World War I

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.

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.

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.

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.

An overview of the causes of WWI, covering Imperialism, Militarism, Nationalism, and Alliances.

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.

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.

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.

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).

By 1918 General John Monash and the AIF (Australian Imperial Forces) played a crucial role in defeating Germany on the western front.