Brief Overview Of The Domain

II. Brief Overview of the domain

Conflicts in the Balkans

The Bosnian crisis is also known as the Annexation crisis and it took place between 1908 and 1909. It started on 6 October 1908 when Austria-Hungary tried and succeeded to annex a region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. But before, this region used to be part of the Ottoman Empire.

“This unilateral action—timed to coincide with Bulgaria's declaration of independence (5 October) from the Ottoman Empire—sparked protestations from all the Great Powers and Austria-Hungary's Balkan neighbors, Serbia and Montenegro.”

“This angered the Kingdom of Serbia and its patron, the Pan-Slavic and Orthodox Russian Empire. Russian political maneuvering in the region destabilized peace accords, which were already fracturing in the Balkans which came to be known as the "powder keg of Europe".”

Upon their end, those conflicts had some consequences regarding the states that were involved. First of all, relations between Serbia and Austria-Hungary broke apart. It is well known that relations between those two countries were already shaky and weak from the beginning. And later things got very complicated when Austria-Hungary blamed the government of Serbia for the assassination of Prince Franz Ferdinand. Second of all, relations between Italy and the Russian Empire got worse.

The First Balkan War started in October 1912 and finished in May 1913. With respect to the economic implications of this crucial war, mention should be made of the fact that the sides involved in the First Balkan War were the Balkan League made up of Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro and the Ottoman Empire. The war ended with the 1913 Treaty of London and one of the results of the First Balkan War was the independence of Albania, while another was the territorial expansion of some countries like Bulgaria, Montenegro or Greece.

1.2 Sarajevo assassination

The events that led to the assassination are meaningfully complicated. One of the causes of the First World War is the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, who was an Archduke of Austria-Este, Austro-Hungarian and Royal Prince of Hungary, and his wife. The event took place on 28 June 1914 in Sarajevo while the Austrian Prince Franz Ferdinand and his wife were paying an official visit to Sarajevo. The Prince and his wife were murdered by a Bosnian student named [anonimizat] who was part of a group of assassins led by Danilo Ilić, a member of the Black Hand secret society.

A month later Austro-Hungary declared war on Serbia, which was allegedly the country which had prepared the assassination. The assassination of Sarajevo was only the pretext to start the war. The causes of the First World War were deeper, and the economic competition was one of them.

The assassination had two episodes because the first attempt failed and Prince Franz Ferdinand’s car got away. The first episode took place when Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were driving through Sarajevo on a tour. Suddenly, due to poor security one of the assassins threw a bomb at their open car, but only one man from the security detail was injured. The second episode of the assassination took place on the same day when they were heading to see the wounded person from the security detail. But Princip recognized them and took his chance by shooting both of them.

“Seeing his opportunity, Princip fired into the car, shooting Franz Ferdinand and Sophie at point-blank range. Princip then turned the gun on himself, but was prevented from shooting it by a bystander who threw himself upon the young assassin. A mob of angry onlookers attacked Princip, who fought back and was subsequently wrestled away by the police. Meanwhile, Franz Ferdinand and Sophie lay fatally wounded in their limousine as it rushed to seek help; they both died within the hour.”

The rivalries between countries of the early twentieth century have become increasingly tough. After the death of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austria-Hungary blamed the government of Serbia for the assassination, and Serbia was preparing itself for a possible revenge from Austria-Hungary. Besides, the causes of the First World War were quite wide and profound; for instance, economic competition had a very important role back then, and also, imperialism had its contribution and last but not least, nationalism.

“On July 28, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, and the tenuous peace between Europe’s great powers collapsed. Within a week, Russia, Belgium, France, Great Britain and Serbia had lined up against Austria-Hungary and German Empire, and World War I had begun.”

The relations between Serbia and Austria-Hungary were deteriorating and, of course one thing was sure, war was coming. Moreover, Serbia was blamed by Austria-Hungary that they planned this assassination very carefully.

After this conflict, Serbia received an unexpected helping hand from Russia, which was willing to help them in case of a war. Due to this conflict, the German leader Kaiser Wilhelm assured Austria-Hungary that the German Empire will support them no matter what in case Russia will intervene for the Serbian side. Nevertheless, this assassination was an excuse for Austria-Hungary to start the politico-military crisis and therefore the First World War.

