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Archduke Ferdinand Is Assassinated
On June 28th 1914 the Archduke of the Austro-Hungarian empire and heir to the throne, Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. While visiting Bosnia the Archduke and his wife were touring the city of Sarajevo in an open car with little security. Seeing his chance as the archdukes procession took a wrong turn Princip fired at point blank range killing them, then he turned the gun on himself. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia a month later. -
Germany Invades Belgium
The Schlieffen Plan, created by Alfred von Schlieffen, was a war plan against France and Russia. The goal was to march through Belgium in just six weeks in order to get to France and attack.On August 4th 1914 after their declaration of war on France and Russia days before, Germany invaded Belgium. Germany ruthlessly began to ravage the small, neutral country as their plan was set into place. Since Britain was Belgium's ally they declared war on Germany and came to Belgium's aide. -
First Zeppelin Raids
On January 19th 1915 two German zeppelins, the L3 and L4, caused Britain to suffer it's first casualties from air strikes when they dropped bombs on the towns of Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn located on England's eastern coast. The explosions that day left 4 dead and several injured showing Britain just what Germany was capable of. Zeppelin raids continued throughout the war until they were called off in 1917. By the end of the war over 1,500 British citizens had been killed by the air raids. -
Lusitania is Sunk
Less than a year after war had erupted a German U-Boat torpedoed and sunk the RMS Lusitania killing more than 1,100 people, 120 of which were Americans. At around 2:12 p.m. that day the torpedo hit the starboard side of the ship and exploded, this was then followed by another explosion likely from the ships boilers. The ship sank off the south coast of Ireland in less than 20 minutes. For months after bodies washed ashore and public opinions in the U.S. became more anti German. -
Conscription Begins in Britain
Realizing that it was not possible to continue fighting by relying on voluntary recruits the government saw no alternative but to increase numbers using conscription. Parliament was very divided on the issue but recognized that they needed to take action. The Military Service Act was passed in January 1915 and imposed the draft on single men between 18 and 41. A second act was then passed in May extending conscription to married men. Conscription added 2.5 million more men to the British army. -
Battle of Somme Begins
The Battle of Somme also known as the Somme Offensive was one of the biggest and bloodiest battles in WW1. Fought near the Somme River in France it lasted 141 days. In an attempt to distract the Germans from the Battle of Verdun, which was probably the worst of all the battles fought during the war, the British attacked. On just the first day Britian lost 57,000 men. A total of 1.5 million men on both sides would be dead by the battles end. -
The U.S. Declares War On Germany
On April 2nd 1917 after spending the first 3 years of the war attempting to stay neutral, Woodrow Wilson went before a joint session of Congress and requested a declaration of war against Germany. Germany's submarine sinking the Lusitania and it's attempt to make an alliance with Mexico had pushed the U.S. too far. Days later the U.S. entered the war on the side of the Allies. America's well supplied forces marked a huge turning point for the war and aided the Allies victory. -
Russia Reaches Armistice With Central Powers
When the Russian Revolution began in March 1917, the Bolsheviks, a group of radical socialists began to take over. Vladimir Lenin, one of the Bolsheviks, who had been exiled returned. On November 8th 1917 Lenin stood before Russia's newly formed Congress of Soviets and requested an armistice with the Central Powers. A formal ceasefire was announced on December 2nd. A few months later in March 1918 Russia officially exited the war, allowing Germany to shift all their focus to the Western Front. -
Charles Gerwitz Leaves For Europe
On the first of May 1918 Charles Gerwitz left for Europe with a convoy of thirteen ships. The ship he was on was a British cargo ship that had been converted into a troop ship called the Excelsior. About eight days into the trip there were terrible wind storms, which caused small complications. Eventually on May 13th 1918 the ship landed in Liverpool England. Gerwitz and other soldiers received welcome cards from the King and Queen, then proceeded to board a train to Worcester England. -
Fourth Of July In France
Charles Gerwitz described the 4th of July in 1918 as "a day to celebrate". At the time the 82nd division was at Camp De La Courtine. Officers and large crowds of people from nearby villages were invited to the festivities which included contests, races, and games. They had horse races while the people from villages watched from the sidelines with their umrbella's and cheered. After that they played baseball, which many of the French people had never seen before so they taught them how to play. -
Gerwitz Fights At St. Mihiel Offensive
On September 12th the U.S. launched the St. Mihiel Offensive. Charles Gerwitz and his fellow soldiers dug a gun pit about 3ft. deep with room for their guns to clear the top. Minutes before 12 am they were ordered to load and at 12 they began to fire. Surrounded by piles of ammunition, they stood in the pits wearing rain coats and gas masks as well as gloves to keep their hands from burning. Gerwitz was cannoneer No. 2. His place was at the tail of the gun and he had to do the loading. -
The Allies Break Through The Hindenburg Line
The Hindenburg Line, constructed in 1916 and named after Paul von Hindenburg, was basically a super strong defensive barrier used by the Germans on the Western Front. The Allies had tried to break through the barrier before with no success but eventually as the war was nearing it's end they did. During their second attack on the line after four days of battle they finally broke through forcing the Germans to fall back. This success was huge for the Allies and the beginning of the German's demise -
Charles Gertwitz Is Injured
On October 13th, 1918 at about 1 o'clock PM they received orders to cease firing after putting over a heavy barrage. Gerwitz had left the gun pit and was on his way to where the ammunition was about 30 or 40 feet from the pit when halfway there he "heard a shell screaming" but didn't hear it in time to drop to the ground. The shell exploded and knocked off the river bank. He was hit in his right leg by a piece of shell. -
Gerwitz Is Taken To The Hospital
After becoming injured Gerwitz spent time on French train with others who were injured. The tracks were very rough and people standing in the isles would often fall and grab wounded soldiers hurting them.Then the morning of October 17th Gerwitz was loaded on an American Red Cross train. It was less rough and the crews were American so he could actually speak with them which he liked. The train then took him to hospital No. 13 where he resided having his wounds treated until the 8th of December. -
The End of the War
On November 11th 1918 leaders from both sides held a meeting in a railway car just outside of Compiegne France. Germany, now out of options now that the U.S. had joined the fight on the Western Front had no other choice but to sign an armistice which officially ended the war. The armistice was signed around 5 or 6 in the morning and came into force five hours later. The war to end all wars had left nine million soldiers and five million civilians dead and twenty million soldiers wounded. -
Armistice Day For Gerwitz
When the armistice was signed Charles Gerwitz was at a hospital in Limoges France. They'd heard many rumors of peace before hand and were patiently awaiting for any real news. At 11 o'clock am that day whistles were blown and bells began to ring. People flocked the streets, children were let out of school, everyone was celebrating. The waited for a while to see if it as true as the noises outside got louder and when they finally realized the war truly was over they joined the celebration.
