The Central Powers of World War I

One of the most virulent strains of influenza in history ravaged the world and decimated the populations around the world. Present during World War I, the 1918 strain of pandemic influenza found many opportunities to spread through the war. At the time, science wasn’t advanced enough to study the virus, much less find a cure; medical personnel were helpless when it came to fighting the disease, and so the flu went on to infect millions and kill at a rate 25 times higher than the standard.

World War 1 was a war that lasted from 1914 to 1918 and was a war that involved and was molded around alliances. This war in Europe would eventually turn into a global war that would involve 32 countries. United States involvement was crucial to the outcome of World War 1 and made a serious impact in our country. Both positive and negative effects were felt by Americans during and even long after the war. Mixed feelings were felt from many Americans for entering the war that would affect society.

The Great War , or as it is known now, World War One was a global conflict fought between the Allied Powers ; Great Britain, France, Russia, and the United States along will other smaller nations and the Central Powers ; Germany, Austria – Hungary, Turkey/Ottoman Empire and other small nations from 1914 to 1918. World War One began from a series of tumultuous events, that in turn affected the balance of alliances that had been made between countries at that time in the world.

World War 1 was fought between the periods of 1914 to 1919. It is also known as the Great War. WW1 began as a conflict between Serbia and Austria-Hungary. The conflict spread like wildfire, dragging almost all of the countries in Europe into WW1. Lots of reasons are given onto the cause of the war and what eventually concluded the war. My paper will discuss the different aspects of the war, especially the U.S.’s contribution and involvement to the war.

World War I began in 1914 as a result of several things including alliances and nationalism throughout the world, and imperialistic nations attempting to gain more global power. The United States tried to stay with the foreign policy known as isolationism and stay completely out of the war. However, due to Germany’s severe actions, America was forced to enter the war in 1917 on the side of the Allies. This greatly helped the Allies in accomplishing a victory. The war ended in 1919 although there were still bitter feelings between the different countries. Following World War I, United States’ government became more involved and there was rising conflict over political influence in other nations, the economy took a turn for the worst,

The First World War began in 1914, also known as World War I. A european war in which an alliance including Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, and the United states defeated the alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria. It was believed that the fighting would be over quickly but sadly the war lasted 4 years (from August 1st, 1914 to November 11th, 1918. It soon became clear that the fighting would continue for a long time and that it would result in massive casualties. Although the United States attempted to avoid involvement in the war. Finally by 1917 they joined the Allied Powers.

This influenza occurred at the latter point of “World War 1” coming at a vulnerable time for the world. Many people have already died due to the war, and many resources and money has already been consumed. So when the pandemic hit, it hit with a charge that left a great wound in the economy and health of the people not just in the U.S. but the world. People responded by taking more precautions in health and safety, and took radical response in the exterminating of animal populations.

World War I started on June 28, 1914 when Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated by a Serbian Patriot. The United States of America stayed neutral at the beginning of World War I because the US was a weak country with a weak military. Austria-Hungary was a part of the Central Powers and Serbia was a part of the Allied Powers.Some people thought that the US should not enter World War I because the US would lose more people in the war than the US would if the US stayed neutral but, others thought that the US should enter the war because the US needed to defend themselves. It was necessary for the US to enter World War I because of Unrestricted Submarine Warfare and The Zimmerman Note.

World War I pitted the Central Powers mainly Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey against the Allies mainly France, Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan, and eventually the United States in 1917. It ended with the defeat of the Central Powers and a ridiculous amount of slaughter, and destruction.

World War I, also known as The Great War, started in 1914 after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife. There were 2 sides to the war, the Allied powers and the Central Powers. The U.S. joined the war, in 1917, after Germany sunk British and French ships with U.S. passengers on it. While America was at war, blacks moved up North, started the Harlem Renaissance, and created racial pride, even though they weren’t treated well (Great).

This sort of environment was the perfect place for the Spanish influenza to begin its deadly streak. On March 11, the first cases of the Spanish flu showed up. The doctors did not worry; they believed it was just the flu. However, case after case of influenza came in, and by the week’s end, 522 people were sick. In the end, 48 soldiers died of influenza, and all their deaths were listed as pneumonia because of their frightening symptoms: labored breathing, violent coughs and nosebleeds, high fever, fluid filling the lungs, etc. However, quite suddenly, the influenza disappeared from Fort Riley (Iezzoni 23-24) and followed the path forged by the soldiers rushing to World War 1. It eventually spread around the world (Billings 2).

Medical care was as scarce as clean water. Basic medical care was rudimentary. Describing the situations as “incredibly unhygienic” would be an understatement. War fatalities were the immediate effects of the Great War and the incredible spread of a disease was a later one. As a matter of fact, more people died from the Great Influenza Pandemic than from World War One (Tauenberger1).

World War 1 started in July 28, 1914. WWI was the conflict in which a plethora of countries around Europe and America took part in. The US played a big role in the efforts to win the war even if it was near the end. Millions of both civilians and soldiers died in the war and cross fire. World War 1 was the first major conflict at a global scale.

At first the Spanish flu was considered a mild disease as there were no deaths from it however over time the virus had spread to other countries such as India and China, “suddenly 8 million people were down with the bug.” (People and Discoveries, para 1) As the seasons changed in 1918, “the epidemic lost its mildness: people started to die.” (People and Discoveries, para 1) An estimate of 57,000 American soldiers died from influenza that year and around 53,000 died in battle, showing how the epidemic has effected the population numbers more in a short amount of space than a war which went on for 4 years. However due to war and peace being given most of the attention at the time “still little is known about the origin or nature of the killer virus.” (People and Discoveries, para

The “Balance of Power” was one of the most frequently used words in the international relation; it was the one that relates itself to peace. In another word, if the power becomes unbalanced or destabilized, war will become as unavoidable. However, what exactly is the definition of “balance of power?” According to Dictionary.com, it is “a distribution and opposition of forces among nations such that no single nation is strong enough to assert its will or dominate all the others” ("The Definition of Balance of Power"). So, it can be treated as a policy, one that has a great impact on the power distribution among countries. As such, each country would take their own actions to protect itself from attacks or from being in a disadvantaged situation by maintaining the power equilibrium. To illustrate the importance of “balanced power,” one could recall one of the well-known destructive war-- the First World War, also known as the World War I, has an impartible relation with this “Balance of Power.” World War One, as we know, began in 1914 to 1918 and made its name by the serious consequences it brought. The consequences of World War One had also lead to the World War Two and the cold war. For the major powers involved in this world war, which are —Germany, Great Britain, France, Russia, and Austria-Hungary. This war started locally in Europe between two countries, but soon things got complicated, and it started to come down to a war that the whole world was involved in. From the