ABSTRACT
World War I, referred to as the Great War, was the first truly global conflict in history. Domestic and diplomatic policies were tightly woven into military strategy. When the war did not end quickly, both sets of belligerents began to mobilize their countries' economies and societies. The turmoil of nationalities in Austria–Hungary and the Balkans was decisive in the tensions that erupted into war in 1914. Inside Austria–Hungary were several ethnic groups with nationalist aspirations that threatened the well-being of the empire. When war came, there was general excitement and jubilation in the European countries that found themselves engaged in the enterprise. Elated crowds poured onto the streets in St. Petersburg and Berlin. Joyous Frenchmen went to the Paris train stations to cheer for mobilized soldiers as they boarded trains. Many European armies developed and standardized the procedures for using indirect artillery fire, which involved targeting a remote site and massing one's artillery fire on it.