World War I, also known as the Great War, was a global conflict that began in 1914 and lasted until 1918. Triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary, it involved the Central Powers (mainly Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria) against the Allied Powers (primarily France, Britain, Russia, Italy, and the United States). Characterized by trench warfare, new and devastating technologies like machine guns and poison gas, and unprecedented levels of destruction, the war resulted in over 16 million deaths and reshaped the political map of Europe. The Treaty of Versailles, which formally ended the war, imposed harsh penalties on Germany and is often cited as a contributing factor to the rise of extremist ideologies and World War II.
