One Hundred Years Since World War One

It was supposed to be the war to end all wars -- World War One.<br/> <br />2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the global conflict, which killed more than 16 million people.<br/> <br />It also changed the very nature of military conflict.<br/> <br />The Great War was sparked with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his wife, as they traveled in an open topped car.<br/> <br />An already unstable and volatile Europe descended into chaos.<br/> <br />The Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire on one side.<br/> <br />The Allied forces of Great Britain, the United States, France, Russia, Italy and Japan on the other.<br/> <br />The war, which lasted from 1914 to 1918, introduced new technologies, including submarines and mines.<br/> <br />They would drastically increase the number of casualties from previous wars.<br/> <br />In the end, the Central Powers collapsed.<br/> <br />As part of the peace agreement, Germany was allowed to remain a sovereign nation, but w