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Until World War II began in 1939, World War I was known as the Great War or the World War. From then on it was known as World War I or the First World War.
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In World War I the Allies consisted of Russia, France, and the United Kingdom.
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The Central Alliance in World War I consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy (but Italy did not enter the war).
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As the war continued, Italy, Japan, Rumania, Serbia, Belgium, Greece, Montenegro and the United States joined the Allies. Turkey and Bulgaria joined the Central Alliance. In total there were 30 countries involved in the fighting in WWI.
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The trigger for World War I was the assassination of the Archduke of Austria, Franz Ferdinand and Sophie, his pregnant wife. The assassination took place in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the hands of a Serbian terrorist group.
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Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary.
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It is believed that the first time chemical weapons were used was in World War I. One of the chemical weapons used was mustard gas.
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The United States joined the war in 1915 when the Lusitania was sunk. They physically entered the war on April 6, 1917. 116,000 troops were killed in the 7.5 months the U.S. was in combat.
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There were at least 65 million troops in World War I. Of these 65 million troops, 8 million died and 21 million were wounded.
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11% of the population of France was either wounded or killed during the war.
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More than 200,000 men were killed in the trenches during the war. There were millions of rats, frogs and even lice in the trenches.
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The first to use flamethrowers in WWI were the Germans.
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In previous battles and wars, most deaths were due to disease, however in WWI, two-thirds died in battle. The Spanish flu claimed the other one-third.
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Russia had the largest army during the war. They lost more than three-quarters of their 12 million troops.
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The first prototype tank used in WWI was built in 1915 and could hold three soldiers. It was called Little Willie.
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Dogs were used as messengers during the war, as well as to lay down telegraph wires.
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World War I is considered to be the sixth deadliest of all conflicts in history.
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The United States spent more than 30 billion in WWI.
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World War I was fought on every ocean in the world and almost every continent, but the majority of the fighting took place in Europe.
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Native Americans were not granted citizenship until 1924 but almost 13,000 served in WWI.
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In 1914, on Christmas Eve, soldiers on both sides sung Christmas carols to each other on the Western Front.
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