KINDERSLE TNESS GUIDES £9.99 Discover the horror of war with this unique guide to the I grim challenge of life or death on the Western Front. Devastating first-hand reports and contemporary photographs of the battles that slaughtered million: together with a clear account of how nation upon nation 5 sent their men to join the carnage, combine to present a 4 __ dramatic “eyewitness” view of this most terrible war. i! See the fateful car of the heir to Austria-Hungary @ everyday life ” in the dug-out @ sappers mining tunnels beneath the enemy @ Mata Hari learning the art of spying Learn cs how people avoided gas attacks @ when periscopes iz were used @ what soldiers wrote home to their sweethearts a st way to use a tank @ how troops flattened a ahillside @ the meaning of Armistice Day Discover how it felt to go “over the top” @ what happened to all the bodies @ how people dealt with shell shock @ why war led to revolution and much, much more Dacor Ml il A DORLING KINDERSLEY BOOK= Ci Sh a | association aoe the 2. RIAL WE i ro M WORLD WARI Discover the misery of life in the trenches — and how the Great War devastated Europe SIMON ADAMS ,DORLING KINDERSLEY 24 EYEWITNESS GUIDES| i XPPCUSS |) + WORLD WAR I Written by SIMON ADAMS by ¢ A Dorling Kindersley Book IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUMDorling [DK] kinders! 8 LONDON, NEW YORK, SYDNEY, DEL, PAR ‘NICH an JOHANNESBURG Project editor P. Art editors Julia Han Senior editor Senior art editors Jane Tetzlaff, Clare Shedden Category publisher Jayne Parsons Managing art editor Jacquie Gulliver Senior production controller Kate Oliver Picture research Sean Hunter our reproduction by See our complete catalogue at www.dk.com Contents 6 Divided Europe 8 The fatal shot 10 War in the west 12 Fighting men 14 Joining up 16 Digging the trenches 18 Life in the trenches 20 Ready to fight : 22 Communication and supplies 24 Observation and patrol 26 Bombardment 28 Over the top 30 Casualty 32 Women at war 34 War in the air 36 Zeppelin 38 War at sea High 40 Gallipoli 42 Verdun 44 Gas attack 46 The Eastern Front 48 War in the desert 50 Espionage 52 Tank warfare 54 The US enters the war 56 Under enemy lines 58 The final year 60 Armistice and peace 62, The cost of the war 64 Index TDDivided Europe Axr tHe starr of the of Europe were increasingly hostile to each other. Britain, France, and Germany competed for trade and influence overseas, while Austria-Hungary and Russia both tried to dominate the Balkan states of south-east Europe. Military tension between Germany and Austria-Hungary on the one hand and Russia and France on the other led to the formation of powerful military alliances. A naval arms race added to the tension. In 1912-13 two major wars broke out in the Balkans as rival states battled to divide Turkish-controlled lands between them. By 1914 ay x the political situation in Europe 20th century, the countries was tense, but few believed that a continental war was inevitable. ary 1906 marked a revolution in Nicholas I of Russia Germany from a European power toThe fatal shot Os 28 june 1914 the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, THE ASSASSINS was assassinated in Sarajevo, he fiedthefata Bosnia. Bosnia had been part et Hetsionged of Austria-Hungary since 5 ARNEE TERRE ARMEEc WER. Sckanntmadung. give Mobilmadjung befohlen. ORDRE Blak y Griter Mobil madjungots ‘Anguit "i Dy who seighbousine Ser igre eSreanemengeeee aes DE MOBILISATION GEVERALE Hungary blamed Serbia for } lpeminceme the assassination, and on 28 July declared war. What began as the third Balkan war rapidly — turned into a European war. Russia supported serbia, Germany supported Austria-Hungary, and France supported Russia. On 4 August, Germany invaded neutral Belgium on its w to France. It intended to knock France out of the war before turning its attention to Russia, | thus avoiding war on two fronts. But Britain had guaranteed to defend Belgium's neutrality, and it too declared war on Germany. The Great War had begun. Le promie Jone de be mebination et Archduke Archduke the injured oie in The lamps are going out all enna Fan over Europe”=> War in the west we On SES arte Weaem Fene ae Bey Ever since THE 1890s, Germany had feared that it Seine would face a war on two fronts — against Russia in the east and against France, Russia’s ally since 1893, oete Thetonon testoal in the west. Germany knew the chances of winning Bio ces ces a such a war were slim. By 1905, the chief of the German ORs: Bigs game of | pudain staff, Field Marshal Count Alfred von Schlieffen, had oe ea eer ‘hewmen developed a bold plan to knock France swiftly out of the Scotch Seaforth Hi = Magy daughtero'king any war before turning the full might of the German eee army against Russia. For this plan to work, the German army had to pass through Belgium, a neutral country. In August | 1914, the plan went into operation. German troops crossed the Belgian border on 4 August, and by the end of the month, invaded northern France. The Schlieffen Plan then required the army to sweep around the north and west of Paris, but the German commander, General Moltke, modified the plan