World War I Project

Justin Liegl

U.S. History

1st Hour

Weapons

• Poison Gas

• The French were the first to use the gas against the Germans

• Some gases include tear gas, mustard, phosgene, and chlorine.

War Medicine

• Many soldiers got the condition known as the “three day fever”

• Later named the Spanish Flu

• Most common disease/ illness

• More people died as the disease grew stronger

Prisoners of War

• More than seven million prisoners

• Germans held the most camps

• They didn’t feed the prisoners, gave out harsh punishments, and ruined their minds

Life in the Trenches

• Life in the trenches was dirty

• Led to the growth of the black rat population

• They feared the soldiers

• Caused many diseases

Christmas Truce 1914

• People were fighting on Christmas Eve of 1914

• But out of no where, the forces met in No Man’s Land and joked around and sang Christmas Carols.

• Agreed to not fight

Military Decorations

• Medal of Honor

• Highest American soldier ranking

• Rewarded to those who go above and beyond on the battlefield and outside it as well

Uniforms • The American infantryman's belt has ten

pockets holding two clips of 5 cartridges each, or 100 rounds of ammunition and in addition, when going into action, he carries two bandoleers containing 60 cartridges each.

War Heroes

• Sgt. Alvin York

• He started off the war not wanting to fight

• Later became known as the greatest American war hero

• He took a whole German raid by himself and had them draw

Tactics

• Plan 17

Plan XVII made extensive use of the belief in the mystical élan vital assumed to be instilled within every Frenchman - a fighting spirit capable of turning back any enemy by its sheer power.

Communications

• Telegraph

• The telegraph was used to communicate from long distances.

• One telegraph message was intercepted by the US from Germany to Mexico. It threatened the US.

Peace

• Armistice 1918

• The armistice between the Allies and Germany was signed in a railway carriage on 11 November 1918, and marked the end of fighting in the First World War on the Western Front.

RMS Titanic

• RMS Titanic was the largest passenger steamship in the world when she set off on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City on 10 April, but hit an iceberg and sunk.

Women During the War

• WW I Women Marines

• Nearly 13,000 women enlisted in the Navy and the Marine Corps on the same status as men and wore a uniform blouse with insignia.

• Physical and Occupational Therapists were called Reconstruction Aides and saw service also in the armed forces - they served in hospitals in the U.S. and overseas.

Influenza Epidemic

• 1918

• The influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 killed more people than the Great War, known today as World War I (WWI), at somewhere between 20 and 40 million people. It has been cited as the most devastating epidemic in recorded world history.

Inventors

• Paul Vielle

• Invented the smokeless gunpowder.

• Was also an engineer.

Women

• Maria Bochkareva

• Known as the Russian Joan of Arc.

• Maria decided to break with Yankel and go to a soldier in the army. In November 1914, in Tomsk, she turns to the commander of 25th Reserve Battalion.

War in the Air

• Zeppelins

• A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century.

Air Forces and Flying Aces

• Italian Air Force

• Most of the Italians flew German made planes to defeat the Allies.

• They were one of the Central Powers

Causes of WWI

• Zimmerman Telegram

• A telegraph was intercepted by the US from Germany to Mexico saying to help them destroy the US. The US felt threatened and joined the war to destroy Germany.

Lost Battalion

• History was made over the next 6 days as this unit, the "Lost Battalion", refused to surrender even though they were completely surrounded, constantly attacked, low on ammunition and supplies, had no food, shelter and limited access to water. Of the over 600 men first trapped in the "pocket", only around 200 walked out. They received 3 Congressional Medal of Honors (CMO), many Distinguished Service Crosses (DSC), and many other awards.