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Archduke Assassination
Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated along with his wife. He was shot to death while in a parade. This event is known to have been the first sparks of WWI. The man who killed him was known as Gavrilo Princip. Gavrilo Princip was in a group called The Black Hand. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and with the alliance system everything spiraled into WWI. -
WWI Begins
Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia when Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated exactly one month before. Russia declared war on Austria-Hungary to protect Serbia because they had a alliance. Germany in return declared war on Russia to protect Austria-Hungary because they had an alliance. Germany declared war on France because since they knew they would come to aid Russia. On August 4th, 1914 Germany invaded Belgium to get to France so Britain declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary. -
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WWI
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Lusitania sinks
The Lusitania was a cruise ship that was going to Liverpool and without warning a German U-boat sunk this ship. Of the 1,959 passengers and crew 1,198 people were drowned including 128 American. The captain of the boat was advised to take evasive action like to do zig-zags to prevent the correct guessing of the path the boat is going to take, but the captain refused. This was the turning point of the war were the United States started to campaign against the Germans. -
First tanks
This day was the first day that Tanks were used in the midst of battle. The attack itself was a failure but the general Douglas Haig saw the potential and really pushed for the production of tanks. This is important because today what does one think of when they think about war, they think of tanks on the battlefield and the soldiers rushing into the enemy and this is the start this battle is what people see when they think about what war means to them. -
Zimmerman telegram
The Zimmerman telegram is when the Germans sent a coded message to Mexico that the United states found. This was the real nail in the coffin that pushed the United states to war. We said that we were neutral but really I don’t know how true that is because we sent a lot of supplies to the allied forces. A little after this the United states officially entered the war. -
The United States Enters the War
On this day the United states officially entered the war. So far in the war the United States are neutral but the Germans had done to much for the United states to stay like that. First the sinking of all ship trying to enter any war waters around England, Ireland, and really any country around the Mediterranean that was owed by a county opposed to Germany. Second the Zimmerman telegram that was a plot to get Mexico to turn against the United states. -
Selective Service Act
This act force all men from the ages of 21 to 30 to sign up for the draft. Woodrow Wilson pushed the government to accept the connection, he thought that this was the most democratic form of enlistment. The American Expeditionary Force or the AEF really didn’t have that much effect until late spring and summer of 1918 when Russia had withdrawn from the war because the country was going through an internal revolution. The United States before the dragnet only had 100,000 people. -
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Off to War
Sailed from Hoboken to harbor of Saint-Nazaire. -
To the Trenches
Went into the trenches for the first time. -
Relieved from Post
Theodore was relieved from the trenches without seeing a German -
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Sew me back together
Theodore spent a week sewing his clothes back together from the wear and tear of being in the trenches. -
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Gearing up
Spent this time getting ready for the next battle. Slept in open fields with nothing to eat. -
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Back in the fight
Was stationed in the trenches at Toul -
Real war
Went to the Montdidier Front. Here is where Theodore experienced real war it was a continuous shell fire. Food was often shut up so they were left with little to eat. -
German raid
The artillery fire continued this way until the morning of May 27 when 150 Germans made a raid on Theodore's company. The German lead a four hour barrage and level the ground around Theodore and his company The Germans retreated and left with 2/3 of them dead. -
U.S. retaliation
Early in the morning the US started their barrage on the Germans the allied side went over at 6:15 AM. The Germans started a counterattack the Germans launch six counter attacks all without success. The Germans We're defeated for the first time by the Americans. -
Battle of Cantigny
The battle of cantigny was the first major victory of the United states. In the war this victory made a huge impact of the overall war, first it deprived the germans of a lookout point of the western fronts. Second it also pushed the argument that the independent U.S command should remain a joint allied part of command and not be led by other armies. Last it finally provered to the Germans that although the United States were new to the war they were a force to be reckoned with. -
