For a truly worldwide war to erupt, many conflicts and interests are at work. That's exactly what happened in the years leading up to World War I, also called the Great War. Conflicts between empires, alliances among nations, fights over boundaries and colonies, and the 1914 assassination of the archduke Franz Ferdinand were among the myriad of causes for this widespread war. This volume, which includes remarkable photographs from the time period, gives a thorough overview of the war and its aftermath, which would pave the way for another terrible world war just two decades later.