The Eastern Front was more fluid, but neither side could gain a decisive advantage, despite a series of costly offensives. However, this failed, and by the end of 1914, the Western Front consisted of a continuous line of trenches stretching from the English Channel to Switzerland. German strategy in 1914 was to first defeat France, then attack Russia. Russia came to Serbia’s defence, and by 4 August, defensive alliances had drawn in Germany, France and Britain. Austria-Hungary held Serbia responsible, and declared war on 28 July. This reached breaking point on 28 June 1914, when a Bosnian Serb named Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. The first decade of the 20th century saw increasing diplomatic tension between the European great powers. Millions more died as a result of genocide, while the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Fighting occurred throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. It was fought between two coalitions, the Allies (primarily France, the United Kingdom, Russia, Italy, Japan and the United States) and the Central Powers (led by Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire). World War I or the First World War, (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history.
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