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The First World War in a nutshell (part 1)

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The First World War in a nutshell (part 1)

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This is a short and wildly oversimplified summary of the First World War.

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The First World War in a nutshell (part 2)

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The First World War in a nutshell (part 2)

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This is a short and wildly oversimplified summary of the First World War.

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Causes of war and the assassination of Franz-Ferdinand (June 28th, 1914)

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Causes of war and the assassination of Franz-Ferdinand (June 28th, 1914)

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Archduke Franz-Ferdinand, of Austria-Hungary, is assassinated on June 28th, 1914. The assassination was carried out by a Bosnian Serb nationalist named Gavrilo Princip. This event was the direct cause of the Great War. However, it was not the only cause; there were several underlying factors that indirectly helped cause the war.

The first was the fact that Germany had been establishing its power on the world stage, it had been expanding its military power in a surge of nationalism.

The second was the complicated structure of alliances between nations. This would soon cause a chain reaction, as one country after another would be dragged into the war as the result of an alliance.

(https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-I)

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Because of the intricate system of alliances, many nations were soon involved in a war that did not actually have anything to do with them.
There were two major opposing sides: the Triple Alliance, consisting of Germany, Austria-Hungary and their allies, and the Triple Entente, consisting of France, Great Britain and Russia.

At the start of the war, morale was high. People felt excited about the war, as war was often good for a nation's economy and sense of nationalism. Besides, people expected a traditional, heroic and noble war fought on a battlefield. This, however, was not the case.
(https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zqhyb9q/articles/znhhrj6)

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On 4 August 1914, Britain declared war on Germany.
It became known as The Great War, as it affected people all over the world.

The war was between:

The Triple Alliance

The Triple Entente

Germany

Great Britain

Austria - Hungary

France

Their Allies

Russia

Each of the countries got their troops ready to fight. They included the army (people who fight on land) and the navy (people who fight on the seas).

Great Britain, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia all ruled many countries (colonies) across the world. They wanted to keep their empires strong and saw other countries taking over new territories as a threat.

When Germany and Austria-Hungary took control of small countries like Bosnia and Morocco, the rest of the world thought they were being aggressive.

Many countries had made alliances with one other. They agreed to protect each other. If one was attacked, the others would defend them.

On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, was shot and killed by a Serbian man who thought Serbia should control Bosnia instead of Austria.

Because its leader had been shot, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. As a result:

1. Russia got involved because Russia had an alliance with Serbia.

2. Germany then declared war on Russia because Germany had an alliance with Austria-Hungary.

3. Britain declared war on Germany because of its invasion of neutral Belgium. Britain had agreements to protect both Belgium and France.

Many battles were fought using trench warfare.

Long ditches were dug in the ground. Soldiers lived in these trenches and sometimes climbed out to attack.

A famous example of trench warfare was the Battle of the Somme. It lasted from July to November 1916. Around one million soldiers were killed, wounded or missing in the battle.

The Defence of the Realm Act gave the government more power than it would usually have.

There were restrictions on bonfires, pubs, and buying binoculars.

Feeding wild animals was seen as a waste of food so it became a crime.

Newspapers were stopped from writing anything that didn't support the war.

Lots of new jobs were created, such as making weapons in factories. Some women got the chance to have paid jobs for the first time.

The war years affected everybody. Their lives would never be the same again.

Find out more by working through a topic

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Discover how country alliances led to World War One and why the great war started in this BBC Bitesize history KS2 guide.

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Propaganda: social media's ancestor (1914-1916)

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Propaganda: social media's ancestor (1914-1916)

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In order to have the manpower needed to fight and win the war, propaganda was used in Great Britain. Propaganda was used in the form of posters and was meant to excite people about the war, because, if people were excited, they would enlist.

Most posters focused on making the war look like a noble and heroic cause. Figures that represented heroism and nationalism, such as John Bull, were often depicted. However, people were often manipulated into thinking it was their duty to fight, and if they didn't, they would be branded a coward.

As for the newspapers, they were prohibited from writing about what happened at the front, at first. Though, this didn't stop some journalists, who travelled to the front in secret. Later, they were allowed to write about the goings-on at the front, so long as they would not write things the enemy might benefit from. People were interested in knowing what went on at the front.

In August, 1916, a film was shown in British theatres about the battle of the Somme. Not all bits were real, some were acted out. However shocking, it was the first time the public got to see what life at the front really looked like.

(https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zqhyb9q/articles/zhw3jhv)

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How was propaganda used in World War One?

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How was propaganda used to change people’s views during World War One? Find out in this year 5/6 Bitesize Primary History guide.

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Women: the driving power behind the scenes (1914-1918)

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Women: the driving power behind the scenes (1914-1918)

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While the men went off to war, many women took over their jobs. They started working as nurses, munitionettes, clerks, government workers, and even soldiers. The Great War had a major impact on the role of women in society. This video provides more detail on the role of women in WWI.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cVSjzuvThE)

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Sustaining Total War - Women in World War One I THE GREAT WAR

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The Von Schlieffenplan: Germany's ambitious takeover (August 1914)

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The Von Schlieffenplan: Germany's ambitious takeover (August 1914)

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Germany had created a strategy of warfare with the help of Alfred von Schlieffen. In short, he stated that most of the German troops should be sent to take down France first, and then move on to Russia. He based this statement on the fact that Russia was very large, both in geography as well as population, and was behind on industrial development. This meant that it would take the Russians quite long to mobilise their army, as the railroad network was quite sparse.

