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Assassination
Some say WW1 started because of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Arch and his wife were assassinated one night. A rapid chain of events came afterwards. Within a week Russia, Belgium, France, Great Britain, and Serbia went against Austria-Hungary and Germany. -
Christmas Truce
One night during WW1, the men of the war wanted a Christmas truce but was rejected of having one. On Christmas Eve night, German and British troops finished the night singing Christmas carols to each other. Then on the morning of Christmas morning, German troops decided to create a truce. The troops went onto no mans land calling out "Christmas". Next thing you know, the men of war were celebrating Christmas their own way. -
Poison Gas
Poison gas was first used by German's during WW1. The poison gas was also called mustard gas. Mustard gas was the most feared weapon of WW1. The gas left soldiers in strong, painful agony. This weapon caused a lot of suffering and left many dead. Many who survived the mustard gas were left blind. Today we do not use this weapon. -
Lusitania
Lusitania was a big boat filled with civillian passenger liner. The boat was near Ireland when suddenly a torpedo fired by a U-Boat sunk the ship down. A U-Boat is one of the most terrifying new weapons of WW1. More than 1,200 people died including 128 American's. This led America to get involved in the war last minute. -
Edith Cavell
Edith Cavell was a red cross hospital for soldiers of WW1. The nationality you are does not matter to her, you will still get treated. On the 5th of August, the Germans arrested her. The Germans arrested her because she helped over 2000 Allied soldiers escape to neutral Holland. Soon, the Germans executed her by firing squad. -
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was the largest naval battle of WW1. It was the first battleship of Germany and British. Jutland was a confused and bloody action fight. 250 ships were involved including around 100,000 men. The British lost more than 14 ships and over 6,000 men. -
Battle of Somme
One of the deadliest and bloodiest battles of WW1 is the Battle of Somme. On the first day, nearly 20,000 British soldiers died. Germans and Allied soldiers went into heavy battle. By November the Allies gained five miles of enemy territory. There was over half of a million casualties on each side. -
America enters the war
The U.S. was minding their own business when suddenly they received a message. The message was called :Zimmerman telegram". In the telegram it said that Germany would help Mexico get their land back from the U.S. if Mexico joined Germany in the war. This led to America getting involved in the war. We came at the last minute not letting Germany touch us. -
Otto Leven, Drafted
On October 1917, Otto was assigned to the 90th infantry division. He served in the 375th regiment. Before Otto registered, he was working for the Empire Refineries Company as a pipe fitter. The men in his division were either from Oklahoma or Texas. -
First Letter Home
In the year of 1918 Otto was in a camp called Camp Travis. Camp Travis took place in Fort Sam Houston , Texas. The camp held about 50,000 troops. At this camp, soldiers would train and organize into units. While Otto was at Camp Travis, he sent 3 letters to home. In his first letter he wrote about basic recruit training. -
Dogs of WW1
Dogs were a part of WW1. Dogs had different jobs in the war. There was intelligent, trained, medium sized dogs that were the most popular. Some dogs could find wounded men and comfort them till they are gone. There were many other jobs like a messenger dog. It is said that Germany had about 30,000 employed dogs. Many other countries employed dogs into the War. -
Holding the line
On the day of September 27, Otto wrote a letter home. He sent out the letter from somewhere in France. Otto wrote about how he got ready to attack enemies. He was made sergeant on his birthday. He captured enemy ground. -
Last of Otto
On the day of September 27, there was a newspaper clipping about Otto Leven. The title of the newspaper is called "With the Colors". In the newspaper it wrote about Otto Levens final letter. "Somewhere in France" was the title of Otto's final letter. Otto died in France. -
Typed Letter
Joseph Leven, father of Otto, received a typed letter. The letter wrote about how Otto got into a battle and got wounded. The day after the battle men of his side found Otto dead. The letter was sent home to Otto's family. The men wrote about how he was a very good man of the war in his division. -
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles is the signing of ending WW1. It was written by the allies. Germany was not invited to the Treaty of Versailles. Germany agreed to pay for the reparations under 2 plans. Those plans were soon canceled and holocaust arrived.
