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The Artillery of WW1
Artillery was one of the most significant elements of WW1 which led soldiers to dig deeper and deeper into what became trench lines and bunkers. Field artillery was split into two different types; heavy artillery batteries and field artillery pieces which were both effective tools in combat. Guns were closer to canons of earlier warfare and howitzers were more mortar-style weapons which were identified by their steeper upward angled barrels. -
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World War One
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WW1 Personal Interest Topic
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Christmas Truce of WW1
At the first light of dawn on Christmas Day, some German soldiers emerged from their trenches and approached the Allied lines across no man’s land, calling out merry Christmas in their enemies native tongue. At first the Allied soldiers feared it was a trick but noticing that the German soldiers were unarmed they climbed out of their trenches and shook hands with the enemy. There was even an instance where soldiers played a friendly game of soccer with one-another. -
The Battle of Gallipoli
The Battle of Gallipoli, also known as The Gallipoli Campaign of 1915-1916 was an unsuccessful naval attack by British and French ships on the Dardanelles Straits in February and March of 1915. The attack was an ultimate failure, since the lack of sufficient intelligence and knowledge of the terrain, hampered the success of the invasion. Evacuation had begun in December of 1915 and was completed following January. -
World War 1’s First Tank, Little Willie
Little Willie was the very first prototype tank of WW1 that was developed in Great Britain by William Foster & Co. 1915. It was the first completed tank prototype in history. The land-ship Little Willie is the oldest surviving individual tank now residing at The Tank Museum, Bovington, England. -
Tanks in World War 1
The development of tanks in WW1 was a response to a stalemate that had developed on the Western Front. The first research efforts took place in both Great Britain and France. The French fielded their first tanks of April 1917. The Germans had only begun development of tanks in response to the appearance of Allied tanks on the battlefield. The very first tanks were mechanically unreliable since there were problems that caused numerous attrition rates during combat deployment and transit. -
The Battle of Verdun
The Battle if Verdun was fought between Germany and France, as France being the nation defending the fortress complex around Verdun. At the end of the first week the Germans had advanced six miles. On July 14, the Germans called off their offensive due to heavy casualties. In the autumn the French retook Douaumont and then Vaux. The total casualty figure for the entire battle came close to 1.25 million. -
The Red Baron
The Red Baron was the name of the German fighter pilot Manfred von Richthofen, who was the deadliest flying ace of World War 1. During a 19 month period between 1916 and 1918, the Baron shot down 80 Allied aircraft and won fame for his scarlet colored airplanes and effective flying style. Richthofen grew even more popular after he took command of a German fighter wing known as the Flying Circus. The Baron was eventually killed in a dogfight that took place over France. -
Journal Entry of getting accepted Into the 102nd. Engineers in Albany, Georgia - John Joseph Brennan
After getting looked over I was said to be in good shape and condition but terribly skinny and about so many pounds underweight. They gave me a quart of water to drink and told me to sit around for a while and then come in to get weighted again. This time, although I didn’t put on any more pounds or look any different, I was accepted. When I was weighed the first time, I was 128 pounds; the second time I weighed 135 pounds. -
Journal Entry While in Spartanburg South Carolina - John Joseph Brennan
Colored person steps off the sidewalk to let a white person pass, separate entrances on all railroad stations, public buildings and so forth. The colored people are very much afraid of the white people; they still are slaves. While in Spartanburg we had our fun time, but we did a lot of hard work and drilling, digging ditches, building roads, cutting down trees and all other kinds of hard work. You don’t complain, you just do as you are told.” -
The Battle of Somme
The Battle of Somme took place from July to November 1916, which began as an Allied offensive against German forces on the Western Front but turned into one of the most costly battles of the war. British forces suffered more than 57,000 casualties, including the deaths of over 19,000 soldiers on the first day of the battle alone. By the time the battle had nearly ended five months later, more than 1 million soldiers had been killed or wounded of the 3 million soldiers that had been in action. -
The Zimmermann Telegram
America’s involvement in WW1 was made inevitable by early 1917 due to a notorious letter penned by the German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmermann. On January 16, 1917, British code breakers intercepted an encrypted message from Zimmermann intended for Heinrich von Eckardt, the German ambassador of Mexico. “If the neutral United States entered the war on the side of the Allies. Von Eckardt was to approach Mexico’s president with an offer to forge a secret wartime alliance. -
Journal Entry of the New York Engineer Train
Notes: The 102nd. Engineer Train was organized at Albany, NY, in the spring of 1917 as the New York Engineer Train, National Guard, 6th Division U.S.A. The recruits were all obtained from voluntary enlistment. -
My Own True Story of My Experience in the Army - John Joseph Brennan
Most of the work was done at night from four p.m. until daybreak. When you were out on the field in action, the food and living conditions were terrible. Sometimes you would get one small portion of canned meat that would be shared by eight men plus a biscuit. And nothing to drink. In the morning you would get a small cup of water which would be used to wash your face and dishes. Not to drink as it might contain mustard gas which would kill you. -
A poem. “Only a volunteer” -John Joseph Brennan
“why didn’t I wait to be drafted and led to the train with a band, and put in a claim for exemption, oh! why did I hold up my hand? Why didn’t I wait to be banqueted, why didn’t I wait to be cheered for the drafted men get all the credit, while I merely volunteered. And nobody gave me a banquet nobody gave a kind word, the puff of the engine, the grind of the wheel was all the good-bye that I heard... -
Germany’s First Tank
The A7V was a heavy tank that was introduced by Germany in 1918, during WW1. Only 20 of these tanks were used in action from March to October of 1918 and were the only tanks produced by Germany to be used in combat. Tanks like the ones Great Britain had, were used to spearhead an attack across No Man’s Land. -
The Battle of Amiens
The Battle of Amiens was an Allied offensive that followed the Second Battle of Marne, with a force of 75,000 men and more than 500 tanks, and nearly 2,000 planes. The Allied offensive achieved huge gains on the first day with Allied troops and tanks advancing eight miles and creating 27,000 enemy casualties. Although the German resistance had held its ground, the fighting would end after a few days.
