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World War I

Zimmermann telegram.

In January 1917 British intelligence officers intercepted a secret telegram sent by German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann to the German minister to Mexico. The message proposed an alliance between Germany and Mexico if the United States entered World War I. The decoded text of the telegram read:

“We intend to begin on the first of February unrestricted submarine warfare. We shall endeavor in spite of this to keep the United States of America neutral. In the event of this not succeeding, we make Mexico a proposal or alliance on the following basis: make war together, make peace together, generous financial support and an understanding on our part that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The settlement in detail is left to you. You will inform the President of the above most secretly as soon as the outbreak of war with the United States of America is certain and add the suggestion that he should, on his own initiative, invite Japan to immediate adherence and at the same time mediate between Japan and ourselves. Please call the President's attention to the fact that the ruthless employment of our submarines now offers the prospect of compelling England in a few months to make peace.”

Signed, ZIMMERMANN.

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Introduction

A major international conflict fought from 1914 to 1918, World War I was the most deadly and destructive war the world had ever seen to that time. More than 25 countries eventually participated, aligned with either the Allied or the Central powers. The Allies—who won the war—included primarily France, Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan, and, from 1917, the United States. The Central Powers consisted mainly of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). World War I felled four great imperial dynasties, in Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey. It led to revolution in Russia, destabilized Europe, and laid the foundations for World War II . (For a chronology of events for World War I, see World War I Chronology .)

On a human scale, the scope of the war was just as monumental. More than 65 million soldiers were mobilized for the armies, navies, and emerging air forces. Some 8.5 million lost their lives, and more than 21 million were wounded. In addition, civilian populations worked as never before to produce enormous quantities of guns, munitions, and other supplies. Because civilians played such an important role, World War I was the first conflict to be called “total war.”

The Onset of War

On June 28, 1914, Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated. He was murdered at Sarajevo, the capital of the Austrian province of Bosnia. The assassin was Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian-trained Bosnian terrorist. Austria claimed that Serbian government officials had trained and equipped Princip’s group, which was known as the Black Hand. For many years Serbia and Austria-Hungary had been unfriendly because Serbian nationalists wanted to unite all Slavic peoples living in the Balkan region into a single state. Slavs living in Austria-Hungary would be included, and Austria-Hungary strongly opposed this.

Austria-Hungary decided to use the assassination as an excuse to settle its quarrel with Serbia. Germany promised to back Austria-Hungary. On July 23 Austria-Hungary presented a warlike ultimatum to Serbia, allowing only 48 hours for an answer. Serbia responded by July 25 but suggested that some of Austria-Hungary’s demands be referred to the other European powers. Austria-Hungary refused Serbia’s suggestion, and on July 28 it declared war on Serbia.

All the nations in Europe had been expecting war. For many years rival groups of nations had been making treaties and alliances. By 1914 Europe had been divided into two camps. Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy were members of the Triple Alliance. Later, after the withdrawal of Italy and the addition of the Ottoman Empire, the Triple Alliance took a new name, the Central Powers. Russia, France, and Britain formed the rival Triple Entente. Later they were called the Allies. Except for Bulgaria, the Balkan states sided with Serbia and the Allies. These alliances were brought into action July 28 by Austria-Hungary’s declaration of war. Within a week all Europe was at war.

Other Nations Involved

On July 29 Russia mobilized its troops near the Austrian and German borders, purportedly to keep Serbia from being crushed. However, Russia had plans in the Ottoman Empire that had been blocked by Austria-Hungary and Germany. Russia wanted to control Constantinople and the straits from the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea. On July 31 Germany demanded that Russia stop its war mobilization measures and delivered an ultimatum to France to declare itself neutral in the event of war between Russia and Germany. France and Germany had been enemies in many previous wars. They had also been divided by the question of Alsace-Lorraine .

Both Russia and France ignored the German demands. Fighting began on the German-Russian frontier on August 1. Germany declared war on France on August 3.

Britain Declares War

Britain and Germany had been growing more and more unfriendly before 1914. Germany claimed that Britain was trying to keep it from becoming a world power. With the start of the war Germany made clear that it planned to invade France through Belgium. Britain, along with Germany and France, had signed a treaty in 1838 guaranteeing the independence and neutrality of Belgium. On August 4 Britain declared war on Germany to protect Belgian neutrality. The rest of the British Empire immediately prepared to send troops.

Japan entered the war on the side of the Allies on August 23. Italy decided to remain neutral for the time being, despite its membership in the Triple Alliance. Many Italians favored joining the Allies, to help Italy obtain territories in Austria-Hungary in which people of Italian descent lived.

The War During 1914

All the major powers had war plans designed for quick victories but no plans for a long, drawn-out stalemate. The German Schlieffen Plan—named after Count Alfred von Schlieffen , a noted military strategist—was designed to avoid a long, costly war on two fronts. It called for the German left flank to hold the French army on the Rhine River. The right flank was to sweep through Belgium and northern France toward Paris, the French capital. After defeating France, the Germans then planned to quickly move these troops by rail to the east to defeat Russia.

The French had agreed to respect Belgian neutrality. Therefore they could not go through Belgium to attack Germany. Instead they intended to concentrate their troops on the center and right flanks. They then planned to strike a blow against the Rhine front.

The Russians planned to drive a wedge between Austria-Hungary and Germany. They then intended to make a direct attack on Berlin. Although all these war plans failed, the German Schlieffen Plan came close to succeeding. The right flank of the German army almost reached Paris but was thrown back by the French in the First Battle of the Marne, one of the few decisive battles of the war.

French Defense on the Marne

The French army of about 4 million was practically equal in size to the German army. Only a third of the soldiers, however, were fully trained first-line troops. The French were not surprised that the Germans came through Belgium. What they did not expect was that the Germans would immediately use so many of their reserves as first-line troops. This gave the Germans more effective manpower. French and British troops met the attacking Germans at the Belgian frontier in August. The French were driven back at Charleroi. The British were driven back at Mons. The Germans forced both armies to retreat south.

By the beginning of September a part of the German army was approaching Paris. Before the Germans were able to move past the city, however, the French attacked the exposed German right flank. They then advanced into a gap that this attack opened between two German armies. The French also counterattacked along the entire front. The First Battle of the Marne was fought September 6–10. The Germans, unable to gain a decisive victory, retreated some 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of the Marne River.

Trench Warfare and Blockades

With the hope of a short war now lost, the fighting on the Western Front settled down to trench warfare. Victories on the battlefield were soon being measured in yards, with enormous casualty rates.

