First World War: A global view
Key to empires in the First World War
This map is designed to provide an outline of countries and borders during wartime rather than a precise location of places, borders or features.
- Austria-Hungary
- Belgium
- Britain
- Denmark
- France
- Germany
- Italy
- Netherlands
- Ottoman Empire
- Portugal
- Russia
- Spain
- Japan
- Independent
Explore the global impact of the First World War through our interactive map, which highlights key events and figures in countries from Aden to Zanzibar. Drawn directly from our records at The National Archives, the map goes beyond the trenches of the Western Front and shows how the war affected different parts of the world.
The First World War: A global view is part of our First World War 100 programme. It currently focuses on the contributions of countries and territories from the British Empire and Europe in 1914. We will continue to develop the map over the next three years, to show more countries and territories across the Middle East, the Americas, Africa and Asia.
About this map
To get started, select an area on the map to find countries and territories from that region. Navigate through the menu to read about battles, life on a country’s or colony’s Home Front and much more. Each country or territory is illustrated with images, maps and other documents from our collections. Click on the references to find key documents in Discovery, our catalogue, or images in our image library.