World War I Facts
1. Germans were the first to use any kind of flame thrower in WWI. Their flamethrowers could fire jets of flame as far as 40 m away.
2. More than 65 million men from around 30 countries fought in the first world war. Nearly 10 million of them died. The Allies (The Entente Powers) lost about 6 million soldiers in the fighting. The Central Powers lost about 4 million men.
3. There were over 35 million casualties in WWI. Over 15 million died and 20 million were injured.
4. During WWI, the Spanish flu caused around a third of total military deaths.
5. Russia had mobilized 12 million troops during WWI, making it the largest army in the entire war. More than three quarters were killed, wounded, or went missing in action.e
6. During WWI, British tanks were originally categorized into “females” and “males.” Male tanks had cannons, while females had heavy machine guns.
7. Artillery barrage created immense noise. In the year, 1917, explosives blowing up beneath the German lines on Messines Ridge at Ypres in Belgium could be heard in London 140 miles (220 km) away.
8. The Pool of Peace is a 12-m deep lake near Messines, Belgium. It fills a crater made in 1917 when the British detonated a mine containing 45 tons of explosives.
9. During WWI, dogs were used as messengers and carried orders to the front lines in capsules attached to their bodies. They played a large role.
10. The most successful fighter of the entire war was Rittmeister von Richthofen (1892-1918). He shot down around 80 planes, more than any other WWI pilot. He died after being shot down near Amiens. France's René Fonck (1894-1953) was the Allies’ most successful fighter pilot, shooting down 75 enemy planes.c
11. Mata Hari was a Dutch exotic dancer accused of being a double agent for both sides. Though she denied being a spy, the French executed her in 1917.h
12. The total cost of WWI for the U.S. was estimated to be $30 billion.f
13. The war left thousands of soldiers disfigured and disabled. The war left many unable to return to normal life.
14. WWI is the sixth deadliest conflict in the worlds history.
15. World War I was also known as the Great War, the War of the Nations, the World War, the first world war and the War to End All Wars.b
16. WWI began on June 28, 1914, when a Serbian terrorist assainated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia in July, 1914.
17. The trench network of World War I stretched approximately 40,200 km from the English Channel down along to Switzerland. The was known as the Western Front.
18. During the span of WWI, 274 German U-boats sank over 6,596 enemy ships. The five of the most successful U-boats were U-35 (sank 224 ships), U-39 (154 ships), U-38 (137 ships), U-34 (121 ships), and U-33 (84 ships).
19. German trenches were quite a contrast to British trenches. German trenches were built to last the war and included bunk beds, furniture, cupboards, water tanks with faucets, electric lights, and doorbells.
20. During the course of WWI, the Germans released about 68,000 tons of dangerous gas, and the British and French released around 51,000 tons. In total, 1,200,000 soldiers on both sides were gassed, and 91,198 died horrible deaths’
21. Approximately 30 different poisonous gases were used during WWI. Soldiers were told to hold a urine-soaked cloth over their faces in an emergency as many did not have gas masks. By 1918, gas masks with filter respirators usually provided effective protection. At the end of the war, many countries signed treaties outlawing these chemical weapons.
22. Millions of soldiers suffered “shell shock,” or posttraumatic stress disorder, due to the horrors of trench warfare. Shell-shocked men often had uncontrollable diarrhoea, couldn’t sleep, stopped speaking, whimpered for hours, screamed non-stop, acted insanely and twitched uncontrollably. While some soldiers recovered, others suffered for the rest of their lives.
23. On Christmas Eve in 1914, soldiers on both sides of the Western Front sung Christmas carols to each other. On Christmas Day troops along 2/3 of the Front declared a temporary truce. In some places the truce lasted a week. A year later, sentries on both sides were ordered to shoot anyone who attempted to repeat this.
24. The most decorated American of WWI was Alvin Cullum York (1887-1964). He led an attack on a well protected German gun nest, taking down 32 machine guns, killing 28 of the German soldiers, and capturing around 132 more. He returned home with the Medal of Honor, a promotion, and was presented 400 acres of good farmland.