and instead headed east of Paris. This meant his right flank (side) was exposed to the French and British armies. At the Battle of the Marne on 5 September, the German advance was held and pushed back. By Christmas 1914, the two sides faced stalemate along a line from the Belgian coast in the north to the Swiss border in the south plain ERE sal Riles lator home describing the truce. He told his family that the Germans had put sp Castres in tee them a fiends the nextFighting men The ourpreak OF war in Europe in August 1914 changed the lives of millions of men. Regular soldiers, older reservists, eager recruits, and unwilling conscripts all found themselves caught up in the war. Some of them were experienced soldiers, but many had barely held a rifle before. In addition to the European forces, both Britain and France drew heavily on armies recruited from their ov colonies and from the British dominions. The design and detail of their uniforms differed considerably, although brighter colours soon gave way to khaki, dull blue, and grey. In Western Europe, Britain, The armies were I the Belgian 7 small and inexperienced seas The Pena ofthe outbreak of wat iy Grand Duke Nicolas, unl Eastern Europedn 8ummof ¢ ranDigging the trenches Ar THE OUTBREAK OF WAR, both sides on the Western Front expected to take part in massive military manoeuvres over hundreds of miles of territory, and to fight fast-moving battles of advance and retreat. No-one expected a static fight between two evenly matched sides. A stalemate occurred mainly because powerful long- range artillery weapons and rapid-fire machine guns made it dangerous for soldiers to fight in unprotected, open ground. The only way to survive such weapons was to dig defensive trenches ha fc protective trench ~ if he was caught pen by enemy fie He could ‘rlery mod e ol tench fe, 7Life in the trenches | Daytime IN THE TRENCHES alternated between short periods of intense fear, when the enemy fired, and longer periods of boredom. Most of the work was done at night when patrols were sent out to observe and raid enemy trenches, and to repair their own front-line parapets and other defences. Dawn and dusk were the most likely times for an enemy attack, so all the troops “stood to”, that is manned the fire bays, at these times. The days were usually quiet, so the men tried to catch up on sleep while sentries watched the enemy trenches. Many soldiers used this time to write home or keep a diary of events. There were no set mealtimes on the front line, and soldiers ate as and when transport was available to bring food to the front by carrying parties. To relieve the boredom, soldiers spent one week to 10 days in the front line, then moved into the reserve lines, and finally went to a rear area to rest. Here, they w+ given a bath and freshly laundered clothes before returning to the trenches ee Artists and poets Some soldiers used thei spare time inthe trenches to write poems ormake sketches. A huge number Wrote long letters home, or kept a diay. After the wat, many of these writings were published Literary records of tench ife made fscinatin Shocking reading In 1916, the British ovement began to f send official suchas Pal F Nash ss 1946) to the front to record the war in paint ather TheReady to fight Tris easy 10 imagine that most of the action on the Western Front took place when soldiers left their trenches and fought each other in open ground, or no- man’s-land, between the two opposing front lines In reality, such events were far rarer than the constant battle between soldiers in their facing lines of trenches. Both armies took every opportunity to take shots at anyone foolish or unfortunate enough to be visible to the other side. Even soldiers trying to rescue wounded comrades from no-man’s-land or retrieve bodies caught on the barbed-wire fences were considered fair targets. Raiding parties from one front line to the other added to the danger. This relentless war of attrition kept every soldier on full alert, and meant that a watch had to be kept on the enemy lines every c hour of the day. it gun hol and fire tthe wrth ramparts On thet be ther Krapsacks wit IN cLOse QUARTERS looking man . this book wa husky os through the The German that I shot was a fine I did el sorry but it was my life or his ” 2Communication and supplies Communicate wit and supplying front-line troops is the biggest problem faced by every army. On the Western Front, this problem was particularly acute because of the length of the front a line and the large number of soldiers mehedteween fighting along it. In mid-1917, for a endquanr and Mo example, the British army required 500,000 shells a day, and million- shell days were not uncommon. To supply such vast and hungry armies, both sides devoted great attention to lines of communication. The main form of transport remained the horse, but increasing use was made of mechanized vehicles. Germany made great use of railways to move men and supplies to the front. Both sides set up elaborate supply systems to ensure Sesh that front-line troops never ran out of munitions ot food. Front- gui __ line troops also kept in close touch