Soon after the outbreak of war, the British Navy instituted an economic blockade of Germany. This move was very successful, bringing outward-bound trade from Germany to a standstill. The blockade also became important to the overall strategy of the war because it led to the beginning of Germany’s submarine campaign in October 1914. Germany’s submarines came very close to cutting off Britain from its supplies.

The Ottoman Empire Declares War

The Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers on October 29. Although the empire was in a state of decline, it made a substantial contribution to the Central Powers’ war effort. The empire’s entry into the war cut off Russia’s easy sea communications with its allies. The Ottoman armies also threatened Britain’s communications with the Far East through the Suez Canal by moving south and threatening to capture the canal. To prevent the fall of the canal, the Allies were forced to keep large forces near the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea throughout the war.

The stalemate on the Western Front was offset for Germany by its success against Russia on the Eastern Front. The Germans under the two brilliant generals Paul von Hindenburg and Erich von Ludendorff overwhelmingly defeated the Russians at Tannenberg in August 1914.

The War During 1915

Germany and Austria-Hungary made great efforts to defeat Russia in 1915. Early in the year the Russians invaded Hungary. The Germans counterattacked on May 2. In fighting centered around Brest-Litovsk the Germans broke through the center of the Russian front. Russian forces were driven back as far east as Pinsk. The Germans took 750,000 prisoners, but the Russians fought on.

There was a deadlock on the Western Front during 1915. This resulted partly because of a shortage of artillery shells. In April the Germans used the poisonous gas chlorine against the French at Ypres . Soon both sides were using various types of gas and gas-filled shells with devastating effects.

Italy and Bulgaria Declare War

In April 1915 Italy signed the secret Treaty of London with Britain, France, and Russia. The treaty offered Italy a large piece of Austrian territory in return for entering the war on the side of the Allies. On May 23 Italy declared war against Austria-Hungary. It did not declare war against Germany until August 1916, more than a year later.

On October 11 Bulgaria joined the Central Powers against the Allies. Bulgaria then joined with Germany and Austria-Hungary to overrun Serbia and Montenegro. This cleared a path to Turkey, the heart of the Ottoman Empire, which had been holding out against Allied attacks but was now in need of support from the other Central Powers.

The Gallipoli Campaign

In February and again in March British warships tried to force their way through the Dardanelles . Their plan was to get aid to Russia by way of the Black Sea. Both attempts were unsuccessful.

On April 25 Sir Ian Hamilton landed a force of Anzacs (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) on the narrow Gallipoli Peninsula. A combined land-and-sea drive was then planned against Constantinople.

The Gallipoli expedition was a costly failure. In December 1915 and January 1916 the troops were withdrawn. Many were sent to Egypt to protect the Suez Canal, which was threatened by the Ottoman Empire. Some of these troops later formed a British and Arab force under Gen. Edmund Allenby that captured Jerusalem in 1917.

One of the many successful leaders in this region was Britain’s T.E. Lawrence . Lawrence was instrumental in organizing and leading the Arab revolt against the Turks. His forces also captured Damascus for the Allies.

Germany’s Submarine Campaign

Germany’s submarine fleet intensified its blockade of Britain during 1915. In February Germany announced that the waters around Great Britain, including the English Channel, were in the war zone. In addition, Germany clearly stated that merchant ships found in this zone would be destroyed. This included the ships of neutral nations.

On May 7 a luxury passenger liner, the Lusitania , was torpedoed and sunk off Kinsale Head, Ireland. Among the 1,198 persons drowned were more than 120 U.S. citizens.

Germany continued to build more and better submarines. By April 1917, when the United States entered the war, more than 3 million tons of British shipping had been sunk. This was 16 percent of the 1914 British merchant fleet. By 1915 the British were already beginning to fear that continued shipping losses might force Britain out of the war.

The War During 1916

The German surface fleet did not challenge Allied control of the oceans until the Battle of Jutland on May 31, 1916. The British Grand Fleet met the German High Seas Fleet off the Danish coast. The British fleet, commanded by Adm. John R. Jellicoe , suffered heavy losses in ships and soldiers. Nevertheless, Adm. Reinhard Scheer was forced to withdraw the German fleet. The British then won a costly but strategic victory. The Battle of Jutland was the most important surface naval battle of the war. It made possible the continued blockade of Germany.

Battles of Verdun and the Somme

On the Western Front the Germans launched a great offensive against the French at Verdun in February. Before the attack the Germans shelled the French with the most powerful artillery bombardment ever used in war. For a short time the Germans swept everything before them. Then the French checked the advance. The Battle of Verdun continued for many months, with little change.

In July the British came to the aid of the French with an offensive in the Somme River area. The artillery bombardment before the attack lasted for a week. The British gradually moved forward. When winter ended the fighting, they had driven a wedge 9 miles (14 kilometers) deep into the German line.

During the Somme offensive the British introduced an armored vehicle that ran on endless metal chains. The machine had been developed secretly, with different parts made in different factories. Some parts, which looked like they could be used to make containers for liquids, were called tanks by the workers. “Tank” came to be used as a code name during the weapon’s development and later became its permanent name.

War in the Air

Balloons and airplanes were first used mainly to carry observers. By 1915 photographs of enemy positions were being taken from airplanes. Anthony Fokker , improving on a French device, developed a machine gun for the Germans that was synchronized to fire through the whirling propeller of a flying plane.

The French and British soon had their versions of this synchronized machine gun. Both the Allies and the Germans sent up fighter planes to shoot down enemy observation planes. Fighter pilots and planes fought for control of the air throughout the war. Allied and German fighter pilots became international heroes.

Zeppelin Raids

Germany’s Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin had seen the value of the balloon as an aerial observation post in the American Civil War . When Zeppelin returned home to Germany after the Civil War he developed a navigable airship . It was a balloon of rigid construction.

A Zeppelin was first used to bomb London in May 1915. During the war Zeppelins made a total of 51 raids. However, 77 of the ships were destroyed in storms or by Allied attacks from fighter planes and antiaircraft fire. Their use as a war weapon was finally abandoned.

Both sides developed antiaircraft guns for use against bombing raids and strafing fighter planes. British pilots referred to inaccurate German antiaircraft fire as “Archie,” a name adapted from the song “Archibald, Certainly Not!” When the pilots returned to their airfields they would be asked, “Archibald give you any trouble today?” They would answer, “Archibald? Certainly not!”

American Fliers in Combat

The Lafayette Escadrille first saw action on April 20, 1916. This was a French squadron made up of American volunteers. It remained attached to the French Flying Corps until February 1918, when it transferred to the American Air Service.

