World War I began on July 28, 1914, when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. This small conflict between two countries spread rapidly: soon, Germany, Russia, Great Britain, and France were drawn into the war, largely because they were involved in treaties that obligated them to defend certain other nations. The first month of combat consisted of old tactical attacks and rapid troop movements on both fronts. In the west, Germany attacked first Belgium and thenFrance. In the east,Russia attacked both Germany and Austria-Hungary. In the south, Austria-Hungary attacked Serbia. Following theBattle of the Marne (September 5–9, 1914), the Western Front became entrenched in central France and remained that way for the rest of the war. The fronts in the east also gradually locked into place. The middle part of the war, 1916 and 1917, was dominated by continued trench warfare in both the east and the west. Soldiers fought from dug-in positions, attacking at each other with machine guns, heavy artillery, and chemical weapons. Though soldiers died by the millions in brutal conditions, neither side had any huge amounts of success or gained any advantage.
The war ended in the late fall of 1918, after the member countries of the Central Powers signed armistice agreements one by one. Germany was the last, signing its armistice on November 11, 1918. As a result of these agreements, Austria-Hungary was broken up into several smaller countries. Germany, under the Treaty of Versailles, was severely punished with huge economic reparations, territorial losses, and strict limits on its rights to develop militarily. By Sam Mac Smith