World War I

World War I was a total war. A total war is one in which the countries devote all their resources to the war effort. It lasted from 1914 until 1918. In many areas of the world the entire government's full devotion was to win the conflict. In each part of the world there were events which directly influenced the ending results of World War I.

Japan, Australia, and New Zealand all fought on the side of the Allies. Japan declared war on Germany in 1914. They then seized German Colonies in China and in the Pacific. This made a difference in the war because now the Allies were gaining more land which brought them even closer to their victory. Not only did Japan help out but Australia and New Zealand did too. These two countries were on the Allies side and they contributed many troops to the Gallipoli campaign in 1915. Both countries were a serious aid in the war effort by giving the Allies more soldiers and help.

Europe was where most of the fighting of the war occurred. Sir Edward Grey made a prediction about the war in Europe. He said, "The lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our lifetime." He was very true. Many battles were fought here such as the Western Front, Eastern Front, and the Battle of the Somme. Europe had a great significance in the war. This is where the battlefield known as the Western Front was which was a bloody stalemate due to new, industrialized war equipment such as poison gas, machine guns, and tanks. The Western Front was also brutal because of the trench warfare, or "no mans land." This played a major role, however. It played a major role because neither side gained a lot of land yet they both lost more than 30, 000 men. Without this loss of men, maybe the outcome of the war would have been altered.

North America entered the war in 1917. They joined the Allies' side alongside Great Britain, France, Russia, Japan, and then later Italy. North America joined after the German submarine sunk the British passenger ship, the Lusitania. 128 U.S.