Europe in 1914 quiz

What's on this map

Europe on the eve of the First World War, in July 1914. Four empires cover most of the continent. The German Empire runs from the Rhine to beyond Königsberg and still holds Alsace-Lorraine, taken from France in 1871. Austria-Hungary fills the middle of the map, from Bohemia and Galicia down to Bosnia and the Adriatic coast. The Russian Empire takes in Finland, the Baltic provinces and most of Poland. The Ottoman Empire keeps only a corner of Europe around Constantinople and Adrianople, after losing almost everything else in the Balkan Wars of 1912–13.

There is no Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia or Baltic state on this map. Poland is split between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia. Norway has been independent of Sweden since 1905, but Iceland still belongs to Denmark, and the whole of Ireland is part of the United Kingdom.

The places people miss

• Albania – only a few months old in 1914, created in 1913 with its capital at Durrës.
• Montenegro – a separate kingdom next to Serbia, with its capital at Cetinje. In 1913 it gained the western part of Kosovo around Peć.
• Serbia – much bigger than people expect, because it had just taken Kosovo and Vardar Macedonia (Skopje).
• Bulgaria – had a stretch of Aegean coast in 1914, but had lost southern Dobruja to Romania.
• Romania – did not yet include Transylvania (Austria-Hungary) or Bessarabia (Russia).
• Luxembourg and Belgium – both neutral, and both invaded by Germany in August 1914.

How to learn it

• Start with the four empires, then fill in the Balkans from north to south: Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Albania, Greece.
• Use Study mode and compare it with today's map. Most of the surprises are in the east.
• Capitals mostly match today's, but watch for Kristiania (Oslo), Saint Petersburg, Constantinople and Cetinje.
• Finish with Name them all. 26 places is short enough to get perfect.