The Countries Involved in World War I

The relevance of world in the term World War I  is often difficult to see, because books, articles, and documentaries generally concentrate on Europe and America; even the Middle East and Anzac forces (Australian and New Zealand) are often glossed over. The use of world isnt, as non-Europeans might suspect, the result of self-important bias toward the West, because a full list of the countries involved in WWI reveals a picture of global activity. Between 1914 and 1918, more than 100 countries from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australasia,  and Europe were part of the conflict. Key Takeaways: Countries Involved in World War I Although most of the battles of World War I occurred in western Europe, many other countries were involved in the events.  Some, like Canada and the U.S., declared war, sent troops, and manufactured armaments.Other countries kept prisoner of war camps or sent infrastructure workers.  Many countries in Africa and Asia were colonies of the large empires and were coerced to help with the war effort.   How Involved Were Countries? The levels of  involvement differed hugely. Some countries mobilized millions of troops and fought hard for more than four years; some were used as reservoirs of goods and manpower by their colonial rulers, while others simply declared war later on and contributed only moral support. Many were drawn in by colonial links: When Britain, France, and Germany declared war, they also committed their empires, involving most of Africa, India, and Australasia, while the 1917 entry of the U.S. prompted much of central America to follow. Consequently, the countries in the following list didnt necessarily send troops, and few saw fighting on their own soil; they either declared war or were considered involved in the conflict, such as being invaded before they could declare anything. Its important to remember, though, that the effects of WWI went beyond this global list. Even countries that remained neutral felt the economic and political effects of a conflict that shattered the established global order. Africa In 1914, 90 percent of the continent of Africa were colonies of the European powers, with only Liberia and Ethiopia retaining independence, and so much of Africas participation was enforced or conscripted. All told, about two million Africans served as soldiers or laborers, and half that total was coercively recruited as carriers or other workers, used to build transportation and other infrastructure projects or perform auxiliary services. The only regions to remain neutral in Africa were Ethiopia and the four small Spanish colonies of Rio de Oro (Spanish Sahara), Rio Muni, Ifni, and Spanish Morocco. Colonies in Africa that were involved in some manner included: AlgeriaAngolaAnglo-Egyptian SudanBasutolandBechuanalandBelgian CongoBritish East Africa (Kenya)British Gold CoastBritish SomalilandCameroonCabindaEgyptEritreaFrench Equatorial AfricaGabonMiddle CongoUbangi-SchariFrench SomalilandFrench West AfricaDahomeyGuineaIvory CoastMauretaniaSenegalUpper Senegal and NigerThe GambiaGerman East AfricaItalian SomalilandLiberiaMadagascarMoroccoPortuguese East Africa (Mozambique)NigeriaNorthern RhodesiaNyasalandSierra LeoneSouth AfricaSouth West Africa (Namibia)Southern RhodesiaTogolandTripoliTunisiaUganda and Zanzibar Americas When they finally joined the war effort in 1917, the United States sent four million men to the Allies. As a dominion of the United Kingdom, Canada sent 400,000 enlisted men, and, like the United States, manufactured armaments, aircraft, and ships. Latin American governments seesawed between neutrality and entry into the war, and Brazil was the only independent South American country to declare war in WWI; it joined the Entente countries—Great Britain, France, and Russia—against Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1917. Other South American nations severed their relations with Germany but did not declare war: Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay, all in 1917. BahamasBarbadosBrazilBritish GuianaBritish HondurasCanadaCosta RicaCubaFalkland IslandsFrench GuianaGrenadaGuatemalaHaitiHondurasGuadeloupeJamaicaLeeward IslandsNewfoundlandNicaraguaPanamaSt. LuciaSt. VincentTrinidad and TobagoU.S.AWest Indies Asia Of all the Asian countries involved in World War I in some manner, India, a colony of the British Empire at the time, sent the most: 1.3 million troops and laborers went to the imperial war effort. China was officially neutral but provided about 200,000 laborers to the Allied forces to repair tanks. Japan sent 14 destroyers and a flagship cruiser to assist British ships in the Mediterranean Sea. Tiny Siam stayed neutral until mid-1917 and then sent about 1,500 men as pilots, aircraft mechanics, automobile drivers and mechanics, and medical and support staff. Regions in Asia contributing to the war effort were: AdenArabiaBahrainEl QatarKuwaitTrucial OmanBorneoCeylonChinaIndiaJapanPersiaPhilippinesRussiaSiamSingaporeTranscaucasiaTurkey Australasia and Pacific Islands The largest contributors to the war efforts were the large Australian Imperial Force (Australia still being a colony of England at the time), 330,000 soldiers sent to aid the Allies in the Middle East and Germany. Other contributing countries included: AntipodesAucklandAustral IslandsAustraliaBismarck ArchipelagoBountyCampbellCaroline IslandsChatham IslandsChristmasCook IslandsDucieElice IslandsFanningFlintFiji IslandsGilbert IslandsKermadec IslandsMacquarieMaldenMariana IslandsMarquesas IslandsMarshal IslandsNew GuineaNew CaledoniaNew HebridesNew ZealandNorfolkPalau IslandsPalmyraPaumoto IslandsPitcairnPhilippinesPhoenix IslandsSamoa IslandsSolomon IslandsTokelau IslandsTonga Europe Map of military alliances of Europe in 1914. historicair Most of the battles of World War I took place in Europe, and willingly or not, the people of most of the countries were somehow active in the conflict. For the Allies, 5.2 million British men served in the conflict, just under half of the available pool of men aged 18-51; 7.9 million French citizens were called to serve. A total of 13 million German citizens fought in the war between 1914 and 1918.  In the occupied territories, Germany and its allies also coerced civilians into labor: citizens from Italy, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, Romania, and Russian Poland all had conscripts fighting or assisting with the Entente efforts. AlbaniaAustria-HungaryBelgiumBulgariaCzechoslovakiaEstoniaFinlandFranceGreat BritainGermanyGreeceItalyLatviaLithuaniaLuxembourgMaltaMontenegroPolandPortugalRomaniaRussiaSan MarinoSerbiaTurkey Atlantic Islands AscensionSandwich IslandsSouth GeorgiaSt. HelenaTristan da Cunha Indian Ocean Islands Andaman IslandsCocos IslandsMauritiusNicobar IslandsReunionSeychelles Sources Beauprà ©, Nicolas. France.  International Encylopedia of the First World War. Eds. Daniel, Ute, et al. Berlin: Freie Università ¤t Berlin, 2014. Web.Badsey, Stephen. Great Britain.  International Encylopedia of the First World War. Eds. Daniel, Ute, et al. Berlin: Freie Università ¤t Berlin, 2017. 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