This plan eventually did not work, as the German troops could not invade France as easily as they had anticipated. This led to the creation of a trench network; in order for the troops not to lose their ground and to protect themselves, they dug themselves in during the first battle of the Marne. The Western front had gotten stuck. Meanwhile, the German had to start fighting the Russians on the Eastern front as well.

(https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-I/Technology-of-war-in-1914)

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The planning and conduct of war in 1914 were crucially influenced by the invention of new weapons and the improvement of existing types since the Franco-German War of 1870-71. The chief developments of the intervening period had been the machine gun and the rapid-fire field artillery gun. The modern machine gun, which had been developed in the 1880s and '90s, was a reliable belt-fed gun capable of sustained rates of extremely rapid fire; it could fire 600 bullets per minute with a range of more than 1,000 yards (900 metres). In the realm of field artillery, the period leading up to the war saw the introduction of improved breech-loading mechanisms and brakes. Without a brake or recoil mechanism, a gun lurched out of position during firing and had to be re-aimed after each round. The new improvements were epitomized in the French 75-millimetre field gun; it remained motionless during firing, and it was not necessary to readjust the aim in order to bring sustained fire on a target.

See how No Man's Land between World War I trenches led to the use of chemical weapons, tanks, and warplanes

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. See all videos for this article

Machine guns and rapid-firing artillery, when used in combination with trenches and barbed-wire emplacements, gave a decided advantage to the defense, since these weapons' rapid and sustained firepower could decimate a frontal assault by either infantry or cavalry.

There was a considerable disparity in 1914 between the deadly effectiveness of modern armaments and the doctrinal teachings of some armies. The South African War and the Russo-Japanese War had revealed the futility of frontal infantry or cavalry attacks on prepared positions when unaccompanied by surprise, but few military leaders foresaw that the machine gun and the rapid-firing field gun would force armies into trenches in order to survive. Instead, war was looked upon by many leaders in 1914 as a contest of national wills, spirit, and courage. A prime example of this attitude was the French army, which was dominated by the doctrine of the offensive. French military doctrine called for headlong bayonet charges of French infantrymen against the German rifles, machine guns, and artillery. German military thinking, under the influence of Alfred, Graf von Schlieffen, sought, unlike the French, to avoid frontal assaults but rather to achieve an early decision by deep flanking attacks; and at the same time to make use of reserve divisions alongside regular formations from the outset of war. The Germans paid greater attention to training their officers in defensive tactics using machine guns, barbed wire, and fortifications.

The initial stages of the war

Initial strategies

Years before 1914, successive chiefs of the German general staff had been foreseeing Germany's having to fight a war on two fronts at the same time, against Russia in the east and France in the west, whose combined strength was numerically superior to the Central Powers'. The elder Helmuth von Moltke, chief of the German general staff from 1858 to 1888, decided that Germany should stay at first on the defensive in the west and deal a crippling blow to Russia's advanced forces before turning to counterattack the French advance. His immediate successor, Alfred von Waldersee, also believed in staying on the defensive in the west. Alfred, Graf von Schlieffen, who served as chief of the German general staff from 1891 to 1905, took a contrary view, and it was the plan he developed that was to guide Germany's initial wartime strategy. Schlieffen realized that on the outbreak of war Russia would need six full weeks to mobilize and assemble its vast armies, given the immense Russian countryside and population, the sparsity of the rail network, and the inefficiency of the government bureaucracy. Taking advantage of this fact, Schlieffen planned to initially adopt a purely defensive posture on the Eastern Front with a minimal number of troops facing Russia's slowly gathering armies. Germany would instead concentrate almost all of its troops in the west against France and would seek to bypass France's frontier fortifications by an offensive through neutral Belgium to the north. This offensive would sweep westward and then southward through the heart of northern France, capturing the capital and knocking that country out of the war within a few weeks. Having gained security in the west, Germany would then shift its troops to the east and destroy the Russian menace with a similar concentration of forces.

By the time of his retirement in 1905, Schlieffen had elaborated a plan for a great wheeling movement of the right (northern) wing of the German armies not only through central Belgium but also, in order to bypass the Belgian fortresses of Liège and Namur in the Meuse valley, through the southernmost part of the Netherlands. With their right wing entering France near Lille, the Germans would continue to wheel westward until they were near the English Channel; they would then turn southward so as to sever the French armies' line of retreat from France's eastern frontier to the south; and the outermost arc of the wheel would sweep southward west of Paris, in order to avoid exposing the German right flank to a counterstroke launched from the city's outskirts. If the Schlieffen Plan succeeded, Germany's armies would simultaneously encircle the French army from the north, overrun all of northeastern France, and capture Paris, thus forcing France into a humiliating surrender. The large wheeling movement that the plan envisaged required correspondingly large forces for its execution, in view of the need to keep up the numerical strength of the long-stretched marching line and the need to leave adequate detachments on guard over the Belgian fortresses that had been bypassed. Accordingly, Schlieffen allocated nearly seven-eighths of Germany's available troop strength to the execution of the wheeling movement by the right and centre wings, leaving only one-eighth to face a possible French offensive on Germany's western frontier. Thus, the maximum of strength was allocated to the wheel's edge-that is, to the right. Schlieffen's plan was observed by the younger Helmuth von Moltke, who became chief of the general staff in 1906. Moltke was still in office when war broke out in 1914.

