World War I explained to kids

World War I was a global war that lasted from 1914 to 1918. It was the first war that involved countries from all over the world. More than 70 million people fought in the war. The war began on June 28, 1914, when a man named Gavrilo Princip shot and killed the Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, and then Russia and France joined in against Austria-Hungary. Germany entered the war on the side of Austria-Hungary, and soon Italy and the United States joined the Allies (France, Russia, and Britain). The war was fought in many places, including the Western Front (France and Belgium), the Eastern Front (Russia), Italy, the Balkans, Africa, the Middle East, and the Pacific. More than 9 million soldiers were killed, and many more were wounded. The war ended on November 11, 1918, when Germany signed an armistice (a truce). The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, officially ending the war.