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Archduke Franz Ferdinand and His Wife are Assassinated by Serbian Nationalists
On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated on his way to an event in city hall. Gavrilo Princip killed both the Archduke and his wife Sophie within minutes of the first shots. This led to WWI when the Austrian-Hungary government immediately blamed Serbia for the attack. Reportedly 3 other Serbian Nationalists tried to assassinate the Archduke including one who injured 2 military officers and 2 that didn’t go through with the plan. -
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The Battle of Verdun
The battle of Verdun was fought between Germany and France at the French fortress of Verdun. It was one of the longest and bloodiest wars of WWI with the total death toll being around 300,000 deaths. It took place from February 21 to December 18, 1916. Germany had been planning this attack when French commanders found out. Working almost exclusively on the offensive moves, the French almost lost. The battle ended with the French capturing 9,000 German soldiers. The French won this 9-month war. -
Charles Daniel Turner Enlists in the United States Navy
Charles D. Turner enlisted in the United States Navy and served for 4 years. His rank was an Electrician First Class. Turner took many pictures of his ship the UB-88 and kept very detailed notes of everything that happened on board the ship. His daughter donated all the photos he took and some diary entries written by her father. -
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The Battle of Somme
The Battle of Somme took place from July 1st to November 18, 1916, near the Somme River in France. It quickly became one of the most costly wars in human history. The British had 57,000 casualties and 19,000 on the first day alone. Over 3 million soldiers fought on both sides of the battle and 1 of those million was wounded or injured. The Allied Forces attacked first and nobody really won the battle. The British ultimately failed to break the German line. -
America Joins WWI in the FIght Against the Central Powers
On April 6, 1917, the US joined the fight against the Central Powers in WWI. The main motivation to join was the sinking of the Lusitania by Germany which killed 128 Americans. Another big reason was the Zimmerman Telegram which revealed that Germany was conversing with Mexico trying to get them to invade America to keep them out of the war. In the end, it worked the exact opposite because Mexico didn’t want to invade and America joined WWI. -
The UB-88 Starts Heading Toward America
According to Charle’s daughter, the UB-88 (a german submarine) was captured and left Harwick, England on this date. Her father told her that during the conflict with the Germans over the ship, the diving mechanism was damaged. It was very difficult to cross the Atlantic and they were 2 weeks late showing up in America. They were considered lost by the United States Navy. Apparently, they weren’t able to keep up without their flotilla. -
Charles Turner Starts a Diary Aboard the UB-88
Turner kept a diary while aboard the UB-88 and stored many photos he took of the submarine. There are up to 20 or 30 pictures taken of sailors and the mechanisms that made the submarine work. The diary entries start on May 3rd and detail 16 meals they had aboard the submarine. Many of the pages are stained and some are ripped pretty significantly. -
The Treaty of Versailles is Signed, Ending WWI
The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, officially ending World War 1. President Woodrow Wilson, the French Premier, and the British Prime Minister all signed the document. The treaty was filled with harsh punishments and massive payments to Germany. In the end, no nation was satisfied with the results. -
Charles D. Turner Gets Honorably Discharged From the Navy
Charles D Turner was honorably discharged from the United States Navy on June 18, 1920. The paper detailed that he was able to re-enlist up to 4 months after receiving an honorable discharge and would get a pay raise. From what I can tell he never re-enlisted. It mentions that he was stationed with the UB-SS, an ex-German submarine. -
Charles D. Turner is Honorably Discharge from the Enlisted Reserved Corps
On December 31, 1942, Charles was honorably discharged from the United States Reserve Corps. He served in WWI and WWII and was removed from the army when he was 55. He was noted as having “excellent” character by authority figures. According to the document was awarded a victory medal for his time in WW2.