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World War I - Military technology and initial strategies

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The modern machine gun and the rapid-fire field artillery gun changed how warfare was conducted, and existing military plans did not always reflect this fact. Initially Germany followed the Schlieffen Plan, which called for a defensive posture on the Eastern Front and launching a massive offensive attack on France.

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The First Battle of the Marne (September 6-12, 1914)

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The First Battle of the Marne (September 6-12, 1914)

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The Germans had invaded Belgium and were advancing into France. They were within 30 miles/48 km of Paris, while the Allied troops had fallen back towards the Marne River.

Field Marshal Sir John French, commander of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), wanted and had planned a full British retreat to port cities for an immediate evacuation of the British forces. However, Joseph Simon Gallieni, the military governor of Paris, wanted the French and British armies to fight back against the German advance.

His plan was as follows: all Allied forces would counter-attack the Germans along the Marne River, thereby halting their advance. As this was going on, Allied reserves would be supplied to restore the ranks and attack the German flanks.

On September 5th, battle commenced when the French Sixth Army ran into the forward guard of the German First Army. By September 9th, it appeared as though the Germans would be completely encircled and defeated.

The retreating German armies were chased by the French and British, somewhat slowly. The German armies ceased their retreat after 40 miles/65 km. They dug in north of the Aisne River, preparing trenches. This meant the abandonment of the Von Schlieffenplan.

(https://www.britannica.com/event/First-Battle-of-the-Marne)

(https://www.worldwar-1.co.uk/first-battle-of-the-marne/)
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This article was most recently revised and updated by

First Battle of the Marne, (September 6-12, 1914), an offensive during World War I by the French army and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) against the advancing Germans who had invaded Belgium and northeastern France and were within 30 miles (48 km) of Paris. The French threw back the massive German advance and thwarted German plans for a quick and total victory on the Western Front.

Allied retreat to the Marne

The British Expeditionary Force, after concentrating near Maubeuge, France, had moved up to Mons, Belgium, on August 22, ready to advance farther into Belgium as part of the offensive of the Allied left wing. On arrival, however, Field Marshal Sir John French learned that the French Fifth Army under Gen. Charles Lanrezac had been checked by a German attack on August 21 and deprived of the crossing of the Sambre. Although thus placed in an exposed forward position, French agreed to stand at Mons to cover Lanrezac's left. The next day Lanrezac had word of the fall of Namur and of the presence of the German Third Army under Gen. Max von Hausen on his exposed right flank near Dinant, on the Meuse. In consequence, he gave orders for a general retreat that night.

The British, after resisting the attacks of six German divisions in the Battle of Mons, began on August 24 to fall back in conformity with their allies, from the Belgian frontier toward the Marne. This retreat was achieved not a moment too soon, as the rest of the German First Army under Gen. Alexander von Kluck was marching still farther westward to envelop the BEF's open left flank.

French commander in chief Gen. Joseph-Jacques-Césaire Joffre at last recognized the folly of pressing ahead with Plan XVII, the planned French offensive into Alsace and Lorraine. Plan XVII had vastly underestimated the size of German invasion forces, and its execution would have dramatically enhanced the effectiveness of the German Schlieffen Plan. The Schlieffen Plan called for a massive flank attack on the French defenses, but Plan XVII would have carried the bulk of the French army beyond those defenses and left it open to envelopment. The German attack would have then fallen on the French left flank and rear, virtually assuring the destruction of the French army and the fall of Paris. Joffre formed a new plan out of the wreckage. He decided to swing back his centre and left, with Verdun as the pivot, while drawing troops from the right and forming a fresh Sixth Army on his left to enable the retiring armies to return to the offensive.

Joffre's optimism might have been again misplaced but for German decisions. The first was Gen. Helmuth von Moltke's action in detaching seven regular divisions to invest Maubeuge and Givet and watch Antwerp, instead of using Landwehr (reserve) and Ersatz (replacement) troops as earlier intended. Moltke further undermined the effectiveness of the Schlieffen Plan on August 25 when he decided to send four divisions to check the Russian advance in East Prussia (that advance would be shattered at the Battle of Tannenberg, weeks before the detached troops would arrive on the Eastern Front). All these forces were taken from the right wing. Further, the German command lost touch with the advancing armies, and movements at the front became disjointed.

The British stand at Le Cateau (August 26), interrupting the retreat from Mons, and Lanrezac's riposte at Guise (August 29) were also factors in checking the German enveloping wing, and each had still greater indirect effects. Le Cateau apparently convinced Kluck that the British force could be wiped from the slate, and Guise led Gen. Karl von Bülow (Second Army) to call on the First Army for support, whereupon Kluck wheeled inward, intending to roll up the French left. Echoes of the decisive victory at Sedan rang loudly in the ears of German generals, and this led them to pluck the fruit before it was ripe. By prematurely wheeling his forces before Paris had been reached, Kluck exposed the German right to a counterenvelopment. One further factor must be mentioned, the most significant of all: the Germans had advanced so rapidly, outrunning their timetable, that their supplies had failed to keep pace.

Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin-Preussischer Kulturbesitz

The first, highly coloured reports from the army commands in the Battles of the Frontiers had given the German Supreme Command the impression of a decisive victory. However, the comparatively small number of prisoners raised doubts in Moltke's mind and led him to a more sober estimate of the situation. The new pessimism of Moltke and the renewed optimism of his army commanders together produced a fresh change of plan, which contained the seeds of disaster. When, on August 26, the British left wing fell back southward badly mauled from Le Cateau, Kluck turned southwestward again. If the direction of Kluck's advance was partly due to a misconception of the line of retreat taken by the British, it was also in accordance with his original role of executing a wide circling sweep. Moreover, it carried him into the Amiens-Péronne area, where the first elements of the newly formed French Sixth Army were just detraining after their "switch" from Alsace. This dislocated Joffre's design for an early return to the offensive and compelled the Sixth Army to fall back hurriedly toward the shelter of the Paris defenses.

Kluck had hardly swung out to the southwest before he was induced to swing in again. For, in order to ease the pressure on the British, Joffre had ordered Lanrezac to halt and strike back against the pursuing Germans, and Bülow, shaken by the threat, called on Kluck for aid. Lanrezac's attack, on August 29, was stopped before Bülow needed this aid, but he asked Kluck to wheel in nevertheless, in order to cut off Lanrezac's retreat. Before acceding, Kluck deferred to Moltke. The request came at a moment when Moltke was becoming perturbed over the way the French were slipping away from his grasp. He was concerned in particular with a gap which had opened between his Second and Third armies as a result of the latter's having already turned south, from southwest, to help the Fourth Army, its neighbour on the other flank. Moltke, therefore, approved Kluck's change of direction-which meant the inevitable abandonment of the original wide sweep round the far side of Paris. Now the flank of the wheeling German line would pass the near side of Paris and across the face of the Paris defenses into the valley of the Marne.

The decision to abandon the original plan was definitely taken on September 4, and Moltke substituted a narrower envelopment of the French centre and right. The Fourth and Fifth armies were to press southeastward into Lorraine from the north while the Sixth and Seventh armies, striking southwestward in Lorraine, sought to break through the fortified barrier between Toul and Épinal, the "jaws" thus closing inward on either side of Verdun. Meanwhile, the First and Second armies were to turn outward and, facing west from the Marne valley, to hold off any countermove, which the French attempted from the neighbourhood of Paris. To the chagrin of the Germans, such an effort had begun before the new plan could take effect.

Clash on the Marne

The opportunity for a move against the Germans was perceived not by Joffre, who had ordered a continuance of the retreat, but by Gen. Joseph-Simon Gallieni, the military governor of Paris. On September 3, when the German First Army was crossing the Marne east of Paris, Gallieni realized the meaning of Kluck's wheel inward and directed Gen. Michel-Joseph Maunoury's Sixth Army to be ready to strike at the exposed German right flank. The next day, with some difficulty, Gallieni won Joffre's sanction. Once convinced, Joffre acted decisively. The whole left wing was ordered to turn about and return to a general offensive on September 6. At Gallieni's urging, Maunoury was already off the mark on September 5, and as his pressure developed on the Germans' sensitive flank, Kluck was constrained to draw off first one part and then the remaining part of his army to support his threatened flank guard. Thereby a 30-mile (48-km) gap was created between the German First Army (in the vicinity of Meaux) and the Second (east of Montmirail)-a gap covered only by a screen of cavalry.

Kluck was emboldened to take the risk because of the rapid retreat of the British opposite-or rather with their backs to-this gaping sector. Even on September 5, when the French on either flank were turning about, the British continued a further day's march to the south. In this "disappearance" lay the unintentional cause of victory. On September 7 and 8, Maunoury's forces were reinforced by about 3,000 infantrymen who were transported to the battle from Paris by some 600 taxis, the first automotive transport of troops in the history of war. While Paris was preparing for a siege, the Allies exploited the gap between the German First and Second armies. On September 8 Gen. Louis Franchet d'Esperey 's Fifth Army made a surprise night attack on the German Second Army and widened the gap. When the British retraced their steps, it was the report of their columns advancing into the gap which led Bülow to order the retreat of his Second Army on September 9. The temporary advantage which the German First Army had gained over Maunoury was thereby nullified, and it fell back the same day.

On September 10 the Germans began a general retreat that ended north of the Aisne River, where they dug in, and the trench warfare that was to typify the Western Front for the next three years began. The attempt at a partial envelopment, pivoting on Verdun, had already failed. The jaw formed by the German Sixth and Seventh armies merely broke its teeth on the defenses of the French eastern frontier. The attack by Crown Prince Rupert's Sixth Army on the Grand-Couronné, covering Nancy, was a particularly expensive failure. It is difficult to see how the German command could have reasonably pinned its faith on achieving as an improvised expedient the very task which in cool calculation before the war had appeared so hopeless as to lead it to take the momentous decision to advance through Belgium as the only feasible alternative.

