-
The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand
On June 28, 1914, the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand happened. He was assassinated because the Black Hand decided to assassinate him because of his perceived threat to Serbian independence. Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. A guy named Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Ferdinand. This is how WW1 started. -
The battle of Mons
On August 23, 1914, the battle of Mons began. The Battle of Mons was the first major action of the British Expeditionary Force in the First World War. It was a subsidiary action of the Battle of the Frontiers, in which the Allies clashed with Germany on the French borders. The British withdrew to the defensive line along Valenciennes–Maubeuge road before retreating 250 mi to the outskirts of Paris. -
The first battle of Marne
On September 5, 1914, the first battle of the Marne began. The German army invaded France with a plan for winning the war in 40 days by occupying Paris and destroying the French and British armies. The Germans had initial successes in August. France won the battle. Resulted in an estimated 250,000 French casualties, 12,733 British casualties, and 298,000 German casualties. -
The Battle of Verdun
On February 21, 1916, the Battle of Verdun began. World War I engagement in which the French repulsed a major German offensive. It was one of the longest, bloodiest, and most ferocious battles of the war. French casualties amounted to about 400,000, and German ones to about 350,000. The French resistance at Verdun proved a turning point, halting the German advance. The heavy German losses at Verdun combined with even greater casualties suffered. -
The Battle of the Somme
On July 1, 1916 the battle of the Somme began. The Battle of Somme was a joint operation between British and French forces intended to achieve a decisive victory over the Germans on the Western Front. What happened in the battle was the barrage lifted German machine gunners emerged from their intact shelters and mowed down the oncoming British infantry in their thousands. That first day of the Battle of the Somme was the bloodiest day in British military history with over 57,000 casualties. -
Forbes Allen letter to his father
On January 20, 1918, Forbes wrote a letter out to his dad writing that he had not had a letter from home for two weeks now. As for the latter, there isn’t a possibility of me getting out for three or four months at the least. The hospitals here are taking care of all the sick from the divisions, and other companies, that are stationed within a radius of one hundred kilometers of this center. Besides this, we are getting quite a few sick men from -
Forbes Allen 2nd letter to his Father
On June 26, 1918, Forbes wrote another letter to his dad. He was telling him where he was located in Gieres, France. He wrote about when he left the camp that we landed at a few days ago and traveled over four hundred miles. The traveling was a bit tiresome as there were forty of us fellows, to a cattle car, these cards only make about half of one of the freight cards that we have at home. During the day we enjoyed our ride very much on account of the fine scenery. -
Forbes Allen Christmas card to Family
On November 19, 1918, Forbes Allen sent a Christmas card to his family telling him about how he was doing and what was going on in the war. He said I had a wonderful time today. I saw hundreds of guns taken from the Huns, besides tanks, airplanes, and balloons. Also saw Napoleon’s tomb, the Eiffel Tower, and many other places of importance. Leave tonight for Nancy and expect to get there about nine o’clock tomorrow morning, from there we go to Toul and then back to camp. -
Forbes Allen 3rd letter to his Father
On December 26, 1918, Forbes Allen wrote another letter out to his father. The letter was telling his father what was going on in the war. He started by saying since writing last I located Andrew and some more of the boys from home. About a month ago I learned that the twenty-sixth division was quartered about forty miles from here, and a week ago Sunday another fellow and myself visited them. -
Forbes Allen received a Honorable Discharge
On July 2, 1919, Forbes Allen received an Honorable discharge from the war and was able to leave. This honorable discharge was to honor everything that he had done for the war and everything he had committed. It shows all of the stuff that he has fought for in the war and all of his achievements and awards. With this discharge, he can live life with honor and they gave this to him to award him for all his hard work.