Printable ScholarWorld War I Map
A free printable map of Europe in 1914, the year World War I began, with every country colored by the side it fought on: the Allies, the Central Powers or neutral. It shows the Western and Eastern Fronts and five key battles, and comes in color, black and white, and blank.
Choose your version
Black and white, color or blank.
All three are free PDFs sized for US Letter paper.
Black and white
Everything named on a plain outline map with no terrain. No color ink needed.
downloadBlack and white PDF
Color
Countries colored by side, with the fronts and battles named.
downloadColor PDF
Blank
The black-and-white map with its routes and markers but no names, for labeling practice.
downloadBlank PDFEurope in World War I
World War I began in the summer of 1914. On June 28, a Bosnian Serb student shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, in Sarajevo. A month later Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, and within days the alliances between the great powers had pulled most of Europe in. On one side were the Allies: France, Britain, Russia, Serbia and Belgium, later joined by Italy, Romania, Portugal, Greece and, in 1917, the United States. On the other were the Central Powers: Germany and Austria-Hungary, joined by the Ottoman Empire in 1914 and Bulgaria in 1915. In the west, the German army marched through Belgium toward Paris. After the Battle of the Marne both sides dug trenches, and the Western Front barely moved for three years. In the east the armies moved much farther: Germany beat a Russian army at Tannenberg, and by the end of 1915 the Central Powers held all of Russian Poland. Russia left the war after its revolution in 1917, and the fighting ended with the armistice of November 11, 1918.
On the map
- Sarajevo: where Archduke Franz Ferdinand was shot, June 28, 1914
- Marne, 1914: French and British armies stopped the German advance on Paris
- Tannenberg, 1914: a German army defeated a Russian army in East Prussia
- Gallipoli, 1915: an Allied landing aimed at Constantinople, given up in January 1916
- Verdun, 1916: a ten-month battle between France and Germany
- Somme, 1916: a British and French attack in which more than a million soldiers were killed or wounded
Find it on the map
- The Western Front, from the coast of Belgium to the border of Switzerland
- Germany and Austria-Hungary in the middle, with Allies to the west and the east
- The neutral countries: Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Sweden
Each country is colored by the side it fought on, even if it joined after 1914; the year it joined is printed under its name. Colonies and protectorates take the color of the country that ruled them. Borders are as they were in 1914, adapted from the historical-basemaps dataset by A. Ourednik (GPL-3.0). The two fronts are approximate. Coastlines and rivers are shown as they are today.
Frequently asked questions
Who were the Allies and the Central Powers in World War I?
The Allies were France, Britain, Russia, Serbia and Belgium, joined later by Italy (1915), Romania and Portugal (1916), Greece and the United States (1917), and others including Japan. The Central Powers were Germany and Austria-Hungary, joined by the Ottoman Empire (1914) and Bulgaria (1915).
What started World War I?
On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was shot in Sarajevo. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia a month later, and the alliances between the great powers brought Russia, Germany, France and Britain into the war within days.
What was the Western Front?
The line of trenches that ran about 440 miles from the coast of Belgium to the Swiss border. From late 1914 to 1918 it hardly moved, even after huge battles such as Verdun and the Somme.
Which countries in Europe stayed neutral?
Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Sweden stayed out of the war. Luxembourg and Albania were neutral too but were occupied by armies during the war.