<P> The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was one of the Allied Powers during the First World War of 1914 -- 1918 , fighting against the Central Powers ( the German Empire , the Austro - Hungarian Empire , the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Bulgaria ) . The state 's armed forces were reorganised -- the war marked the founding of the Royal Air Force , for example -- and increased in size because of the introduction , in January 1916 , of conscription for the first time in the country 's history as well as the raising of what was , at the time , the largest all - volunteer army in history , known as Kitchener 's Army , of more than 2,000,000 men . The outbreak of war has generally been regarded as a socially unifying event , although this view has been challenged by more recent scholarship . In any case , responses in Great Britain in 1914 were similar to those amongst populations across Europe . </P>
<P> The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was one of the Allied Powers during the First World War of 1914 -- 1918 , fighting against the Central Powers ( the German Empire , the Austro - Hungarian Empire , the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Bulgaria ) . The state 's armed forces were reorganised -- the war marked the founding of the Royal Air Force , for example -- and increased in size because of the introduction , in January 1916 , of conscription for the first time in the country 's history as well as the raising of what was , at the time , the largest all - volunteer army in history , known as Kitchener 's Army , of more than 2,000,000 men . The outbreak of war has generally been regarded as a socially unifying event , although this view has been challenged by more recent scholarship . In any case , responses in Great Britain in 1914 were similar to those amongst populations across Europe . </P>
who did england fight in world war 1
who did england fight in world war 1
the Central Powers ( the German Empire , the Austro - Hungarian Empire , the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Bulgaria )
the Central Powers ( the German Empire , the Austro - Hungarian Empire , the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Bulgaria )