In April 1918 the United States Air Service had three squadrons at the front. The number grew until there were 45 American squadrons. Most of them were equipped with French aircraft.

The War During 1917

On March 11, 1917, a revolution broke out in Russia. Four days later the tsar, Nicholas II , abdicated. The new republican government under Aleksandr Kerensky said it would continue the war. The Russian people, however, were sick of the war. The revolutionists had formed the Bolshevik party (renamed the Communist party in 1918). On November 9 the Bolsheviks overthrew the Kerensky government and asked Germany for an armistice.

On March 3, 1918, the Bolshevik government signed a separate treaty of peace with the Germans at Brest-Litovsk. By the terms of this treaty the Russians lost Poland and nearly all the territory bordering the Baltic Sea. They also had to surrender a large area of land in the Caucasus Mountains to Turkey.

The United States Declares War

U.S. public opinion had been slowly but steadily setting against Germany since 1914. In January 1917 Germany launched an unrestricted submarine campaign. All vessels, neutrals included, were to be sunk without warning if found in a zone off the Allied coasts. This was a violation of international law. Further, it was discovered that the German foreign minister, Arthur Zimmermann , had secretly sent a telegram to the Mexican government. The Zimmermann Telegram promised to reward Mexico with vast areas of the southwestern United States in return for Mexican support against the Americans. Although President Woodrow Wilson ’s great desire was for peace, he felt the United States was forced to go to war. War was declared on April 6, 1917 ( see United States history ).

Allied Struggles on the Western Front

In France, a disastrous offensive led by Gen. Robert Nivelle in April 1917 was followed by a series of mutinies in the French armies. In response, Nivelle was replaced by Gen. Philippe Pétain as commander in chief of the French armies. Pétain kept his troops out of major combat for a time to build up their morale. Late in the year they regained some territory they had lost earlier at Verdun.

British troops did most of the heavy fighting on the Western Front in 1917. Their losses were heavy. In one battle alone, for the high terrain near Ypres, their casualties were almost a quarter of a million men. Losses like these, plus the fact that Germany would now have more manpower with troops released from the Russian front, made the Allied chances for victory doubtful.

War weariness also brought disaster on the Italian front. In October 1917 the Austrians and the Germans suddenly attacked the Italian forces at Caporetto . A rout resulted, costing the Italians 265,000 prisoners. It was now clear that unless the United States could turn the tide, 1918 might bring victory to the Central Powers.

The War During 1918

On March 21, 1918, the Germans launched a great offensive in the Somme River region. This drive to win the war had been planned by the German generals Hindenburg and Ludendorff. The battle began with a great artillery duel, followed by a rush of German troops. In a few days the advancing Germans overran the entire territory, which the British and French had taken two years to capture. The offensive ended on April 6, after the Germans had gained about 35 miles (56 kilometers). About 2,000 Americans in small units served well with the British in preventing the drive from becoming a rout.

The situation, however, was grave. Marshal Ferdinand Foch was made commander in chief of the Allied armies. American troops, though not yet battle seasoned, were to be used in combat units.

On May 27 the Germans again attacked in great force, this time along the Aisne River. For a week the French retreated. The battlefront soon was back on the Marne River at Château-Thierry, only 44 miles (71 kilometers) from Paris.

Three U.S. divisions were thrown into action at Château-Thierry, Cantigny, and Belleau Wood. In both defense and counterattack the Americans showed they were willing to make heavy sacrifices for victory. In proving their fighting ability they also inspired the veteran French and British troops to heroic efforts in stopping the Germans. The German drive was halted on June 6.

The Allies Advance

On July 15 the Germans started another drive. This developed into the Second Battle of the Marne. Now, however, the tide turned. French and American troops crushed the western flank of the German line from Château-Thierry north. The Germans ran for the Aisne to avoid capture. Twelve hard-fighting American divisions took part in this Allied offensive.

On August 8 the British opened a drive along the Somme. The Canadian corps drove forward 8 miles (13 kilometers) on the first day. This was the greatest single day’s advance against resistance in the war. In a little more than a month the Allies took 100,000 prisoners, and the Germans were in full retreat.

To prepare the way for the final drive to victory, in September the American troops captured the St-Mihiel salient, a triangular piece of land between Verdun and Nancy that the Germans had been occupying since 1914. A major drive through the Argonne Forest, then northward along the Meuse from Verdun to Sedan, began on September 26. Continuing into November, the French and American forces moved northward.

To the north even the small Belgian army began a drive. In a few days it had won more territory than the British had been able to gain in four months during the previous year.

While Germany was receiving these staggering blows, its allies were collapsing. Bulgaria signed an armistice on September 30. The Ottoman Empire surrendered on October 31. Italy recovered from the Caporetto disaster and inflicted a sharp defeat on Austria-Hungary. Austria-Hungary was granted an armistice on November 3 to take effect November 4.

The armistice granted to Austria-Hungary required it to demobilize its army, to surrender large strips of territory, and to give up most of its navy. It also had to expel German troops from inside its borders, and it had to let the Allies use its railroads. These terms amounted to unconditional surrender.

Collapse of Germany

Germany’s home front collapsed as its armies retreated on all battle fronts. On October 3 the German rulers requested an armistice. While the Allies were discussing terms, mutiny broke out in the German fleet at Kiel. It spread to Hamburg and Bremen.

The Independent Socialists in Berlin then refused to support the government any longer. Rulers of the kingdoms of Bavaria and Württemberg abdicated. The German kaiser himself abdicated at Spa on November 9 and fled to The Netherlands the next day. A temporary government was formed in Berlin. This government arranged for a national convention to be held in Weimar to form a republic.

The armistice terms were now ready, and the Germans were called to receive them. A delegation crossed the lines and was taken to Marshal Foch’s railroad traveling car headquarters near Compiègne. At daybreak on November 11 the Germans signed a general armistice. Six hours later, at 11:00 am , the guns stopped firing.

Terms of the Armistice

The terms of the armistice were hard. President Wilson had warned the Germans that they would be. The German army was required to move all its forces to a line about 6 miles (10 kilometers) east of the Rhine River. Allied troops occupied the evacuated territory as well as the cities of Mainz, Cologne, and Coblenz.

Most of the German fleet, including all submarines, was surrendered to the Allies. The Germans also had to give up great quantities of military supplies. These included 5,000 cannons, 25,000 machine guns, 5,000 locomotives, and 150,000 railroad cars. The treaties that the Germans imposed on the Russians and the Romanians earlier in the war were revoked. The Germans, finally, had to surrender all their prisoners and promise to pay reparations for war damages.

