World War I and empire

Abstract

Abstract World War I, while mainly fought in Europe, was also a global war with military action in Asia, the Pacific, and Africa. It involved the three largest colonial empires of the time. Germany's colonial empire was dismembered, while Berlin attempted to disrupt the British Empire. France recruited significant numbers of colonial troops to serve on the Western Front, while Britain not only used Canadian, Australian, Indian, New Zealander, and South African troops in Europe, but also conquered Iraq and Palestine with a mostly Indian army. As well as men, the colonial empires of Britain and France also contributed money and material to the war effort. The French and British empires grew in size as a result of the war, but were left weaker than before due to the costs of the war on the home countries and growing nationalism in the colonies.