European theatre of World War I

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First European War
Part of World War I
Mark II with Canadian infantry at Vimy Ridge
Date 3 August 1914 – 11 November 1918 (4 years, 3 months, 1 week and 1 day) Location Europe Result Allied Powers victory End of World War I Treaty of Versailles
Belligerents
Central Powers:  German Empire  Austria-Hungary  Bulgaria  Ottoman Empire	Allied Powers: France  British Empire  United Kingdom  Canada  Australia New Zealand  India  South Africa  Newfoundland Russia (until 1917)  Italy  United States  Romania  Serbia  Montenegro Belgium  Greece Portugal  Siam Russian SFSR
Commanders and leaders
Helmuth von Moltke Erich von Falkenhayn Paul von Hindenburg Erich Ludendorff Leopold of Bavaria Archduke Friedrich Conrad von Hötzendorf A. A. von Straußenburg Nikola Zhekov Enver Pasha	Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Robert Nivelle Philippe Pétain John French Douglas Haig Grand Duke Nikolai Nicholas II Mikhail Alekseyev Aleksei Brusilov Lavr Kornilov Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz John J. Pershing Constantin Prezan Radomir Putnik Petar Bojović Janko Vukotić Albert I Panagiotis Danglis

Although considerable conflict took place outside Europe, the European theatre (also known as the First European War) was the main theatre of operations during World War I and was where the war began and ended. During the four years of conflict, battle was joined by armies of unprecedented size, which were equipped with new mechanized technologies. The conflict left tens of millions dead or wounded.

The European theatre is divided into four main theatres of operations: the Western Front, the Eastern Front, the Italian Front, and the Balkans Front. Not all of Europe was involved in the war, nor did fighting take place throughout all of the major combatants’ territory. The United Kingdom was nearly untouched by the war. Most of France was unaffected, as was most of Germany and Italy.

Some large countries in Europe remained neutral for the entire war such as Sweden and Spain – the Great War passed them by without much impact. On the other hand, some countries were conquered (Serbia, Belgium, Romania). Other countries like Russia and the Ottoman Empire saw armies marching over much of their lands, with a great deal of resulting devastation.

Although the United States did join the war, due to Great Britain's control over the Atlantic Ocean, the only fighting for the U.S. Army was in Europe on the Western Front. The American army was transported by ship across the ocean so it could fight the Germans in France.