1914–1918

World War I

World War I was a military conflict, initially limited to Europe and its colonies, which then grew to become a worldwide affair with the involvement of the Japanese and the United States. Approximately 9 million people died during the war, an unprecedented number.  Europe, which had been physically and financially ruined and overwhelmed politically, lost its international supremacy; its map was redrawn with the disappearance of the German, Austro-Hungarian, Russian and Ottoman Empires. Germany, found guilty of the conflict, was condemned by the Versailles Treaty to pay for the damage.