Why World War I Still Matters

In one moment, the world stopped and began again. On November 11, 1918, at exactly 11 a.m. Paris time, bells rang and celebrations broke out all over the globe. After four years and millions of deaths, World War I was over.

The timing had been laid out in an armistice—an agreement to stop fighting—written by the war’s victors, the Allied Powers. Led by France, the United Kingdom (U.K.), and the United States, the Allies had forced their defeated enemy, Germany, to sign the agreement.

The conflict it ended was so massive, people referred to it simply as the Great War. Up to that point in history, it was the bloodiest war ever. About 20 million people—both soldiers and civilians—were killed. France alone lost 1.4 million soldiers in battle, 17 percent of all the country’s fighting-age men.

“It affected countries for generations,” says Doran Cart, senior curator of the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri. “It changed the whole outlay of the globe.”

This November 11, bells will again ring around the world to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. The war continues to influence our world. Here are some essential things to know about it.

In one moment, the world stopped and began again. On November 11, 1918, at exactly 11 a.m. Paris time, bells rang and celebrations broke out all over the globe. After four years and millions of deaths, World War I was over.

The timing had been laid out in an armistice—an agreement to stop the fighting. It was written by the war’s victors, the Allied Powers. France, the United Kingdom (U.K.), and the United States led this group of nations during the war. The Allies had forced their defeated enemy, Germany, to sign the agreement.

The conflict it ended was so massive, people referred to it simply as the Great War. Up to that point in history, it was the bloodiest war ever. About 20 million people—both soldiers and civilians—were killed. France alone lost 1.4 million soldiers in battle, 17 percent of all the country’s fighting-age men.

“It affected countries for generations,” says Doran Cart, senior curator of the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri. “It changed the whole outlay of the globe.” 

This November 11, bells will again ring around the world. The celebration will mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. The war continues to influence our world. Here are some essential things to know about it.

The war began in July 1914 as a struggle for power between two groups of European nations: the Allied Powers—first led by Russia, France, and the U.K.—and the Central Powers, headed by Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire, centered in what is now Turkey (see map above).  

Few people could have predicted that so many soldiers would be killed. A main reason for the historic loss of life, say experts, was the introduction of deadly new weapons. Among these were machine guns and artillery that could fire more rapidly than before. Tanks, airplanes, and poison gas were also deployed for the first time in World War I.

For protection, troops on both sides dug long ditches in the ground called trenches, using them to take cover. Soldiers sometimes stayed in them for weeks or months. 

By the end of 1914, the opposing armies had created an almost unbroken battle line of parallel trenches that stretched from the coast of Belgium to Switzerland. This 450-mile-long line of trenches was called the Western Front.

In letters home, soldiers described the brutal reality of life in the trenches: mud up to their knees, rats as large as cats, and the horrible smell of overflowing toilets. 

When ordered to attack, soldiers rushed out of their trenches onto open ground. As they charged the opposing trenches, waves of men would be mowed down by enemy fire. Despite the high death count, battles often resulted in little or no gain of territory. Afterward, bodies sometimes remained where they had fallen. There was no safe way to retrieve them.

French soldier Louis Barthas recalled stumbling upon a gruesome scene while searching an abandoned enemy trench: “I saw . . . a pile of corpses, almost all of them German, that they had started to bury right in the trench. . . . ‘There’s no one here but the dead!’ I exclaimed.”

The war began in July 1914 as a struggle for power between two groups of European nations. It pitted the Allied Powers—first led by Russia, France, and the U.K.—against the Central Powers, headed by Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire, centered in what is now Turkey (see map above).

Few people could have predicted that so many soldiers would be killed. A main reason for the historic loss of life, say experts, was the introduction of deadly new weapons. Among these were machine guns and artillery that could fire more rapidly than before. Tanks, airplanes, and poison gas were also deployed for the first time in World War I.

For protection, troops on both sides dug long ditches in the ground called trenches. They used these ditches to take cover. Soldiers sometimes stayed in them for weeks or months. 

By the end of 1914, the opposing armies had created an almost unbroken battle line of parallel trenches. They stretched from the coast of Belgium to Switzerland. This 450-mile-long line of trenches was called the Western Front.

In letters home, soldiers described the brutal reality of life in the trenches. They talked about the mud up to their knees, rats as large as cats, and the horrible smell of overflowing toilets. 

When ordered to attack, soldiers rushed out of their trenches onto open ground. As they charged the opposing trenches, waves of men would be mowed down by enemy fire. Despite the high death count, battles often resulted in little or no gain of territory. Afterward, bodies sometimes remained where they had fallen. There was no safe way to retrieve them.

French soldier Louis Barthas recalled stumbling upon a gruesome scene while searching an abandoned enemy trench: “I saw . . . a pile of corpses, almost all of them German, that they had started to bury right in the trench. . . . ‘There’s no one here but the dead!’ I exclaimed.”

When the war began, President Woodrow Wilson pledged the United States to neutrality. But from the start, many Americans felt the U.S. should fight alongside the U.K. and France because of our strong historical ties to those nations.

Then on May 7, 1915, a German submarine sank a British passenger ship called the Lusitania off the southern coast of Ireland. Among the 1,200 crew members and passengers who died, 128 were Americans.

“What the Lusitania did was to bring the war home to Americans,” historian John Cooper has said. Suddenly, that foreign conflict felt like our own.

