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Trench Ware fare
They were used as defenses against attack, such as moats surrounding castles. But they became a fundamental part of the strategy with the influx of modern weapons of war. Long, narrow trenches dug into the ground at the front, usually by the infantry soldiers who would occupy them for weeks at a time, were designed to protect World War I troops from machine-gun fire and artillery attack from the air. -
Archduke Assassination
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie are shot to death by a Bosnian Serb nationalist on June 28, 2019. Austria-Hungary immediately blamed the Serbian government for the attack which made their hate for each other even greater. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, and the fragile peace between Europe’s great powers collapsed. -
First Attack
The Germans fire shells filled with chlorine gas at Allied lines. This is the first time that large amounts of gas are used in battle, and the result is the near-collapse of the French lines. However, the Germans are unable to take advantage of the breach. -
Machine Guns
Most machine guns of World War 1 were based on Hiram Maxim's 1884 design. They had a sustained fire of 450–600 rounds per minute, allowing defenders to cut down attacking waves of enemy troops like nothing. There was some speculation that the machine gun would completely replace the rifle. -
Christmas truce
At the first light of dawn on Christmas Day, some German soldiers emerged from their trenches and approached the Allied lines across no-man’s-land, calling out Merry Christmas in their enemies’ native tongues. At first, the Allied soldiers feared it was a trick, but seeing the Germans unarmed they climbed out of their trenches and shook hands with the enemy soldiers. There was even a documented case of soldiers from opposing sides playing a good-natured game of soccer. -
Germany bombing England
Germany’s aerial bombing campaign against Great Britain in the First World War, with London as its primary target, was the first sustained strategic bombing campaign in history. These raids, using airships, bomber aircraft, and seaplanes, ran from December 1914 to August 1918 and resulted in almost 5,000 casualties. -
Mustard Gas
The gas cleared large sections of soldiers from the front lines, who fled once exposed, and ultimately killed 5,000 opposing troops. By the end of the war, more than two dozen chemical agents had injured 1 million soldiers and civilians, killed 100,000 people and earned the well-deserved title of weapons of mass destruction. The soldiers would also use them to flush out the enemy out of their trenches and then shoot them. -
Sinking of Lusitania
On May 7, 1915, a German U-boat torpedoed the British own steamship Lusitania, killing 1,128 people including over 100 Americans. This caused America to start thinking about joining the war. -
First Tank
The very first tank building started back in 1915, they named the tank Little Willie. At first, the builders wanted to use the tank as a thing to break through the enemy barbwire. The prototype was too slow so it was just a big target, so it was remade into the Mark 1 tank called Big Willie it had two naval six ponder guns they were mounted on the side of the tank and 4 light machine guns, 2 on each side and this type was used as more as an offensive weapon instead of breaking barbwire. -
Letter to Mother
Wallace and his platoon were being transported to a new place and when they were passing a town they were attacked, that was the first time someone in their platoon was killed, first death was by a guy took a piece of motor to his head, and a few more died by motors or gunshots in the 2 months they were stuck in that town fighting. -
Zimmerman Telegram
In January 1917, British cryptographers deciphered a telegram from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmerman to the German Minister to Mexico, Avon Eckhardt, offering United States territory to Mexico in return for joining the German cause. This message helped draw the United States into the war and thus changed the course of history. -
Letter to Mother
Wallace talks about how he started training and for the first couple weeks they made them do company drill mixed with route marches, physical drill, semaphore, knot tying, and frog, long jumping every day for most of the day, but now they are starting to get into shooting guns. -
Letter to Ray
Here he talks about how they were suddenly attacked, they heard a gunshot and they all went to their post but saw no soldiers when all of a sudden there was an explosion and the enemy was bombing them with motors, there were no deaths but a few of the men were injured by shards of the motors. -
Letter to Mother
He tells his mother how he was injured and broke his leg in battle, “he took my leg I took his life” his eg is starting to heal and he should be back in the front lines by the end of the month, he wishes he would have been more injured so he could get out of that nightmare. -
Letter to Ralph
Wallace tells Ralph that the trench he is in is fairly safe, there are lots of sandbags around protecting them from bullets, they also have canaries in cages, the miners use them to test the air after an explosion, he has to stay watch most of the nights since he is one of the lowest ranks and is always the one carrying things around
