The
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
remained neutral during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, a stance that arose partly from a strict policy of
neutrality in international affairs that started in 1830, with the
secession of Belgium from the Netherlands. Dutch neutrality was not guaranteed by the major powers in Europe and was not part of the
Dutch constitution
The Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands ( nl, Grondwet voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden) is one of two fundamental documents governing the Kingdom of the Netherlands as well as the fundamental law of the European territory of the ...
. The country's neutrality was based on the belief that its strategic position between the
German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
, German-occupied Belgium, and the British guaranteed its safety.
The
Royal Netherlands Army
The Royal Netherlands Army ( nl, Koninklijke Landmacht) is the land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised – making the Dutc ...
was mobilized throughout the conflict, as belligerents regularly attempted to intimidate the Netherlands and to place demands on it. In addition to providing a credible deterrence, the army had to house refugees, guard
internment camp
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
s for captured soldiers, and prevent smuggling.
The government also restricted the free movement of people, monitored spies, and took other wartime measures.
Background
Before the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the Netherlands hosted two major international peace conferences. The first, the
First Hague Conference, was held in May 1899 on the initiative of Tsar
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...
. Representatives of 26 nations conferred on the limitation of certain types of weapons, including
poison gas
Many gases have toxic properties, which are often assessed using the LC50 (median lethal dose) measure. In the United States, many of these gases have been assigned an NFPA 704 health rating of 4 (may be fatal) or 3 (may cause serious or perman ...
, hollow point bullets and aerial bombardment from hot air balloons. The conference was a surprising success, and agreements were reached on the laws of war and on war crimes.
Politics
The Dutch monarch,
Queen Wilhelmina
Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands
The monarchy of the Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. As such, the role and position of the monarch are governed by the ...
, was known for her fierce patriotism and strong-willed nature. She leaned towards sympathy for France and Belgium but only in private and evinced a neutral stance in public. Her German husband, the prince-consort
Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (german: Heinrich Wladimir Albrecht Ernst; nl, Hendrik Vladimir Albrecht Ernst; 19 April 1876 – 3 July 1934) was Prince consort of the Netherlands from 7 February 1901 until his death in 1934 as the husband o ...
, was openly pro-German. His nephew,
Frederick Francis IV, served in the German Army.
On 29 August 1913, a centrist liberal minority cabinet was appointed under the leadership of the independent liberal Prime Minister
Pieter Cort van der Linden
Pieter Wilhelm Adrianus Cort van der Linden (14 May 1846 – 15 July 1935) was a Dutch politician who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 29 August 1913 to 9 September 1918.
Biography
He was the last prime minister to lead a libe ...
. His cabinet governed until 9 September 1918, an unusually-long period for a Dutch cabinet. During that period, the important post of Minister of Foreign Affairs was taken by
John Loudon.
Although the government as a whole was strictly neutral, each member maintained individual preferences. Some ministers were in favour of France, and Prime Minister Cort van der Linden was privately seen as German-friendly and nicknamed "Kurt Unter der Linden," after Berlin's
Unter den Linden
Unter den Linden (, "under the linden trees") is a boulevard in the central Mitte district of Berlin, the capital of Germany. Running from the City Palace to Brandenburg Gate, it is named after the linden (lime in England and Ireland, not re ...
boulevard.
During the war, the Dutch people were generally sympathetic towards the Allies. However, in Dutch Protestant or
Neo-Calvinist
Neo-Calvinism, a form of Dutch Calvinism, is a theological movement initiated by the theologian and former Dutch prime minister Abraham Kuyper. James Bratt has identified a number of different types of Dutch Calvinism: The Seceders, split into ...
circles, there was sympathy for the German cause, which was partly inspired by the memory of the
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
(1899-1902), in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
.
Food shortages
War conditions disrupted the Netherlands' food imports and caused shortages. From 3 July 1917, authorities in Amsterdam held back the potato supply until there was enough to feed the whole city. That led to a large riot and to the looting of stores and markets. Rioters broke into warehouses and took potatoes that were intended to be exported to England.
Two thousand soldiers were called in to break up the riot but were repelled by the rioters. Another clash took place in the city of
Kattenberg in which three groups of workmen, one from the
Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland
The Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland ("Netherlands Steamship Company") or SMN, also known as the Netherland Line or Nederland Line, was a Dutch shipping line that operated from 1870 until 1970, when it merged with several other companies to form ...
, protested the lack of food for manual laborers. They also demanded to receive actual food, not promissory papers.
