By: Alex Szafranski

 June 1914 ~ Austrian king and his wife are assassinated. Austria-Hungary
declares war on Serbia. Russia deploys troops to stop German
soldiers as a precaution. Then Russia deploys all forces on
Germany.
 August 1914 ~ Germany declares war on France and Russia while invading the
neutral country of Belgium. Britain and France declare war on
Austria-Hungary. Russia also invades Germany.
 Battle of the Marne – Happened at the beginning of the First World War and was
Germany’s way to try and avoid fighting on two fronts. They tried knocking out
France, but failed. The French and British launched a counter-offensive against the
failing German offensive at the Marne.
 Battle of Verdun – This was the longest battle of the War lasting 11 months. This was
a battle where the German army attacked the French fortified town of Verdun. The
French lost part of the town and had regained it over the fall. Germans had lost over
430,000 killed or wounded and the French had approximately 550,000.
 Rifles – Most of all the countries had a standard issue rifle. Britain had the Lee-
Enfield, France had the Lebel, and USA had the Springfield 1903.
 Machine Guns – All countries had these, they were used as mounted guns to mow
down enemy troops. They carried 100+ rounds per magazine and had over 500
rounds per minute.
 Flamethrowers – Hand held ones were first used February 26, 1915 by the Germans
at Malancourt. Tanks were on the person’s back which used nitrogen pressure to
spray fuel oil. It was ignited as it left the small, hand-directed pipe.
 Tanks – First made by the British and the word ‘tank’ was used as a code name for
‘land battleship.’ This was used while Britain was secretly making the weapon.
 There were a multitude of countries that were assembled together to create large
forces. There were countries from all over the world that worked together to create
these large masses. For example there were the following involved, United States,
Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire (Turkey), Belgium, and Italy. With these
countries, there were also countries from North America, Europe, Middle-East and
Asia.
 https://youtu.be/C8-ABMUZemM
 9 million soldiers and 7 million civilians died during WWI
 In 1917, Germany invited Mexico into the war to take back Texas, New Mexico, and
Arizona from the United States
 WWI ended at 11 a.m. of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918
 WWI transformed the United States into the largest military power in the world
 After WWI, there were so few men in Germany that only 1/3 women could find a
husband
 A British soldier spared the life of a German solder who was Adolf Hitler
 The King of England, the Tsar of Russia, and the Emperor of Germany were all 1st
cousins during WWI
 Henry Johnson – Colored soldier in the United States Army that was in the first
African American unit of the U.S. Army that was in combat during WWI.
 Aleksei Brusilov – Russian general that is famous for new offensive tactics that were
copied by the Germans.
 Djemal Pasha – Ottoman leader and one-third of the military triumvirate called the
Three Pashas, or Three Dictators.
 William Hackett – English soldier that received the highest and most prestigious
award for gallantry (courageous actions) that can be awarded to British and
Commonwealth forces.