The first written records for the history of France appeared in the Iron Age.What is now France made up the bulk of the region known to the Romans as Gaul.Greek writers noted the presence of three main ethno-linguistic groups in the area: the Gauls, the Aquitani, and the Belgae.The Gauls, the largest and best attested group, were Celtic people speaking what is known as the Gaulish …

Geography. In 1914, the territory of France was different from today's France in two important ways: most of Alsace and the northeastern part of Lorraine had been annexed by Germany in 1870 (following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871), and the North-African country of Algeria had been established as an integral part of France in 1848. Alsace-Lorraine would be restored …