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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
The Archduke and his wife were visiting Bosnia a province controlled by Austria-Hungary. When a secret revolutionary society of peasants heard of this they began plotting to assassinate him while receiving help from the black hand group. On the day they arrived 7 Young Bosnian's went out to assassinate the Archduke. When the first attack had started it had blown up the wrong car.
Then the driver went down the wrong street and a man a that was one that went to assassinate him shot the Archduke. -
Germany's Invasion of Belgium
When Belgium didn’t let Germany’s army to pass through the country. Germany attacked suddenly to shock the people of Belgium into submission. They got control quickly however the guerrilla tactics slowed down their advance more than expected. They committed atrocities to the people in the Belgium towns to stop resistance and speed up their advance. -
Western Front
A 400 mile stretch of land that goes through France and Belgium from the Swiss border to the north sea. This front was a key location that could cause whichever alliance to win the war. The war on the western front began in august 4 1914 with Germany invading Belgium. The invasion of Belgium led to great Britain joining the war on Frances side. There were many major battles were fought on this front like Battle of the Somme or the 1st and 2nd battles of the Marne -
Eastern Front
The Eastern front was called “The Unknown War” by Winston Churchill, while not completely unknown most thought of it as a mirror of the western front. However the Eastern front was exactly everyone expected mass armies breaking through lines making rapid advancements. Eastern front was between Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Germany. -
Christmas Truce
Originally a suggestion of Pope Benedict XV, but the warring countries refused any official cease fire. However the soldiers made their own unofficial ceasefire. On Christmas Eve they started singing Christmas carols across the trench lines. On Christmas Day the German soldiers came out of their trenches and shouted out “Merry Christmas” in the allied soldiers native language. Even a case of both sides playing some soccer, exchanging presents, and some even gathered the bodies of dead soldiers. -
First use of Gas
Germany fired 18000 artillery shells containing liquid Xylyl-Bromide or tear gas on Russian positions on the Rawka River. During the Battle of Bolimov just west of Warsaw. -
French Winter
The front was mostly quiet with few casualties because of winter. There were small stoves in dugouts though the wood was scarce and always wet. The closest Elliott. L got to a wound was a bruise on his hand from cutting wood shavings to get a fire started. The wound turned into an abscess which had to be lanced. He had to go on leave and went to the hospital to get it dressed for several days and got a lot of undeserved sympathy. -
U.S Enters the War
After the Lusitania and the Zimmerman telegram and many other ships that were attacked by Germany, the US declared war on Germany. The arrival of the well supplied troops US troops was a major turning point in the war as soldiers of the other armies were tired for fighting for 3 years. When the war ended on November 11 1918 more than 2 million soldiers had served on the battlefield and 50,000 of them had lost their lives. -
Elliott Lee Joining a Unit
When war was declared, admission to officers candidate schools was limited to men shorter than 6ft 4in. Elliott was 6ft 4 1/2in. Then Princeton was helping alumni find their unit he was told of an ambulance unit being formed that was going to France and being attached to a french division. Elliott signed up on June 1 1917 -
Elliott Leaving for France
After gathering in the fairgrounds at Allentown on June 9. where there were ample buildings, Elliott and his unit was issued the “chicken house”. On August 23 they boarded a ship to head to Halifax arrived on August 25. Sailed from Halifax for Liverpool England on September 5. Went from Liverpool to Le Havre, France arrived on September 17. -
Military Tactics during WW1
During WW1 the tactics used in 1914 would be useless in 1918. In WW1 3 major paradigm shift occurred. The First paradigm shift was the transition from animal or human power to that of mechanical power. The 2nd paradigm shift was the transition of 2-dimensional to 3-dimensional warfare, AKA introduction of aircraft and submarines. The 3rd paradigm shift was the introduction of being able to strike not just the front-lines but also the rear lines using long range artillery or airplanes. -
Military Technology during WW1
During WW1 new technology led to many changes in tactics. Most new weapons were weapons with more accuracy and firing speed, machine guns, and large rapid firing artillery. The new weapons led to an increase in the lethality of battles and the coordination between the various branches of the army, weapons, and logistics. Tanks and aircraft also changed a lot. -
Trench Warfare
A military tactic where long ditches are dug to act as protection of enemy small arms fire and somewhat protection from artillery. In WW1 long trenches were made and this led to a stalemate between the 2 powers. The trenches were dirty and regularly flooded. The soldiers would even get something called trench foot because of flesh eating bacteria in the water.
