First World War
Also called: World War I · Topic: The Making of a Global World · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 2 "Nationalism in India"; Class 10, Ch 3 "The Making of a Global World"; Class 10, Ch 4 "The Age of Industrialisation"
Meaning
The First World War was fought from 1914 to 1918. On one side were the Allies: Britain, France, Russia and, later, the USA. On the other were the Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary and Ottoman Turkey. It was the first modern industrial war, fought with machine guns, tanks, aircraft and chemical weapons. It killed 9 million people and injured 20 million. It broke the economic links between the great powers and turned the USA from a country that owed money to others into one that lent money to others.
Example
Britain borrowed heavily from the USA to fight the war. While Britain was busy fighting, industries grew in India and Japan. After the war Britain could not win back its old markets, and in 1921 one in five British workers had no job.
Don't confuse with
- Second World War (1939–45): this was fought between the Axis (Germany, Japan, Italy) and the Allies. It killed at least 60 million people, more of them civilians than soldiers.