<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> World War I (often abbreviated as WWI or WW1), also known as the First World War or the Great War, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918 . Contemporaneously described as the "war to end all wars", 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 precipitated major political change, including the Revolutions of 1917--1923 in many of the nations involved . Unresolved rivalries at the end of the conflict contributed to the start of the Second World War twenty - one years later . </P> <P> The conflict initially involved two opposing coalitions: France, Russia and Britain, in the Triple Entente, against the Dual Alliance of Germany and Austria - Hungary . These two had combined with Italy in the 1882 Triple Alliance but as it was primarily defensive in nature, Italy was able to remain neutral in 1914 . In reality, many of the terms were informal or secret and sometimes contradicted by other agreements; shortly after renewing the Triple Alliance in 1902, Italy secretly agreed with France to remain neutral if it was attacked by Germany . The coalitions expanded as the war widened: the Entente added Italy, Japan and the United States to form the Allied Powers, while the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria joined Germany and Austria as the Central Powers . </P>

What month did the first world war start