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The First Battle of the Marne
During the start of World War 1, Germany hoped to avoid fighting on two fronts by eliminating France before turning to Russia. The battle started on September 6th, 1914, and the battle ended on September 12th, 1914. The German offense had some starting success, but there weren’t enough reinforcements available to support their strength. The French and British launched a counterstrike at the Marne. After several days of fighting the Germans retreated. There were 5 million fatalities. -
Gallolapi
The Gallolapi campaign started on April 25th, 1915, and the battle ended on January 9th, 1916. The Gallolapi campaign was a land-based element of a plan that intended to let Allied ships pass through the Dardanelles, capture Constantinople, and eventually knock Ottoman Turkey out of the war. On April 25th, 1915, Allied troops landed on the Gallolapi peninsula in Ottoman Turkey. General Sir Ian Hamilton expressed two landings. Both landings were quickly restrained by committed Ottoman troops. -
The Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun was the longest battle of the First World War. The battle started on February 21st, 1916, and the battle ended on December 18th, 1916. The battle began with a German attack on the protected French Town of Verdun. The ten-hour opening bombardment saw an uncommon concentration of firepower and even though the French were forced back they did not break. The Germans had lost over 430,000 men killed or wounded and the French lost around 550,000. -
Jutland
The Battle of Jutland started on May 31st, 1916, and the battle ended on June 1st, 1916. The Battle of Jutland was the largest naval battle of the First World War. The German High Seas Fleet wanted to weaken the Royal Navy by launching an ambush on the British Grand Fleet in the North Sea. Jutland was a disoriented and bloody action that involved 250 ships and around 100,000 men. The British won the battle and lost 14 ships and over 6,000 men, while Germany lost 11 ships and over 2,500 men. -
Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme started on July 1st, 1916, and ended on November 18th, 1916. It was a joint operation between British and French forces intended to achieve a conclusive victory over the Germans. They faced against German defenses that had been carefully laid out over many months. Regardless of the seven-day bombardment previous to the attack on July 1st, the British did not earn the quick advance that their military leadership had planned for. -
Roy C. Avery Enlists
In July 1917 he heard that the Bellevue Hospital was going to organize a surgical unit for France, and was asking for volunteers. He went down and enlisted, but they told him to go back and that they would inform him when the U.S. government would activate the unit. Since he hadn’t heard anything from April to July 3rd he decided not to wait any longer and to join the Bellevue hospital unit. -
Life in the Army
Life in the army for him was a bore, the drills were deadly. They were woken up in the morning by a bugle call at 5:45 am, then they had to do calisthenics for 30 minutes. After he had to make his bed and clean up. After the inspection, they had drills. Each man had their duties that were assigned to them by the officers. -
Rockefeller Institute
His brother was working at the Rockefeller Institute doing research, so he called him and told him that he was bored. His brother said that they were giving a course to commissioned officers from the rank of colonel down to lieutenant and since he was a private he wasn’t a high enough rank to qualify but, he still was able to take the course. The course lasted 3 weeks. -
The Olympic
After he finished the course in war bacteriology the commanding officer promoted him to Sargent. Being promoted means his salary is to go up to $40 a month. One night the bugles sounded they were called to attention to get in their heavy marching gear. They marched to the street of the Hudson River, where they were taken aboard the Queen of the Seas. They were assigned their own hammocks to sleep in. -
Cliffs of Dover
They boarded a train for the south and the Cliffs of Dover, and there they rested again for almost a week. One night they were ordered to get aboard the cast iron cattle boats and they were conveyed across the channel. There was a horrible crash, something crumpled up the iron bow. Everyone was rushing up the stairs, and at the top was an officer with a revolver threatening the first person who put his foot on deck. -
The Sail to LeHarve
After they left Dover and the Englishman's estate they sailed the LeHavre. It was different there were dirty lands full of cinders and the water supply was poor. At night they slept in conical tents. They were told that they going to Vichy, France. This is where all the dissipated Parisians go to recover from a winter of indecency in Paris. -
Vichy
As they approached Paris a bombardment began. Soon the searchlights were sweeping the skies and picking up aircraft, while the guns would fire at it. The aircraft was right over some construction and let off a shower of heavy explosions. It was a terrible shame to think of the buildings and the human beings blown to bits. After that day they reached Vichy where their base hospital is. -
Wild Boar Head
One evening Roy was marching some troops down to the French mess hall, and as he turned the corner a little dog came barking after him, and two elderly ladies were standing by the gateway. They asked him to come to dinner and to bring a friend. They had sent servants down to the bottom of the wine cellar and brought out their superior wines. They had a wild boar head which had been soaked in wine and vinegar. -
1st Lieutenant
Shortly after they got to Vichy, an order came and he got promoted to 1st lieutenant. Everything he owned belonged to the government from the skin out, he had to turn it in. A first lieutenant's outfit costs $200 so he borrows money from the commander and his boys. His reason for being upfront was to tell the physicians when they might want to sew up the wounds of their patients because sewing up the wound without knowing what was in it would mean trouble later on. -
Roy C. Avery's Journey Ends
He came back on a British dispatch vessel. They were among the last of the medical units. He was assigned to Manchester University and he received the privilege of traveling on English and Scottish railroads. In the summer of 1971 before his death, he gave the taped account of his reminiscence of his involvement in World War I. -
The End
On November 10th the Germans heard that Kaiser Wilhelm II had resigned and that they should accept the armistice. On November 11th the armistice was accepted. Mashal Foch sent word to the allied commanders that combat would stop on the entire front starting at 11 o’clock, November 11th. The allied troops won’t go past the line reached at that hour until further orders. The war had finally come to an end.