World War I (also known as the First World War and the Great War) was a conflict that lasted from 1914 to 1918. Chemical weapons were used for the first time, the first mass bombardment of civilians from the sky was executed, and some of the century’s first genocides took place during the war. No previous conflict had mobilised so many soldiers, or involved so many in the field of battle. Never before had casualties been so high. The First World War was the first total war. World War I was also a war of change, a last blow to the old order in Europe to pave way for the new. Dynasties such as the Habsburgs, Romanovs, and Hohenzollerns, who had dominated the European political landscape and had roots of power back to the days of the Crusades, all fell after the 4 year war. Many of the events and phenomena that would dominate the world of the 20th century can trace their origins to this war--including Communism, World War II and even the Cold War.