“Austria-Hungary then declared war and mobilized the portion of its army that would face the (already mobilized) Serbian Army on 28 July 1914. Under the Secret Treaty of 1892 Russia and France were obliged to mobilize their armies if any of the Triple Alliance mobilized. Russia's mobilization set off full Austro-Hungarian and German mobilizations. Soon all the Great Powers except Italy had chosen sides and gone to war.”

There were national rivalries between countries like the German Empire and France for the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine; between Serbia and Austro-Hungary for Bosnia and Herzegovina; between Romania and Austria-Hungary for Transylvania and Bucovina, and the list goes on. All these rivalries created a state of uncertainty between countries which increased during the politico-military crisis.

1.3 July Crisis

“The July Crisis was a diplomatic crisis among the major powers of Europe in the summer of 1914 that led to World War I. Immediately after Gavrilo Princip, a Yugoslav nationalist, assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, in Sarajevo, a series of diplomatic maneuverings led to an ultimatum from Austria-Hungary to the Kingdom of Serbia, and ultimately to war. Austria-Hungary's post-assassination ultimatum was part of a coercive program meant to weaken the Kingdom of Serbia's threat to take control of the northern Balkans and its significant Southern Slavic population, especially the Bosnian Serbs. ”

The death of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire led Serbia and Austro-Hungary to turn a local conflict into a war at European level and later on into a world one. After the assassination of Prince Franz Ferdinand on 28 June 1914, a diplomatic crisis had occurred among the major powers of Europe that eventually led to the First World War.

“The month-long period following the assassination became known as the ‘July crisis’ . It drew in most of the major political leaders of Europe, in some form or another; some sought to avoid war while others seemed hell-bent on firing the first shots in one. There was a flurry of meetings between Austro-Hungarian and German diplomats, where they debated how to proceed and what might happen with regard to Russia if Vienna declared war on Serbia. On July 5th Kaiser Wilhelm II issued his famous ‘blank cheque’ to the Austro-Hungarians: they could proceed as they saw fit, and German Empire would back them if Russia intervened. Privately, Wilhelm and his military chief, von Moltke, wanted war with Russia and France sooner rather than later. Both believed German Empire to be much better prepared than the Russians and the French; they wanted to strike early before both could adequately mobilise. The kaiser urged his Austrian allies to deal with Serbia promptly and ruthlessly. He did not believe the Russians would declare war on Austria-Hungary, but if they did, German Empire would reciprocate with a declaration of war against Saint Petersburg. After the conclusion of this agreement Wilhelm and several Austrian politicians went on holiday – a deliberate ploy to suggest their disinterest in the crisis.”

This diplomatic crisis is well known as the July Crisis which involved the greatest powers in Europe at that time. The result of the conflict between Serbia and Austro-Hungary generated a real chaos between the powers.

The major powers were split into two opposing sides: the Triple Alliance which included the German Empire, Austria-Hungary and Italy and the Triple Entente made up of France, Russia and England. The Triple Entente entered the war on the side of Serbia meanwhile other countries entered the world war by supporting their own goal. For instance, Bulgaria entered the war on the Triple Alliance side, while Italy remained neutral because they reasoned that the Triple Alliance was an alliance based on defensive, while the Triple Entente was the opposite of it, based on offensive.

Due to Italy’s decision to remain neutral, the Triple Alliance disbanded and the German Empire and Austria-Hungary formed the Central Powers.

After a while, Austria-Hungary made the first step of the First World War by sending some troops in the Serbian area. This event happened on 28 July 1914 when the first action after the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Franz Ferdinand was noticed. After two days, Russia supported Serbia by gathering an army made of about one million soldiers around the Serbian borders. Instantly, the German Empire has urged Russia to retreat its army immediately from the Serbian borders in 24 hours. If not so, the German Empire will declare war on Russia. But the inevitable occurred when Russia denied the German Empire’s request and the war looming menacingly. On 30 August 1914, the German Empire also declared war on France, due to the alliance between Russia and France.

According to the Schlieffen plan, France should have been invaded before Russia was ready for the war, therefore, the German Empire had to fight on both fronts, the Western one and the Eastern one. But in order to reach France, the German Empire had to cross Belgium’s borders, but Belgium was just like Italy, neutral. As a neutral country, Belgium did not allow the German Empire’s troops to cross its borders, and on 4th of August, the German Empire reacted violently and invaded Belgium. Because of the treaty of alliance between Belgium and Great Britain, Great Britain declared war on the German Empire on the same day.

