The First World War (Years 8–11) — History

The Western Front, trench warfare, new weapons and a truly global war, ending with the armistice of 1918.

The First World War (1914–1918) was unlike any before it. Millions of soldiers faced each other across lines of trenches, and new machines of war made it long, costly and terrible. It ended with an armistice on 11 November 1918.

Why this matters Remembering the true scale and human cost of the war helps us honour those who suffered and understand why so many longed for lasting peace afterwards.

Trench warfare on the Western Front

After the German advance was halted, both sides dug in. The Western Front became a line of trenches stretching from the North Sea to Switzerland. Between the two front lines lay no man's land. Attacks across it gained little ground, and battles such as the Somme (1916) and Verdun (1916) cost enormous numbers of lives for very small movements of the line.

A simplified cross-section of the Western Front: two heavily defended trench lines separated by no man's land, stretching from the North Sea to Switzerland.

Put these events of the First World War in order, earliest first:

War breaks out and both sides dig in on the Western Front (1914)
Poison gas is used on a large scale for the first time (1915)
The Somme and Verdun battles are fought (1916)
The United States enters the war (1917)
The armistice comes into effect (11 November 1918)

New weapons

Machine guns could fire hundreds of rounds a minute, making open attacks extremely costly.
Artillery (big guns) caused most casualties and churned the battlefields.
Poison gas, first used on a large scale in 1915, brought a new kind of horror; soldiers were issued gas masks.
Tanks and aircraft appeared for the first time, changing warfare for the future.

Exam technique: when explaining the impact of a new weapon, don't just describe it — link it directly to a consequence, e.g. "machine guns forced soldiers to dig in, which is why the front line barely moved for years." Point, then explain the effect.

A global war

Though named for a front in Europe, the war was worldwide. Soldiers came from across the British, French and other empires — from India, Africa, the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Fighting also took place in the Middle East, Africa and at sea. The war at sea and the entry of the United States in 1917 helped tip the balance.

The armistice, 1918

Exhausted and facing defeat, Germany agreed to an armistice (a ceasefire) that came into effect at 11am on 11 November 1918. Around the world, that moment is still marked each year in remembrance of the millions who died.

Common exam mistake: writing that the war "ended" when the Treaty of Versailles was signed. The armistice of 11 November 1918 stopped the fighting; the peace treaty that formally ended the war with Germany was not signed until June 1919.

The war showed that modern weapons could inflict suffering on a scale never seen before — a lesson that shaped the search for peace.