The Germans began the withdrawal of their troops at once. The Allied troops followed closely without trouble. The war was now at an end. There still remained the task of planning for peace.

How the War Came to the United States

The United States was a neutral nation when World War I started in 1914. It was an American tradition that the wars of Europe were not the business of the United States. Under international law the United States as a neutral had the right to continue its trade with any of the nations at war ( see blockade ; international law ).

Events soon brought a change in the attitude of the United States toward the war. Germany’s actions caused this change. Most Americans objected to Germany’s violation of Belgian neutrality, and Germany’s unrestricted submarine warfare was a violation of international law. Acts of German sabotage in the United States and the use of poison gas in warfare also helped to change American public opinion. But the trigger of the nationwide demand for war against Germany was the publication of the Zimmermann Telegram in the American press on March 1, 1917, revealing Germany’s secret overture to Mexico for support in war against the United States. Americans came to believe that democratic government would be unsafe if Germany won the war.

The United States Enters the War

President Wilson tried hard during his first term in office to keep the United States out of the war. He also tried to get the warring nations to negotiate a peace. These efforts failed. Germany continued its unrestricted submarine warfare. On March 4, 1917, Wilson was inaugurated for a second term. On April 2 he read to Congress a message stating that war had already begun with the acts of Germany. He stated that the aim of the United States in entering the war was to make a “world safe for democracy.” Congress declared war on April 6, 1917.

Some preparations for war had already been made in the United States. For example, Congress in 1916 had passed the National Defense Act, which enlarged the army. Appropriations for a larger navy had also been approved. In addition, Congress had created a Council of National Defense. The Council was to prepare for mobilization of the civilian population and to coordinate industries and resources for national security and defense.

All these efforts, however, had made the United States only partially ready for war. The greatest war effort the country had ever made still lay ahead.

Organizing the Army

The U.S. Regular Army numbered less than 135,000 soldiers. The Allies urged that a U.S. unit be sent overseas at once to help morale. The 1st Division landed in France on June 26, 1917. It fired its first shot on October 23, 1917.

Major General John J. Pershing was appointed commander in chief of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on May 26, 1917. He also landed in France in June. Pershing told the U.S. War Department soon after his arrival that the United States should try to have an army of 1 million soldiers in France by the following May. He also urged that the AEF should in time grow to from 3 to 4 million soldiers.

Nearly 3 million men were taken into military service under the Selective Service Act. This Act had been passed on May 18, 1917 ( see conscription ). Of the 93 combat divisions that were organized, 42 reached France and 30 saw combat service.

Some 20,000 freight cars and 1,500 locomotives were shipped in sections to France and assembled there by railway engineers. Every combat division needed 25 carloads of supplies for its daily use. The job of providing food and equipment was handled by the Services of Supply. The chief purchasing agent was Gen. Charles G. Dawes.

The Work of the AEF

In theory United States troops were to be sent to France in divisions of 30,000 soldiers. Actually they were sent as ships were found to carry them. Some troops that arrived in France were fully trained and equipped. Others had not even been taught how to load their rifles. Many of the soldiers had been called into service from reserve and guard units.

For a year after the United States entered the war Britain was slow in lending ships to transport U.S. troops. The danger of German success changed this. Britain provided troopships, and through the five months after April 1918 nearly 10,000 U.S. troops a day were sent to France.

It was not until August, however, that plans were made to use the U.S. First Army as a unit. Before that U.S. soldiers were used piecemeal to fill the gaps when troops of the other Allied armies broke before the German advance.

Organizing the Home Front

The troops needed clothing, food, and weapons. They also needed proper medical attention in camp and overseas. To meet all these needs the Council of National Defense set up the War Industries Board in the summer of 1917. The Food Administration urged greater production of food. It also taught the civilian population to go without sugar, wheat flour, meats, and fats. These foods were shipped overseas. The Fuel Administration stimulated coal production and restricted its use in the civilian sector of the economy.

Ships were needed to send soldiers, ammunition, and food overseas. The United States Shipping Board ordered ships in great numbers. The world’s greatest shipyard was built near Philadelphia. More than 60 million dollars was spent on this shipyard, which had 50 shipways. Many ships were also constructed in California shipyards.

The economic role of the United States in the war effort was critical. The country spent as much money in the war as it did on all the expenses of the government from 1791 to 1914. By June 30, 1919, the government had spent about 28 billion dollars directly for the war and had lent its allies nearly 10 billion dollars. Loans and costs growing out of the war were to continue for years.

The financial contribution of the United States was made possible largely because its citizens advanced more than 21 billion dollars to the government by purchasing Liberty and Victory bonds. The government increased its revenues also through a new income-tax law. Congress was given the legal authority to collect income taxes by the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which was ratified in 1913.

How the Navy Helped

Admiral William S. Sims was sent to London in the spring of 1917. A fleet of destroyers followed him shortly thereafter. The destroyers helped to blockade Germany, pursued submarines, and convoyed merchant ships.

Several United States battleships joined the British fleet. The Navy helped to lay contact mines across the English Channel and also closed the northern outlet of the North Sea.

The AEF in Action

The AEF was tested in battle in the early summer of 1918. At Cantigny on May 26 the 1st Division took its objective and held it against counterattack. The next day the 2nd and 3rd Divisions hurried toward Château-Thierry to help fill the gap caused when the French armies broke before the Germans.

In the next two weeks Belleau Wood became a household name in the United States. There the Marine Brigade and the Army regiments of the 2nd Division fought heroically during June 1–26.

In August General Pershing and the Allied commanders agreed on a plan to use the U.S. First Army as a single unit in a major offensive. On September 12–13 the Americans, supported by French artillery, took St-Mihiel, which the Germans had held since their first drive in 1914.

The battle of the Meuse-Argonne continued from September 26 until November 11. In the 47 days of action, 29 American combat divisions were used. The battle was part of a general engagement that pressed against the entire length of the German line from Verdun to the English Channel. About 1.2 million Americans took part. When the drive ended, the war was over.

The Peace and Its Results

The Paris Peace Conference to draft the treaties to end World War I opened in January 1919. All the countries that had been at war with the Central Powers were represented.

One of the first acts of the Peace Conference was to draw up a constitution for a League of Nations . The League was planned to reduce the chances of another war. This Covenant of the League of Nations was made the first part of the Treaty of Versailles.

Signing the Treaties

The treaty was given to the German delegation to sign at Versailles (a town near Paris) on May 7, 1919. The German delegates strongly objected to its severe terms. They said the terms were not consistent with President Wilson’s Fourteen Points. The Allies made only small concessions. Finally, on June 28, 1919, the German delegates signed.

