The First World War
The 20th century1901 to 1945
Britain went to war in 1914, days after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria set off a chain of alliances across Europe. What followed was fighting on an industrial scale, unlike anything seen before, and the losses mounted with no quick victory in sight.
One of the worst of these clashes came at the Somme in 1916, an assault on entrenched German lines that cost the British army enormous casualties on its opening day alone, a toll that has come to stand for the whole war's brutality. The fighting dragged on, grinding down both sides, before an armistice finally brought it to a close. The war ended in 1918, the guns falling silent at last after years of loss that reshaped Europe and left countless families mourning the men who did not come home.
What to remember
| The Battle of the Somme | 1916 60,000 British casualties on the first day. |
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| The end of the First World War | 1918 The fighting stopped at 11 o'clock on 11 November. |
| The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria | 1914 The killing that started the First World War. |
| The Central Powers in the First World War | Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and, later, Bulgaria The side the Allies fought against. |
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| Examples of the social measures introduced in Britain before the First World War | financial help for the unemployed, old-age pensions and free school meals Part of what the handbook calls a period of optimism before the war. |
| The Battle of the Somme | about 60,000 British casualties on the first day alone The British attack began in July 1916. |
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Everything in The 20th centuryor the whole course, from the beginning