

When Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated on June 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia and declared war on it. However, that made them divide themselves into two groups.
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īefore the war, European countries had formed alliances to protect themselves. There were 135 countries that took part in World War I, and nearly 10 million people died while fighting. Other names are the Imperialist War and the Four years War. Before World War II began in 1939, World War I was called the Great War, or the World War. Soldiers from many countries took part, and it changed the colonial empires of the European powers.

Most of the fighting was in continental Europe. It was a global war and lasted exactly 4 years, 3 months and 2 weeks. World War I ( WWI or WW1), also called the First World War, began on Jand lasted until November 11, 1918. Map of Europe at the start of World War I.
