How did the war begin?
The war began because of several different reasons that occurred in many places. The war began shortly after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A struggle between Serbia and the Austro-Hungarian government began. The Austro-Hungarian officials issued an ultimatum to the Serbian government that contained five major concessions and once the time ; limit expired, war would be declared on Serbia.Germany supported Austro-Hungary in the war effort while Russia supported Serbia. Germany therefore declared war on Russia. German troops were sent to Belgium which provoked Great Britain, so Great Britain declared war against Germany that same day.
timeline of events 1914
- June 28- Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
- July 5- Austria-Hungary seek German support for a war against Serbia in a case of Russia militarism. Germany gives assurance of support.
- July 23- Austria-Hungary sends an ultimatum to Serbia. The Serbian response is seen as unsatisfactory.
- July 28- Austria Hungary declares war on Serbia. Russia Mobilizes.
- July 31- As an ally of Serbia, Russia announces full mobilization of armed forces.
- August 1- Germany declares war on Russia.
- August 2- Germany invades Luxembourg
- August 3- Germany declares war on France and Belgium.
WHy did the war quickly fall into a stalemate?Trenches were dug by both sides in the war. The war made it to where both sides had casualties and deaths everyday, but neither sides were gaining any land, so there wasn't anybody really winning. The barbed wire in no man's land didn't help either. The soldiers just hid in their trenches and shot at any sign of life.
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What were the horrors of trench warfare?Many men killed in the trenches were buried almost where they fell. These corpses, as well as the food scraps that littered the trenches, attracted rats. There was also nerve gas that would burn the soldiers from the inside out. The dead, rotting bodies of friends, your possibility of becoming a lifeless corpse, no hygiene, old and tasteless food, no rest, and trench foot were all major horrors of trench warfare.
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experience from soldiers themselves...
“It was a long and weary night, that first one of mine in the trenches. Everything was strange, and wet and horrid. First of all I had to do and fix up my machine guns at various points, and find places for the gunners to sleep in. This was no easy matter, as many of the dugouts had fallen in and floated off downstream.
In this, and subsequent descriptions of the trenches, I may lay myself open to the charge of exaggeration. But it must be remembered that I am describing trench life in the early days of 1914, and I feel sure that those who had experience of them will acquit me of any such charge.
To give a recipe for getting a rough idea, in case you want to, I recommend the following procedure. Select a flat ten-acre ploughed field, so sited that all the surface water of the surrounding country drains into it. Now cut a zig-zag slot about four feet deep and three feet wide diagonally across, dam off as much water as you can so as to leave about one hundred yards of squelchy mud; delve out a hole at one side of the slot, then endeavour to live there for a month on bully beef and damp biscuits, whilst a friend has instructions to fire at you with his Winchester every time you put your head above the surface.
Well, here I was anyway, and the next thing was to make the bets of it. As I have before said, these were the days of the earliest trenches in this war; days when we had none of those “props” such as corrugated iron, floorboards, and sand bags.
When you made a dug-out in those days you made it out of anything you could find, and generally had to make it yourself.” ~Unknown
In this, and subsequent descriptions of the trenches, I may lay myself open to the charge of exaggeration. But it must be remembered that I am describing trench life in the early days of 1914, and I feel sure that those who had experience of them will acquit me of any such charge.
To give a recipe for getting a rough idea, in case you want to, I recommend the following procedure. Select a flat ten-acre ploughed field, so sited that all the surface water of the surrounding country drains into it. Now cut a zig-zag slot about four feet deep and three feet wide diagonally across, dam off as much water as you can so as to leave about one hundred yards of squelchy mud; delve out a hole at one side of the slot, then endeavour to live there for a month on bully beef and damp biscuits, whilst a friend has instructions to fire at you with his Winchester every time you put your head above the surface.
Well, here I was anyway, and the next thing was to make the bets of it. As I have before said, these were the days of the earliest trenches in this war; days when we had none of those “props” such as corrugated iron, floorboards, and sand bags.
