<P> World War I ( WWI or WW1 ) , also known as the First World War , the Great War , or the War to End All Wars , was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918 . More than 70 million military personnel , including 60 million Europeans , were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history . Over nine million combatants and seven million civilians died as a result of the war ( including the victims of a number of genocides ) , a casualty rate exacerbated by the belligerents ' technological and industrial sophistication , and the tactical stalemate caused by gruelling trench warfare . It was one of the deadliest conflicts in history , and paved the way for major political changes , including revolutions in many of the nations involved . Unresolved rivalries still extant at the end of the conflict contributed to the start of the Second World War only twenty - one years later . </P>
when did world war one begin and end
lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918