with headquarters and other units by telephone and wireless pissing their exhausted and often wounded a the oppenite direction, Both specially built for Enemy fie often cut teep eee Behind theObservation and patrol GBombardment Axrittery DoMINATED the battlefields World War I. A well-aimed bombardmer = could destroy enemy trenches, and knock out artillery batteries and communication > break up positionsBattle of the Somme lated train bro dy al nl bt fale to break thr Over the top | Once THE ARTILLERY bombardment had pounded the enemy’s defences, the infantry climbed out of their trenches and advanced towards enemy lines. The advance was very dangerous. Artillery bombardments rarely knocked out every enemy defence. Often, many gun emplacements and barbed-wire fences were still intact. Gaps in the defensive line were filled by highly mobile machine-gunners. Against them, a soldier armed with only'a rifle and bayonet and laden with heavy equipment was an easy target. On the first day of the Battle of the Somme in July 1916, German machine-gun fire accounted for two wasteland: The Germs vw the terrain well. The Bri was the fist battle many of them had fought in “The sunken road ... (was) lled with pieces British soldiers killed or injured along each moment i metre (three feet) of the 28-km cand _ of uniform, | (16-mile) front. Sees weapons, and | dead bodies.” First day on the Somme The Allies planned to break through the German lines north of the River Somme, France, in 1916. On 24 June, the British began a six-day artillery bombardment on German lines, but the Germans retreated into deep bunkers and were largely unharmed. As the British infantry advanced at 7:30 am on 1 July, German machine gunners emerged from their bunkers Trench to Quick Fine 5 British 303 inch Waterco Machine ums fred up 1N ACTION and opened fire. Believing the artillery bombardment had. nin torre! tottus mine, Th Geman mace gun ce destroyed German lines, the infantry marched in long, slow en eee waves towards the enemy who literally mowed them down. link belo ina metal feliablty and firepower of machine guns tray fe into the unmade them effective weapons, Als, ir uN scibmatically. The gun sal sie and manceuvsblliy ana The camped condone i tench Sarre! was surrounded them cific forte enemy to esta. low: Soldiers of the 105ed canbe see tis pcre of a whats ct rene Irish) Brigade attack medical ofc tending a 3 Boece onthe fis day soldier at Thiepral nea he Somme in : of the Somme September 1916. Movement long a as trench was often difficult and slow.| Casualty No-one knows how many soldiers were wounded in the war, but a possible figure is 21 million. Caring for casualties was a major military operation. They were first treated at regimental aid posts in the trenches. Then, they were taken to casualty clearing, stations behind the front line. Here, they received proper medical attention and basic surgery, if required, before being transported to base hospitals still further from the front. Soldiers with severe injuries went home wt to recover in convalescent hospitals. Over 78% of ears British soldiers on the Western Front returned to active service. Sickness was a major cause of casualty — in Mesopotamia over 50% of deaths were due to disease. that oy Shellshock Shellshock is the collective name that was u concussion, emotional shock, nervous exhaustion, and other similar ailments. Shellshock was not identified before World W: but trench warfare was so horrific that lange numbers of soldi wveloped symptoms, Most of them eventually recovered effects for the rest of their lives. The condition controversy, and in 1922 the British War Office Committee announced that shellshock did not exist and was a collection of already known illnesses.Women at war : mn St in B i When THE MEN went off to fight, the women were called upon to take their place. Many women were already in work, but their role was restricted to domestic labour, nursing, teaching, agricultural work on the family smallholding, and a few other jobs considered suitable for women. Now they went to work in factories, drove trucks and ambulances, and did almost everything that only men had done before. Many working women 2 left their low-paid, low-status za MB jobs for higher-paid work in munitions and other industries, achieving a new status in the eyes of society. Such gains, however, were short-lived, as women returned to the home when the war ended. == paThe art of weral warfare was unknown to pilot at the start ofthe war and had tobe leaned frm the corect method of Fighter although theory on the War in the air Waren war BROKE OUT in August 1914, the history of powered flight was barely 10 years old. Aircraft had fought briefly in the Italian—Turkish war of 1911, but early aircraft development had Pilot engaged in been almost entirely for civilian use. Some military leaders could not ‘dogfights with enemy even see how aircraft could be used in war but they soon changed Fort Guw wee." their minds. The first warplanes flew as reconnaissance craft, SEMAN TCHTER vt Sacre mesnied coepefi looking down on enemy lines or helping to direct artillery fire