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WW1 Vet Sgt. Norvel P. Clotfelter
He was a part of the Company A, 344th machine gun battalion, 90th division. Norval had kept a diary of his almost daily life since 1912, which he kept doing for another 37 years and he recorded a lot about the war was spending time with his family before he went to Texas for training. He told the kids goodbye. He talked about how he helped his neighbor fix his engine. -
Sgt Norvel P. Clotfelter
He typically would talk about the food he would get on the front lines and compare to food back home. He eventually came down with the Spanish flu, which is the reason he was sent home. -
Animals Of World War 1
Over 16 million animals were used in WW1. Pigeons were used to relay messages. donkeys were used to transport supplies. Camels were also used in the middle east for conflicts with the Ottoman empire. Horses and dogs were still used in combat. Cats were placed in trenches to hunt down rats which could bite you and spread diseases in the trench. -
Uniforms Of World War 1
The is one of the first main wars where colored uniforms were not used. In previous wars soldiers would wear very colorful uniforms so generals in the rear lines can see their troops. But that was wasn't needed for a war like this with newly found radios and morse code being used. At the beginning of the war a few countries still used old traditional uniforms. They could be seen in a few pictures of the first major battle of the war. But very quickly countries stopped using them for -
Uniforms Of World War 1
uniforms. It was also the first war to use helmets, it became standard issue -
Planes in world war 1
World war 1 was the first war in history to have aircraft fight in it. They played an important role. They would help break stalemates between trenches by bombing or doing gun runs. They were not advanced enough to drop supplies yet but would later be able to do that. It was also the first time people were able to spy without being in danger and gather intel using the plane from the opposing force as well. -
Battle of Tannenberg
The battle of tannenberg was mostly between the russians and the germans. This was considered the first major battle on the eastern front. It started in august of 1914, the russian military had better technology, more men and a better trained army. But the germans defeated them. Killing over 200,000 Russians and taking 90,000 prisoners, While the germans only lost an astounding 2,000 men. The only positive from this battle was it directed to attention away from the western front where -
Battle of Tannenberg
were losing to the east. Which allowed the french to counter attack. The russians attacked in the first place to help their allie the french, who were being overrun by germans. this battle took place before trench warfare began. Which is why the deaths were so plentiful. Soldiers were armed with new weapons and military tactics were not advanced enough for either side. -
Hitler In WW1
Hitler enlisted in the Bavarian Army which was serving under the Austria Hungary Empire. He fought in the Battle Of Ypres and served as a mail runner and infantryman. Hitler's regiment got to the front lines with 3,600 men during the fighting there were only 611 men left. Their regiment stayed on the front lines and left the front lines with only 42 men left. Hitler was awarded many medals for his bravery during the war. While his regiment was in open field combat he was wounded -
Hitler In WW1
wounded in the left leg. He was sent back home but sent letters begging to be back with his men. Hitler then returned to the front lines, but shortly after was blinded from a British mustard gas attack. He was sent back home and he had learned Germany surrendered. He wanted to continue his military career but since Germany's military was completely dismantled he joined a group of nationalist which would eventually become the Nazi party. -
Battle of Marne
The battle of marne is the first battle where Germans and french begun to use trenches. since the Russians diverted Germany's attention to the east the French counter-attacked and pushed the Germans out of France. But the Germans also countered attacked trying to flank the french. This caused the French to dig trenches and build a massive defensive line protecting their country. the Germans couldn't stand the heavy losses or retreat so they also dug trenches. This would lead to more -
Battle of Marne
more developments in trench warfare to where it was too good and neither side could win. -
Trench Warfare
Trenches have been used in previous wars but not on such a large scale as world war 1. Trenches were ditches and holes dug into the ground that troops would stay in. this would cause massive stalemates since no country could advance. Trench warfare would lead to the invention of planes and tanks. Since planes and tanks were a hard counter to troops that remained in trenches. -
