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Quiren M. Groessl
Quiren was injured during the war and lost all of his belongings when his clothes were ripped off so he could get medical help. Quiren's mother received a letter from the war department a year later stating that if she could present proof that she was the mother of the deceased Quiren M. Groessl, she could have his belongings. Quiren was not dead. His dog tags never made it to the hospital because his dog tags were given to their platoon commander, lieutenant was killed the following day. -
" Big Boy"
Nicknamed "Big Boy" during his time in the service. Quiren grew up in a German-American family in Wisconsin. a corporal in the 5th Wisconsin regiment, he survived a brutal bayonet attack after being captured behind enemy lines. He eventually escaped and spent the remained of the war in different hospitals in France and the United States. -
Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand was born on December 18th 1863 in Graz Austria. in 1900 Ferdinand gave up his children's rights to the throne in order to marry a lady in waiting. While in power, he attempted to restore Austria-Russian relations while maintaining an alliance with Germany. In 1914 Serb nationalist assassinated him. One month later Austria declared war on Serbia. That is how World War 1 began. -
Russia mobilizes
Russia mobilizes its vast army to intervene against Austria-Hungary in favor of its ally, Serbia. this move starts a chain reaction that leads to the outbreak of hostilities. -
Europe descends into the war
On August 1st 1914, four days after Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, two more great European powers- Russia and Germany declare war on each other the same day France orders a general mobilization. The so called great war the ensued would be one of unprecedented destruction and loss of life. Resulting in the deaths of some 20 million soldiers and civilians and the physical devastation of much of the European continent. This all started on june 28th 1914 -
Germany limits submarines
Reacting to international outrage at the sinking of the Lusitania and other neutral passenger lines, Kaiser Wilhelm suspends unrestricted submarine warfare. This is an attempt to keep the United states out of the war, but it severely hampers German efforts to prevent American supplies from reaching France and Britain. -
First Tanks
The British employ the first tanks ever used in battle at Delville wood. Although they are useful at breaking barbed wire and clearing a path for the infantry tanks are still primitive and they fail to be the decisive weapon as their designers thought they would be a tank nicknamed " little willie" rolls off the assembly line in England, willie was an overnight success. it weighed 14 tons . it got stuck in trenches and crawled over terrain at only 2 mph. -
U.S enters the war
Congress authorizes a declaration of war against Germany. The United States enters world war 1 on the side of France and Britain, they joined as allies to help fights. Under the command of major General John J. Pershing. More than two million U.S. soldiers fought on battlefields in France. Many of the Americans were not in favor of the U.S entering the war and wanted to remain neutral. However, the U.S did enter the war. -
Zimmerman Telegram
British intelligence gives the so called Zimmerman telegram, a message from German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmerman proposing that Mexico side with Germany in case of war between Germany and the U.S. . In return, Germany promises to return to Mexico the " lost provinces" of Texas and much of the rest of the American Southwest. Mexico declines the offer. U.S. joins the war. -
Escape
After being captured, three Germans, one on either side of him and one behind him began to take him to the German trenches where he would be a prisoner. Before they made it back to the Germans side, the U.S. began to set off bombs of their own. Catching the guards off guard Quiren took them out with his trench knife. He was injured and in shock. it took him hours to roll/walk back to the American trenches. -
Rough Ride
Quiren's wounds were so extreme that he had to be taken to a field hospital in an ambulance so he could get the surgery he needed for his neck/back area. The ambulance ride was terrible for Quiren and the other two soldiers in the back. They were strapped down on stretchers so they would not fall. The Germans spotted the ambulance and began to shoot at it. the ambulance made it and the soldiers were fine. -
Germany and Russia peace treaty
The Germans sign a peace treaty with the new Bolshevik government of Russia. The terms of the treaty give Germany huge tracts of land that had been the Ukraine and Poland, and peace on the Eastern front allows Germany to shift soldiers to the western front, causing serious problems for the French, British and Americans. -
Prisoner of War
May 27th, 1918 German soldiers attacked American trenches with bombs and big guns. The sky was lit up, they could see bullets coming from all sides. When it finally stopped, Quiren could not see anyone that wasn't dead or wounded. He was then captured from behind by three German soldiers. -
Belleau Wood ends
The battle of Belleau wood ends with the final expulsion of the Germans from the wood, which marks the farthest German advance on Paris. The area has changed hands six times during the three-week battle, which has caused nearly 10,000 American casualties. -
Wilhelm Abdicates
Kaiser Wilhelm abdicates, ending all German hope for a victory. He and his retinue quietly slip over the border into the Netherlands where he lives out the remainder of his life in relative peace and writes a self-promoting memoir defending his actions in the war. -
Hopeful Thinking
Quiren was moved to a hospital in Paris. Germans started bombing Paris. Buildings directly by the hospital were being shot up by " Big Bertha" (Big machine gun). The men in the hospital shared stories about what they plan on doing when they go home after the war. the hospital did not get bombed. -
Germans Fire
The German shells were filled with chlorine gas at Allied lines. This was the first time that large amounts of gas were used in a battle and the results was the near collapse of the French lines. However the Germans are unable to take advantage of the beach. This was the first major gas attack by the Germans and it devastated the allied lines. The Germans used xyfyl Bromide, a more lethal gas at Russian troops in Bolimov on the eastern front. -
President Hoover
Herbert Hoover, who had become president in 1929, was appointed U.S. food administrator. His job was to provide food to the U.S. army and its allies. He encouraged people to plant "victory gardens" or personal gardens. More than 20 million Americans planted their own gardens, and food consumption in the U.S. decreased by 15%.