appeared in Apri 1918. Although inthe shy fy straight at the enue, With great precision. Enemy pilots tried to shoot them down, ee ey jenemy 10 shoot aay leading to dogfights in the sky between highly skilled and froma dirt ard ew well alates immensely brave “aces”. Specialized fighter planes, such as the Sopwith Camel and the German Fokker line, were soon produced by both sides, as were sturdier craft capable of carrying bombs to drop on enemy targets. By the end of the war, the role of military aircraft o& had changed from being a minor help to the ground for rces into a major force in their own right. \ aa engine \ anti-spine es Sorwrrtt CAMEL The Sopwith FI Camel first flew Pouch to hep maps nin Battle in June 1917 and became 3c most successful Allied fighter in shooting sof, down German aircraft ther Pilots enjoves fying, the Camel because of Hs exceptional agility and ability to make sharp tums at high speed. ieee wth canoae "You ask me to ‘let the devils have it’ ... when I fight ... [don’t sqnst tesa towt think them devils... Fo Cop, tr tekewi ArFore ‘TL only scrap because it is my duty.” Bare oul fire Trpound shel Rittmester Manfred ‘von Rihthoten (Germany), centre— ‘0 hits (1882-1918) Pivot och dire ‘angle of gun Captain René Fonck France) “7a hits The iret bombs were literally dropped ‘ver the side ofthe alteraftby the plot. (0580-1955) Pilots flew in open “© ‘Domi racks beneath the fuselage’ <= ‘keep out the cold. Later J its descent down at least 10 enemy aircraft. Those who The first anti-aircraft guns, inthe war one-piece \ . id became national heroes. Baron von suchas this Btsh OF tecame coeunon (20:6) Marten ; ply eben ES Alied scat The Britoh ace, Capsin ‘at torpedo boats Once Falcon pea ee tcey | Geese , a eek 3s =Zeppelin : IN THe spRING OF 1915, the first German airships appeared in Britain's night sky. The sight of these huge, slow-moving machines caused enormous panic — at any moment a hail of bombs could fall from the airship. Yet in reality, airships played little part in the war. The first airship was designed by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in 1900. Airships are often called zeppelins / but technically only those designed by him should bear the name. Early in the war, airships could fly higher than planes, so it was almost impossible to shoot them down. This made them useful for bombing raids. But soon, higher flying aircraft and the use of incendiary (fire-making) bullets brought these aerial bombers down to earth. By 1917, most German and British airships were restricted to reconnaissance work at sea Bash SS Sea The ated the airship from the gondola — a oo Toasuncont seats et ite Come Oa Float in Sacarhip 36©, War at sea Since THE LAUNCH OF Britain’s Dreadnought battleship in 1906, Britain, Germany, and other countries had engaged ina massive naval building programme. Yet the war itself was fought largely on land and both sides avoided naval conflict. The British needed their fleet to keep the seas open for merchant ships bringing food and other supplies to Britain, as well as to — prevent supplies reaching Germany. Germany When the US needed its fleet to protect itself against possible invasion. The only major sea battle - off Danish Jutland in the North Sea in 1916 - was inconclusive. The main fight took place under the sea, as German U-boats waged a damaging war against Allied merchant and" coxstavr troop ships in an effort to force e - Britain out of the war. chipping bythe Corman The British R German U-boat operated both underae —_{— sere veto on ah Bon in 1881, Mustafa Kemal eo eames Mpgenniyies Iv carty 1915 the Allies decided to force through the strategic, but heavily By fortified, Dardanelles straits and. — capture the Ottoman Turkish capital British army biscuits were Of Constantinople. Naval attacks on fiantsesnacihehad- 19 February and 18 March both failed. bake Chita On 25 April, British, Australian, and fom Galipolilustss New Zealand troops landed on the Gallipoli peninsula, while French troops staged a diversion to their south. In August, there was a second landing at Suvla Bay, also on the peninsula. Although the landings were a success, the casualty rate was high and the Allies were unable to move far from the beaches due ‘rae The Galipli peninsula esto dhe north ofthe Dardanelles 4 narrow waterway connecting the Aegean the Black Sea via the Sea of 1912-15, At Gallipoli, Kemal was ed divisional commander he helped to strengthen the an Turkish defences, Kemal then brlianty Ted the 1th Division ‘onthe e Anzac “Trke he Became president of the Tori Republic later gaining aterway would have given Bain and Fra to fierce Turkish resistance. As the months wore on, the sen ute fom te Meditranea tothe death rate mounted. The Allies eventually withdrew in i ally, Rasa, But oth ides f the waterway A ae ee : January 1916, leaving the Ottoman Empire still in control ni nae acer ae Zeala theAnzic, — OR of the Dardanelles and still in the war. Privately purchased med Scan Al hopes pry cptary fe ya Bach fier onthe rot in GFerireala were traned by the trying Bran Thc beach ws very narow and te Hyde Park der the cover of