On July 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were assassinated at Sarajevo, Bosnia, by a Serbian nationalist, touching off the conflict that became World War I. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia July 28, the formal beginning of the war. Austria-Hungary was joined by Germany, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria, to form the Central Powers. Russia, France, Belgium, and Great Britain entered on the side of Serbia, forming the Allied Powers. The United States remained neutral at the outbreak of World War I in 1914, though by 1917, it joined the Allies, helping to turn the tide against the Central Powers.
The Furman Libraries provide access to a unique collection of primary source materials through the database First World War. The wealth of original documents include:
- personal narratives
- diaries
- newspapers
- postcards
- photographs
- printed books
- military and government files
- ephemera
- artwork
- personal artifacts
- film
Prusco, a Belgian Police dog, leaves for the Front with the French Army. His duty will be to carry dispatches. c.August 1914
This material is complemented by a range of contextual secondary features. Use the Interactive Maps to learn about the extension of the conflict, explore significant dates and events of the Great War through the chronology and view fascinating visual images.
Portion of a letter written by J.A. Millen, a member of the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force, written to his wife in July 1918 mentioning the arrival of “Yankee troops.”
