Calm after the storm

One hundred years ago, on June 28, 1919, a peace treaty was signed to end what was then called the Great War. Today, we know it as World War I.

Just 20 years later, another conflict would break out, engulfing many more countries and causing much loss and destruction. Ironically, the Treaty of Versailles was meant to prevent such an event.

World War I was a war fought between many countries that took place between 28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918.

There are several reasons and events that led up to the war.

Alliances: Agreements were signed between countries to give each other help if it is needed. When an alliance is signed, those countries become known as Allies. This also meant that some countries had no option but to declare war if one of their allies declared war first.

Imperialism: Countries were taking over new lands or countries and makes them subject to their rule.

Tensions between Serbia and Austria-Hungary over territories was high.

The final and immediate trigger of the war was the assassination of the Austrian archduke, Franz Ferdinand, and his wife, on 28th June 1914 by Bosnian revolutionary, Gavrilo Princip.

And then the war broke out!

Here's a video breaking down the whats and whys of the Treaty of Versailles and its relevance to the war.