In November 1914, today’s Turkey and the then Ottoman Empire entered the war along side the German Empire and Austria-Hungary, actually on the Central Powers side. When the war started Italy reversed its decision by pledging to support the Triple Entente.

About four or five weeks after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, there was a chaos that harmed most big or small states in Europe. It was as if those countries had been waiting for a conflict mere to start a new one by self-interest. Moreover, some states entered an alliance just to sail their own boat. So, after a couple of weeks countries like the German Empire, Serbia, France, Great Britain, Belgium, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India and South Africa were sitting on the war. Meanwhile, countries like Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Spain and the Netherlands remained neutral.

1.4 Political and military alliances

Between 1900-1914, the German Empire was one of the best powers in that period of time, German Empire succeeded to obtain many victories. The war with France was one of the main events in history, because those two countries were rivals, and there were political and economic interests at stake. Of course, after this battle, the German Empire succeeded to defeat France so proving one more time that the German Empire was a true power.

„During the 19th century, the major European powers went to great lengths to maintain a balance of power throughout Europe, resulting in the existence of a complex network of political and military alliances throughout the continent by 1900. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria. When Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors (German: Dreikaiserbund) between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany. This agreement failed because Austria-Hungary and Russia could not agree over Balkan policy, leaving Germany and Austria-Hungary in an alliance formed in 1879, called the Dual Alliance.”

The Triple Alliance was one of the powers back then between 1882-1914. This agreement between the German Empire and Austro-Hungary was signed on 20 of May 1882. Firsty, this international agreement was secret, no one knew about it for dozens of years. Also, this bargain was not a shock at all because the German Empire and Austro-Hungary used to be allies in the past. To put it differently, the international agreement between German Empire and Austria-Hungary was signed on 7 October 1879. The name of the Triple Alliance was given after the new entry of Italy. Before the entrance in the Triple Alliance, the name was Dual Alliance, because there were only two states, the German Empire and Austria-Hungary. Moreover, on 18 October 1883 Romania secretly joined the Triple Alliance. Due to Italy’s decision to remain neutral in the conflict between Serbia and Austria-Hungary, the Triple Alliance disbanded on 28 June 1914, while the German Empire and Austria-Hungary formed the Central Powers on the same day.

Besides the Triple Alliance, there was one other belligerent of the First World War named the Central Powers consisting of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria. Furthermore, this international agreement was made up of the political and military alliances between the contries involved. For instance, the well known Dual Alliance made up of the German Empire and Austro-Hungary had been an internatioanl agreement since 7 October 1879. Apart from the Dual Alliance there was the Ottoman–German alliance, an alliance between the German Empire and the Ottoman Empire. This international treaty named the Ottoman–German alliance was signed on 2 August 1914. Besides the Dual Alliance, and the Ottoman-German alliance, there was another political and military alliance siged on 6 September 1915 in Sofia between the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the German Empire and it was named the Bulgaria–Germany treaty. The Central Powers alliance was dissolved on 11 November 1918 when the Allied Powers defeated them, and ended the German, Russian, Ottoman, and Austro-Hungarian empires. Also, by defeating the Central Powers new states were created in Europe and in the Middle East.

Another international agreement of the First World War was the Holy Alliance that was also called the Grand Alliance. This international treaty was made up of the monarchist great powers of Russia, Austria and Prussia. It was signed on 26 September 1815 and it was one of the oldest international alliances of the First Wolrd War.

The Franco-Russian Alliance was a political and military agreement that started in 1892 and ended during the First World War, in 1917.

„To preserve secrecy, it was necessary to bypass discussion and ratification by the French Parliament, the alliance being formalized through an exchange of letters (Dec. 27, 1893–Jan. 4, 1894) that accepted the previously agreed upon terms. The new alliance was to be in force as long as the Triple Alliance of German Empire, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, and its terms were to be secret. It provided that in the event of an attack on France by German Empire or by Italy supported by Germany, Russia would field 700,000 to 800,000 men to fight German Empire; in the event of an attack on Russia by German Empire or by Austria-Hungary supported by German Empire, France would field 1,300,000 men to fight German Empire. Provisions for specific military plans and organizations were also made. The alliance was renewed and strengthened in 1899 and 1912.”

