World War I Reading Comprehension Lesson

Reading Passage

World War I

World War I (1914–1918), also called the Great War, was one of the deadliest conflicts in human history. It began in Europe and eventually drew in nations from around the world, leaving more than 17 million people dead. The war was triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary on June 28, 1914, in Sarajevo, Bosnia. The killing set off a chain reaction through Europe’s network of alliances. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia; Russia mobilized to support Serbia; Germany declared war on Russia and France; and Britain entered the war when Germany invaded neutral Belgium. Within weeks, much of Europe was at war.

The war was fought between two main alliances. The Allied Powers included Britain, France, Russia, Italy (which joined in 1915), and eventually the United States. The Central Powers consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria. The Western Front — the main battleground in France and Belgium — quickly became a deadly stalemate. Both sides dug hundreds of miles of trenches, and soldiers lived in miserable conditions: mud, rats, disease, and constant artillery bombardment. Advances were measured in yards and came at horrific cost. The Battle of the Somme in 1916 alone resulted in more than one million casualties.

New technologies made World War I extraordinarily deadly. Machine guns, artillery, poison gas, tanks, airplanes, and submarines all played major roles. Poison gas — introduced by Germany in 1915 — caused terrible suffering and became a feared weapon on both sides. Tanks were first used by the British in 1916 in an attempt to break the trench deadlock. Submarines, called U-boats, were used by Germany to blockade Britain by sinking merchant ships — including neutral American vessels. The sinking of the Lusitania in 1915, killing 1,198 people including 128 Americans, outraged the United States.

The United States entered the war in April 1917, after Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare and the interception of the Zimmermann Telegram — a secret German message urging Mexico to attack the United States — became public. American troops, called ‘doughboys,’ poured into France under General John Pershing. Fresh American forces helped tip the balance in favor of the Allies. Germany’s military strength had been exhausted by years of fighting, and internal unrest was growing. By autumn 1918, the Central Powers were collapsing. Germany signed an armistice — a ceasefire — on November 11, 1918, at 11 a.m., ending the fighting.

The peace settlement, shaped mainly by the Treaty of Versailles (1919), imposed harsh terms on Germany. Germany was forced to accept sole blame for the war, pay enormous reparations, surrender territory, and drastically reduce its military. President Woodrow Wilson’s vision for a fair peace based on his ‘Fourteen Points’ — including a League of Nations to prevent future wars — was largely rejected by European leaders seeking to punish Germany. The harsh treaty created bitter resentment in Germany, contributing to the economic and political instability that would eventually help Adolf Hitler rise to power, setting the stage for World War II.

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