Outcome

For the Germans, the result of the Battle of the Marne was a strategic but not a tactical defeat, and the German right wing was able to reknit and stand firmly on the line of the lower Aisne and the Chemin des Dames ridge, where trench warfare set in after assaults by the Allies in the latter half of September (First Battle of the Aisne). That the Allies were not able to draw greater advantage from their victory was partly due to the comparative weakness of Maunoury's flank attack and partly due to the failure of the British and of the French Fifth Army under d'Espérey to drive rapidly through the gap between the German First and Second armies while it was open. Their direction of advance was across a region intersected by frequent rivers, and this handicap was intensified by a lack of initiative on the part of their chiefs. Greater results might have come if more effort had been made, as Gallieni urged, to strike at the rear flank of the Kluck's First Army instead of the front and to direct reinforcements to the northwest of Paris for this purpose.

The Allies' frontal pursuit of the Germans from the Marne was already checked on the Aisne before Joffre, on September 17, seeing that Maunoury's attempts to overlap the German flank were ineffectual, decided to form a fresh army under Gen. Édouard de Castelnau for a maneuver around and behind the German flank. By then the German armies had recovered cohesion, and the German command was expecting and ready to meet such a maneuver, now the obvious course. The "Race to the Sea" had begun.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Michael Ray, Editor.

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First Battle of the Marne | Summary, Significance, & Map

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First Battle of the Marne, an offensive during World War I by the French army and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) against the advancing Germans who had invaded Belgium and northeastern France. The Allied victory thwarted German plans for a quick and total victory on the Western Front.

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The Christmas Truce (December 24th, 1914)

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The Christmas Truce (December 24th, 1914)

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On Christmas Eve 1914, British troops heard the German troops singing carols on the opposite side of No-Man's-Land. They saw lanterns and small fir trees, and they started shouting messages.

The next day, the British and German troops met in No-Man's-Land to take photographs, exchange gifts, and play impromptu football games. They also repaired trenches and buried the dead.

The truce did not happen everywhere along the Western front, in other places the fighting did go on. Officers were worried about the truce undermining the soldiers' fighting spirit.
These kinds of truces were held more often, not only on Christmas.
(https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-real-story-of-the-christmas-truce)

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In 2016, IWM was contacted by the family of one of the soldiers shown in this photograph. We now know that this is Arno Bohm, a German soldier, standing alongside British troops from the London Rifle Brigade. They're standing together in the middle of no man's land during the Christmas truce of 1914. This photograph captures a moment so unusual in the First World War that many people at the time, and to this day, believed it to be a myth.

In the midst of a brutal total war, how did this momentary peace come about,what impact did it have in the course of the First World War and why did it never happen again?

Marmaduke Walkinton: "We were in the front line. We were about 300 yards from the Germans and we had I think on Christmas Eve, we'd been singing carols and this that and the other, and the Germans had been doing the same, and we'd been shouting to each other, sometimes rude remarks, more often just joking remarks.

Eventually a German said, 'Tomorrow you no shoot, we no shoot'."

At the start of the war many believed it would all be over by Christmas. However, by December that year it was obvious that this was not the case, and thousands of families and soldiers were facing a Christmas of separation, grief and hardship.

Anthony Richards: "So for those soldiers who are in the trenches over winter 1914, the conditions would have got gradually worse and worse. You got a lot of rain; a lot of frost and the general living conditions would have been terrible."

But the British troops were not alone. In the trenches opposite theirs, sometimes only 30 yards away across the strip of no man's land, were German soldiers in the exact same situation.

Anthony Richards: "There was lots of opportunity for each side to communicate with the other, and this was a regular thing which happened right from the start of trench warfare. But communication would often be in the form of soldiers from one side shouting over insults to those in the other trenches. But what was interesting at Christmas is that both sides actually started to communicate in more friendly terms. It really began with the Germans singing Christmas carols and setting up Christmas trees on top of their parapets. And so, they came to very much empathise with one another."

Mr Rickner: "I remember very well Christmas. I remember the Christmas Day when the German and the French soldiers left their trenches, went to the barbed wire between them with champagne and cigarettes in their hands and had feelings of fraternisation and shouted they wanted to finish the war. And that lasted only two days - one and a half really - and then strict order came that no fraternisation was allowed, and we had to stay back in our trenches."

The Christmas truce varied in different parts of the front line. Ceasefires were hastily arranged, sometimes to enable the collection and burial of bodies or to allow the trenches to be repaired, in other cases the soldiers simply enjoyed fraternising with the other side.

Ernie Williams: "And we shared fags and goodies with the Germans, and then from somewhere, somehow this football appeared."

Interviewer: "Was it a proper football?"

Ernie Williams: "It was a proper football. But we didn't form a team, it wasn't a team game in any sense of the word. You know it was a kickabout. Everybody was having a go. It came from their side; it wasn't from our side where the ball came."

Interviewer: "How many people were taking part do you think?"

Ernie Williams: "Well I should think there'd be at least a couple of hundred."

Interviewer: "Did you kick the ball?"

Ernie Williams: "Oh yes I had to go at it, I was pretty good then, at 19."

But while some parts of the front line were playing football and swapping stories, others were confused by what they heard or felt no inclination to socialise with those they had so recently been fighting.

Clifford Lane: "After a few moments, there were lighted objects raised above the German parapets. The Germans were shouting over to our trench, there's no doubt about that at all, and before we could take any action or do anything, we were ordered to open rapid fire you see, which we did. The Germans did not reply to our rapid fire, they simply carried on with their celebrations and were having a very fine time indeed. They certainly were not going to do it anymore; they thought that we were idiots I suppose, which we were. Not us but the command, you see."

