World War 1
The assassins that assassinated Archduke Francis Ferdinand were linked back to an organization called the Black Hand that were Serbians that tried to unify all Slavs. When Austria found out who the assassins were they declared war on Serbia. This declarations of war from Austria on Serbia is the event that started the war because other countries followed Austria's example and started declaring war on their enemy countries.
- June 28th: Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Francis Ferdinand.
- July 23rd: The Austrians issued a ultimatum to the government of Serbia.
- July 28th: Austrio-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
- July 29th: Russia mobilized an army to support Serbia against Austria-Hungary.
- July 31st: Germany asked Russia to stop mobilizing troops. Russia refused.
- August 1st: Germany declared war on Russia.
- August 3rd: Germany declared war on France.
- August 4th: Britain sent an ultimatum to Germany demanding that Belgian neutrality be respected.
Stalmate of the War
The stalemate on the western and southern fronts came about because of new developments in weaponry. Barbed wire made it hard for opposing forces to attack each others trenches through "no-man's-land". Also the machine gun turned infantry charges across no-man's-land into suicide missions because of its continuous fire and its ability to gun down multiple casualties at a time. The trenches were also made worse because of developments in weaponry. Poison gas such as mustard gas was shot across no-man's-land and into the opposing forces trenches. The gas would then poison, and eventually kill, all people exposed to the gas. The trenches were also ridden with diseases passed through rats such as lice.
Quotes From Soldiers in the Trenches
“Whilst asleep during the night, we were frequently awakened by rats running over us. When this happened too often for my liking, I would lie on my back and wait for a rat to linger on my legs; then violently heave my legs upwards, throwing the rat into the air. Occasionally, I would hear a grunt when the rat landed on a fellow victim.”
- R L Venables
“The water in the trenches through which we waded was alive with a multitude of swimming frogs. Red slugs crawled up the side of the trenches and strange beetles with dangerous looking horns wriggled along dry ledges and invaded the dugouts, in search of the lice that infested them."
- Unknown
“If you have never had trench foot described to you, I will explain. Your feet swell to two to three times their normal size and go completely dead. You can stick a bayonet into them and not feel a thing. If you are lucky enough not to lose your feet and the swelling starts to go down, it is then that the most indescribable agony begins. I have heard men cry and scream with pain and many have had to have their feet and legs amputated. I was one of the lucky ones, but one more day in that trench and it may have been too late.”
- Harry Roberts
"We must looked out for our bread. The rats have become much more numerous lately because the trenches are no longer in good condition. The rats here are particularly repulsive, they are so fat - the kind we call corpse-rats. They have shocking, evil, naked faces, and it is nauseating to see their long, nude tails."
- Erich Maria Remarque
“We slept in our clothes and cut our hair short so that it would tuck inside our caps. Dressing simply meant putting on our boots. There were times when we had to scrape the lice off with the blunt edge of a knife and our underclothes stuck to us. “
- Elizabeth de T’Serclaes
- R L Venables
“The water in the trenches through which we waded was alive with a multitude of swimming frogs. Red slugs crawled up the side of the trenches and strange beetles with dangerous looking horns wriggled along dry ledges and invaded the dugouts, in search of the lice that infested them."
- Unknown
“If you have never had trench foot described to you, I will explain. Your feet swell to two to three times their normal size and go completely dead. You can stick a bayonet into them and not feel a thing. If you are lucky enough not to lose your feet and the swelling starts to go down, it is then that the most indescribable agony begins. I have heard men cry and scream with pain and many have had to have their feet and legs amputated. I was one of the lucky ones, but one more day in that trench and it may have been too late.”
- Harry Roberts
"We must looked out for our bread. The rats have become much more numerous lately because the trenches are no longer in good condition. The rats here are particularly repulsive, they are so fat - the kind we call corpse-rats. They have shocking, evil, naked faces, and it is nauseating to see their long, nude tails."
- Erich Maria Remarque
“We slept in our clothes and cut our hair short so that it would tuck inside our caps. Dressing simply meant putting on our boots. There were times when we had to scrape the lice off with the blunt edge of a knife and our underclothes stuck to us. “
- Elizabeth de T’Serclaes
Battles of the War
In 1916 the Germans made a huge assault on Verdun. The French counterattacked them and kept them at bay but at a huge coast. In the battle, 315,000 French soldiers were killed and 280,000 Germans soldiers were killed. Only 160,000 identifiable bodies were recovered.
On November 20, 1917, the British launched the first full-scale offensive that was designed exclusively to accommodate the British secret weapon, the tank. A surprise artillery barrage started the offensive and 476 tanks, packed tightly for a mass attack moved against the German lines. Supported by infantry the gains were dramatic, breaching the almost impregnable Hindenberg line to depths of 4-5 miles in some places. However, these gains seemed to surprise British High Command equally as much as the Germans, and the following cavalry failed to take advantage.
On November 20, 1917, the British launched the first full-scale offensive that was designed exclusively to accommodate the British secret weapon, the tank. A surprise artillery barrage started the offensive and 476 tanks, packed tightly for a mass attack moved against the German lines. Supported by infantry the gains were dramatic, breaching the almost impregnable Hindenberg line to depths of 4-5 miles in some places. However, these gains seemed to surprise British High Command equally as much as the Germans, and the following cavalry failed to take advantage.
Weapons of the War
- Poison gas- poison gas was used to kill enemies by shooting the gas into the opposing forces' trenches.
- Barbed wire- was put into no-man's-land to keep the enemy from attacking each others' trenches.
- Machine gun- were used to gun down large amounts of people at a time when the enemy charges from their trench.
- Tanks- tanks were deployed to break down defensive trenches and to restore fighting.
- Airplanes- were used to fight enemies through aerial combat called "dog fights".
- Submarines- were used by the German navy to stop the Allies commercial shipping.