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Assassination
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated with his wife, during a parade, by the Black Hand. -
Germans Fire
The Germans fired shells filled with chlorine gas at Allied lines. This was the first time large amounts of gas are used in the battle and resulted in the near-collapse of the French lines, but Germans couldn’t take advantage. -
The youngest British soldier in WW1 was just 12 years old
Over 250,000 underage soldiers were allowed to fight in World War 1. The youngest was a boy named Sidney Lewis who was just 12 years old but lied about his age to join. There were many thousands of underage boys who enlisted and most lied about their age. Some joined for the love of their country, while others did it to escape from the lives and the poor conditions they lived in. -
Casualties
The 2nd division suffer heavy casualties and had to have many replacements. The division had to be withdrawn to train thousands of new recruits. -
9 out of 10 British soldiers survived the trenches
British soldiers were rarely in the firing line in WW1. They moved around the trench system constantly and were usually kept from the dangers of enemy fire. Most British soldiers life in World War I would have regular routine and boredom. -
Army generals had to be banned from going ‘over the top’
One common stereotype is that ordinary soldiers were used by the higher ups – lions led by donkeys as the saying goes. The donkeys being the incompetent generals who didn’t spend any time on the frontline while thousands of soldiers – the lions – were killed. Actually, so many British generals wanted to fight and they had to be banned from going over the top because they were being killed and the experience of a general was too important to lose. -
Submarines Back
Germany starts unrestricted submarine warfare in European waterways, drawing in the United States. -
U.S. Joins the War
On April 6, 1917, the U.S. joined its allies--Britain, France, and Russia--to fight in World War I. Under the command of Major General John J. Pershing, more than 2 million U.S. soldiers fought on battlefields in France. Many Americans were not in favor of the U.S. entering the war and wanted to remain neutral. -
Enlisting
Joseph J. Gleeson enlisted into the army on April 30, 1917. He served with the Battery D, 12th Field Artillery, Second Division. He was in Camp Dix, New Jersey; France. His highest rank was Sergeant and he served with the American Expeditionary. -
Explosion around the world
Most of World War 1 was fought in mud and trenches, but a group of miners would also dug underground tunnels and detonate mines behind the enemy’s trenches. In Messines Ridge in Belgium, these miners detonated over 900,000lbs of explosives at the same time, destroying the German front line. The explosion was so loud and powerful that it was heard by the British Prime Minister David Lloyd George – 140 miles away in Downing Street. -
Sea Sickness
January 14-17 1918, Gleeson and his friend Littler got seasickness and were so sick they didn’t really care about what happened. They had to wait it out until they could get back on stable ground. -
Weather Conditions
The weather was very bad and it rained a lot, so sometimes they looked like “a roll of mud on legs.” It was also frequently cold ( February 1918). In March 1918 there was a lot of snow even up to around 6 inches deep. -
Belleau Wood
He fought in Belleau Wood Battle and on the first day they had no ammunition or food except for emergency rations, but they managed to stop the Germans after 11 days. -
Ambush
July 18, 1918, Joseph and his division was shot at and almost killed, but the men in back managed to fend them off, taking prisoners and wounded. -
Wilhelm Abdicates
Kaiser Wilhelm leaves, making Germany lose all hope for victory. He and his retinue quietly slip over the border into the Netherlands where he lived out the remainder of his life and wrote a memoir defending his actions in the war. -
Armistice Day
The Allied powers signed a ceasefire agreement with Germany at Rethondes, France, at 11:00 a.m. on November 11, 1918, bringing the war later known as World War I to a close