Neutrality
In the aftermath of the
assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were assassinated on 28 June 1914 by Bosnian Serb student Gavrilo Princip. They were shot at close range whil ...
,
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
declared war on the
Kingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...
at 11 a.m. on 28 July 1914. The Dutch declared themselves neutral on 30 July. According to international law, neutrality had to be declared in each instance of a war declaration between two
sovereign nation
A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group.
A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may inc ...
s. During August, the Dutch declaration of neutrality had to be repeated regularly.
The declaration consisted of 18 articles. The most important article stated that hostilities were not allowed within the territory and the waters of the
Dutch Empire; no nation was allowed to use the territory and the waters as a base for military operations; and that foreign soldiers who, for whatever reason, crossed into Dutch territory would be interned in
prisoner-of-war camps
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
for the duration of the war.
Violations
![Monument voor 300 Scheveningse visser](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Monument_voor_300_Scheveningse_visser.JPG)
At the beginning of the war, the German Army marched near the Dutch–Belgian border in the province of
Limburg
Limburg or Limbourg may refer to:
Regions
* Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium
* Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands
* Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...
. For a stretch of between border markers 42 and 43, the road was half Belgian and half Dutch territory. Dutch border guards made clear which part of the road was Dutch territory, and as a consequence, the German Army avoided it on its westward march. However, the Dutch were falsely accused by Belgian and French newspapers at the time of supporting the German invasion of Belgium.
Dutch sailors suffered from war-related incidents and neutrality violations. Several ships were torpedoed by German
U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
s or sunk by British sea mines. The fishing town of
Scheveningen
Scheveningen is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict (''wijk'') of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is po ...
lost 300 fishermen. In total, 862 fishermen died and 175 fishing boats were sunk. Some sea mines washed ashore and killed civilians or military specialists tasked with disarming the sea mines. To protect merchant ships, the Netherlands negotiated a free channel from the coast via the
Dogger Bank
Dogger Bank (Dutch: ''Doggersbank'', German: ''Doggerbank'', Danish: ''Doggerbanke'') is a large sandbank in a shallow area of the North Sea about off the east coast of England.
During the last ice age the bank was part of a large landmass c ...
to the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
with Germany.
Both Allied and German military aircraft violated Dutch airspace. On several occasions, lost British and German pilots dropped bombs on Dutch towns. The worst incident occurred on 30 April 1917, when a lost British pilot of the
Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...
mistakenly dropped eight bombs on the town of
Zierikzee
Zierikzee () is a small city in the southwest Netherlands, 50 km southwest of Rotterdam. It is situated in the municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland, Zeeland. The city hall of Schouwen-Duiveland is located in Zierikzee, its largest city. Zierikze ...
, damaged several houses and killed a family of three. After initially denying the incident, the British government apologized and agreed to compensate the Dutch for damage and loss of life. A total of 107 airplanes and 24 seaplanes landed in the Netherlands, and 220 crewmen were taken prisoner. Of the crashed planes, 67 were repaired and added to the army's air department.
German Zeppelins on bombing raids against England frequently violated Dutch airspace because of weather conditions such as wind or fog. It is unclear whether Dutch fire was responsible for the downing of the
Zeppelin LZ 54
Zeppelin ''LZ 54'', given the military tactical designation L 19, was a Zeppelin of the Imperial German Navy. While returning from her first German bombing of Britain, 1914–1918, bombing raid on the United Kingdom in early 1916, she came down ...
, which came down in the sea and led to the
''King Stephen'' incident in which British sailors let the German crew drown.
Espionage
Its geographical significance and its international connections made the Netherlands become a hotbed of espionage. The country's neutrality allowed citizens of belligerent countries to travel freely to or from the Netherlands. Most spy agencies had operatives in the country.
MI6
The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...
had a station in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
under the command of
Richard B. Tinsley, who handled several important spy networks in Belgium, such as
''La Dame Blanche''. The networks provided the Allies with intelligence concerning German troops behind the Western Front.
The German secret services also used Rotterdam as a base for espionage in Britain. From Rotterdam, spies were sent by ferry to spy on the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
.
Dutch citizens were in demand as spies, as they could travel freely throughout Europe. Some of the spies were executed for espionage.
Haicke Janssen and
Willem Roos
Willem () is a Dutch and West FrisianRienk de Haan, ''Fryske Foarnammen'', Leeuwarden, 2002 (Friese Pers Boekerij), , p. 158. masculine given name. The name is Germanic, and can be seen as the Dutch equivalent of the name William in English, Gui ...