Underage Soldiers
The youngest person to fight in ww1 was just 12 years old his name was Cindy Lewis. There were many kids from the age of 12 to 16 sneaking into the military. He was just 1 of 250,000 underage soldiers to fight in the war. He enlisted to fight for his country. While most kids did enlist to fight for their country or to escape the poor lives they lived back home. Many of the 250,000 young soldiers actually fought in big battles and saw combat. -
Battle of Golipoli
The allies sent Canadian, New Zealand, French, British, Australian and Irish troops on ships to cross a small passage to get to the mainland of the Ottoman empire. They were going to invade the land and take over the capitol to take the Ottoman Empire out of the war. The attack failed and the allies were ambushed. The ships were out of date and most were sank fast. The troop's barely got on land to invade before they retreated. 58,000 allies died, and over 300,000 were wounded on both sides. -
Battle Of Verdun
The battle of Verdun was the biggest and longest battle of the whole war. The Germans at this point were tired of trench warfare and tried to end it by shelling a French fort. The germans then left their trenches and attacked the fort, the french strategically let the Germans take it. The french held their positions and didn't let the Germans advance past the fort. A french general was able to sneak in a bunch of reinforcements and supplies using a road the french had took over. To fully -
Battle Of Verdun
To fully feed and resupply his army. The Germans then pushed the flank and couldn't break the frenches heavily fortified lines.
By the end there were 305,000 dead and 400,000 wounded. -
Battle Of Somme
this was a massive counter attack on the Germans after the battle of verdun. The french and British worked together on this attack. The whole point was the flank the Germans who had been pushing in the battle of verdun and help relieve those front lines. They were successfully able to take 2 forts back from the Germans. the point was to be quick and swift battle but it ended up back in trench warfare. The British sent 100,000 men to push Germany back. And after 141 days of fighting -
Battle Of Somme
. And after 141 days of fighting they had only pushed them back 3 miles. The british used untrained volunteers and were massacred losing 19,000 men in one day. The battle ended in a stalemate with the germans gaining back 2 miled of the 3 the british took over. In the end over 1,000,000,000 men on both sides were killed in this one battle. -
Tanks In World War 1
In order to counter trench warfare and being exposed in open fields tanks were made. Tanks provided extreme armor from machines guns and mines, while also being able to combat other troops and opposing tanks as well. America was the first country to use the idea of a smaller tank called the T1 which was used to turn the tide of the war. Most countries had their own ideas on how tanks would be better in their own ways. Tanks weren't used towards the end of the war. -
Battle of Passchendaele
This battle happened towards the end of the war. It is most famous for its trench warfare on the western front and the terrible muddy conditions. Constant shelling and rainfall destroyed drainage pipes and made it almost impossible to move strategically or tactically which is what would lead to so many casualties. The british lead many major attacks on the Germans and gaining 5 miles in 3 months was considered a victory. The British took 325,000 losses while the Germans took 260,000. -
Hitler In WW1
As told by his men he fought with, Hitler was said to be a very persuasive person and very funny and charming. These traits would help him become the "great" leader people would think he would be before he became the leader of Germany. During the 5th battle of Ypres, Hitler was wounded and out in no man's land. While the British charged a private of the British army named Henry Tandey pointed his gun at Hitler. Hitler was badly wounded an had no weapons, the private lowered his gun and -
Plastic Surgery
The reason plastic surgery was invented was due to the results of ww1. Most soldiers would take shrapnel to the face. Shrapnel is twisted metal from explosions that flies faster than the speed of sound. it would destroy peoples faces and make them hard to look at. So a doctor named Harold Gillies would try and fix peoples faces to the best of his abilities. -
Hitler In WW1
Let Hitler retreat back to his men safely. Later Hitler invited the soldier that spared his life to his mansion in 1938, Hitler had a painting of the man hanging in his mansion and thanked him very much. This was clearly before Hitler invaded Poland so the British soldier didn't know any better. Private Henry Tandy would receive many medals and be known as a British war hero for his heoric actions in combat.
