both sides of the front: in the Legions alongside Austria, in corps in Russia and in the Polish Army in France.The Polish LegionsFrom the Auxiliary Corps to RarańczaThe Bayonne menThe Puławy Legion and the Polish riflemen in RussiaThe three Polish corps in RussiaThe Polish Army in FranceWhat the formations left behind7 sections41 datesabout 15 minRead →