, two unemployed Dutch sailors, were executed in 1915. The exotic dancer and courtesan
Mata Hari
Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod (née Zelle; 7 August 187615 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari (), was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I. She was executed by ...
, convicted of spying for Germany in France, was executed in 1917. In total, seven Dutch citizens were executed by the British, French and Germans, and many more were imprisoned.
Armed forces
On 31 July 1914, the Dutch government ordered the full mobilization of its conscript armed forces of 200,000 men, including reserves and regional militias. The chief of staff, Lieutenant-General
Cornelis Snijders, was promoted to full general and commander-in-chief, a position that existed only in wartime. Snijders was the first non-aristocratic Dutch general to become commander-in-chief, which until then had been reserved for senior princes of the
House of Orange
The House of Orange-Nassau (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Huis van Oranje-Nassau'', ) is the current dynasty, reigning house of the Netherlands. A branch of the European House of Nassau, the house has played a central role in the Politics and governm ...
.
The Dutch military strategy was purely defensive and rested on three pillars. First, there was the
Dutch Water Line
The Dutch Waterline ( nl, Hollandsche Waterlinie, modern spelling: ''Hollandse Waterlinie'') was a series of water-based defences conceived by Maurice of Nassau in the early 17th century, and realised by his half brother Frederick Henry. Combine ...
, a defensive ring of rivers and lowland surrounding the core Dutch region of
Holland
Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...
that could be inundated. An older version had existed since the 16th century. The second line of defence was formed by a circle of 19th-century fortresses and further inundations around the capital of
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
. The third pillar was the ''Veldleger'', or mobile field army, which would operate outside the Waterline in the rural eastern and southern provinces. In August 1914, the field army had an operational strength of 88,770 soldiers.
During the war, militarily sensitive border areas and places considered essential to national defense were declared to be in a
state of siege
A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...
, a status immediately below a state of war. There, military authorities ruled under martial law, and non-residents could travel there only with a special permit. The prohibited border areas were expanded during the war to fight espionage and to restrict the access of suspect individuals.
The main weapons used by the Dutch army were the
Männlicher rifle and the
Schwarzlose machine gun
The Maschinengewehr (Schwarzlose) M. 7, also known as the Schwarzlose MG, is a medium machine-gun, used as a standard issue firearm in the Austro-Hungarian Army throughout World War I. It was utilized by the Dutch, Greek and Hungarian armies duri ...
, both of which were manufactured in Austria. Artillery was German and French but mostly outdated. The fortifications were also outdated.
At the start of the war, there was no air force, only a small aviation department within the army. During the war, foreign planes that crashed in Dutch territory were repaired to serve in the aviation department.
Volunteers in foreign armies
Some Dutchmen volunteered for service in the French, British, German or Austro-Hungarian Armies, but exact numbers are unknown. The German Army did not accept foreign volunteers unless they had German nationality, and they were often directed to the Austro-Hungarian, Bulgarian or Ottoman Armies. Some immigrants from the Netherlands to Canada and a few who lived in the United States served with various Canadian regiments of the
British Expeditionary Force. About 80 of those who served have been identified through the personnel records of the First World War that are held at
Library and Archives Canada
Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...
.
Refugees
After the German invasion of Belgium on 4 August 1914, one million Belgians out of a total population of six million fled their country to the Netherlands. The first wave consisted of Belgians of German descent, German-speaking East Europeans, and Jews, who fell victim to the Belgian public's outrage directly after the invasion. Many chose to leave because their businesses and homes were raided by angry mobs.
The second wave was caused by the German Army's invasion and
war crimes against civilians. Most of these refugees returned when the focus of military action became concentrated on the Western Front, but others moved on to England or France. An estimated 100,000 Belgians stayed in refugee camps during the war, the largest of the camps being in
Nunspeet
Nunspeet () is a municipality and town in the central Netherlands. It has been an agricultural site since prehistoric times. The municipality contains a number of villages, namely Hulshorst, Elspeet, and Vierhouten. Nunspeet has a vivid historica ...
.
As well as Belgian civilians, there were political refugees from Germany, such as the German-American socialist Carl Minster; Germans escaping conscription into the army; and prisoners-of-war who had escaped from German camps, mostly Russians, Ukrainians, and Poles.
