The First World War was a cataclysm that
disrupted countless lives. As a modern, total
war, it brought men and women into active
battle zones across Europe as well as in parts of
Africa and Asia. New technology further
extended the borders of the war. Air
power made it possible to launch attacks
against civilian populations at some distance
from traditional frontlines, and U-boats sank
passenger ships, such as the Lusitania in 1915,
that were loaded with men, women, and
children crossing the Atlantic. In addition, albeit
with less novelty, invading armies ended up
occupying swathes of territory. Civilian women
and men in Belgium, the north and east of
France, Serbia, and parts of the Russian empire
among other locales came under the control of
occupying powers.