atahitch hit war dead on Anzac Day, 25 Apri Despite the efforts ofthe medical staf, some of whom portable surgical kt, the treatment and of casualties from Ga pli oemous numbers of soldiers who were sick, as The Allies expected the Gallipoli peninsula to be lightly defended but withthe help ‘of Germany, the Turks had The fighting at Gallipoli grenades were particularly ‘ective in keocking ou troop making grenades 0 rete babe built well gu Positions. Germany also Sipped the Turks with 40Ow 21 repruary 1916, Germany launched a massive attack against Verdun, a fortified French city. Verdun lay close to the German border and controlled access into eastern France. After a huge, eight-hour artillery bombardment, the German infantry advanced. The French were caught by surprise and lost control of some of their main forts, but during the summer their resistance stiffened. By December, the Germans had been pushed back almost to where they started, The cost to both sides was enormous — over 400,000 French casualties and 336,831 German casualties. The German General Falkenhayn later claimed he had tried to bleed France to death. He did not succeed and, rom the enemy within the he open ground exposed that it was teeye the Iso riddled ground tans ‘combat Many dramatic ilmehave been made albu te wae a this petra ens (On 25 February, the ancient city of Verdun twas evacnted Many buildings were hit ‘Ray foment anon me including losses at the “What a bloodbath, what horrid days Pl sald theirbettowoata — Battle of the Somme, the blazeg but large numbers of houses Mi vsden fare andbomedemiy )ecerman casualties that year were 774,153, images, what a slaughter. I just cannot find the words to express my feelings. Hell cannot be this dreadful.” ALBERT JOUBAIRE FRENCH SOLDIER, VERDUN, 1916 General Hens Pil took command of Expo Forces of Verda February the same day as the Port Dousumont He ied an effective wn and made ne was properly | | French villages tacked and | captored during the Cerman advance Verdun, The dev feat that this ile, along with war but sail marke on maps a8 3 i oF remembra Ont The Fen Ta artis egwtecnaes fot Saas ge tore ne beant oe sare of Free ‘Douaumont, in the outer ring, was the strongest of these = 7 German attack enduri i The countryside around Verdun is wooded and lly with the muddy, cold, and wee ded by Stel met ‘though forts Ir was built of steel and concrete and Famport lches, and wll of barbed wire on Duiosneun SS them oid ad w ngsoe many steve running down the River Meuse Heavy aden drifted il io and sllerng experience! By Ver taintatand constant erry bombardment turned tie thelr ta was Sra. een by cde, Tht tt dreadful injures fro French president Kay Iendscape ino » desolate madbath, where the bodes o tothe on 25 Feb ic rape Shelf and poison 335 Poincaré awarded the city the Li dead lay al bud in shell crater and men were t'Homeur The hon i sally [presente to men and womer anlitary and civilian for bravery forced to Background picture: Ruined and sleep within inches of thei fl ‘Verdun eifyscape, 1915, crnrades. This photograph shows the “Ravine dela smart the Revie ofthe Dead 2 4BpA Ss Gas attack Ow THE AFTERNOON of 22 April 1915, French-Algerian troops near the Belgian town of Ypres noticed a greenish-yellow cloud moving towards them from the German front. The cloud was chlorine gas. This was the first time poison gas had been used effectively in war. As it reached the Allied e line, many soldiers panicked, for they had no protection against its choking ae effects. Over the next three years, both sides used gas - the Germans yma released about 68,000 tonnes, the British and French 51,000 tonnes. Baek "FR heinet The first gas clouds were released from canisters and blown by the wind towards the enemy, but this caused problems if the wind changed and blew the gas in the wrong direction More effective were gas-filled shells, which could be targeted at enemy lines In total, 1,200,000 soldiers on both sides were gassed, of whom 91,198 died terrible deaths. feltom the face and inthe tyes but within seconds it red the throat. Soldiers Jed and cho r te swirled ar Ordinary glove them. The lon depended on the type of HAND SHRUNK. ery quickly, others blinded for life fl skin love above, rg me died Fappens to a pers The pho when tThe Eastern Front When PEOPLE THINK today of World War I, they picture the fighting in the § trenches along the Western Front. But on the other side of Europe, a very different war took place, between Germany and Austria-Hungary on one MASURIANLaKES wig, side and Russia on the other. This war to the Masurian Lakes in was much more fluid, with great armies marching backwards and forwards across many hundreds of kilometres. Both the Austro-Hungarian and Russian armies Russians, w were badly led and poorly equipped, and Syne both suffered huge losses. In 1915 alone, Geaany was over the Russians lost two million men, of whom one million were taken prisoner. The German army, ably led by General Hindenburg, was far more effective. By the end of 1916, despite some Russian successes, the Germans were in full control of the entire Eastern Front. The Russians