War would have likely been at a later point then. France wanted war, Germany wanted war (under the current Kaiser at least), so it was pretty much unavoidable in the long term. And who knows what would have happened to Russia. Austria-Hungary had their really unstable parts which would have led to problems again and again. Nobody cares about Italy. Great Britain really wasn't interested at all. They made tons of money with their colonies and would have loved to continue that way. Without WW1, there wouldn't have been a WW2 (at least not the one we know). And without WWs, the colonial powers would have likely held a tighter grip on the colonies. Also, without those, the US wouldn't have become relevant nearly as fast, considering they heavily profited from WW1 (together with Japan) and even more so from WW2. Japan would have likely clashed with an Asian colonizer, the Russians or the US at some point regardless.

Given that the war created an international situation (Bolshevik revolution in Russia, later rise of Nazism which to some extent was a reaction) which led to an even worse and more destructive war just 20 years later, of course it was futile. It certainly didn't lead to a lasting peace or a stable international order.

My thanks to all respondents. I will start by addressing these: Great! Partial match but inserted in good games already in my GOG wishlist. It makes me look forward to buy them. So many times I saw good remarks related to the Battle Isle. Does it hold on as a good game on its right? Perhaps Panzer General and many other games present a better interface and experience?

And air combat simulators. Probably due to the mystique of the Red Baron and the cool leather jackets and head caps with goggles and scarves of the airmen of the time. And the amazing-looking Zeppelins! Real pulp material (such as The Rocketeer).

I recalled an old dogfight game portraying the era, I just don't remember its name. I don't think the flight sim I was recalling was in that pack, but I may be incorrect.

Exactly! The game I was recalling was Down Patrol! Score one kill, for supplementscene.

But addressing the point that was raised before by morolf: It is true that people who expect wars to solve anything or somehow leave things better are often misguided. It is — as others pointed out — catalysts for change, but that part never appears in videogames.

I understand what you mean, however: WWI was a pivot point in wars, making the transition from the old strategies and approaches where armies lined up in the battlefield before charging, and modern warfare of attrition, trenches and very strategical positioning. In Napoleon's time you could use cavalry to flank a cannon that has long reload time and is difficult to control and aim. A machine gun is not that forgiving. We already know how to employ artillery barrages and armoured vehicles effectively and this war was all about finding out how such things worked out.
And then there were the even less ethical chemical weapons...

But, come on... just look at the pictures! So much potential... Interesting. I'm intrigued. And I happen to have it in my library, half forgotten. The FPS based on the comic book? I wonder how things are even related! But it seems to be console only, so I won't be finding out. It does look great, I should say. Very stylistic!

Many games! I don't recall noticing the Necrovision ones. They have a very interesting look. Something about them seem more WWII, but it is perhaps the colours.

Oh, what a find! Just what I wanted! I'll see if I can find a demo of it. Thank you.

I also came across this page in Wikipedia, in case it helps anyone else:

Looks good! I wonder why this isn't on GOG, given that quite a few IC games are already here.

Panzer General has a better interface for sure. The History Line game, as with all early Battle Isle games, suffers from a very clunky interface, but if you can look past it, it's quite a unique setting for a turn based strategy game and is very enjoyable.

I prefer History Line over others and still play it every now and then. It is way older than PG and the Interface was first made for Joystick Control, so yes, it lacks a bit in options and possibilities, but it has another playstyle and was good optimized from Battle Isle, which has too small maps.
PG you have to be very agressive to reach everything, HL you have to decide carefully, so mostly more defensive, yet to get the right depots and factories you sometimes have to have a good timing. And the atmosphere with the "History lessons" is quite high. Only thing I do to make experience more fluid is to disable battle animations.

https://www.wargamer.com/articles/best-ww1-strategy-games-wargames/

Technically not a first world war game, for being set in an alternate reality post 1920 and featuring a lot of Dieselpunk elements like mechs, walking tanks or armored suits, but if you don't mind that then Iron Harvest might be something to keep an eye on.

How did I miss that?

That looks great!

Used to play this MP a lot back in the day (on Amiga)... and it turned out that realistically most matches ended in a stalemate with entrenched infantry and artillery, and nobody being able to muster enough offensive force to crack the other's position... Not exactly "fun" but we were sick of Battle Isle (played it to death) and it was kind of fascinating in its day. Does the PC version support controllers? The control scheme is really made for it.

Playing withMouse here, but you can switch Joystick on and off, so maybe newer controllers could work.

Thanks, will try it some time.

To me Historyline doesn't have a WW1 setting. The only historical part of this game are the units' names. The maps are utterly fictive; the battles are always French vs. Germans; the political background of 1914/18 is completely missing in the gameplay (hence no diplomacy). If there weren't the cutscenes one could consider the gameplay as a war on a far away planet where by accident they have invented the same units like in WW1. HL is a good fantasy game, but not the 1st game of choice as a simulation of WW1.

I think that a game like World War 1 Centennial Edition offers a better immersion into the situation of 14/18. However, it has DRM and it's not available on Steam anymore due to legal issues. But you can still get a key on gamersgate and consorts:
https://gamersgate.com/DD-WWOCE/world-war-1-centennial-edition

The game goes rather in the direction of the Hearts of Iron franchise while not stifling the gameplay with a manneristical hypercomplexity of nanotransactions. It's the improved version of World War One Gold:
http://www.matrixgames.com/products/384/details/World.War.One.Gold

(Games on matrixgames come with a key that has to be applied prior to installation. After that you can play w/o restrictions.)

Another game with a unusual setting came to my mind: 1917 - Der Aufstand in which you play through the Bolshevik Revolution from 1917 to 23. You can find it on the matrixgame site too under the name Revolution under Siege:
http://www.matrixgames.com/products/product.asp?gid=579

(They offer the enhanced Gold version which is better than the retail one I have on my shelves. I think I will use their sale discount ...)