Anthony Richards: "The way that trench warfare was organised in the First World War, each sector was very distinctive and so you wouldn't necessarily know what was happening in the sector next door to you, and you do get stories of one area of the front where they're experiencing a truce but then suddenly they get fired on by the troops in the next sector who don't realise what's happening."

For those soldiers not involved, the truce must have seemed unbelievable, and even more so for those back home. For months the media and government propaganda had shaped the perception of German soldiers as bloodthirsty enemies, baby eaters, devils, ruthless killers. But news of the remarkable Christmas truce soon spread aboard. By the end of December, letters and photos arrived home and newspapers began to publish accounts of the truce.

John Wedderburn-Maxwell: "My father was delighted to have a letter giving such a description of events and he sent it or sent them up to the Daily Telegraph. I got into frightful rocket; it showed up that it must have been me who wrote it and he got hold of me gave me an awful dressing down for daring to write to the press, but of course I didn't, my old man wrote to the press!"

These photographs were taken on personal cameras that some soldiers had taken with them into the trenches. Photography in the trenches was discouraged for obvious reasons but during the Christmas Truce of 1914, soldiers on both sides of the trenches could not resist the opportunity to document such a unique event.

Anthony Richards: "At the beginning of January 1915, the newspapers suddenly start printing these letters and to begin with there was a certain amount of disbelief but then over time suddenly photographs started to appear as well, and by that time the evidence was clear that this did happen it wasn't a myth, and the media at the time absolutely loved it. There were lots of discussions in the newspapers about whether this was a good thing, or a bad thing and you know in a way it's a wonderful snapshot of Christmas 1914 when attitudes were still slightly naïve because the war had only really just begun. You find that in 1915 and onwards the war becomes almost a much more serious endeavour."

The Christmas truce would come to be remembered as something of a blip in the regular conduct of the war. It conflicted with the patriotic aggression required by both sides. It also served to highlight the great contrast between war and religion: how can you fight a war of aggression while also celebrating Christmas, the traditional time for peace and goodwill? For those reasons the Christmas truce was increasingly seen as unimportant and awkward to fit into the standard narrative of the First World War.

Anthony Richards: "You never get anything like the Christmas truce happening again, and over time not only is it seen as an anomaly but almost as a myth, and it gets to the point where people are actually doubting whether it happened in the first place, which continues right up to this day. So, there's still a lot of confusion about whether there was a football match played and things like this."

Harold Lewis: "We didn't cross to France until March of 1915 but although it would be arrogant to say that the thing didn't actually take place I very much doubt whether anything of the nature or magnitude that had been claimed for it took place at all. Now the purpose of that barbed wire and the trenches was to keep each side in its own place therefore why would anybody try to break that and if anybody tried what are the NCOs doing? What were the officers doing? I think the whole thing borders on the fairy tale and may be classed with the Russians with snow on their boots and the Angels of Mons."

Anthony Richards: "We know by looking at German newspapers that the Christmas truce was covered there in a very similar way to how it was in Britain. In the 1920s and the 1930s you see definite examples of how the Christmas truce changes in its depiction because there was a much greater emphasis then on the German soldier as a hero fighting a noble war, whereas the Christmas truce conflicts with that to a degree. So, in Germany in particular the Christmas truce goes out of favour definitely in the 20s and 30s, whereas in Britain it continues to be a popular celebrated story as part of the First World War."

The letters and photographs that reached home in Britain confirmed that this remarkable event had indeed taken place but it was one that was not to be repeated.

Anthony Richards: "The Christmas truce was unique and nothing like it happened again to that scale, and the reasons for this are varied. Immediately after the truce, the high command of both sides stepped in to make sure that fraternisation and ceasefires like this would not happen in the same way. But also, in the long term the real reason the truth is like this didn't happen is that the war changed the way in which it was being fought. As the war progressed there's a more centralised method of command: those in the front line would have been forced into constant aggression, you would have had artillery and trench mortar units constantly going. And also of course as the war progressed it took a far nastier turn, so you get things like gas warfare introduced, an increasing number of civilian casualties. You also get incidents like sinking of the Lusitania. The temptation I suppose to empathise with the enemy and the desire to fraternise with them changed dramatically from 1915 onwards."

It can be argued that the Christmas truce made little difference to the course of the First World War, but it would be remembered as a crucial moment in history. The truce has featured in films, television programs, inspired songs, and even featured in adverts. It's become part of the symbolism used when discussing the First World War, as synonymous with that conflict as poppies, mud and war poets. This unique event has become legendary, in part because the idea of peace at Christmas in such an unlikely place is an irresistible story. But its enduring legacy is also due to these incredible photographs and the interviews from those who were there, documenting an event that to so many still seems wholly unbelievable.

Thanks for watching. Don't forget to hit the button to subscribe to IWM's YouTube channel for more videos like this and much more.

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The Christmas Truce has become one of the most famous and mythologised events of the First World War. But what was the real story behind the truce? Why did it happen and did British and German soldiers really play football in no-man's land?

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A depiction of the Christmas Truce, Sainsbury's Christmas ad.

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Christmas Truce of 1914, World War I - For Sharing, For Peace

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The first gas attacks (April 22nd, 1915)

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The first gas attacks (April 22nd, 1915)

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The Great War forever changed the way war would be waged. New inventions were being introduced, such as machine guns, tanks and gas.

