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Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the inspector general of the Austro-Hungarian armed forces. On June 28th, 1914 he was in Bosnia and Herzegovina to oversee military maneuvers when a bomb was thrown at his car narrowly missing him. but did not kill him. One of the terrorists involved, Gavrilo Princip was sitting in a shop upset about how the job went when he saw that Ferdinand was still in his car so he went outside and shot Ferdinand and his wife in the open. This event would kickstart WWI. -
Exactly one month after the assassination of Ferdinand, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia as Gavrilo Princip was a Serbian-backed terrorist. Within days multiple European countries declared war on each other escalating the war beyond just Austria-Hungary and Serbia. Austria also fearing the growth of Serbia wanted to “assert dominance”. Only 4 days after Germany an alliance to Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia an ally of Serbia due to Russia supplying Serbia and several other reasons. -
3 days after Germany declared war on Russia they invaded Belgium, a neutral country; in line with their military strategy to destroy France which was an ally of Serbia, this would be a key point in the war as it was the first time in history that gas was used in war. They used chlorine gas by setting up tanks and forcing them open unleashing gas on the battlefield. Side effects of the gas include eye irritation and a burning sensation in the chest. Around 90,000 died to gas by the end of WW1 -
The United States of America declared war on Germany for unrestricted submarine use that killed hundreds of people—as well as propaganda campaigns and the Zimmerman telegraph. The Zimmerman telegraph was a telegraph sent from German Secretary Arthur Zimmermann to the German Minister to Mexico Great Britain intercepted it and showed it to the United States showing Germany was trying to convince Mexico to attack the United States to distract them from Europe, as Germany feared the West the most. -
Leo Joseph Bailey was born on November 29th, 1894. When World War 1 started he was just a teacher until he enlisted in the military on June 1st, 1917 where he joined the Army. He was assigned to Company M, 9th Infantry, 2nd Division after training in Fort Slocum and Syracuse in New York. He also fought in France for a short time. He fought in Belleau and stayed there for most of if not the entire war. He was given many awards including the Purple Heart for his bravery and service. -
Bailey had been fighting in the war for a month now and was still in Belleau. While not a lot is known about what he did, Belleau was primarily an aggressive, close-quarters combat zone. No trenches just constant gunfighting. This is the place where he would eventually be injured by an artillery shell more than a year later. Bailey was sending letters home to his family and had stable communication with them. There are tons of his letters and journal writings from his time. -
Months into the war Bailey was sending letters back and forth to his family luckily staying in communication with them. One of the most notable letters written to his sister said, "My twenty-third birthday occurs next week. Despite your two additional years, you may yet outlive me." Bailey most likely believed he was probably going to die in the war, many did others near him. he was still fighting at Belleau wood. -
Leo Joseph Bailey was injured in July of 1918 at Belleau Wood during an artillery attack trying to get to his dugout. He would have to spend 2 months in multiple hospitals. In his memoir, he writes that he looked fondly at this period. This was the first time he had slept in a bed or got fresh warm food handed to him in the mornings or that he was taken care of. After a few months, he was fit for light duty behind the lines and transferred to Prisoner of War Escort Company 85. -
In one of the biggest moments in history, World War 1 had finally ended. An armistice was created and world leaders met with Germany to finally end the fighting. Germany was required to give up a majority of its land, as well as not be allowed to have an army of more than 100,000 soldiers. They also had to pay back more than 130 billion in gold marks. Unfortunately, this would not be the last world war as just 20 years later Germany rose again to conquer the world. -
Leo Joseph Bailey would retire from the army in 1919. After leaving the army, he was most likely a teacher . He was known for being active in his local American Legion chapter. He told a lot of people his stories about the war and the things he did during his time. Bailey lived until he was 94 living a long life. It's known what his cause of death is other than an illness. Leo Joseph Bailey served this country well and will forever be appreciated for giving his life to the army to fight.