By Rían
What started out as a local European
war soon became a global war that
lasted from 1914-1918. World War I was
the first war that involved nations (28 to
be exact) from around the world, and is
commonly called The Great War or The
War to End All Wars.
On June 28, 1914, a Serbian nationalist
named Gavrilo Princip assassinated
Franz Ferdinand the Archduke of
Austria, in Sarajevo. Exactly one month
later, Austria-Hungary declared war on
Serbia. The war divided Europe into
two armed camps - on one side was the
Triple Alliance made up of Germany,
Austria-Hungary and Italy, and their
enemy was the Triple Entente of
France, Russia and Great Britain. As
other countries began to join sides, the
Triple Alliance became known as the
Central Powers and the Triple Entente
became the Allied Forces.
Most of the action took place in the
trenches. They were dug deep into
the ground in a zigzag pattern to
protect soldiers from advancing
enemies. Soldiers spent an average
period of eight days in the trench,
where they were constantly under
threat of attack from shellfire, snipers
and diseases. Soldiers experienced
everything from ‘Trench Fever’ (a
painful infection caused by lice) to
‘Trench Foot’, which caused a fungal
foot infection that could result in
amputation!
The British and the French recruited
manpower from neutral China to
support the troops with manual
labour. Their most important task
was digging the trenches in WW1.
140,000 Chinese workers served on
the Western Front over the course of
the First World War (40,000 with the
French and 100,000 with the British
forces). They were known as the
Chinese Labour Corps.
WWI was different from previous wars because soldiers used
more efficient weapons like machine guns, artillery, tanks and
air force. Military operations began in three major areas in
Europe - the western front (France/Belgium), the eastern front
(Russia) and the southern front (Serbia).There were many
deadly battles during World War One, including the battles of
Ypres, Vimy Ridge, Somme and Gallipoli. Although thousands of
soldiers died during these battles, they were all turning points
for the Allied Forces in helping them win the first world war. On
October 3, 1918, Germany requested a cease-fire. The war
ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, when
the two sides signed the Armistice and agreed to stop fighting.
Cher Ami after recovering from battle and with only one leg.
Cher Ami was a homing pigeon that
helped save nearly 200 American
lives during World War I.
During World War I, the U.S. 77th Infantry Division attacked the Germans near
Charlevaux, France. Only one unit penetrated enemy lines: Major Charles
White Whittlesay’s First Battalion of the 308th Infantry Regiment. The battalion
was quickly surrounded by Germans – and then came under friendly fire
from its own artillery. Whittlesay used his last carrier pigeon to send this
three-sentence plea: “We are along the road parallel 276.4. Our artillery is
dropping a barrage directly on us. For heavens sake stop it.“
Before Cher Ami, Whittlesay sent two other pigeons that didn’t make it in this
hostile environment.
The pigeon carrying the first message, “Many wounded. We cannot
evacuate.” was shot down. A second bird was sent with the message, “Men are
suffering. Can support be sent?” That pigeon also was shot down. Cher Ami
was the last homing pigeon left.
Cher Ami, which is French for “dear
friend”, was a homing pigeon
donated to the US Army Signal
Corps by the British to deliver
messages during the war. These
flying messengers were often called
War Pigeons. Cher Ami delivered his
most important message on October
4th, 1918
The Battle of the Somme is an infamous battle in World War One that lasted from July 1st
1914 to the 18th of November 1914. Allied troops had nearly 600,000 casualties and the
Germans had 650,000. On the first day, July 1st, General Haig’s offensive against German
trenches saw 20,000 British troops die. Lots of these were from Ireland.
The British Navy meanwhile wanted to attack and cut off the Ottoman empire. They
decided to attack through narrow straits called the Dardanells and then land at
Gallipoli. British ships were bombarded through the Dardanells from the Ottoman
troops high up on the cliffs. Most of the British troops were in the ‘ANZAC’ forces. These
came from Australia and New Zealand.
Europe in 1914
Europe in 1924