The counterpart of the Central Powers was the Triple Entente. This international agreement included the Russian Empire, France, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Japan, Portugal and, not the least Ireland. Romania also entered the alliance in 1916. The triple Entente which, with several other countries, formed the Allied Powers defeated the Central Powers. Not all the countries were victorious, because Russia left this international agreement. The Triple Entente was signed on 31 August 1907 and it is also known as the Entente Powers. Just like the Triple Alliance, the Triple Entente was formed by means of other agreements between the coutries involved. For instance, the Franco-Russian Alliance was one of them. Besides , the Franco-Russian Alliance, , the Entente Cordiale was another political and military agreement between Great Britain and France. Moreover, another treaty was the Anglo-Russian Convention signed on 31 August 1907. It involved Great Britain and Russia.

„, (The) Triple Entente, association between Great Britain, France, and Russia, the nucleus of the Allied Powers in World War I. It developed from the Franco-Russian alliance that gradually developed and was formalized in 1894, the Anglo-French Entente Cordiale of 1904, and an Anglo-Russian agreement of 1907, which brought the Triple Entente into existence. See also international relations: The Triple Entente.”

1.5 Aircraft

As the technology was advancing, the aviation in the First World War begun to play a significant role in the economy of the war. Basically, the First World War was an international field where everyone involved tried to test new weapons, new bombs, new aircraft, new warships and the list goes on. Likewise, during the First World War dozens of aircraft were invented or some regular ones were improved considerably. In other words, the development of aviation was one of the reasons for the success of the Allied Powers in their defeat of the Central Powers.

As aviation was just beginning to develop, during the First World War, aircraft were used merely for recognition of the territories in order to anticipate every step of the enemy. Surely it was a great move for a great defence because most of the aircraft were flying at night when the enemy was resting for the next day. Later, the aircraft were equipped with weapons, arms and different kind of bombs.

Zeppelins, bombers, or fighter aircraft destroyed everything in their way, the strategy involving the aviation was successful, while the damage was truly high. For instance, at the beginning of the First World War, , the German Empire had the advantage regarding aviation, their structure was extremely developed, especially they had their own manufacturers and inventors. Meanwhile Great Britain used to buy or borrow aircraft or aircraft parts from the neighbors like France. Moreover, the United States of America entered the war in 1917 but they had lots of troubles regarding aviation, they relied on the British and French aviation.

The first aircraft of World War I were made of cloth covering or wood, so these aircraft were very vulnerable in case of fire, but they were neither fast nor slow. To sum up, those aircraft had to be handled very carefully because of the parts that they were built of.

The pilots were flying guided by maps or the navigation compass, or they had to watch the railroad system in order to reach the destination. Sometimes, the pilots had to fly at a very low altitude in order to recognize the area or to read the name of the streets. Frequently, aircraft pilots got lost due to the bad weather. Also, the pilots had on board pistols or rifles and they could throw grenades on ground.

On 5 October 1914, near Reims, the first air combat in history took place when a German airplane was shot down with a machine gun by the French pilot Louis Quenault. Since then, most of the countries involved in World War I thought to install weapons such as rifles or machine guns on board, which occurred in a short time later.

„Germany led the world in the design of Zeppelins, and used these airships to make occasional bombing raids on military targets, London and other British cities, without any great effect. Later in the war, Germany began attacking English cities with long range strategic bombers. As with the Zeppelin attacks, Germany's strategic bombing of England had limited tactical value, but it was demoralizing and showed the British they could not be completely immune from the effects of the war in their own country. It also forced the British air forces to maintain squadrons of fighters in England to defend against air attack, depriving the British Expeditionary Force of planes, equipment, and personnel badly needed on the Western front.”

Just like the airplane, the Zeppelin was quite fast but it could carry much ammunition and more machine guns. Zeppelins were built for the first time for the German army and these aircraft led the First World War in Great Britain. On 19 January 1915, for the first time one zeppelin was flying in the sky on the British territory, and for sure that was a enormous shock for Great Britain. Meanwhile, the first bombs dropped from 30 May across London. Due to Zeppelins, there were about 1,500 victims just in the British area.

Afterwards, Great Britain responded by producing for the Royal Navy the Handley Page. Handley Page was a big bomber and it was invented to bomb the german Zeppelins and to revenge the attacks that have made thousands of victims, soldiers or civilians.

1.6 Military ranks

It is well known that when we refer to the military ranks, we first think about the military ranks in the army. But when we talk about the military ranks we talk about every category of the military structure, either navies, armies, or air forces. The structure of every category is different, and in some cases there are the same military ranks.