were greatly demoralized and this led, in part, to the Russian Revolution the following year, 1917. at Tannenberg dug trenches and During 1914 the Russian array 'eastn prov huge defeats on tha astro Hunganan army. But in 197 German reinforcements (above) pushes the Ruselans back into ther own count gy Battle of Vittorio-Veneto in Octob u0-km (00-1 The Italian Front May Italy joined the war on the side of the and prepared to invade its hostile n Aust ting took p two fronts — north and gainst the Italian-speaking Trentino Hungary to the north, and along the east. The Italian army repared cd for the war, and was unable to reak 1 defences until its final success at the uunder-equip he AuWar in the desert Ficttinc purinc World War I was not restricted just to Europe German colonies in Africa were overrun by French, British, and South African forces, while Germany’s colonies in China and the Pacific were invaded by Japanese, British, Australian, and New Zealand forces. One of the major conflicts took place in the Middle East. Here, the Turkish Ottoman Empire controlled Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), Palestine, Syria, and Arabia. British and Indian troops invaded Mesopotamia in 1914 and finally captured Baghdad in 1917. Meanwhile, a large British force, under General Allenby, captured Palestine and, in the last weeks of the war, the Syrian capital of Damascus. In Arabia, Bedouin soldiers under the guidance of TE. Lawrence rose in revolt against their Turkish ue rulers and SIRSER oui! waged a guerrilla ieee eat campaign for an independent Arab state. fighting in th right get heattroke therefore issued spine [RETURN JOURNEY British soldier TE, Lawrence's rifle was one ofthe many British rifles Captined bythe Turks a Gal cae Miniter [LAWRENCE OF ARABIA x TE. Lawrence sa romantic figure known as Lawrence of ‘sited the Middle Eatin In 1914 he became he guerra force, lowing up railway lines, attacking Turkish garrisons and tying down an army many times their own size tain opened a new front against aded Palestine y failures, General Allenby capturedEspionage Born sines suspecten the other of employing | hundreds of spies to report on enemy intentions i > © 6 ; and capabilities. In fact, most espionage work NV OoGe i. ‘ed not of spying on enemy territory cons but of eavesdropping on enemy communications. Code-breaking or cryptography was very important as both sides sent and received coded messages by radio and telegraph. 3 Cryptographers devised highly complex Ng codes to ensure the safe transit of their own messages while using their skills to intercept and break coded enemy messages. Such skills enabled British intelligence to decipher the Zimmermann telegram from IIGEON Fost Berlin to Washington sent in January 1917, leading to the Over 0000 entry of the USA into the war in April 1917. | Army intelligence officers, such as this British Played vital role in examining a red enemy do aly containing ontained mapa, wire cles, Compasses to help Shaw array mass escape from the Edith Cavell was born terse ei her and tried he for Cavell was not spy bat ide a powerful propaganda weapon for iho | Soe, m See e Bod pass honed Sewnti ce bck of but 7Tank warfare The Brivist-INVENTED tank was a major mechanical innovation of the war. British tanks first saw action in September 1916, but these early tanks were not i very reliable. It was not until Raaaae teat ee ae ‘ November 1917, at the Battle of Cambrai, that their full potential was realized. At Cambrai, the German the Soe er 816, det were so strong that an take part in the bale sel artillery bombardment would have destroyed the ground and made it impossible for the infantry to cross. Instead, fleets of tanks flattened barbed-wire, crossed enemy trenches, and acted as shields for the advancing infantry. Tanks played a vital role in the allied advances throughout 1918. German A7V tank The frst British tanks were drivenThe US enters the war When war broke out in Europe in August 1914, the USA remained neutral. The country was deeply divided about the war, as many of its citizens had recently arrived from Europe and were strongly in favour of one side or /] the other. When German U-boats started to sink American ships, however, public opinion began to turn against Germany. In February 1917, Germany decided to attack all foreign shipping to try to reduce supplies to eae Britain. It also tried to divert US attention from The a "y Europe by encouraging its neighbour, Mexico, to invade. This action outraged the US government, and as more US ships were sunk, President Wilson declared war on Germany. This was now a world war. Flagg mode {cartoon figure intended to ling 14), Beneath his WANT YOU FOR MY Woodrow Wikon EQUIPMENT dstngu NUS infantryman _Under enemy lines It is horrible. You often wish F Pt ; you were dead, there is no ‘OR M OF the war on the Weste ont, m . . oreo gic tao ean oP shelter, we are lying in water heavily fortified trenches. These massive A - our clothes do not dry.” defences were very difficult to overcome, so engineers found ways of undermining them. The British army recruited coal miners and rommarscur