When you made a dug-out in those days you made it out of anything you could find, and generally had to make it yourself.” ~Unknown
“When I dropped into the Hun trench I found it a great place, only three wide, and at least eight feet deep, and beautifully made of white sandbags, back and front. At that spot there was no sign of any damage by our shells, but a number of dead Huns lay in the bottom. There was a sniper’s post just where I fell in, a comfortable little square hole, fitted with seats and shelves, bottles of beer, tinned meats and a fine helmet hanging on a hook.” ~Unknown
“It was 9 a.m. and the so-called trench was full of corpses and all sorts of equipment. We stood and sat on bodies as if they were stones or logs of wood. Nobody worried if one had its head stuck through or torn off, or a third had gory bones sticking out through its torn coat. And outside the trench one could see them lying in every kind of position. There was one quite young little chap, a Frenchman, sitting in a shell-hole, with his rifle on his arm and his head bent forward, but he was holding his hands as if to protect himself, in front of his chest in which there was a deep bayonet wound. And so they lay, in all their different positions, mostly Frenchman, with their heads battered in by blows from mallets and even spades, and all around rifles, equipment of all kinds and any number of kepis. The 154th had fought like furies in their attack, to revenge themselves for the shellfire.
A heap of five corpses lay just this side of the barrier; we were constantly having to tread on them to try to squash them down in the mud, because, in consequence of the gunfire, we couldn't get them out of the trench. Our feelings gradually became quite blunted.” ~Unknown
A heap of five corpses lay just this side of the barrier; we were constantly having to tread on them to try to squash them down in the mud, because, in consequence of the gunfire, we couldn't get them out of the trench. Our feelings gradually became quite blunted.” ~Unknown
“I honestly wish I could believe that things will end perfectly with one big bright happy ending. But these last few days have taught me that life isn't made up of shiny moments. Life is hard; it's gritty. One day you are filled with joy and the next, you are crawling through the muddy trenches with no inkling of when you might be able to climb your way back up again. ~Willow Mosby
“Well, I thought, climbing slowly out of the slit trench, the shells will catch us above ground now. But if you have to go, you have to go. F Company’s in trouble, and we have to help them. We’re in reserve, so we have to go. And if we’re shelled, we’re shelled. There is absolutely nothing we can do about it.” ~David Kenyon Webster
wwi battles in europe
battle of DrinaFought from September 6 to October 4, 1914, next to the Drina River near the Serbian Border. This was a battle fought between the Serbian and Austro-Hungarian armies. The Austro-Hungarians engaged in a significant offensive over the Drina River, resulting in numerous fighting The Serbian Army was forced to retreat, and later regrouped to fight again in the battle of Kolubara.
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battle of shaibaFought on April 12-14, 1915, in Shaiba, Southern Iraq.
This battle was between the British forces and the Ottoman forces that were trying to retake the city of Basra from the British. The battle was important as it was the last time the Ottomans would threaten Basra After the battle, it would be the British who held the general initiative in Mesopotamia. The Arabs also began to distance themselves from the Ottomans and later revolt. |
new weapons used in war
tanks
Tanks were used for the first time in the First World War at the Battle of the Somme. They were developed to cope with the conditions on the Western Front. The first tank was called 'Little Willie' and needed a crew of 3. Its maximum speed was 3 mph and it could not cross trenches.
The more modern tank was not developed until just before the end of the war. It could carry 10 men, had a revolving turret and could reach 4 mph.
The more modern tank was not developed until just before the end of the war. It could carry 10 men, had a revolving turret and could reach 4 mph.
planes
Planes were also used for the first time. At first they were used to deliver bombs and for spying work but became fighter aircraft armed with machine guns, bombs and some times cannons. Fights between two planes in the sky became known as 'dogfights'
zeppelin
The Zeppelin, also known as blimp, was an airship that was used during the early part of the war in bombing raids by the Germans. They carried machine guns and bombs. However, they were abandoned because they were easy to shoot out of the sky.