German invasion of Belgium brings Britain into the war

Albanian leaders declared independence as Ottoman power collapsed in the Balkans. The new state’s borders were contested and imposed amid great-power bargaining, illustrating how claims of national...

Bulgaria attacked former allies over the division of Ottoman territories, triggering a second Balkan war. The settlement left grievances across the region and intensified strategic anxieties in...

Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Sophie Chotek were assassinated by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb nationalist. The killing became the trigger for a diplomatic crisis, but the wider war grew from...

Vienna delivered a severe ultimatum to Serbia, including demands that Serbian officials permit Austro-Hungarian participation in the investigation. Serbia accepted most demands but not all....

Austria-Hungary declared war after receiving Germany’s support. Mobilizations and declarations followed across Europe. The chain was not an automatic mechanical effect of alliances: political...

Fighting spread to German colonies in Togo, Cameroon, and German East Africa. African soldiers served in colonial forces, while large numbers of civilians were recruited—often forcibly—as carriers....

Union forces occupied the German port at Lüderitz as part of the campaign against German South-West Africa (today Namibia). South African participation was shaped by imperial allegiance but deeply...

Indian Army units reached France in September 1914 as Britain faced a manpower crisis. Around 1.4 million people from India served in military and support roles across the war, while India also...

Lieutenant-Colonel Manie Maritz defied the Union government’s order to participate in the invasion of German South-West Africa and aligned his force with Germany. The rebellion reflected Afrikaner...

Ottoman naval forces attacked Russian Black Sea ports, drawing the empire into the war on the side of Germany and Austria-Hungary. The conflict opened campaigns in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia, Sinai,...