clay-kickers”, who used to dig tunnels for Ce aan eras, London Underground. The Germans had ‘nite hak their own miners. Both excavated tunnels a : cnceeliat ith Fes, soca Ira themen ee d pacl ‘og man breathing em with explosives, ready to be detonated iby mrueds When an attack began. Counter-mines were ie also dug to cut into and destroy enemy mines before they could be finished miners sometimes and fought in underground battles. Vast mines were exploded by the British at the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916, but their most effective use was under Messines Ridge at the start of the Battle of Passchendaele. the let Cor ‘gen contained nthe breathing bogs Was a ‘ohh theThe final year In eaRty 1918, the war looked to be turning in favOwpef Germany ane Fer allies. Russia miter had yeftR@aywitfrom the War, enabling ~ ae BUMPED Conan had Gertiny to dencentrate her efforts on aes 5 many buried whe " the Western Ffont, and US\troops had 3 BBB isc ha ot st turned decisive yet 1 ance in’any great C7 angavon hed an evden sive ffx March Sceead bopsitowwithin 64 km , ‘ ‘behind the lines, i 7 esistangge’be Allied troops : r nine pli for >man 1 collapsed : : q fowede the ly frat was ge ‘aiacls ule une Line On 2 oe Pe a ae ” ha cay Beige \ber, ‘Midland Division captured the FeCceee ne We Easter Froot 1017 Austria By ccna TP ee Russia pulls out «Germany stood alone. On7 Nor 4 slenaa photopaph case Tikes cena itso ea Cec delegaon fens pple increasingly crpopuleeas the war. lieito discuss peace terms With the ‘oon cd du ‘progressed. The army. was Allies. The war was.almost over. n ra ones oe demoralized by. constant defeats/and 4 "hte ans a tir piewrin! yy early 917, there was large-scale , francis Fraternizaffoniwith German troops. along the Easterm’Front. In { Febhuaryli17, uxevolution er Ae Somme, Apa 1918 cl fbi some new yovertment eontintied ead a, the wag, Aseeond revolution | | in October brought the | folshevik Party © power A cense-fie was agterd with Germany, id in March 1918 Russia signedithe Treaty 6F Brest Litowsk ant withdrew\from the war ty 5 October, the Allied series hae reich! he edie Hindenburg Line and Botwaides Seuolbes ao sssrarse The Br French recapture sn ‘apseltes eat sa 114, ‘eluding Lilet, and by farlv November 1918 thes | | } (On 21 March 118 Gane |. Losier chads Rox stack ‘on the Wester From, ebaped 6 detest Bian Fab Bere US onkerereena onl eee Th ‘Mons, where stack took the Alles by suepic! Thad ies the Fst shows iad Germany advanced By slot arin August 1914 (6m (40 sic by bly. But athe By now, the German retreat Rese oti 00.00 suas , Was turning into a out Jaa, OS Pre Seman on the Wa ber German consmander “docive baile of Vitono-Veneto 4 November Austr Hungary jess 18 15 July Ct Gernan oles ve near Ariens P5 September Bulgaria ake advises the Kale to ‘gaint Austria Hungary gree an armitee 5 March Tres launches on Vester Foe ember Atirigine aun "peace os army crumble 29 October German fet matinies 9 Noversber The Kaiser ct Rass leat te 18 July Frere conmtenatack eat Stine 27 September Hitch bosin apiuse Ortoman deslares its independence 430 October Ontoman Turkey 3ziees 11 November Armistice between 21 March Mast Gama Ldéndorif eins om the Mare miber Allies tick fggat Hindenburg ine r Italian amy begin srmistce Zermany ad the Allies, ya end wf 4 59,Ar 11 MN THE Ith day of the 11th month of 1918, the guns of Europe fell silent after more than four years of war. The problems of war were now replaced by the equally pressing problems of peace. Germany had asked 2 for an armistice (cease-fire) in order to discuss a possible = peace treaty. She had not surrendered but her soldiers SS were surrendering in hordes and her navy had mutinied. The Allies wanted to make sure that Germany would never go to war again. The eventual peace treaty re-drew the map of Europe and forced Germany to pay massive damages to the Allies. German armed forces were reduced in size and strength and Germany lost a great deal of land and all of her overseas colonies. 0 during the w: vial SOR macs FOr AND NESTED KAISER. FL = 60 61| Guin the Bate of Passchendaele The cost of the war The cosr oF THE First World War in human lives is unimaginable. More than 65 million men fought, of whom more than half were killed or injured - 8 million killed, 2 million died of illness and disease, 21.2 million wounded, and 7.8 million taken prisoner or missing. In addition, about 6.6 million civilians cae perished. Among the combatant nations, ‘Asoldier stands on Pilckem Ridge With the exception of the USA, there was barely a family that had not lost at Jeast one son or brother; some meee had lost every male member. rained marks. Entire towns and villages were wiped off the map, and fertile farmland was turned into deadly bogland. Financially, the economies of Europe were ruined, while the USA emerged as a major world power. Not surprisingly, at the end of 1918, people hoped they would never again have to experience the slaughter and destruction they had lived through for the past four years. In August 1917. The crudely made Many of the dead wer 0 badly disfigured that as impo hem, Pian crosses mark their graves. Thowsands more jas dis presumed dead. Both France and Britain ceremaniowal buried ene unknown atthe Arde Triomphe, Pars, and Westminster Abbey, London ‘The war let thousands of soldiers dis and disabled. Reconstruct facal damage, ssl mask an! P tie! toe horrible The entire length Front nd cxouary (burial vaul) at DDouaumont (below) contains the remains of 130,000 unidentified French and German soldiers There are Victoria {10 British cemeteries inthe Crom (V.C Somme valley sone Every combatant nation awarded military and cvian meal ts honor braver Five milion [rn Cross were and ther allies,‘noi of ships. 