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On the morning of August 4, 1914 the world was not at war. By nightfall, it was. What could possibly have happened in one day that would cause almost the entire world to send millions of their young men to be slaughtered in a war most people would end up concluding had accomplished absolutely nothing?

The truth behind how World War I started is nothing short of fascinating. There were... More

On the morning of August 4, 1914 the world was not at war. By nightfall, it was. What could possibly have happened in one day that would cause almost the entire world to send millions of their young men to be slaughtered in a war most people would end up concluding had accomplished absolutely nothing?

The truth behind how World War I started is nothing short of fascinating. There were petty causes like jealousy, greed, and insecurity. There was lying and backstabbing and name-calling and all kinds of nasty shenanigans going on between world leaders. And here we thought wars were about freedom or democracy or justice.

Silly us.

Many of the leaders involved in WWI were related: cousins, aunts, uncles. What on earth happened to convince family to turn on family with poison and machine guns and 140-ton siege cannons with barrels big enough for a man to crawl through?

The Day World War I Started takes us from dawn to midnight on August 4, 1914. During the night, two fairly unimportant countries-Serbia and Austria-Hungary-had been bickering and snarling and tossing shots back and forth. Nothing for the rest of the world to worry about. But before dawn breaks, German trains are slinking across the countryside to sneak up on Belgium. By breakfast, French troops are loading their guns. Throughout the day, stirring speeches are given, disastrous decisions are made, nasty tricks are played and bold-faced lies are told. By 11 pm on August 4, 1914, the quarreling in one corner of the world had erupted into full-blown war, yanking in nations from around the globe.

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