-
Frank Woodruff Buckles- Assignment in Winchester
Franks job was to drive in Winchester. He first drove the motorcycle with the sidecar attached and help take on official assignments with some of the officers. “Most places, the military walked. And it was quite an honor to be riding in a motorcycle” (Woodruff 2). This showed that even at his young age, Woodruff was still being promoted to doing great things. -
Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the spark that ignites the fire of the war. He was killed by a man named Gavrilo Princip. It was a misunderstanding between the driver and the Archduke. Gavrilo wanted independence for Serbia, not a controlling foreign power like Austria. This made Austria declare war against Serbia.
(www.history.com) -
Period: to
WWI
World War I was one of the deadliest wars in the history of the human race. Over 16 million people died from the military. Military and civilians combined had a casualty amount of around 37 million people. -
Britain puts a naval blockade on Germany
The British government moved to strangle the supply of raw materials and foodstuffs to Germany and their Allies. It was made in an effort to restrict the supplies of the central powers during the war. From the blockade Germany reported that 763,000 German civilians died because of this. This was a key element that helped towards the Allies victory. (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/firstworldwar/spotlights/blockade.htm) -
The Christmas Truce
Frank Buckles was apart of the Christmas truce. However, he said that the things we learned about it were not completely true. The Christmas truce happened more than once, but he didn’t state how many times during the four years of war. Buckles thought that the Christmas truce was an amazing experience that was very peaceful.
(Image- https://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-one/11284463/Christmas-truce-A-day-unique-in-the-history-of-the-world.html) -
Frank Woodruff Buckles- The Christmas Truce
Frank Buckles was apart of the Christmas truce. However, he said that the things we learned about it were not completely true. The Christmas truce happened more than once, but he didn’t state how many times during the four years of war. Buckles thought that the Christmas truce was an amazing experience that was very peaceful.
(https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/christmas-truce-of-1914) -
Propaganda
Propaganda was a very useful tactic in WW1. It was articles, films, photographs, and many other things created to influence the actions and feelings of others. Propaganda influenced each countries nations opinion. Each country had a different tactic on how they were going to use this method.
(https://www.bl.uk/world-war-one/articles/propaganda-as-a-weapon) -
Germans Fire using Chemical Gas
The Germans fired shot filled with a chemical gases at the Allies. This is the first time that a lot of gas were used in battle. Overall, the chemical gases were responsible for 1.3 million casualties and about 90,000 deaths. Three of the chemicals used were phosgene gas, chlorine gas, and the most dangerous one, mustard gas.
(https://chemicalweapons.cenmag.org/when-chemicals-became-weapons-of-war/) -
Lusitania Sinks
One of Germany’s submarines sink the Lusitania. The ship carried 1,959 people and 128 of those were Americans. This outrages America. However, Germany defended themselves saying that they did issue warnings that they were planning to attack all ships. Kaiser Wilhelm created unrestricted submarine warfare.
(https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/lusitania-sinks) -
Trench Warfare
Trench Warfare helped and hurt in many ways. It helped by giving the soldiers an area of shelter when bullets were being fired across. It hurt because it also created something called trench foot. Trench foot was when the soldiers feet were in the water (trenches) for so long that there foot could possibly by surgically cut off.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/trench-warfare -
Zimmerman Telegram
The telegram had a message from foreign secretary Arthur Zimmerman giving information about an upcoming attack. It proposed that Mexico would side with Germany if there was a war between them and America. The telegraph ended up having the U.S. declare war on Germany. When British Navy’s intelligence deciphered it, they published it where the American public could read it and they were very shocked.
(https://www.shmoop.com/historical-texts/zimmermann-telegram/) -
Frank Woodruff Buckles- Enlistment
Frank had a strong interest in the military so he did something very risky. He lied about his age to get into the war. He said that he wanted to join to service his country so that is why he did it. Since he was 16 when he enlisted, he became known as the last survivor from WW1. When enrolling into the military he had to be very careful.
(https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/01/us/01buckles.html) -
Selective Service Act
The Selective Service Act gave the U.S. president power to draft soldiers. The United States needed new troops to replace the exhausted ones on the battlefield. The Act required all men between the ages 21 and 30 to register for military service. Within a few months, they had about 10 million men who had registered in response.
(https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/u-s-congress-passes-selective-service-act) -
Frank Woodruff Buckles- Prisoner Escort
Buckles said that everything was fine when it came to the prisoners except for one incident. He had got into an argument with one and told him to stop. If he didn’t stop they would both end up getting into trouble so they had to make up. Some other things had happened but Buckles stated, “The unpleasant things I don’t remember those, I forget those purposely”. -
Treaty of Versailies
The Treaty of Versailles was made to punish Germany. The Treaty created new boundaries for them. It also stripped them of their colonies, and from having certain weapons. This was made as a way to punish Germany by having the, pay for reparation during the war as well.
(https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/treaty-of-versailles-1) -
Frank Woodruff Buckles- Death
Frank Woodruff Buckles was the last living American from World War 1. He ended up dying February 27, 2011 at 110 years and 26 days. Buckles became an honorable chairman of the World War 1 Memorial foundation. Buckles died of natural causes and was the second oldest living man in the United States at the time of his death.
(http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/bib/loc.natlib.afc2001001.1070)