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Getting gassed
They kept up the fighting for a week one night is put tune went on a wiring detail in the German started a gas bombardment his group immediately put on their gas mask. Early in the morning they went back to their trenches they would lay around all day because if they pick their heads out they would get shot at. Towards the evening his voice started to get rough when he was relieved his voice only got worse. He went to a doctor and they told him he got gassed. -
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Getting better
Theodore was in the hospital for this time getting better from being gassed. -
Hints of war
Once they got out of the train they had to wait for the trucks to pick them up. While waiting they saw Cavalry artillery and truck trains going towards the front this was the first hint of the assault that was to come in the morning. -
Prisoners of war
His group hiked until 320 in the morning to get to the dugout they stay here until they heard the fighting start. The third Battalion was in front of the second was in support and his was in reserve the third battalion kept advancing. There were dead people were all around Theodore towards 10:00 AM they saw German prisoners coming back in a large line they took 700 of them out of a enemy dugout. That night he and the rest of his battalion was brought up to bring back 60 more prisoners. -
Wounded solders
At 5:00 he got into position on the Paris Soissons road five minutes later they went over top.Ted withdraw and wait for orders. at 5 PM they got orders to go over again and to go until they were killed if necessary. Ted kept going until he got shot in the left hip. He laid there until night. He was carried to the first aide station where if you received clean bandages. From there he was put on an ambulance and taken to your hospital number three. -
Parade time
Left the village where him and his company were resting to go to a parade in Paris on July 14 the French independence day. They got to Paris that night and on the following morning they went got ready for the parade. The parade started at 9:00 this was the first time he saw Paris. After the parade they got 38 hours of free time while in Paris the Germans fired their long range guns and caused quite a bit of damage. The soldiers left on a train Theodore was not sure where the train was going. -
Crowded train
Theodore was carried from the hospital back to the train the train was awful to ride, it was crowded with wounded soldiers. -
Hospital number 1
Theodore reached Beauvais France where he went to the 114th field hospital number one there he waited to get sent to a base hospital in France. His favorite thing to pass time was to scale the wall and go down to town. He waited here for three days -
Fit for duty
July 22-Theodore was shipped to Limoge France to base hospital 28. Here he slept in his first real bad in a year, after spending four weeks in the hospital he was declared fit for duty. -
Earthly hell
Theodore was sent to Saint Aignan France The home of the AFE or what Theodore called earthly hell. -
Reunion
After spending seven days in Saint Aignan France Theodore was sent with more men to rejoin his division -
Advancing
They arrived to their destination and fell into their division. At the time his company was advancing, when they were relieved they hiked all night to get back to the rear for a rest. -
Sorrow in France
From the town they had to get on a truck but not before they had to witness French people returning to their war torn houses. Theodore stood there for hours watching them take up valuable they had buried before the fight when the trucks finally pick them up they rode all night. -
Ride to war
While they were riding many called it the ride of death because they were riding to what was to be one of the biggest battles in the war. -
Marching to hell
August 30- do you door finally reached his destination and once they got off they had to hike 22 miles to their billets, this was one of the biggest billet so they had three days of rest for everyone to get there. “ Day after day we hiked like humans marching to hell. We could hear the gun and do the battle was on” These were the last words written by Theodore in his soldier diary. -
Wilhelm Abdicates
Wilhelm the Kaiser of Germany during WWI was on of the most recognizable public figure of WWI. Wilhelm gained a swaggering reputation by his speeches and taking a lot of ill-advised interviews. He did not seek war but his verbal out burst and and his preference of being called supreme warlord did help the case of the people who blamed him for the war. On November 9th Wilhelm was forced to Abdicate or renounce one’s thrown. -
Armistice Day
Armistice day A.K.A veterans day in on November 11th every year. It is the day that the allied forces signed an armistice with the Germans during WWI. In 1954 the president dwight D Eisenhower officially changed the holiday Armistice day to veterans day. A lot of countries like America have a Veterans day around or on November 11th. In Europe Great britain and the commonwealth it is common to observe 2 minutes of silence at 11 A.M. on November 11th