Courtesy of http://facts.randomhistory.com/world-war-i-facts.htm
1. Germans were the first to use any kind of flame thrower in WWI. Their flamethrowers could fire jets of flame as far as 40 m away.
2. More than 65 million men from around 30 countries fought in the first world war. Nearly 10 million of them died. The Allies (The Entente Powers) lost about 6 million soldiers in the fighting. The Central Powers lost about 4 million men.
3. There were over 35 million casualties in WWI. Over 15 million died and 20 million were injured.
4. During WWI, the Spanish flu caused around a third of total military deaths.
5. Russia had mobilized 12 million troops during WWI, making it the largest army in the entire war. More than three quarters were killed, wounded, or went missing in action.e
6. During WWI, British tanks were originally categorized into “females” and “males.” Male tanks had cannons, while females had heavy machine guns.
7. Artillery barrage created immense noise. In the year, 1917, explosives blowing up beneath the German lines on Messines Ridge at Ypres in Belgium could be heard in London 140 miles (220 km) away.
8. The Pool of Peace is a 12-m deep lake near Messines, Belgium. It fills a crater made in 1917 when the British detonated a mine containing 45 tons of explosives.
9. During WWI, dogs were used as messengers and carried orders to the front lines in capsules attached to their bodies. They played a large role.
10. The most successful fighter of the entire war was Rittmeister von Richthofen (1892-1918). He shot down around 80 planes, more than any other WWI pilot. He died after being shot down near Amiens. France's René Fonck (1894-1953) was the Allies’ most successful fighter pilot, shooting down 75 enemy planes.c
11. Mata Hari was a Dutch exotic dancer accused of being a double agent for both sides. Though she denied being a spy, the French executed her in 1917.h
12. The total cost of WWI for the U.S. was estimated to be $30 billion.f
13. The war left thousands of soldiers disfigured and disabled. The war left many unable to return to normal life.
14. WWI is the sixth deadliest conflict in the worlds history.
15. World War I was also known as the Great War, the War of the Nations, the World War, the first world war and the War to End All Wars.b
16. WWI began on June 28, 1914, when a Serbian terrorist assainated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia in July, 1914.
17. The trench network of World War I stretched approximately 40,200 km from the English Channel down along to Switzerland. The was known as the Western Front.
18. During the span of WWI, 274 German U-boats sank over 6,596 enemy ships. The five of the most successful U-boats were U-35 (sank 224 ships), U-39 (154 ships), U-38 (137 ships), U-34 (121 ships), and U-33 (84 ships).
19. German trenches were quite a contrast to British trenches. German trenches were built to last the war and included bunk beds, furniture, cupboards, water tanks with faucets, electric lights, and doorbells.
20. During the course of WWI, the Germans released about 68,000 tons of dangerous gas, and the British and French released around 51,000 tons. In total, 1,200,000 soldiers on both sides were gassed, and 91,198 died horrible deaths’
21. Approximately 30 different poisonous gases were used during WWI. Soldiers were told to hold a urine-soaked cloth over their faces in an emergency as many did not have gas masks. By 1918, gas masks with filter respirators usually provided effective protection. At the end of the war, many countries signed treaties outlawing these chemical weapons.
22. Millions of soldiers suffered “shell shock,” or posttraumatic stress disorder, due to the horrors of trench warfare. Shell-shocked men often had uncontrollable diarrhoea, couldn’t sleep, stopped speaking, whimpered for hours, screamed non-stop, acted insanely and twitched uncontrollably. While some soldiers recovered, others suffered for the rest of their lives.
23. On Christmas Eve in 1914, soldiers on both sides of the Western Front sung Christmas carols to each other. On Christmas Day troops along 2/3 of the Front declared a temporary truce. In some places the truce lasted a week. A year later, sentries on both sides were ordered to shoot anyone who attempted to repeat this.
24. The most decorated American of WWI was Alvin Cullum York (1887-1964). He led an attack on a well protected German gun nest, taking down 32 machine guns, killing 28 of the German soldiers, and capturing around 132 more. He returned home with the Medal of Honor, a promotion, and was presented 400 acres of good farmland.
Courtesy of http://facts.randomhistory.com/world-war-i-facts.htm