First World War

World War One (WW1) was a major global conflict that lasted four years, from 1914 to 1918. It began on 28 July 1914, when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia one month to the day after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were killed by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo. The conflict, which became known as the Great War, was fought between two groups: the Triple Alliance – initially made up of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy; and the Triple Entente - made up of Great Britain, France and Russia (Italy changed sides and joined the Allies in 1915). The United States of America entered the war in 1917. The First World War ended on 11 November 1918 when the Allies and Germany signed a ceasefire, or 'armistice’