CONFLICT ZONE: World War I & II

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From the trenches of Europe to the mushroom clouds over Japan, the first half of the 20th century reshaped armed warfare. So far, World War I (WWI) and World War II (WWII) remain the largest and most destructive conflicts in human history. They redefined the global balance of power and transformed military innovation worldwide. This photo feature offers a chronicle of that transformation, tracing the strategic shifts that forever changed the battlespace. When WWI (1914–1918) erupted, armies marched with cavalry traditions and 19th-century tactics. However, within four years, battlefields became testing grounds for modern technologies.

The first picture captures L-boat submarines stationed in the Azores in the North Atlantic Ocean. Operated by the United States (US) Navy, these boats were reportedly deployed between 1917 and 1918. They were among the first submarines used in naval warfare.

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Home from his cruise on July 27, William learned on July 28 how Serbia had replied to the ultimatum. At once he instructed the German Foreign Office to tell Austria-Hungary that there was no longer any justification for war and that it should content itself with a temporary occupation of Belgrade. But, meanwhile, the German Foreign Office had been giving such encouragement to Berchtold that already on July 27 he had persuaded Franz Joseph to authorize war against Serbia. War was in fact declared on July 28, and Austro-Hungarian artillery began to bombard Belgrade the next day. Russia then ordered partial mobilization against Austria-Hungary, and on July 30, when Austria-Hungary was riposting conventionally with an order of mobilization on its Russian frontier, Russia ordered general mobilization. Germany, which since July 28 had still been hoping, in disregard of earlier warning hints from Great Britain, that Austria-Hungary’s war against Serbia could be “localized” to the Balkans, was now disillusioned insofar as eastern Europe was concerned. On July 31 Germany sent a 24-hour ultimatum requiring Russia to halt its mobilization and an 18-hour ultimatum requiring France to promise neutrality in the event of war between Russia and Germany.