For instance, the rank of lieutenant is found in many nations, either in the navy or in the army, or nowadays in fire service or police. The lieutenant military rank is subordinate to the rank of captain and senior to the rank of sub-lieutenant. In the navy, the lieutenant is the equivalent to the army rank of captain.

Besides the rank of lieutenant, the term of captain was used by the army forces, and the air forces. Likewise, the rank of captain is the most common rank in the navy. Nevertheless, the captain military rank is subordinate to the rank of lieutenant and senior to the rank of major.

Also, there are so many ranks specific to the army forces, marshal or field marshal, general, lieutenant general, major general, brigadier, colonel, lieutenant colonel, major or commandant, captain, second lieutenant, officer cadet, and the list goes on.

It is very important to know that every country has its perspective about ranks, and some countries might consider one rank different from another country.

„In the French, Spanish, Irish and Monegasque armed forces it is a rank equivalent to major. In South Africa for most of the second half of the 20th century, commandant was a rank equivalent to lieutenant-colonel in other countries.”

1.7 Main campaigns and fronts

After the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Franz Ferdinand, everything went crazy between the main countries near Serbia and Austria-Hungary, and later most of the countries from Europe were involved. Besides the main conflict between Serbia and Austria-Hungary, their allies showed up and supported them, so basically there were two important sides. On the one hand, the German Empire was on the Austria-Hungary side, while Serbia, Great Britain, Russia, France lined up against them. The German leader Kaiser Wilhelm assured Austria-Hungary that the German Empire would support them no matter what in case Russia intervened for the Serbian side. Therefore, Russia sent some troops in Serbia, while the German Empire declared war on them. According to the Franco-Russian Alliance, France intervened, so the German Empire declared war also against France.

Thus, in order to reach France, the German Empire had to cross Belgium’s borders, and that upset Belgium which for that period of time stayed neutral. In this case, the German Empire succeeded to make another enemy and consequently there followed the first battle of the First World War. The first battle of the war took place in Belgium, in Liege. The German Empire invaded Belgium on 5 August 1914 and the battle lasted until 16 August. This battle merely delayed the German Empire to reach France, because it was not a long battle, and after only eleven days, the German Empire earned the victory.

In the Battle of Liege, German the Empire extended its territory by capturing the city of Liege. They managed to bring 35,000 troops, about 250 guns, and killed, wounded between 6,000–15,000, likewise, the German Empire took 4,000 prisoners. This initiative in order to reach France had cost the German Empire about 5,000 soldiers.

Meanwhile, on 7 August 1914 there started another battle between, on the one side, France, Great Britain, Belgium, and on the other side, the German Empire. The Battle of the Frontiers took place in Lorraine, and in the Ardennes, and it lasted until 13 September 1914, when the German Empire succeeded to secure the victory.

There is always a beginning and in this case it was only a matter of time until someone decided to attack by using an airplane who was designed to recognize the territories. For the first time in history, aircraft were used as a weapon by driving his airplane into a Zeppelin and this idea of Roland Garros permanently changed the image of the war. Later, Roland Garros asked the French Air Force to install a machine gun on his airplane in order to attack the enemy and to produce as much damage as he could.

„According to an August 3, 1914 wire story, Garros drove his airplane into a German Zeppelin dirigible above the German frontier destroying the aircraft and killing both pilots in what was considered to be the first air battle in world history.”

When it comes to the First World War, there are many things that have started, many things that happened for the first time in history and would be remembered forever. For example, aircraft were used for the first time in a battle, another example is the warships that made a lot of damage, or tanks. The Battle of Cambrai, France, represents the first battle involving tanks. The battle started on 20 November 1917 and it lasted until 7 December 1917, and the belligerent armies involved in this battle were on the one side the British Empire, Newfoundland and not the least the United States that entered later on 30 November, and on the other side, the German Empire. In this battle the British Empire along side the United States brought 476 tanks which 378 were combat tanks, and produced a lot of damage.

The First Battle of Heligoland Bight was the first naval battle of the World War I and also in history. The battled started on 28 August 1914 and involved the United Kingdom against the German Empire. It took place in the North Sea, therefore, the United Kingdom triumphed and let the German Empire in desolation. The British Empire brought 5 battlecruisers, 8 light cruisers, 33 destroyers and 8 submarines to the war, while the German Empire, 6 light cruisers, 19 torpedo boats, and,12 minesweepers. We can figure out after the arsenal that the United Kingdom was clearly superior, and its victory was unquestionable.

