World War I World War I, also known as the Great War, was immediately caused by the assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary by a Serbian nationalist in 1914. Another prominent cause of the war was the entangling alliances between the countries of Europe. The war was thought to be the war to end all wars because it was the bloodiest war the world had seen yet. The war was supposed to end by …showed first 75 words of 281 total…

…showed last 75 words of 281 total…required to make extensive financial reparation. In addition to money, payment was made in the form of ships, trains, livestock, and valuable natural resources. After World War I, the German, Austria-Hungarian, and Russian empires ceased to exist, and the Ottoman empire soon followed them. New nations emerged, borders were radically shifted, and ethnic conflicts erupted. Victors and losers alike faced an enormous recovery challenge after four years of financial loss, economic deprivation, and material destruction.