Why it matters
Its borders, debts, revolutions and traumas defined much of the twentieth century.
- Date
- 1914–1918
- Historical setting
- World Wars · Global
- People & communities
- Allied and Central Powers · colonial troops · civilians
1914–1918 · Global · War
First World War
Industrialized war destroyed empires, killed millions and drew troops and resources from colonies worldwide.
Atlas dossier · World WarsFree device narration · synchronized English captions · transcript available
01
Event
Industrialized war destroyed empires, killed millions and drew troops and resources from colonies worldwide.
02
People
Allied and Central Powers · colonial troops · civilians
03
Consequences
Its borders, debts, revolutions and traumas defined much of the twentieth century.
Interpretation note
Evidence, memory and historical debate
This dossier distinguishes the event’s basic chronology from later arguments about meaning, responsibility and legacy. When comparing religious, national, Indigenous or scholarly interpretations, consult the primary and institutional sources above alongside peer-reviewed historical work.
Elsewhere in the world
Parallel histories near this moment
1913 · AmericasAssembly lines and mass productionMoving assembly lines divided production into repeatable tasks, allowing factories to make standardized goods rapidly and at much larger scale.
1912–1913 · EuropeBalkan Wars and Ottoman retreatBalkan states expelled most Ottoman rule from Europe and then fought one another over the division of conquered territories.
1911–1949 · AsiaChinese revolutions and divided sovereigntyThe Xinhai Revolution ended Qing imperial rule; republican experiments, warlordism, Japanese invasion and civil war culminated in the People’s Republic on the mainland and ROC government in Taiwan.