Besides those firsts, one of the largest battles of the First World War was the Battle of Verdun, France. The battle of Verdun was fought from 21 February and it lasted until 20 December 1916, when France secured a very important victory of the First World War. This victory meant so much for the French people, in other words, the victory gave France hope and strength for the battles that were about to start. The belligerents of this battle were the same, namely France and German Empire. The French victory cost them between 156,000–162,000 people killed, and more than 400,000 wounded. On the other hand, the German Empire suffered considerable losses – 140,000 men killed, and between 281,000–434,000 wounded. Definitely, the Battle of Verdun was a cold shower for the German Empire.

The Battle of Cambrai, the Battle of Heligoland Bight, or the Battle of the Frontiers, there were so many important battles in the history of the First World War, and some of them were crucial in the economy of the Great War. For example, in France there were the Battle of Arras, the First Battle of Ypres, the Battle of Vimy Ridge, the Battle of the Marne, or the Battle of the Somme. Beside the battles that took place in France, there were others like the Battle of Passchendaele, Belgium, the Battle of the Isonzo, Italy, the Battle of Jutland, Denmark, the Battle of Tannenberg, Germany, or the Battle of Caporetto, today’s Slovenia.

The final battles of the First World War were the Second Battle of the Sambre and and the Battle of Thiérache. First one took place on 4 November 1919 near the river River Sambre. The Allied Powers, including the Brittish Empire, France, and the United States secured the victory against the German Reich, and basically the end the World War I.

1.8 Weapons

That military technology during that period of time improved every day, people were desperate in order to find the best solution to stay alive. During the First World War, new weapons were invented, and so many were improved in order to produce more damage to the enemy. Weapons like pistols, rifles, machine guns, grenades, poison gas were used in the battles along side the newly invented submarines, warships, tanks, or aircraft. Likewise, the fights from the trenches were very tough and intense. Weapons like brass knuckles, bayonet, trench knife, machete, mace, or different kind of guns were used.

The use of the chemical weapons like phosgene, tear gas, chloramines, or mustard gas was a premiere in the history of the First World War. It caused a lot of damage, and killed about 100,000 people.

„A secret report by Lt Colonel C. G. Douglas, on the physiological effects of chemical weapons, stated that "the particular value of the poison [mustard gas] is to be found in its remarkable casualty producing power as opposed to its killing power". The report said that 1% of British troops died due to chemical weapons, while an estimated 181,000 soldiers were victims of gas casualties.”

„Chemical weapons attacked an individual’s respiratory system. The concept of choking easily caused fear in soldiers and the resulting terror affected them psychologically. There was such a great phobia against chemical weapons amongst the soldiers, that it wasn’t uncommon that a soldier would panic and misinterpret symptoms of the common cold as being affected by a poisonous gas.”

Nevertheless, the British Empire and France invented tanks in the history of the First World War, and firstly it were unstoppable. Later, the German Empire learnt how to defend against them, and how to destroy them.

Moreover, the cannon, or the howitzer were very powerful weapons during the World War I, a lot of European countries used them to defend or to attack.

Some rifles made history when it comes to the Great War, for instance the Berthier rifle, M1917 Enfield, Gewehr 98, the Mosin–Nagant series, or the Carcano series of guns.

The pistols or revolvers were so useful in the battles, even in the trenches, those weapons were the most popular weapons during the First World War. For example, these guns were part of the British Empire, France, or the German Empire artillery, the Webley Revolver, the Luger Pistol, the Steyr M1912, the FN Model 1910, or the M1911 pistol.

However, the machine guns were so powerfull that the damage was very significant, for instance guns like, Maxim gun, MG08, Vickers machine gun, Hotchkiss M1914, Maxim gun, or Lewis gun were used even in the Second World War.

To sum up, the main reason that led to the First World War was the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Franz Ferdinand. The consequence of the assassination was the diplomatic crisis that occurred among the major European powers, that split them in two opposing sides which started to join and form alliances.

Last but not least, technology developed considerably, while the First World War was a war in which various pieces of military equipment were used for the first time, such as aircraft, warships, tank, or different kinds of new weapons like chemical ones. In addition to those firsts, the weapons, the military strategies, or the trench railways were improved greatly.