Before the war, official rules concerning the conduct of warfare had been established. Gas attacks were not allowed, this did not stop the Germans from doing so.
On April 22nd, 1915, the Germans first deployed a new chemical weapon: chlorine. After this, both sides worked on developing more deadly gases; mustard gas for example was deployed later on, which not only attacked the lungs, but also the skin.
The use of gas had a massive impact on soldiers' morale, as it added to the constant fear they felt of being shot, bombed and now also, choked by gas.
(https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01fmksl)

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After a year of stalemate in Europe, one of Germany's leading scientist, Fritz Harber, believed he had the weapon to make the breakthrough. His Berlin laboratory had been investigating an asphyxiating gas used in the dye industry - chlorine.

On 22 April 1915, the Germans devastatingly deployed this new chemical weapon. Chlorine gas silently rolled across French and Algerian trenches at Ypres, leaving 10,000 casualties.

However, as the war went on both sides developed more effective gas marks and training. So Fritz Harber's institute set to work again on a more lethal gas, called mustard gas, which attacked the skin as well as the lungs.

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BBC Two - Bitesize Secondary, History, Chemical warfare during the First World War

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After a year of stalemate in Europe, one of Germany's leading scientist, Fritz Harber, believed he had the weapon to make the breakthrough. His Berlin laboratory had been investigating an asphyxiating gas used in the dye industry - chlorine. On 22 April 1915, the Germans devastatingly deployed this new chemical weapon.

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This video goes into detail about some of the new weapons that were introduced in World War I.

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Tanks, Flamethrowers & Gas (Weapons of World War 1)

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The Gallipoli campaign (April 25th 1915-January 9th 1916)

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The Gallipoli campaign (April 25th 1915-January 9th 1916)

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Gallipoli was the first major amphibious operation in modern warfare. The Allies had planned to attack the Ottoman Empire after getting stuck on the Western front. They figured it would help to alleviate the strain on Russia if they would take over Constantinople, this would also allow a supply route to Russia to be opened up.

Because the Dardanelles were strategically important, they were well-defended by the Ottomans, with minefields and fortifications. Besides, the Ottomans had received word that an attack might happen in the area, which caused the Allies to lose the element of surprise.

After several bloody offensives had resulted in a stalemate, the Allies knew they would not succeed in taking over the Dardanelles. A new leader was appointed to the campaign and after fighting in appalling conditions, the troops were evacuated with minimal losses.

Out of around 500,000 men, the Allies lost around 220,000 men. The Ottomans suffered a similar amount of losses, but due to their victory, their war effort was strengthened.
(https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/gallipoli)

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Forcing the straits

The ongoing deadlock on the Western Front led the Allies to formulate plans to attack Turkey, an ally of the Central Powers. If the Turkish capital of Constantinople (now Istanbul) was attacked via the Dardanelles Straits, it might relieve the pressure on Britain's ally Russia. It could also open a supply route to Russia through the Black Sea and at best knock Turkey out of the war altogether.

Plans were made for a naval expedition to seize the Dardanelles in February and March 1915. Given their strategic importance, the straits were well defended by minefields and fortifications. There were also many Turkish gun emplacements on the Gallipoli peninsula to the north and the Asian coast to the south.

When the naval attacks failed to destroy these defences, it became clear that troops would have to seize the peninsula and destroy the guns and minefields. Only then could the Royal Navy force the straits and push on to Constantinople.

However, the naval operation had alerted the Ottomans to the danger of an attack in the region. Any Allied landing had now lost the crucial element of surprise.

Cape Helles

The 29th Division landed on five beaches at Helles. Y Beach was relatively undefended and the troops advanced to within a third of a mile (500m) of Krithia. But it was evacuated the following day when Ottoman reinforcements arrived.

At W and V Beaches, the British faced well-defended positions obstructed with barbed wire, and suffered appalling casualties. At V Beach men disembarked from ports cut in the sides of the troopship SS 'River Clyde', but faced heavy machine-gun fire from Sedd-el-Bahr fortress. Out of the first wave of 200 men, only 21 made it ashore.

The Turks tried desperately to drive the British off the beaches, but were unable to do so. Crucially, the Gurkhas took the high ground of Sari Bair above the landing beaches. The fighting at W Beach was so furious that the Lancashire Fusiliers won an unprecedented 'six VCs [Victoria Crosses] before breakfast'.

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The ongoing deadlock on the Western Front led the Allies to formulate plans to attack Turkey, an ally of the Central Powers. If the Turkish capital of Constantinople (now Istanbul) was attacked via the Dardanelles Straits, it might relieve the pressure on Britain's ally Russia.

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Indian soldiers fighting on behalf of the British Empire

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Indian soldiers fighting on behalf of the British Empire

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The battle of the Somme (July 1st-November 13th, 1916)

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The battle of the Somme (July 1st-November 13th, 1916)

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The Allied forces lauched an attack against entrenched German troops north of the Somme River in France. After a weeklong bombardment, there followed a British infantry assault.
Nearly 20,000 British soldiers were killed on the first day.

