Knowledge Wins
To learn more about this resource, view the item in the World War I Posters in the Digital Media Repository.
Introduction
A war whose origins lay in the increasingly aggressive foreign policies pursued by Austria-Hungary, Russia and, most significantly, Germany. The assassination of the heir to the Habsburg throne, Francis Ferdinand, at Sarajevo in Bosnia (28 June 1914), triggered the war, which soon involved most European states following Austria's declaration of war on Serbia (28 July). Military campaigning centered on France, Belgium and, later, Italy in Western Europe, and on Poland, western Russia and the Balkans in Eastern Europe. In late 1917 Lenin's Bolshevik government sued for peace and in March 1918 Germany and her allies imposed the punitive Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on the USSR (annulled after Germany's defeat). Following this, in the spring of 1918, the Germans launched a major attack in the west, but after several months of success were driven back, with the USA providing an increasing number of much-needed troops. By September, the German army was in full retreat, and signified its intention to sue for peace on the basis of President Wilson's Fourteen Points. By November, when the armistice was signed, the Allies had recaptured western Belgium and nearly all French territory.
Source: Chambers Dictionary of World History. London: Chambers Harrap, 2005. s.v. "World War I."
DMR Subject Search
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DMR Collections
The Ball State University Libraries Digital Media Repository contains the collection listed below pertaining to World War I, 1914-1918. To browse all World War I materials in the DMR click here.
- Middletown Digital Oral HistoriesThe Middletown Digital Oral History digital collection consists of audio and accompanying transcriptions for oral history interviews conducted with African American, Jewish and Catholic communities of Muncie, Indiana.
- Muncie and Delaware County Historic PhotographsThe Muncie and Delaware County Historic Photographs digital collection includes images ranging from the late 19th century to the 21st century
- Other Side of Middletown PhotographsThe Other Side of Middletown Photographs digital collections illustrates the history of the life and achievements of African Americans in Muncie and Delaware County, Indiana through photographs donated by members of the community.
- Otto Sellers PhotographsThe Otto Sellers Photographs digital collection documents everyday life in Muncie, Indiana from about 1900 in to the 1920s. Taken by photographer Otto Sellers (1868- ), the 908 glass negatives depict local neighborhoods, schools, civic organizations, manufacturing plants, and people among other topics.
- Spurgeon-Greene PhotographsThe Spurgeon-Greene Photographs digital collection, created by Richard (Dick) A. Greene and donated by Wiley Spurgeon, almost 3,000 photographs that provide invaluable historical documentation of Muncie, Indiana, from the 1930s through the 1970s.
- WIPB Documentary VideosThe WIPB Documentary Videos digital collection consists of recordings produced by WIPB-TV. Included are Andy Baumgartner - 1999 National Teacher of the Year, Ed Ball's Century, and Gene Stratton Porter: Voice of the Limberlost.
- World War I Posters from the Elisabeth Ball CollectionThe World War I Posters from the Elisabeth Ball Collection is a representative sampling of more than 2,000 WWI lithographs from Italy, France, Belgium, England, Australia, Germany, the United States, and other countries.