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Archduke Assassination
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo, on June 28, 1914. World War 1 was sparked by his death. -
There were special battalions for short soldiers
For the British Army the minimum height requirement was 5ft 3in. But many men who were shorter were caught up in the recruiting enthusiasm of August 1914 and were keen to enlist. Bantam battalions were lost of times coal miners, and their short height and technical expertise proved a great asset in the tunneling work that went on underneath the western front. They were not very efficient in battle. The bantam battalions idea was quietly dropped and they started taking in normal sized men. -
War Begins
After the outbreak of hostilities from Russia mobilization in its vast army to intervene against Austria-Hungary in favor of its ally, Serbia on July 30, 1914. The war began on August 4, 1914 when Germany invaded Belgium. -
Poison gas for the first time
When the Second Battle of Ypres started Germany used poison gas for the first time in a major attack. German soldiers released almost 200 tonnes of chlorine gas across a 4km front after opening the valves. They rely on the wind to blow the gas in the direction towards French trenches. With in 10 minutes over 6,000 Allied troops died within 10 minutes. the Canadian reinforcements decide to cover their faces with urine-soaked scarves in order to protect themselves from the poison gas. -
Lusitania Sinks
A German submarine sinks the passenger liner Lusitania. 1,198 people carried on the ship, 128 of them being Americans. After the sinking, Kaiser Wilhelm suspends unrestricted submarine warfare on September 18. Until February 1, 1917 when Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare in European waterways. -
Portuguese troops fought in the war
Just like many neutral countries, Portuguese was mad at Germany and their U-boat attacks. . Also worried that the German military campaign in Africa might move into their colonies in Mozambique and Angola. In March 1916, Germany declared war on Portugal, they also patrolled the ocean to strengthen their border controls over Africa. Portuguese sent a military force to the western front. The Portuguese won and put up a good fight against the great German offensive of spring, 1918. -
The Battle of the Somme
7:30 in the morning, a whistle was blown to signal the start of The Battle of the Somme. The Battle of the Somme would be the bloodiest day in British Army history. By the end of the day about 20,000 irish and British boys and men would never see their homes again, or their families. And another 40,000 would lay injured, hurt and bruised. -
First Tanks
At Delville Wood, the British employed the first tanks to ever be used in battle. Tanks are crude and they fail to be the decisive weapon. Even though they are useful for breaking through barbed wire and clearing a path for the infantry. -
U-boat warfare
Germany restarts unrestricted U-boat warfare. All allied and neutral ships are to be sunk on sight. Over the next month nearly a million tons of shipping would be sunk. Royal Navy convoy was ordered by Lloyd George to protect merchant ships destined for Britain. -
Zimmermann Telegram
Zimmermann Telegram, a message from German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmermann saying that Mexico side with Germany in case of war between Germany and the United States. Germany promises to return to Mexico the "lost provinces" of Texas and much of the rest of the American Southwest. Mexico ended up declining the offer. -
the start of it all
In 1917 at a recruiting station in Wichita, Kansas,he had difficulties of getting in because he was 18, and to enlist you must be 21. A week later he went back to the same station and he said he was 21. The officer gave him the test but he just wasn't heavy enough. The Navy was his next try, they didn't want him because he was too flat footed. Next was, Oklahoma recruiting station for the army and they sent him to Logan, Colorado. From there he was sworn into the United States regular Army. -
When He Went Overseas
He went overseas Carpathian in December 1917. When he was expecting to be directly going to France. Some officers had been aboard when they made the rescue of Titanic survivors. His group was diverted in Winchester, England to reveal the unit of the Sixth Marines which had the camp hospital number 35. But he wanted to go to France, and he made a plan too. He also would talk to all the heads about it. -
Germany and Russia Peace
The German sign a peace treaty with the Bolshevik government in Russia. The treaty terms give Germany peace on the Eastern Front, allows Germany to shift soldiers to the Western front, which caused serious issues for the French, British, and Americans. The treaty also gave Germany huge tracts of land that had been Ukraine and Poland. -
The Chinese worked on the western front
Chinese Labour Corps filled all those sandbags we see in photographs of the trenches. They also loaded the guns, ammunition and food onto lorries or trains. And they cleared up after a train was derailed or a headquarters building shelled. The Chinese Labour Corps volunteered from the Chinese countryside who were sent to Europe to fulfill a vital. -
Frank Woodruff Buckles being discharged
At the age of 18 he was discharged at Camp Pike, Arkansas in 1919. He was paid $143.90. He also had a bonus of $60.00.