A treaty with Austria was signed on September 10, 1919, at St-Germain. Treaties were signed with Bulgaria at Neuilly on November 27, 1919, and with the Ottoman Empire at Sèvres on August 10, 1920.

The United States Rejects the League

The United States was not at first included among those nations making peace with Germany. The United States Senate rejected the act ratifying the Versailles Treaty on November 19, 1919, and again on March 19, 1920. Conservative Republican senators strongly objected to the United States entering the League of Nations, arguing that it would compromise national sovereignty. The lack of support from the United States seriously weakened the League.

The League was an issue in the United States presidential campaign of 1920. Republican candidate Warren G. Harding , who as a senator had opposed the League, was elected president with an overwhelming Republican majority in Congress.

A resolution was passed by Congress and signed by the president on July 2, 1921, ending the state of war between the United States and Germany and Austria. The United States then made treaties with Austria and Germany. These were signed on August 24 at Vienna and August 25 at Berlin.

Wars Continue

The Allied nations’ dreams of peace did not last long after the end of World War I. Most of the new disputes were over the control of certain European territories. These disputes and the efforts to settle them are discussed in the article on Europe .

One of the most serious tests of Allied peace plans occurred in the Ottoman Empire. The Treaty of Sèvres had greatly reduced the size of the Ottoman state, with Greece one of the major beneficiaries. Mustafa Kemal, a former Ottoman general, opposed the treaty and led a Turkish force that drove Greek troops from Asia Minor. The Allies then agreed to replace the Treaty of Sèvres with the Treaty of Lausanne. Signed on July 24, 1923, the new treaty set the boundaries of the modern state of Turkey .

Meanwhile, Syrians were rebelling against the French, who had taken control of Syria after the war. In October 1925 the French bombarded Damascus.

War Between “Whites” and “Reds” in Russia

The hardest and longest fighting was centered in Russia. In 1917 the Allies had stationed some 15,000 British and Americans in the city of Archangel. There were also some 8,000 Americans in Siberia. These forces remained in Russia at the close of the war.

From 1918 to 1920 fierce fighting took place in Russia between the Communist Bolsheviks (Reds) and their anti-Communist opponents (Whites). The Reds won this civil war. Allied troops were then removed, and the Allies gave up their policy of intervention in Russia. ( See also Russian Revolution .)

Russia was also at war with Poland during the early postwar period. On March 18, 1921, Russia and Poland signed a peace treaty that gave Poland a large slice of Russian territory. Russia also had to pay Poland a massive indemnity.

The Reparations Issue

A major postwar problem concerned the amount of money Germany should pay for its share in starting the war. On April 27, 1921, this sum was fixed by the Reparation Commission at 132 billion gold marks, or about 31.5 billion dollars. Part of this debt could be paid in goods.

In 1922 Germany fell behind in its reparations deliveries of coal. To enforce payment, in January 1923 France and Belgium occupied the Ruhr coal and iron district on the right bank of the Rhine. Germany responded by immediately stopping all reparations payments. In the economic panic that followed, German money became worthless and many Germans were financially ruined.

In 1923 two committees were formed by the Reparation Commission to solve these problems. The first and principal committee was headed by an American, Gen. Charles G. Dawes . The report that Dawes wrote came to be known as the Dawes Plan. It called for more reasonable reparations payments by Germany and also established a new German currency and a new Reichsbank.

At first the German debts were paid promptly under the Dawes Plan. By 1928, however, Germany again fell behind in its payments. A committee headed by Owen D. Young worked out a second agreement. The Young Plan went into effect on September 1, 1929.

Despite the Young Plan, by 1931 Germany was no longer able to make reparations payments. President Herbert Hoover suggested that Germany’s creditors grant Germany a delay of one year on all payments due them. This was called a moratorium. To make this possible he offered a moratorium on all debts due the United States by these same nations.

After Germany stopped making reparations payments in 1932, most of the other European nations stopped paying their war debts to the United States. One exception was Finland, which paid regularly.

Locarno and Kellogg-Briand Pacts

For a few years diplomatic relations among the nations of Europe seemed to run more smoothly. There were some territorial disputes during this period, but peace and friendship seemed to prevail between 1925 and 1930.

The major powers of Europe signed a nonaggression pact at Locarno, Switzerland, in October 1925. The Kellogg-Briand Pact, sponsored by U.S. Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg and French Foreign Minister Aristide Briand , was a further effort to ensure peace. It was signed in Paris by all the major nations of the world on August 27, 1928.

Period of Totalitarian Aggression

The territorial problems of Europe, however, had never really been settled. In 1929 a worldwide economic depression set in. As it spread more and more of the treaty agreements broke down.

Adolf Hitler became head of the German government in 1933. He soon announced that he intended to reject all the military limitations of the Versailles Treaty. The Allied nations protested and tried to meet the German challenge by increasing their own armaments.

It soon became clear that another war was in the making. Italy under Benito Mussolini allied itself with Germany. It seized Ethiopia and Albania. Further, the peace settlements at the end of World War I had forbidden the union of Austria with Germany. In 1934, however, Hitler’s Nazis assassinated Austria’s Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss. A few years later Germany occupied Austria. Next it moved into Czechoslovakia. Meanwhile, in the Far East, Japan invaded Manchuria and then China.

    Direct cost of the two World Wars

The major Allied nations offered no military resistance to these acts of totalitarian aggression. However, when Hitler’s troops invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, France and Great Britain declared war on Germany. (For a detailed account of the next world war, see World War II .)

Lawrence D. Steefel

George Frederick Zook

Additional Reading

Coffman, Edward M. The War to End All Wars: The American Military Experience in World War I (Univ. Press of Kentucky, 1998; orig. pub. 1968). Gleichen, Edward. Chronology of the Great War, 1914–1918 (Greenhill, 2000; orig. pub. 1920). Hoover, Herbert. The Ordeal of Woodrow Wilson (Johns Hopkins, 1992; orig. pub. 1958). Murphy, Donald J., ed. World War I (Greenhaven, 2002). Preston, Diana. Remember the Lusitania (Walker, 2003). Tuchman, Barbara W. The Guns of August (Ballantine, 1994; orig. pub. 1962).

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First World War primary resource

Explore events from the first world war at home and abroad.

This primary resource explores the events of the First World War , both at home and abroad. Discover how the war started and how long it lasted. What made this war different from the conflicts that came before it? What is a trench? When did the war end?

Pupils will learn about the role of women during the war, and what life was like in Britain while soldiers were abroad in our National Geographic Kids’ History primary resource sheet.

