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The First Battle of the Marne
The First Battle of the Marne was fought from September 6-12th, 1914. French and British forces confronted the invading German army. The allied troops stopped the Germans from advancing by driving the Germans back to the north of the Aisne River.
The first battle of Marne featured the first use of radio intercepts and automotive transports of troops. -
The Christmas Truce
On December 25th in 1914 the soldiers in the trenches declared their own unofficial truce. German soldiers went over to the allied troops and said merry Christmas unarmed. At the start, they thought it was a trick but then realized they were being peaceful. The soldiers passed around presents like cigars and pudding. There is even a documented case of soldiers playing a game of soccer. -
Poison Gas
The first major gas attack was by the Germans on April 22, 1915. The German forces shot more than 150 tons of lethal chlorine gas against two French colonial divisions. The Germans introduced Mustard gas in 1917. Mustard gas would blister the skin and eyes. Mustard gas killed thousands of troops. -
Gallipoli Campaign
On April 25th, 1915 Allied troops made it to the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey. It was a strategy to basically knock Turkey out of the war. To also allow Allied ship to pass through the Dardanelles. It would help weaken the Central powers. Giving the British troops strength and power back. -
The First Tank
The first tank was introduced on September 6th, 1915 by the British. They developed the tank in response to trench warfare. The first tank nicknamed Little Willie was underwhelming so they made a second prototype called Big Willie. It made its first debut in the Battle of the Somme. The tanks became much more important and were used a lot more in WWII -
Shell Shock
The term shell shocked was coined in 1917. At first shell shock was thought to be caused by soldiers being exposed to exploding shells. Medical staff started to realize that there were deeper causes. Doctors soon realized many soldiers were suffering shell shock without even being in the front lines. At the time there was little sympathy for soldiers with shell shock. -
America Enters World War 1
America entered WW1 on April 6th,1917. One of the reasons we entered the war, Germany sunk the British ship Lusitania which had 100 Americans on board. Another reason we entered the war was that we found out about the Zimmerman telegram. The Zimmerman telegram was sent from Germany to Mexico, asking Mexico to join them. -
Messines Explosion
On June 7, 1917, British forces blasted 19 mines beneath German trenches. The explosion was the biggest blast before atomic bombs. As many as 10,000 german soldiers died from the blast. It blasted tons of soil steel and bodies into the sky. British tunnellers spent nearly two years burrowing under german lines. -
A Letter to Father
In this note to his father, he tells him how he is doing. He hopes to come home soon. He had hopes of coming home in a month, but those plans did not work out. He then talks about his brother coming to visit him on base. How they spent the day together, had meals and played ball. -
Letter to family
On January 20th, 1918, He sent a letter to his family basically asking what they are not writing. He is coming for their lives, saying they don’t know how to use a pen. He then talks about how the hospitals are taking care of his comrades. In the rest of the letter, he just talks about how he is doing. -
The Second Battle of the Marne
The Second Battle of the Marne was fought until July 15th, 1918. The German army planned to take the French by surprise. The French heard about the German's plans, stopping them in their tracks. The Germans crossed the Marne River, but only advanced about 6 miles. The French were also assisted by British, American and Italian forces. Causing the Greman troops to retreat. -
Christmas card
This letter is a Christmas card home. He explained how he watched them load guns. He talked about how exciting it was to watch them load the tanks and planes. Then he talks about how he saw the Eiffel tower and other places of importance. He ends the letter saying he will be in another place in Europe at 9:00 in the morning. -
Another Letter to his father
In yet another note to his father. He explains how he has not written in two weeks. He sends the letter on the American red cross paper. He talks about how he and his men are packing up their things getting ready to move. Once all the men had their things packed, they found out the camp they were at is now going to be used to keep prisoners, but none of the men actually want to leave. They are all feeling “blue”. -
The treaty of Versailles
The treaty of Versailles was the most important peace treaty. It brought world war one to an end. Ending the war between Germany and the Allied powers, creating “peace”. It was signed on the 28th of June 1919. It was put into use on the 10th of January, 1920. -
Letter from Juliette
This is a letter from a woman he met overseas. She explains how happy she is in good health. Then she talks about how she missed him. She then goes on to tell him how she has been, and what has been troubling her. there is only one letter recorded from her, so they must have fallen out.
