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How It Started
Franz Ferdinand, who was the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungry, was killed. Austria-Hungary which was the second largest empire in Europe. Serbian nationalist shot and killed Ferdinand. Little did they know, this assasination would lead to WW1, through a series of chain events. Austria Hungary declared war on Serbia. -
The Domino Effect
After Austria-Hungry declared war on Serbia. Germany declares war on Serbia. On August 1st, Germany declares war on Russia because Russia was moblizing troops. France being an allie of Russia, makes Germany declare war on France on Agust 3rd. Germany invades Beligum enabling the United Kingdom to declare war on on Germany. On August 6th Austria-Hungry declares war on Russia and Serbia declares war on Germany. Almost all of Europe was at war. -
Trench Warfare
The war had being going on for about six months. Niether sides had made an advancements. New weapons and strategies created a problem. Soldiers created a system of foxholes/ditches called "trenches". These trenches caused stalemate. The invention of tanks was the solution to this problem. Many men died in the trenchs and in "No Man's Land" which was the land above the trenches. -
The Christmas Truce
On Christmas Eve of 1914 five months into war, the german soldiers staring singing Christmas carols. Recognizing the tune of the carols the british soldiers joined in. Christmas morning the german emerged from their trenches and shook hands with the british. This was one of the last examples of outdated chivalry between enemies during warfare. This showed that not even war could ruin the Christmas spirit. -
Help From The From The Elephants
Germans in Valenciennes, France used elephants during the war. They took from the Hamburg Zoo. The elephanys were used to help move tree trunks. As war went on, beasts of burdens became scarce in Germany. Some circus and zoo animals were requisitioned for army use. -
British Entertaiment During The War
British soldiers played soccer during the war to keep themselves entertained. After the Christmas Truce playing soccer became a regular thing. They wore gas masks to protect against surprise gas attacks. They were in France at the time. They would play with any ball they could find. They had just one net and played with nine people. -
Zimmerman Telegraph
During the war Germany had sent a coded message to Mexico. The message said that if Mexico had joined them as an alliance they would give them United States territory. The message eneded up being intercepted by the British. The contents of the telegraph ended up being leaked to the Untited States. This helped change the opinion of the American public. The Zimmerman was the final push to have America join the war. -
German Communications
In 1917 during the month of September. Behind the Western Front, German communications set up a tandem bike. The bike was used as a power generator. Soldiers would pedal to power a light radio station. It took about seven soldiers to set up the bike. -
Enlisting In The Marines
Aurthor Roland Keller a marine during ww1 was 19 when he enlisted. He went to Chicago to see why many others were enlisting for war. He was convinced to join by a marine he talked to on the streets to enlist in the marines rather than the army. Keller valued the discipline of the marines, he said "you could tell the difference between army and marines souly on behavior". A week later Keller started his training. -
Training For The Marines
Keller knew training was going to be tough. His training only lasted three weeks, just to enough time to learn the basics. The marines learned discipline before anything else. After Keller's training was completed, he was transfered to Virgina. After staying in Virgina for thrre days he was shipped overseas. -
Replacements
When Keller was overseas in Germany he saw replacement after replacement go through. Many would die from the flu epidemic. Some replacements died within 24 hours of their arrivals. Though replacements were menat to replinsh the losses of soldies, replacements had to come in about every week. Most replacements need a replacement within a span of a week. -
Going Without Food
Keller and the other soldiers went without food for three days. Their galley (kitchen) was stuck in the mub behind them. They filled their canteenswith running ditch water. Keller said he was so thristy he'd drink anything. They were ordered not to get water from German households. Keller disobeyed and asked for clean water from a German household. He was never caught by his superior. -
Rumor Of German Surrender
Keller said when hearing the news of German surrender, nobody knew why. They were confused because the Germans had plenty of food, weapons, and soldiers. The days started dragging on as Keller and the other troops waited for the surrender. Since there was no surrender within the couple of days, the american soldiers went back to business as usual. Keller hadn't heard a rumor of a surrender after that. -
Treaty Of Versallies
The Treaty of Versailles was a document that eventually ended world war 1. The document was a truce between all fighting nations. Germany was blamed for the start of the war. Germany has to cut their army down to 100,000 men. They also had to pay for damages caused by the war. -
A New Europe
After the war ended many new countries emerged. Austria-Hungary split into Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. Turkey replaced the Ottoman Empire. Poland was reconstituted. Russia made four new countires: Finland, Estonia, Lativa, and Lithuania. Central powers had the most land loss after the war. Germany was hurt the most after the Treaty of Versallies.
