LibGuides: World War I: The Great War

The Coming of War

The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies (Treaty of Versailles, Article 231).

Few historiographical debates have been as heated and as long-lived as the controversy over the origins of World War I. In 1919 the victorious allies were largely in agreement that Germany and its allies were to blame for the outbreak of war, as they stipulated in Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles. In the 1920s and 1930s, there emerged an apologetic interpretation which allocated responsibility for the outbreak of war to international rivalries. This was upstaged in the early 1960s by a German historian, Fritz Fischer, who put forward the controversial thesis that responsibility for the outbreak of the war rested solely on Imperial Germany. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, this passionately fought debate no longer continues to divide historians along quite such clearly demarcated lines, and it is probably fair to say that today few if any, scholars would deny Germany and Austria-Hungary’s larger share of responsibility for the outbreak of war. Currently, historians are less concerned with attributing war guilt and more with explaining how war had come about.

“Origins of World War I.” A Companion to Europe 1900-1945, Wiley-Blackwell, 2006.

World War One 1914-1918

WWI research guide from the State Library of Victoria
This guide focuses on Australians serving in World War 1. It also includes some information relevant to Great Britain, other Commonwealth nations and other combatant nations. There is a section on nurses and women's war occupations.

40 maps that explain World War One
On August 4, 1914, German troops began pouring over the border into Belgium, starting the first major battle of World War I. The Great War killed 10 million people, redrew the map of Europe, and marked the rise of the United States as a global power. Here are 40 maps that explain the conflict — why it started, how the Allies won, and why the world has never been the same.
Inside the First World War
From 'The Telegraph' UK, 'Inside the First World War' brings insights and knowledge from IWM (Imperial War Museums) and opinions from leading military historians to explain the conﬂict of 1914-1918 and remember those who gave their lives.
Click on the covers to explore the content online – including articles, picture galleries and timelines – or download each issue in PDF format.
Blockades and American entry
From the Khan Academy: Naval blockades in World War I to starve enemy nation of trade. Contrary to what many think, American entry into WWI was not due purely to the sinking of the Lusitania.

Origins of the First World War Part 1

Origins of WWI
An overview of the causes of WWI, covering Imperialism, Militarism, Nationalism, and Alliances.
Countdown to war
A single page summary of the origins of the First World War - the tangled secret alliances, the royal feuds, the personalities and the seemingly inevitable series of events in June and July 1914 which culminated in the outbreak of hostilities spanning four years.\
Speech of the Rt. Hon. H. H. Asquith, M. P., on the Causes of the War
A global guide to the first world war - interactive documentary
Ten historians from 10 countries give a brief history of the first world war through a global lens. Using original news reports, interactive maps and rarely-seen footage, including extraordinary scenes of troops crossing Mesopotamia on camels and Italian soldiers fighting high up in the Alps, the half-hour film explores the war and its effects from many different perspectives.
WWI: How the war unfolded
Beginning of WWI
From the Kahn Academy: Called the Great War (before World War II came about), World War I was the bloody wake-up call that humanity was entering into a new stage of civilisation. WWI was the defining conflict that took Europe from 19th Century Imperial states, which saw heroism in war, into its more modern form. Unfortunately, it had to go through World War II as well - which some would argue was due to imbalances created by World War I.

Australia’s involvement in the First World War, 1914 - 1918

Timeline: Australia in the First World War
It all started on June 28, 1914, with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Their deaths, brought about by a Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip, triggered one of the bloodiest wars in history. Take a look at how the First World War unfolded.
Aboriginal service during the First World War
At the outbreak of the war, large numbers of Australians came forward to enlist, and Aboriginals also answered the call. Best current estimates are that about 1,000 Indigenous Australians – out of an estimated population of 93,000 in 1901 – fought in the First World War (though the real number is probably higher).
Video: Armistice Day 1918
By 1918 General John Monash and the AIF (Australian Imperial Forces) played a crucial role in defeating Germany on the western front.

Map: Europe before WWI

Origins of the First World War Part 2

Europe during WWI

Video: Archdukes, Cynicism, and WWI from Crash Course History & the Khan Academy

Referencing

When submitting an assignment, it's important to reference the sources you use. Using the right sources in your work provides you with the supporting evidence you need in your assignment. Referencing is the acknowledgment of the sources that you use in your work. You must reference all sources that you use in your assignment, including words and ideas, facts, images, videos, audio, websites, statistics, diagrams, and data.Microsoft Word has a "References" tab which allows you to add sources. There are also websites which will "autocite" resources.

Zotero: Free software to collect, organise, cite, and share your research sources. Click here for 'how to' guides on installing and using Zotero, or here for the video version.

The following online citation generators are free to use: