Interesting World War 1 Facts
Although World War 1 claimed many lives, on a positive note, it opened up a gateway that led to many pioneering events in science and inventions. Do you know that that mines that were detonated in France were heard in the city of London? We will be telling the story of some fascinating events and disclosing some fascinating world war 1 fact in this article.
General World War 1 Facts
1. The tanks that were used in World War 1 were categorized according to the male and female gender.
2. Because of toxic jaundice, the skin of the women who had volunteered to participate in World War 1 started to turn yellow.
3. Before World War 1 started, the German language was only second to English, but when the war started, everything related to the Germans was banned.
4. The explosions from World War 1 were so loud at that time that mines that were detonated in France were heard in the city of London.
5. It was after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife that the first countries to begin the war, started preparing.
6. In terms of science, WW1 led to so many explosive events such as the use of blood banks and plastic surgery.
7. Because of the demand for more manpower, many underage kids enlisted to serve in the War and the youngest was 12 years old.
8. Although more than 200,000 African-Americans fought during the war, only about 11% of them served actively in the army.
9. The president of America at that time used an anti-war slogan to convince the people to vote for him in the election.
Horses In World War 1
10. When World War 1 initially started, Britain didn’t have enough horses in their reserves, with just a meager 25,000.
11. In the course of recruiting more horses, the US was the major supplier of these horses to Britain, with more than 1000 horses supplied every day.
12. The major work that these horses did was that they were used for transport and also fighting by the cavalry.
13. The soldiers that made use of these horses had a very close relationship with them and will often cry when they lost theirs.
14. When the Germans saw how the horses helped the British in the front line, it became their target at the sea whenever they are being transported.
15. In their effort to break down the supply of horses to the British, Germans often hid saboteurs to try and poison the horses.
16. When World War 1 ended, the horse meat that remained which were considered useless were often sold to the Belgians.
17. When the British government started recruiting horses from different families, many civil organizations fought against it based on animal health.
Weird World War 1 Facts
18. In the war, there were rules and regulations that spelled out the minimum height of soldiers to be recruited, but this was broken to accept very short men known as bantam battalions.
19. It was in the course of fighting World War 1 that Britain recorded the worst rail disaster in its history.
20. Portugal was initially a neutral country in the war before Germany declared war on them.
21. Munition workers were the ones that kept the longevity of football throughout the war.
22. Although the war formally ended in Europe, it still took two weeks to put it to a stop in Africa.
23. The Russians were the first country to break through enemy forces that made use of trench warfare.
24. Japan served as very important assistance to the British forces in the Mediterranean sea.
Trenches Facts in World War 1
25. The introduction of trenches in World War 1 was masterminded by the German forces to help them have an upper hand in the war.
26. Although the first trenches that were built were just like a Dutch, they became so elaborate as time went on that it had a plan designed for anyone that was to be built.
27. Initially, trenches were just built at strategic locations, it grew to be built along hundreds of miles.
28. Soldiers living in those tranches had a hell of a life as they battled both diseases, pests, floods due to bad weather, etc.
29. Trenches were not straight but were irregular to avoid mass killing when the enemy gained entry.
30. Whenever there was rainfall in the trenches, it was practically a nightmare for soldiers.
31. As time went on, trenches were built 2 or 3 in one location to have more support.
32. Enemy forces started mining to detonate bombs and destroy each other’s trenches.
Facts about Tanks In World War 1
33. The first reason why tanks were made in World War 1 was to counter trench warfare.
34. Britain was the first among all the countries involved in the conflict to make a tank, followed by France.
35. The tanks that the British made were very heavy compared to their counterparts.
36. The reason why the US adopted the model of the French tank was that it fitted the army needs comfortably.
37. France led the race with the most tanks produced with more than 3000 tanks.
38. The tanks that were used in World War 1 were very limited in their use when compared to today’s tanks.
Facts about Weapons in World War 1
39. The U-boats, made by the Germans, were so powerful that they sank more than 6000 ships.
40. Poisonous gasses were used during the war and more than 50 different gases were used.
41. It was in the battle of Somme that tanks were first used to fight the war.
42. Of all the weapons that were used in the war, the U-boats were by far the most efficient weapons.
43. In terms of artillery, the Paris guns were by far the biggest.
44. Big Bertha, a tank made by the Germans, was powerful enough to destroy the fortifications of the enemies.
45. Because of the success of trench warfare, tanks were introduced to the war to counter it.
46. The Germans were very adept at making complex guns for the war such as the Paris gun.
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Facts about Poison Gas In World War 1
47. During World War 1, the ability of the gas to harm anyone depended on the climate, and the windy climate dispersed the gas quickly.
48. The first poisonous gas that was used during the war was introduced by the Germans in Bolimow.
49. Most of the people that experienced the use of gas in the war never fully recovered from it.
50. Germany used most of the poisonous gas in the war, producing more than 60,000 tons specifically for the war.
51. In the course of the war, the gas that was used was categorized according to how powerful they were.
52. The three countries that made more use of the gas than other countries were Germany, Britain, and France.
53. The poisonous gas that was used in the war isn’t the only chemical weapon that was used in the war.
54. Although we know that gas was used, it was transported and stored in form of liquid.
55. The major reason why gas was used was to drain the enemy’s willpower.
56. The use of poisonous gas was the major thing that led to the Germans breakthrough in the 3rd battle of Aisne.
Basic World War 1 Facts
57. World War 1 has a duration of 4 years, starting on the 28th of July, 1914.
58. Basically, the war was between the central powers and on the other side, the Allies.
59. The pioneering event that led to the war was the killing of the Archduke.
60. World War 1 came with a lot of major battles to fight with other minor ones too.
61. When the armistice was signed by the Germans, the war ended.
62. The war started with Austria-Hungary declaring war against Serbia on July 28, 1914.
Major Battles of World War 1
63. Battle of Tannenberg: Russian troops tried to invade German territory On August 26, 1914.
64. First Battle of Marne: French Army attacked German troops on On September 5, 1914, which caused the German Army to retreat in what is now known as the “race to the sea.”
65. Battle of Gallipoli: Turkey’s Dardanelles Straits was attacked by the British and French Navy between February 1915 to January 1916. The Allied Powers failed in this battle.
66. Battle of Verdun: German troops led by General Von Falkenhayn attacked French territory On February 21, 1916, taking Fort Douaumont, without firing a single shot.
67. Battle of Jutland: This battle started on May 31, 1916, as a small crossfire between German and British scouts on Denmark’s North Sea coast. It advanced to claim 14 British ships, 6,784 British soldiers, and 3,058 fatalities on the German side. It was World War I’s primary naval battle.
68. Battle of Somme: This battle took place near the Somme River in France and started On July 1, 1916. The British Army lost over 57,000 troops On the first day of battle and total fatalities of 1.5 million from both sides, which made it the bloodiest battle of World War I.
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