the First World War
noun/ðə ˌfɜːst ˌwɜːld ˈwɔː(r)/
/ðə ˌfɜːrst ˌwɜːrld ˈwɔːr/
(also World War I)
[singular]- the war that was fought mainly in Europe between 1914 and 1918CultureThe war was fought between the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey) and the Allies (Britain, France, Russia, Italy and the US). Most of the fighting took place in Europe, around the borders of Eastern Germany, Poland and Russia, and in north-east France and Belgium, where millions of soldiers died in long battles between armies in trenches (= long narrow holes dug in the ground). For many people these battles represent the essential horror and waste of war. By the time the war ended in 1918, more than 10 million soldiers had died.
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the First World War