The teaching resource can be used in study group tasks for an overview of World War I. It can be used as a printed handout for each pupil to read themselves, or for display on the interactive whiteboard, as part of a whole class reading exercise.

Activity: Ask the children to write a poem from a soldier’s point of view, or about life on the frontline. They could research and discuss existing poems (e.g. In Flanders Fields) to help them with their work. Extend more able pupils by asking them to imagine they are a war reporter from the time of the First World War. Where / how might reporters have found their stories? How would their stories have been shared? Write a short news story from Britain at the time, choosing one of the topics from the resource sheet. Pupils could use our  First World War comic  and War Horses: WWI primary resource  to help them.

N.B.  The following information for mapping the resource documents to the school curriculum is specifically tailored to the  English National Curriculum  and  Scottish Curriculum for Excellence . We are currently working to bring specifically tailored curriculum resource links for our other territories; including  South Africa ,  Australia  and  New Zealand . If you have any queries about our upcoming curriculum resource links, please email:  [email protected]

This History primary resource assists with teaching the following History objectives from the National Curriculum :

• Know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative  
• Gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales.

National Curriculum Key Stage 1 History objective:

• Pupils should be taught: significant historical events, people and places in their own locality

National Curriculum Key Stage 2 History objective:

• Pupils should be taught a study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066

  This History primary resource assists with teaching the following Social Studies First level objective from the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence :

• I can compare aspects of people’s daily lives in the past with my own by using historical evidence or the experience of recreating an historical setting.

Scottish Curriculum for Excellence Third level Social Studies objective :

• I can describe the factors contributing to a major social, political or economic change in the past and can assess the impact on people’s lives.

Scottish Curriculum for Excellence Fourth level Social Studies objective :

• I can describe the main features of conflicting world belief systems in the past and can present informed views on the consequences of such conflict for societies then and since.

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Home » World War 1

World War 1

World War 1 facts for kids learning KS2 at Primary School. Homework help about history of the Great War, how it ended and Remembrance Day.

World War 1 was also known as The Great War. It had more countries involved in the war than any other war. More than 65 million men fought in the war. Over 9 million soldiers were killed and 21 million men wounded.

So how did the war start? There was always problems with Britain, France and Russia on one side and Germany and Austria-Hungary on the other. But on 28the June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand (heir to the Austrian throne) was shot by a Serbian student.

Obviously the Austrians were not happy and with Germanys help they attacked Serbia. Russia then stepped in to help Serbia and the two sides were at war.

By this time many countries were involved. With Germany and Austria-Hungary were Turkey and Bulgaria. And with Britain, France and Russia were Italy, Greece and Portugal. The war also extended with fighting in Africa and the Middle East.

German submarines sank any ship going to a British port. Some of the ships were American. This caused the Americans to join the war in 1917. This was now The Greatest War of all time.

Frightful First World War

The war ended when the Russians were exhausted by the war and make peace with Germany. Germany continued to attack on the Western Front but they were forced back and Germany surrendered on 11 th November 1918. The war finally ended.

Remembrance Day

Every year on 11 th November we wear poppies and remember the millions of people that fought in this war and all the others since. This is called Remembrance Day but also called Armistice Day. It is on the same day as World War One ended. Not only do we remember and say thank you to the brave men and women who fought in the war, but we remember all the armed forces over the years and even the ones that protect us today.

Why do we wear poppies?

Poppies were the flowers that grew on the battlefields after World War I, and people wear them as a symbol of remembrance to honour those who fought and died in wars. We also have a minute of silence at the 11th hour (11 am). We all stop and think quietly about the war heroes that are no longer with us.

What is Remembrance Sunday?

Remembrance Sunday is always on the second Sunday of November. The Royal Family lay wreaths of poppies at the Cenotaph (war memorial) in London and will have a minute of silence at 11 am along with the rest of the country. Ceremonies take place at war memorials and churches all over the country.

Also on Super Brainy Beans

WW1 (The Great War) History Lessons, Worksheets & Resources

Browse our online library of ww1 (the great war) history lessons and resources. aimed at students 11-14 years old (ks3) & 14-16 year old (gcse). great for home study or to use within the classroom environment., featured resources.

Looking to save time and find the most popular and useful resources on School History? Take a look at the featured resources below.

KS3, GCSE & A-Level Resources

Are you teaching students aged 11 to 16? If so, you can save a lot of time with our specific World War I modules below.

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World War 1

World War 1 was meant to be “the war to end all wars” only it just started another one (see World War 2 for more info.) But, how did World War 1 start?

The causes of World War 1

World War 1 was caused by the assassination of the ruler of the Austrian-Hungarian empire.

The Battle of the Somme

Here is a video explaining what happened in the Battle of the Somme:

Christmas Truce

On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 1914, soldiers from both the British and German sides stopped firing shells and guns. German soldiers climbed out of their trenches, unarmed, yelling “Merry Christmas” in English. At first, some feared it was a trick, but the soldiers were clearly unarmed, so the British soldiers climbed up into No Man’s Land.

There they exchanged presents – chocolates, cigarettes and plum puddings, sang Christmas carols and played a game of football. (The Germans won 3-2, in case you’re interested!) Some used the opportunity to retrieve bodies of their fellow soldiers.

But, sadly, by the day after New Year’s Day, generals ordered everyone to continue fighting. In the years that followed, there were attempts for a ceasefire like this to be repeated, but with no success.

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• The Best World War I Teaching Resources

WW1 KS2 resources – Best lessons and project ideas

Teach some great lessons about the importance of WW1 with these free resources, activities and lesson plans…

KS2 history lesson plan

This WW1 KS2 history lesson plan by Rachel Bruce and Bev Forrest will help pupils to gain a better understanding of the World Wars. They will think about the impact on their own area and focus on the lives of individuals or groups affected by the wars.

Women at work lesson plan

The Great War changed the lives of women in this country – by examining local stories, your pupils can begin to understand the bigger picture, in this WWI and social change lesson plan for KS2 history.

Fallen Fields KS2 project

Fallen Fields from Cornerstones is a special, free cross-curricular history project that teaches children key knowledge about the First World War. Download time-saving resources appropriate for children in Years 5 and 6.

Make WWI relevant to children

Remembering those who died in WWI a hundred years ago involves exploring difficult themes such as service, conflict and, ultimately, death.

With primary-age children, this can feel like dark stuff. However, don’t be put off. Commemoration has a place in primary schools and the challenge is to make it accessible.

Here, Vicky Hatchett has some ideas on how you can do just that.