9 ‘Cinna, Foch General 39 60,61, Ben 6 7.8518. food. 19.21.2340 frmy 12 13,14 15 fool game ot ‘am Expeditnary foes 3 ore (BEF) 10 rane 87.8 ‘Batis Legon 63 ry 8 12 1 alana 212 58 eseriaion 38 Cia fle of 52 Pane Ferdinand ‘mera op. 5051 ‘Anhui 8 Frnch A Service 24 fron ie 118,29 Espero FO Far ‘Se pions 2,50 an Soul 2, H va ei 0 eaters 7 cat a ‘Chafnin M 22 lle, Gnera 1 henna apa oe atk 445 Rosin codebmaing pn cc tS 2 ‘nant ceratow cher, cc a * Googe King 7 Eero Tavern, army 813 = deat of eae 8 unter mines. 5 ‘nd proce 68 Sepoetrase 2s gee Sopra 50 fren $0 former 27 DEF rive 25.27 ache gn Bh Dantanes stats 40 and German 38 Sec wan Maaco ‘Sega bint ae 26 44 olden 2 Hinder ough Seve Gea te owt 34 epi: ‘ten Fe 2" il 33 HS Dratougie_Comakcent 3,62 recs —- do Fed 6 Es onde Satya comet 38 peer lai 50 face fal 58 JKL Japan, 22 Jean, Bate 39 cheer, Ld it Kock Ee 32 Lawrence TE (Uren of Arb, ‘un Visine 88 ere Thome 1920.55, Loyd Geom, Dai 14 {oman Canon Cyr 20 adeno Often 58 ‘Stanton, 34 MNO machine guns, 24,29 ‘tamer Bo the 1, miner 57 fant, athe, Genera 10 tbat 1.83.57 ud, Prive ak, Neyo 10 ‘New Zealand 12 4041 ‘Neotae Grand Duke 2 Neotost ae 71238 ight pats 1826 ‘nomad 20,28 ‘Ottoman Turkey, 7,40, wie PRS Palin, 8,40 Pawcheraace, Bate of, Sosa peace ferme and ety, Sets Pain, General $2 Pigson poste 2230, oie 12 ‘aaa fr wat * SE Bona 8 Sige et Singer ‘Sen rae ste 369 ns Sent ‘t seas pra, TUV esah Mark 52 rh Mar 3.53 ews 5253 Soman A 52 (ohn HEAT 1848 Dae dew 25 abounds ‘rebaye 7,38 fn, 19 inno 20 Verdun, 2-0) Mera ay of 6 Vitoria Cru 6 WYZ (Radsworth, Eda 39 ime 3 ‘Senmuniatone 22°39 andor poppe rote 128 spp, 2223 nut ates 16 Wt ier ‘tmpeoe 87 We Preatdent "Wondro, Women of Pegs, 32 ‘oren's Army Atay (WAR CLa oats Land Army 33 ‘wounds 30-3 rescuing 221 ‘rating 29.22 walking 3 pro Bem. 457 pele 62.39 ornare wigan, 50 Acknowledgements ‘Det Kindesey and the author ‘would ike thanks lunbeth Bamern Chester Dosting, Lie Mince Mark Pind nd he Photography achive eam a the pei (War besa for thei iva Bp Right Section Kings Own Royal Horse Atl for ring the gn shown an page 0. Editorial asitance: Carey Set Inder Lyon Brler “he publishers would ao tke to thank {he fllowing for het kind perminsion te veprduce thei photograph shove below facet let ight op AKG London: Ze 366 3B 38 SL dt eb be 8 38, {2 sD be Sal SH, he Andrew [LGherack, Springfield, Pemneyivanis: Sir Shr Cari 2t ,e 2ke 2 Bit Beta 8 2627, AS, S35 4, Sb, 5, Se S39, Sr, Dave G. Hower fer, Rebert Harding Pitre Leary 6 Meee ‘schichliches Manoum Wie: 8 ton Getty 14 17 be be, Se 2S 3S, Mera, Me We em, Sk, Sle ee, “ep Prams Agee Sl Imperial War ‘Maneum 24, 2 8 1101, 1a el ibe 8, er 18, 1 tl x sb, The Mei wd, 1918 by Pal Nach 1 1, 1, 18 264, ke, 21, 2, 28, 22, 2 be 2 De, 2b 2 22 el her 3, 3 28-3, $e, eh, ib 3, 3 3H, Ser 38, S38, 335 a, 373,38 hr He, ibe Ab AS 4a, ‘er be, str Sle, 2, Sh br 5, tl Se, Se 56-7, ‘7 50, ie 3H, The ining ‘Pec the Hal of Mire, Vera, 1916-20 by ie William Orpen 61, 2, 26 David King Collection 15, <7, ‘Sela Natlonal Army Mancum 4 National Galery OF Canad Ota “Tae om the Canadian War Memon Dace hip dry eck at Lira, 1501, by Edward Waewoeth Son Peer Newark’ Military Betas 1a RAF Museum, Hendon: ‘Mela, Mel Roger Vl tr ee, "ae st Soyer 17 Spink and Son La te te: Telegraph Colour Library Frche 2 Topham Pctrepint 2 Tor Soa, (2h ASAP A Ulta Bld 66,4 Jacket rite [AKG London: ack, bck Imperial War Museum back back be, front front ont ca nt staged Image ae ont pine Topham Plterepoint nth. All ther images © Dering Kindersley rndhinagecon 4KINDERSLE TNESS GUIDES £9.99 Discover the horror of war with this unique guide to the I grim challenge of life or death on the Western Front. Devastating first-hand reports and contemporary photographs of the battles that slaughtered million: together with a clear account of how nation upon nation 5 sent their men to join the carnage, combine to present a 4 __ dramatic “eyewitness” view of this most terrible war. i! See the fateful car of the heir to Austria-Hungary @ everyday life ” in the dug-out @ sappers mining tunnels beneath the enemy @ Mata Hari learning the art of spying Learn cs how people avoided gas attacks @ when periscopes iz were used @ what soldiers wrote home to their sweethearts a st way to use a tank @ how troops flattened a ahillside @ the meaning of Armistice Day Discover how it felt to go “over the top” @ what happened to all the bodies @ how people dealt with shell shock @ why war led to revolution and much, much more Dacor Ml il A DORLING KINDERSLEY BOOK