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Earle Covingtion Smith Biography
Earle was born in February 19, 1885 in Wilmington, Delaware. He married two people in his lifetime and had one daughter. He went to Lehigh College to get a degree in Engineering. He served in the military during WWI as a 1st Lieutenant and then a Captain for the Army. He won a Victory Medal for his valor, and he was ranked as a Knight in Belgium. He died June 12 1965 in Wilmington, Delaware -
Asassination of Archduke Franz
There was tension in Europe. There were alliances for a long time but there was political instability in the Balkans who was going to destroy the agreements. In Sarajevo, Bosnia Archduke Franz and his wife were assassinated by a Serbian nationalist. This led to a domino effect in the world. The Serbian government was blamed for this. -
Schlieffen Plan
On August 4, 1914, German troops crossed the Belgium border, shooting civilians and leaving destruction and death behind them. Germany fought on two fronts, one towards France through Belgium, and one confronting Russia. This was known as the Schlieffen Plan. -
Christmas Truce
Around Christmas day in 1914, fighting had stopped and enemies became friends for a day in celebration of the holiday. On Christmas Eve, German troops and British troops had started singing together, shaking hands, had presents of cigarettes, and lastly there was a game of soccer. Some soldiers had used the time to mourn lost comrades, and had retrieved dead bodies out of no man's land. It has not happened since because of officers disciplinary actions. -
Lustania
Lustania was a British Ocean liner going from New York to Liverpool, England. The ship was sunk by a German U-boat. Germany had announced unrestricted submarine warfare in the British isles. There were over 1,900 passengers on board, and over 1,000 had died, 120 Americans included. This would eventually lead the U.S to enter WWI. -
Battle of Verdun
On February 21, 1916 the city of Verdun was rained on by bullets on an 8 mile radius. The Germans were ordered to “attack without regard to casualties”. There were 1,220 machine guns that opened fire on them. -
WWI Tanks
The tank’s purpose was to traverse no-man’s land and infiltrate enemy positions. The tank first combat experience was September 15, 1916 by the British to break the German lines. The tanks were hard to steer, had lots of mechanical problems, and were extremely slow at 3 mph. Communication was very hard due to the loud environment. They weighed 28 tons and were equipped with 57mm artillery guns. -
America Enters WWI
he U.S was neutral during the beginning of WWI siding with both sides, because of Woodrow Wilson. But Germany had started to show aggression to the U.S. The breaking point is when Lustania was sunk. Eventually Woodrow had declared war and entered WWI. -
Zimmerman Telegram
On January 16, 1917 the British recovered a message from a German ambassador to Mexico. If the U.S entered the war, Germany and Mexico would have a secret alliance. The Germans would support supplies for Mexico on an attack on the U.S. Germany eventually resumed unrestricted submarine warfare and started to target U.S vessels. When Woodrow Wilson was re-elected, he had declared war and entered WWI. -
Memoir to His Daughter
Earle talks about his military life away from his family. He talks about when he went to Ohio for construction work. He was called for service in June 18, 1917. He mainly talked about how life was in WWI and what he did during the time. He was in charge of all the gus and materials. He even stated that he had a fun time working in the Army. -
Memoir Cont.
Earle talks about the life on boats. They had docked in Papillae in the Gironde River. He noted that the German prisoners were contented and fed well. He also said that the French guards didn’t make them work as hard as they thought they should. -
Battle of Amiens
After the second battle of the Marne the Allies had commenced an attack with over 75,000 men. They advanced 8 miles and caused 27,000 deaths. The battle only lasted a few days. The number of deaths of the Allies side was a 6,500 deaths. The attack was so successful because of the infantry, the number of tanks and the German defense was not prepared. -
Paris Press Headings
After the signing of Armistice there was radio-telegram conversations for peace. These conversations were desired because Germany was in famine. The German War Minister eventually orders the Army to retreat. While the Armies were retreating, some French population were hostile to them, and they were urged to stay calm to prevent violence. German Armies eventually evacuated and New York agreed to the punishment of Germany. France states that they will never forget Americas aid. -
Terms of Armistice
Germany must evacuate Belgium, France within 14 days and any troops found in that area after the time allotted will be captured as POWs. Germany must give the Allies 5,000 large caliber guns, 30,000 machine guns, 3,000 mine throwers, 2,000 airplanes, 5,000 trains, 150,000 cars, and 10,000 trucks. They must return all POWs. The Armistice lasts 30 days. -
Treaty of Versailles
In 1919 Allied leaders agreed to try to end all future conflicts. Eventually some citizens had called WWI “the war to end all wars”. Germany had to pay for reparations and felt tricked into signing the treaty. Signed on June 28, 1919. This would lead to hate within Germany for years to come. This led to WWII
