History Main / AvoidingTheGreatWar

It involves a PeriodPiece adventure story that takes place in the late 1800's or early 1900's with a plot that centers around stopping a plot that would lead into what would become World War I. The hero or heroes catch wind of the BigBad planning to start a war between the various empires of Europe (usually with a FalseFlagOperation or two) and they are the only ones who can stop them. The SteamPunk setting and political intrigue of the time provides a rich atmosphere for a globe-trotting adventure yarn as the heroes race the clock to stop the bad guys. They will almost always succeed (unless AlternateHistory is involved), but this usually makes the story HarsherInHindsight. Sure, the hero just stopped this particular villain from starting a world war, but we all know one happened anyway. Then there was a [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo second one]]. The writers may not reference this in order to avoid making the story too depressing but if they do, expect a dark form of ItWillNeverCatchOn. In more rare cases, sometimes they fail, sometimes they fail and die, and sometimes they even [[NiceJobBreakingItHero start the war in the first place.]] Can overlap with YouCantThwartStageOne and YouCantFightFate.

Compare and contrast with WorldWarThree or WorldWarWhatever, which, for obvious reasons, are set in modern day or the future. Stories about preventing UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo also exist, but they tend to be different in flavor, and usually focus more on [[HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct killing Adolf Hitler]].

Compare and contrast with WorldWarThree or WorldWarWhatever, which, for obvious reasons, are set in modern day or the future.

* In ''VideoGame/TitanicAdventureOutOfTime'', the protagonist must recover four items from the ''[[UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic Titanic]]'' before it sinks. Two of the items recovered prevent the Black Hand from getting funds, and thus World War I never happens. Of course, depending on if you recover the other two items, this will impact how well Hitler or the Soviets do twenty years later.

* In ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'', after Kenshin defeats Shishio, who has a SocialDarwinist ideology that is deliberately meant to recall that of ImperialJapan, Kenshin thinks to himself that [[DramaticIrony hopefully he's prevented such an ideology from ever again arising or leading to problems in Japan]].

* ''Film/SherlockHolmesAGameOfShadows'' has Moriarty provoking the European nations, so that he can supply weapons and bandages that will be needed for a world war. He mentions that, even if he's stopped, the world will still find a way.

[[AC: Anime & Manga]]
* In ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'', after Kenshin defeats Shishio, who has a SocialDarwinist ideology that is deliberately meant to recall that of ImperialJapan, Kenshin thinks to himself that [[DramaticIrony hopefully he's prevented such an ideology from ever again arising or leading to problems in Japan]].

[[AC: Comics Books]]

[[AC: Film]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* ''Literature/TheSevenPercentSolution''. The ultimate aim of the BigBad is to start a world war. Holmes and Watson stop him, but Holmes notes that they have only delayed the war, not prevented it entirely (and he's proven to be correct when UsefulNotes/WorldWarI occurs).
* Towards the end of ''The Black City'', Literature/ErastFandorin is hired to investigate the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand before the conflict escalates. Unfortunately, he never makes it to Austria in time.

[[AC: Video Games]]
* Played with in ''VideoGame/AmnesiaAMachineForPigs''. The titular machine was built by Mandus, and is revealed to be his attempt to stop future wars from taking place after [[spoiler:he had a prophetic vision of the horrors of the World Wars, including his children dying in the trenches. The machine ends up [[HauntedTechnology inheriting a piece of Mandus' soul]], [[AIIsACrapshoot achieving sentience]] and [[WellIntentionedExtremist carrying out horrific acts of its own in an attempt to fulfil its purpose,]] and Mandus ultimately decides to [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifice himself]] in order to sabotage it, even though it means allowing the Wars to happen in the near future.]]

* Hugh Stanton, the hero of Creator/BenElton's ''Time And Time Again'' travels back to 1914 to prevent the Great War. Initially by trying to save the life of Archduke Ferdinand and, later, by assassinating the Kaiser. He fails, but it turns out that the War wasn't the worst thing that could have happened.

