This compelling addition to the What Was? series covers what was supposed to be ΓÇ£the war to end all warsΓÇ¥ but tragically wasn’t. In 1914,the assassination of an Austrian archduke set off a disastrous four-year-long conflict involving dozens of countries with battles taking place in all parts of the world. World War I was the first to use planes and tanks as well as deadly gases that left soldiers blinded or ΓÇ£shell shockedΓÇ¥ (a condition now called Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome). There were battles that lasted for months with opposing troops fighting from rat-infested trenchesbattles that often ended in a hollow victory with only a small area of land retaken. The author of many successful Who HQ titles Nico Medina gives young readers a clear and compelling account of this long and tragic eventa war that left over 20 million dead and was the lead-up to World War II barely twenty years later.