The Great War lesson plan

If you are looking for a new approach to teaching KS2 pupils about the First World War why not try this lesson plan using an article from Science+Nature and one from The Week Junior as a starting point?

Launch an in-depth historical enquiry and explore the events of the Great War, discover how it started, and investigate the amazing inventions and discoveries that happened because of it.

The Amazing Tale of Ali Pasha book topic

A tortoise waking up might not sound the most thrilling topic starter, but the slumbering reptile in The Amazing Tale of Ali Pasha has an account of WWI that begs to be told, and retold.

Set up a news room, write letters home from the trenches and look at maps of the war to give children a global perspective with this excellent book topic from Clare Pearson.

The war at home and abroad

This primary resource from National Geographic Kids explores the events of the First World War, both at home and abroad. Discover how the war started and how long it lasted. What made this war different from the conflicts that came before it? What is a trench? When did the war end?

Pupils will learn about the role of women during the war, and what life was like in Britain while soldiers were abroad.

The resource can be used in study group tasks for an overview of World War I. It can be used as a printed handout for each pupil to read themselves, or for display on the interactive whiteboard, as part of a whole-class reading exercise.

Plus, it includes great things like a First World War comic and resources on war horses .

War Horse on stage

Talking of war horses, the National Theatre stage production website is packed full of resources for KS2 .

There are singing and music lessons; memory box activities; poetry-, diary- and letter-writing exercises; drama tasks and loads more.

Women at work – Florence Cordell

Florence Cordell was one of the first women to work as a bus conductor during WW1 as women filled the roles of men on the home front.

Use this five-lesson ‘Women at Work’ series from the Royal British Legion to support KS2 children to write a thank you letter to Florence as a personal act of Remembrance.

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World War 1 (6 week scheme of work)

Subject: History

Age range: 7-11

Resource type: Unit of work

Last updated

4 February 2023

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**A fully planned and resourced 6 week unit on World War 1. Suitable for upper KS2 but easily adaptable for lower KS2. **

The unit follows a historical enquiry cycle, with key questions throughout.

Teaching strategies focus on visual tools and active learning, so that children have a constant frame of reference for these events that are almost out of living memory.

Each lesson can be kept ‘short and sweet’ or you have the option to ‘explore deeper’ with discussion about all the key concepts.

Covers the National Curriculum objective: ’ A study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066’.

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Fallen Fields – a fully resourced, free project

Teaching children about the First World War

Before getting started

My first step, even before starting the project, would be to send the knowledge organiser home with the children and encourage them to read it thoroughly. Doing this will give everybody a shared starting point, and provide a stimulus for discussions around what else they would like to find out. I’d also use the display materials provided to create a focal point for the new topic and ask children to add artefacts, books and photographs during the project that they may be able to collect from friends and family.

Memorable Experience

The Memorable Experience in this project does not require you to make any special arrangements and is easy to set up in your classroom. An audio recording gives the children a first-hand account of a young man’s thoughts as he gets ready to leave home for the Western Front and leads into a thoughtful literacy lesson that contrasts his perspective of war with his mother’s. Children study the mother’s diary entry and listen to an audio recording of the text to make their comparisons.

When using the audio resources, keep distractions to a minimum by drawing the blinds and allowing children to close their eyes, drinking in the atmospheric quality of the resources.

Engage stage

The Engage stage introduces children to essential background knowledge about the war. They discover the complexity and causes of conflict and find out about the significant people, alliances and events that shaped the war. With all the resources provided, the Engage stage makes this challenging topic accessible to all children and saves you time in finding the right information. A good idea is to give the children a ‘diary’ to record their daily reflections and learning about the topic. Encouraging children to keep a diary will also link well to the diary extract studied at the start of the project.

Develop stage

As we go into the second week of the project, children explore aspects of war more deeply. Depending on how you tailor your planning, children can learn about war poetry, significant battles, weaponry, wartime art and music and take an in-depth look at notable events such as the unofficial Christmas truce of 1914 and the use of wartime propaganda. Cross-project themes such as hope, bravery, loss, remembrance, respect, and love are important to highlight throughout the project. There are also some brilliant texts to read alongside the delivery of this project, either for whole-class reading or individual reading for pleasure. My favourites include Tom Palmer’s Armistice Runner and Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse.

Innovate stage

At the Innovate stage, children are asked to explore the importance of the Armistice and remembrance. If you feel it’s appropriate, you can add a fundraising dimension to the challenge, but the inclusion of a blank Innovate board in the resource pack means you can tailor the activity to your class.

Express stage

The Express stage requires children to reflect on the consequences of war. Activities explore the legacy of those who made great sacrifices, including John Bert Morris, a 19-year-old soldier. The resource showing his death notification is particularly poignant, especially as this resource is about a relation of the team at Cornerstones. The audio recording of For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon is a brilliant resource for a final assembly.

To conclude the project, I would use the quiz provided as an engaging way to find out about children’s retained knowledge. Study of the First World War is not a statutory part of the national curriculum but can fit within the requirement to study significant events in Britain beyond 1066. However, even without this link to the national curriculum, there’s so much value in children learning about this war and how it shaped our nation. My advice would be to take a look. It’s more than worth the curriculum time.

Catherine Scutt, 4 th October 2018

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World War I and Remembrance Day

What are World War I and Remembrance Day?

World War I lasted from 1914-1918 .

Since World War I ended, every year on 11 November we remember the people in the armed forces who died in battle. This is called Remembrance Day . It also marks the day that World War I ended in 1918.

World War I involved two main sides: the Allied Powers, which included Great Britain and France, and the Central Powers, which included Germany and Austria-Hungary. Many people were killed or wounded in World War I.

Top 10 facts

• World War I began on 28 July 1914 and ended on 11 November 1918.
• World War I was called ‘ The Great War ’ until World War II began in 1939, which also involved countries from all around the world.
• An Armistice was signed that ended World War I at 11:00am on 11 November, 1918. This meant that the countries that were fighting against each other agreed to stop.
• The peace treaty that ended World War I is the Treaty of Versailles – this was signed in 1919.
• Remembrance Day is 11 November every year, the same day that World War I ended. It is also known as Armistice Day.
• Poppies became a symbol of World War I because they have grown around some of the places where battles were fought. A soldier named John McCrae wrote a famous poem, ‘In Flanders Fields’, which was inspired by seeing these poppies.
• Many people wear a red poppy pinned to their coat in honour of Remembrance Day.
• Every year, paper poppies are sold by the Royal British Legion to raise money to help people in the armed forces today.
• The Sunday before Remembrance Day is called Remembrance Sunday . There are special ceremonies around the country on this day.
• On Remembrance Sunday, wreaths of poppies are laid on the Cenotaph , which is a war memorial in London.