* Hugh Stanton, the hero of Creator/BenElton's ''TimeAndTimeAgain'' travels back to 1914 to prevent the Great War. Initially by trying to save the life of Archduke Ferdinand and, later, by assassinating the Kaiser. He fails, but it turns out that the War wasn't the worst thing that could have happened.

* In ''Film/ThePrinceAndTheShowgirl'', an underage {{Ruritania}}n king plots with the Germans to oust the pro-Entente prince regent, an action might spark world war. Fortunately, an American showgirl is there to mend the relationship between the prince regent and his kingly son, thus putting an end to the plot.

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* In ''VideoGame/TitanicAdventureOutOfTime'', the protagonist must recover four items from the ''[[UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic Titanic]]'' before it sinks. Two of the items recovered prevent the Black Hand from getting funds, and thus World War I never happens. Of course, depending on if you recover the other items, this will impact how well Hitler or the Soviets do twenty years later.

* In ''VideoGame/TitanicAdventureOutOfTime'', the protagonist must recover four items from the ''[[UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic Titanic]]'' before it sinks. Two of the items recovered prevent the Black Hand from getting funds, and thus World War I never happens. Of course, depending on if you recover the other two items, this will impact how well Hitler or the Soviets do twenty years later.

* ''Comicbook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemenBlackDossier'' covers this. Thomas Carnacki, medium, ghost hunter and member of the fourth incarnation of the League has terrible visions of a devastating war in Europe. Intel leads the rest of the group, consisting of Mina Murray, Quatermain, AJ Raffles and Orlando, to confront their french counterparts, Les Hommes Mysterioux ([[Literature/RoburTheConqueror Captain Robur]], ArseneLupin, Monsieur Zenith, The Nyctalophe and Fantomas) in a battle at the Paris opera house in hopes of preventing the war. When the battle is over, the League withdraws, hoping that they have defused the situation. [[spoiler: Both teams were played against eachother by their German counterparts, the Twilight Heroes, a group consisting of various Mad Scientists such as Dr Rotwang and Dr Caligari. They are now free to plan the coming war with impunity.]]

** Ironically, the original three musketeers novel puts their story smack in the middle of the Thirty Years War, a World War Zero if the world ever saw one. Preventing the war itself is never an objective, just making it turn out alright for France. (And given this is the time French took over from Latin as the common language of the European high class, history suggests they succeeded.)

** Ironically, the original three musketeers novel puts their story smack in the middle of the thirty years war, a world war zero if the world ever saw one. Preventing the war itself is never an objective, just making it turn out alright for France. (And given this is the time French took over from Latin as the common language of the European high class, history suggests they succeeded.)

* In ''VideoGame/TitanicAdventureOutOfTime'', the protagonist must recover three items from the ''[[UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic Titanic]]'' before it sinks. One of the items recovered prevents the Black Hand from getting funds, and thus World War I never happens. Of course, depending on if you recover the other two items, this will impact how well Hitler or the Soviets do twenty years later.

* TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen: The Black Dossier covers this. Thomas Carnacki, medium, ghost hunter and member of the fourth incarnation of the League has terrible visions of a devastating war in Europe. Intel leads the rest of the group, consisting of Mina Murray, Quatermain, AJ Raffles and Orlando, to confront their french counterparts, Les Hommes Mysterioux ([[Literature/RoburTheConqueror Captain Robur]], ArseneLupin, Monsieur Zenith, The Nyctalophe and Fantomas) in a battle at the Paris opera house in hopes of preventing the war. When the battle is over, the League withdraws, hoping that they have defused the situation. [[spoiler: Both teams were played against eachother by their German counterparts, the Twilight Heroes, a group consisting of various Mad Scientists such as Dr Rotwang and Dr Caligari. They are now free to plan the coming war with impunity.]]

* TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen: The Black Dossier covers this. Thomas Carnacki, medium, ghost hunter and member of the fourth incarnation of the League has terrible visions of a devastating war in Europe. Intel leads the rest of the group, consisting of Mina Murray, Quatermain, AJ Raffles and Orlando, to confront their french counterparts, Les Hommes Mysterioux (Captain Robur, ArseneLupin, Monsieur Zenith, The Nyctalophe and Fantomas) in a battle at the Paris opera house in hopes of preventing the war. When the battle is over, the League withdraws, hoping that they have defused the situation. [[spoiler: Both teams were played against eachother by their German counterparts, the Twilight Heroes, a group consisting of various Mad Scientists such as Dr Rotwang and Dr Caligari. They are now free to plan the coming war with impunity.]]