Still, it took nearly two more years—and the steady worsening of the U.S.-German relationship—for America to enter the fight. On April 2, 1917, President Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war. The Germans were waging “a warfare against mankind,” Wilson said. “The world must be made safe for democracy.”

When the war began, President Woodrow Wilson pledged the United States to neutrality. But from the start, many Americans felt the U.S. should fight alongside the U.K. and France because of our strong historical ties to those nations.

Then on May 7, 1915, a German submarine sank a British passenger ship called the Lusitania off the southern coast of Ireland. Among the 1,200 crew members and passengers who died, 128 were Americans. 

“What the Lusitania did was to bring the war home to Americans,” historian John Cooper has said. Suddenly, that foreign conflict felt like our own.

Still, it took nearly two more years—and the steady worsening of the U.S.-German relationship—for America to enter the fight. On April 2, 1917, President Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war. The Germans were waging “a warfare against mankind,” Wilson said. “The world must be made safe for democracy.”

In June 1917, American soldiers began arriving in Europe. The people of Britain and France, devastated by years of fighting, cheered the young Americans who marched through their streets on the way to the battlefront.

Those fresh U.S. troops helped turn the war around for the Allies. In July 1918, U.S. forces joined with British and French troops to push back the Germans at the Second Battle of the Marne, in France. The battle proved to be the last major stand for an exhausted Germany.

By early November, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, which were fighting the Allies on the war’s Eastern Front, had surrendered. Then Germany, the last of the Central Powers, reluctantly agreed to a peace settlement.

In June 1917, American soldiers began arriving in Europe. By that time, the people of Britain and France had been devastated by years of fighting. They cheered the young Americans who marched through their streets on the way to the battlefront.

Those fresh U.S. troops helped turn the war around for the Allies. In July 1918, U.S. forces joined with British and French troops to push back the Germans at the Second Battle of the Marne, in France. The battle proved to be the last major stand for an exhausted Germany.

Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire were fighting the Allies on the war’s Eastern Front. By early November, they had surrendered. Then Germany, the last of the Central Powers, reluctantly agreed to a peace settlement.

The war triggered the collapse of four powerful empires: Russia, Austria-Hungary, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire.

“Those dynasties had been there for centuries,” says Michael Neiberg of the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania. “Now, in four years, they were gone.”

When it was all over, Germany was forced to accept blame for the war, give up about 10 percent of its territory, and severely reduce its military. The country was also forced to pay the Allied nations about $33 billion in damages.

These terms enraged Germans. In 1933, that anger helped fuel Adolf Hitler’s rise to power. In part seeking revenge for Germany’s humiliation in World War I, Hitler would eventually attempt to conquer Europe, plunging the globe into World War II. Says Cart, of the National World War I Museum and Memorial: “There would have been no World War II without World War I.”

The war triggered the collapse of four powerful empires: Russia, Austria-Hungary, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire.

“Those dynasties had been there for centuries,” says Michael Neiberg of the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania. “Now, in four years, they were gone.”

When it was all over, Germany was forced to accept blame for the war, give up about 10 percent of its territory, and sharply reduce its military. The country was also forced to pay the Allied nations about $33 billion in damages.

These terms enraged Germans. In 1933, that anger helped fuel Adolf Hitler’s rise to power. In part seeking revenge for Germany’s humiliation in World War I, Hitler would eventually attempt to conquer Europe. His actions plunged the globe into World War II. Says Cart, of the National World War I Museum and Memorial: “There would have been no World War II without World War I.”

One nation emerged from the war stronger: the U.S. With its industrial might and more than 2 million troops, America proved itself a powerful force and was transformed into a world leader. “That was the moment when the U.S. began to get involved in foreign affairs almost everywhere,” says Neiberg.

Today, however, many Americans question whether the cost of being involved in conflicts around the world is too steep. The Middle East is a prime example of this (see “WWI & the Middle East,” below). Since 2001, nearly 7,000 Americans have died battling terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq. The U.S. has also been involved in the fighting in the Syrian civil war that began in 2011. Conflicts in all three countries show no signs of ending anytime soon.

Like past presidents, President Trump and his advisers have questioned what to do. What can the U.S. hope to accomplish in foreign wars? Can the world ever truly be made safe for democracy, as Woodrow Wilson vowed?

“This is a debate that comes directly from World War I,” says Neiberg. It’s one, he adds, that we may never finish struggling with.

One nation emerged from the war stronger: the U.S. With its industrial might and more than 2 million troops, America proved itself a powerful force. The nation transformed itself into a world leader. “That was the moment when the U.S. began to get involved in foreign affairs almost everywhere,” says Neiberg.

Today, however, many Americans question whether the cost of being involved in conflicts around the world is too steep. The Middle East is a prime example of this (see “WWI & the Middle East,” below). Since 2001, nearly 7,000 Americans have died battling terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq. The U.S. has also been involved in the fighting in the Syrian civil war that began in 2011. Conflicts in all three countries show no signs of ending anytime soon.

Like past presidents, President Trump and his advisers have questioned what to do. What can the U.S. hope to accomplish in foreign wars? Can the world ever truly be made safe for democracy, as Woodrow Wilson vowed?

“This is a debate that comes directly from World War I,” says Neiberg. It’s one, he adds, that we may never finish struggling with.