Foreign soldiers
Prisoners-of-war
![Amersfoort Belgenmonument 200901](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Amersfoort_Belgenmonument_200901.jpg)
According to international law, soldiers of the warring nations who entered a neutral country were to be interned for the duration of the war. Of the soldiers who entered the Netherlands on purpose or by mistake, 33,105 were Belgians, 1,751 British, 1,461 Germans, 8 French and 4 Americans. Among the prisoners were pilots who had flown into Dutch airspace and crashed.
[Roodt, Evelyn de. ''Oorlogsgasten. Vluchtelingen en krijgsgevangenen in Nederland tijdens de Eerste Wereldoorlog''. Zaltbommel, 2000, pp. 16, 139–140, 173]
Most Belgian and British internees had fled to the Netherlands after the
fall of Antwerp
The Fall of Antwerp on 17 August 1585 took place during the Eighty Years' War, after a siege lasting over a year from July 1584 until August 1585. The city of Antwerp was the focal point of the Protestant-dominated Dutch Revolt, but was force ...
in 1914. Belgian prisoners were held captive in a camp in
Amersfoort
Amersfoort () is a city and municipality in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands, about 20 km from the city of Utrecht and 40 km south east of Amsterdam. As of 1 December 2021, the municipality had a population of 158,531, making it the second- ...
. The camp initially had a very strict regime, but after a revolt that resulted in the death of seven Belgians, the rules softened. As the prisoners would not be released until the end of the war, their wives and children often sought accommodation in the vicinity.
Most British
prisoners-of-war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...
were members of the
1st Royal Naval Brigade
The 1st Royal Naval Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Royal Navy which was formed from excess naval reserve personnel. The brigade was formed in August 1914 and assigned to the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division after that division's formation in S ...
. They were interned in
Groningen
Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...
, where they were held captive under a mild regime, which allowed for trips into the city. Some British soldiers formed a
cabaret
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...
group, named the Timbertown Follies, which toured throughout the country. The proceeds were donated to charities.
Many German soldiers entered the Netherlands by mistake, which occurred most frequently at the beginning of the war, as the border between the Netherlands and Belgium was confusing. The German prisoner-of-war camp was at
Bergen
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...
, in the province of
North Holland
North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a ...
.
Deserters were not considered foreign soldiers when they entered neutral territory if they were unarmed, removed badges from their uniforms, and proclaimed themselves deserters to the proper authorities. Numbers are unknown, but most deserters by far were German. As deserters had no right to free accommodation or food, some of them were voluntarily interned in prisoner-of-war camps.
Edith Cavell
The well-known British nurse
Edith Cavell
Edith Louisa Cavell ( ; 4 December 1865 – 12 October 1915) was a British nurse. She is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from both sides without discrimination and for helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Be ...
, who was based in German-occupied Belgium and was involved in systematically sheltering British soldiers and funnelling them from occupied Belgium to the neutral Netherlands. Wounded British and French soldiers as well as Belgian and French civilians of military age were hidden from the Germans and provided with false papers by Prince Réginald
de Croÿ at his château of
Bellignies
Bellignies () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.
Population
Heraldry
See also
*Communes of the Nord department
The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic.
The commune ...
, near Mons. From there, they were conducted by various guides to the houses of Cavell, Louis Séverin and others in Brussels, where their hosts would furnish them with money to reach the Dutch frontier and provide them with guides obtained through Philippe Baucq. With the false papers, escaped soldiers were able to evade the Dutch authorities and avoid being interned, and at least some returned to Britain and resumed their service in the war against Germany. That made Cavell liable to capital punishment under
German military law
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
, which was duly implemented by a German firing squad.
The Dutch government would have been justified in making a strong protest to the British for the soldiers' passage through Dutch territory and their avoiding the internment mandated, as by international law, but it preferred to keep a low profile on the issue.
See also
*
Netherlands in World War II
Despite Dutch neutrality, Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 as part of Fall Gelb (Case Yellow). On 15 May 1940, one day after the bombing of Rotterdam, the Dutch forces surrendered. The Dutch government and the royal family re ...
References
Citations
Works cited
*
*
* Linden, Henk van der. ''The Live Bait Squadron: three mass graves off the Dutch coast, 22 September 1914''. Soesterberg: Aspekt, 2014.
*
*
*
* Tuyll van Serooskerken, Hubert P. van. ''The Netherlands and World War I. Espionage, Diplomacy and Survival''. Leiden: Brill, 2001.
{{Portal bar, Netherlands, World War I
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
World War I by country