* Played with in ''VideoGame/AmnesiaAMachineForPigs''. The titular machine was built by Mandus, and is revealed to be his attempt to stop future wars from taking place after [[spoiler:he had a prophetic vision of the horrors of the World Wars, including his children dying in the trenches. The machine ends up [[HauntedTechnology inheriting a piece of Mandus' soul]], [[AIIsACrapshoot achieving sentience]] and [[WellIntentionedExtremist carrying out horrific acts of its own in an attempt to fulfil its purpose,]] and Mandas ultimately decides to [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifice himself]] in order to sabotage it, even though it means allowing the Wars to happen in the near future.]]

* Played with in ''VideoGame/AmnesiaAMachineForPigs''. The titular machine was built by Mandas, and is revealed to be his attempt to stop future wars from taking place after [[spoiler:he had a prophetic vision of the horrors of the World Wars, including his children dying in the trenches. The machine ends up [[HauntedTechnology inheriting a piece of Mandas' soul]], [[AIIsACrapshoot achieving sentience]] and [[WellIntentionedExtremist carrying out horrific acts of its own in an attempt to fulfil its purpose,]] and Mandas ultimately decides to [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifice himself]] in order to sabotage it, even though it means allowing the Wars to happen in the near future.]]

* ''Film/TheThreeMusketeers2011'' contains perhaps the earliest version of this trope as far as the period goes. The villains were trying to start a war among the empires of Europe. While the dialogue focuses on the continent, the idea is still the same, not to mention that a war of the European powers at the time would have likely included colonies in Asia, Africa, and the Americas.

* ''Literature/TheSevenPercentSolution''. The ultimate aim of the BigBad is to start a world war. Holmes and Watson stop him, but Holmes notes that they have only delayed the war, not prevented it entirely (and he's proven to be correct when WorldWarI occurs).

* The film version of ''Film/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' involves the mysterious "Phantom" ([[spoiler:eventually revealed to be Professor Moriarty]]) supplying weapons for a a world war, which he was orchestrating. The term "world war" is even mentioned for audience members who weren't paying attention.
* ''Film/SherlockHolmesAGameOfShadows'' has Moriarty trying to start a world war so that he could supply weapons. He mentions that, even if he's stopped, the world will still find a way.

It involves a PeriodPiece adventure story that takes place in the late 1800's or early 1900's with a plot that centers around stopping a plot that would lead into what would become World War One. The hero or heroes catch wind of the BigBad planning to start a war between the various empires of Europe (usually with a FalseFlagOperation or two) and they are the only ones who can stop them. The SteamPunk setting and political intrigue of the time provides a rich atmosphere for a globe-trotting adventure yarn as the heroes race the clock to stop the bad guys. They will almost always succeed (unless AlternateHistory is involved), but this usually makes the story HarsherInHindsight. Sure, the hero just stopped this particular villain from starting a world war, but we all know one happened anyway. Then there was a [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo second one]]. The writers may not reference this in order to avoid making the story too depressing but if they do, expect a dark form of ItWillNeverCatchOn. In more rare cases, sometimes they fail, sometimes they fail and die, and sometimes they even [[NiceJobBreakingItHero start the war in the first place.]] Can overlap with YouCantThwartStageOne and YouCantFightFate.

This is a subtrope of PreventTheWar that focuses on UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne (aka The Great War).

* The film version of ''Film/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' involves the mysterious ''Phantom'' supplying weapons for a a world war, which he was orchestrating. The term "world war" is even mentioned for audience members who weren't paying attention.

* ''Film/SherlockHolmesAGameOfShadows'' has Moriarty [[spoiler: oddly enough, the villain in the aforementioned movie]] trying to start a world war so that he could supply weapons. He mentions that, even if he's stopped, the world will still find a way.