The World Wars in Plain English

The First World War (1914–1918) began with a murder in Sarajevo and spread through alliances. The Second World War (1939–1945) was the deadliest war in history. Millions of soldiers came from India, Africa and other colonies. Ceylon was bombed in 1942, and Kandy later became an Allied headquarters. Nazi Germany and its partners murdered about six million Jewish people in the Holocaust. The wars led to the United Nations, the Cold War and the end of empires. The First World War In 1914 Europe's great powers were rich, proud and heavily armed. A single assassination pulled them into a war fought in trenches, on beaches, in deserts and at sea, which lasted more than four years. Two armed camps Before 1914, Europe was split into two groups of allies. Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy formed the Triple Alliance. Britain, France and Russia formed the Triple Entente. There was old bitterness too. Germany had beaten France in 1870–71 and taken Alsace-Lorraine, and…