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Did you know?

• To remember when World War I ended, think of the number 11. It ended on 11 November 1918 (the 11th day of the 11th month), at 11:00am.
• Remembrance Day is always 11 November, and the second Sunday in November is called Remembrance Sunday .
• On Christmas Day in 1914 , soldiers stopped fighting. They sang carols together, and even gave each other presents.
• Before World War II began, World War I was known as The Great War .
• World War I was the first war in which tanks were used.

Browse through the gallery and see if you can spot the following:

• World War I soldiers in the trenches
• World War I British Army uniform
• Map of Allied (Entente) and Central Powers in Europe
• WWI graves in Belgium
• WWI remembrance
• Rescue dogs in WWI
• A WWI replica plane
• A replica trench
• Trench warfare

World War I didn’t just start overnight. Countries in Europe had been pretty angry at each other for a while, but what most people think was the last straw in this long argument happened in 1914. Franz Ferdinand, who was next in line to the throne of Austria-Hungary, was shot and killed in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Someone from Serbia did this, and Serbia was one of Austria-Hungary’s main enemies. Austria-Hungary eventually declared war on Serbia, but since Germany was allied with Austria-Hungary, they also declared war on Serbia. Russia was allied with Serbia, so the war had two countries on each side.

Great Britain got involved in the war because they had promised a while ago to protect Belgium, and Germany had declared war on Belgium.

Great Britain was on the side of the Allied Powers , which were also called the Entente Powers. Some of the other countries in this group were:

• The United States

On the other side were the Central Powers , which included:

• Austria-Hungary
• Ottoman Empire

World War I ended on 11 November 1918, when the Allies and Germany signed an Armistice that meant they each agreed to stop fighting. This went into effect at 11:00am. 

During the months after this, Germany and the Allies agreed to terms of peace. These were laid out in the Treaty of Versailles , which was signed on 28 June 1919.

Over 16 million people died during World War I. One of the largest battles of World War I was the Battle of the Somme in France. It lasted from 1 July to 18 November 1916. Around 1 million people were killed or wounded during that time.

Remembrance Day , also called Armistice Day, is on 11 November every year since King George V declared it in 1919. It is a time to think about those in the armed forces who have died in battle, not just in World War I. At 11am on Remembrance Sunday (the Sunday before Remembrance Day), there is a two-minute silence. There are also special ceremonies on Remembrance Sunday all over the country, including one in London at the Cenotaph war memorial.

Poppies are a symbol of Remembrance Day because they grew all over the battlefields in Northern France and Flanders. Red poppies grow naturally in places in Western Europe where the soil has been turned over and mixed up. This happened in France because of all the fighting that had taken place there. A soldier named John McCrae was inspired by seeing all the poppies and wrote a poem about it called ‘In Flanders Fields’.

Names to know

David Lloyd George (1863-1945) – Prime Minister from 1916-1922, during the end of World War I Field Marshal Douglas Hague (1861-1928) – a famous commanding officer during World War I Franz Ferdinand (1863-1914) – Archduke of Austria, whose assassination led to Austria-Hungry declaring war on Serbia at the beginning of World War I Herbert Henry Asquith (1852-1928) – Prime Minister from 1908 to 1916, during the beginning of World War I John McCrae (1872-1918) – a soldier in World War I who wrote the famous poem ‘In Flanders Fields’, inspired by the red poppies he saw growing there Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941) – Leader of Germany during World War I King George V (1865-1936) – King during World War I, who declared the first Remembrance Day in 1918 Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) – President of the United States during World War I, who helped to draw up the Treaty of Versailles

Related Videos

Just for fun...

• Watch some Horrible Histories WWI videos:  World War One - Cousins Song ,  World War One - Wee Wee ,  World War One - Football Match on The Battlefield
• Take a World War I quiz
• Complete a trench mission in an interactive game
• Go over the top in an online game
• Bake a trench cake, plant poppies and 8 other ways to remember the Great War
• Listen to an abridgement of Michael Morpurgo's Private Peaceful  or Michael Morpurgo's War Horse for free on the BBC Schools Radio site
• WWI stories, colouring in and top-secret missions to complete: it's all on the Home Front Legacy Guide site
• Would you have enlisted to fight during the First World War? Answer questions in an interactive video to explore your choices

Children's books about WWI

Find out more

• A children's introduction to WWI from DKfindout!
• Find out about life in a WWI trench in a BBC Bitesize guide, then read more about how people communicated during WWI and the weapons used in WWI
• 5 important facts to know about the Great War
• Watch a WWI A to Z of videos produced by the BBC  using a mixture of children's research, artefacts and archive materials
• Read some kids' historical fiction set in WWI
• see lots of clips and animations about the First World War
• See photos of life in the trenches
• Find out why we wear poppies to remember World War I and read about  The Poppy Appeal
• Experience WWI through the eyes of four very different people : a general, a nurse, a soldier and an objector
• Watch animated videos on the Fun Kids website, The Great War - Life through a Child's Eye
• Kids' information about the Battle of the Somme in 1916
• Explore WWI family stories and artefacts from Scotland
• ‘In Flanders Fields’ poem
• Find out about the Home Front in the BBC's free ‘World War One at Home’ interactive ebook
• On 11 November 2018 a national tribute to the soldiers of WWI took place on British beaches. As part of Pages of the Sea , images of WWI soldiers, representing the millions who gave their lives, were drawn into the sand and washed away as the tide came in
• See a dogfight over the trenches in this reconstruction
• Watch videos of soldiers' stories and accounts of the 1914 Christmas Truce
• With adult permission, look through a comic book / graphic novels resource about WWI for students aged 11-14
• Children's recounts about life during Zeppelin air raids
• Experience the events of Gallipoli and the Battles of Third Ypres with interactive apps designed for tablets
• Grandpa's Memory Box is a children's podcast about Remembrance Day produced with support from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
• Uncover the story behind the Grave of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey with a short film (you can also download the transcript and the teachers' notes)

See for yourself

• The Cenotaph memorial in London is the central focus for the First World War remembrance and commemoration events in Britain
• Find a war memorial near where you live
• The Imperial War Museums  in London, Manchester and Duxford examine the effect of war on people's lives
• ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’  was the ceramic art installation created by Paul Cummins and 'planted' by volunteers at the Tower of London. It was made up of 888,246 ceramic poppies, one for each British and Colonial fatality during the war

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