The Allies barely gained any territory, around 5 miles/8 km, and due to the heavy rainfall in October, the battlefield became almost impassable.
The battle became a representation of futility and useless fighting, as many were killed on both sides while yielding practically no result.
(https://www.britannica.com/summary/First-Battle-of-the-Somme)

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Battle of the Somme, (July 1-Nov. 13, 1916) Allied offensive in World War I. British and French forces launched a frontal attack against an entrenched German army north of the Somme River in France. A weeklong artillery bombardment was followed by a British infantry assault on the still-impregnable German positions. Nearly 60,000 British casualties (including 20,000 killed) occurred on the first day. The offensive gradually deteriorated into a battle of attrition, hampered by torrential rains in October that made the muddy battlefield impassable. By the time it was abandoned, the Allies had advanced only 5 mi (8 km). The staggering losses included 650,000 German casualties, 420,000 British, and 195,000 French. The battle became a metaphor for futile and indiscriminate slaughter.

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Battle of the Somme, (July 1-Nov. 13, 1916) Allied offensive in World War I. British and French forces launched a frontal attack against an entrenched German army north of the Somme River in France. A weeklong artillery bombardment was followed by a British infantry assault on the still-impregnable German positions.

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The Russian Revolution (February 24th-October, 1917)

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The Russian Revolution (February 24th-October, 1917)

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The Russian Revolution happened during the First World War, as a result of said war. On February 24th, riots broke out in St. Petersburg. People were angry that there was very little food available and the war was having a bad effect on the country.

The Tsar stepped down and a provisional government took over. However, in October there was again a revolution of the Bolsheviks with Lenin as their leader. This revolution introduced communism in Russia, which forever changed the political world.
(https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/41904621)

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The revolutions in Russia are incredibly important historic events.

They marked the beginning of a new political system in action - a system known as communism.

Communism ended up being a big influence on world history. You can find out more about what happened here.

What happened in 1917?

For three hundred years, Russia had been ruled by a royal family - the Romanovs.

On 24 February, riots broke out in the capital city of St Petersburg. People were angry because there was hardly any food for them to eat and World War I was going very badly.

Tsar Nicholas II decided he could no longer rule in Russia, because many of the soldiers refused to obey his orders to put down the riots. He stepped down on 2 March.

Russians hoped that life would be much easier and fairer now that the Romanovs had gone. However, many problems remained and in October there was a second revolution.

In many ways, this revolution was even more important than the first revolution, as it started a brand new political system that had never been tried before.

Read on to find out more about exactly how this happened.

Why was there a revolution?

There are lots of different reasons why there was a revolution in Russia - mostly to do with how the country was being run.

Many Russians felt that life was hard and unfair. It seemed that a small number of people who were rich and powerful had everything, while poorer people had nothing.

They felt that the Tsar did little to make things fairer for them.

To understand the events of 1917, we must go back a little further to 1905.

In 1905, there was a protest outside the Winter Palace in St Petersburg against Tsar Nicholas II. This was because people wanted more rights and better living and working conditions.

Despite the peaceful nature of the protest, the demonstrators were attacked by soldiers of the Palace Guard in St Petersburg. This day is now remembered in Russian history as Bloody Sunday.

Many people blamed the Tsar for the attack. In order to win the people's trust back, Nicholas created a new organisation called The Duma.

This was supposed to help make things fairer and give the people more power.

However, he did not keep his promises. He closed the Duma down when it did things he did not like, and the Duma had very little true power in Russia.

Over the next ten years, there were more problems for Russia under Tsar Nicholas II's rule.

Many Russian soldiers were killed in this war and Russia lost important battles. The army was also short of uniforms, food and weapons with which to fight.

At home there were even more problems. In particular, there were food shortages in the cities - people were hungry, cold and food prices were rising.

This was an unpopular decision because the Tsarina was German and not well liked by the people.

By February 1917, many Russians were fed up. Riots broke out in St Petersburg.

Tsar Nicholas II's troops joined these riots. The Tsar had no choice but to step down.

This was meant to be a new start for Russia, but there were still more problems to come.

The Provisional Government said they wanted to create a fairer society - but there were lots of issues that needed fixing.

Firstly, Russia was very poor and lots of people in the cities were hungry.

Secondly, they were still at war with Germany, which was costing lots of money.

The new government struggled to organise themselves. There were a number of disagreements about how things should be run.

It did very little to help the people in the first few months of power and continued to fight in the war against Germany.

This led to a second revolution in October. This second revolution brought in a new system that would change the world forever.

Vladimir Lenin knew how unhappy the people of Russia were.

He promised them lots of things that they wanted - his slogan was peace, bread and land. This promise made him very popular.

Until this point, communism had never been tried before.

What is communism?

Communism is an idea created by a man called Karl Marx.

But the ideas behind communism divide people around the world to this day.

For some, communism is an idea which can lead to a fairer society.

But millions of people have been killed or imprisoned under communist rulers.

It often also failed to bring about the changes promised to countries that have tried it.

Who was involved?

As you might have already guessed, the Russian revolutions were very complicated and there were lots and lots of people involved!

Here's a quick guide to the key people who took part in the revolution, and the roles they played.

Lenin was the first communist leader in Russia and the leader of the Bolshevik revolutionaries.

He was a radical thinker and believed that a communist revolution would help bring equality to Russia.

Many Russians remember him as a great leader and liberator, but to others his government was seen as controlling and cruel, as he imprisoned and killed people who disagreed with him.

Second to Lenin, Trotsky was intelligent and a great speaker. He knew how to motivate the crowds.

He was a rival of another Russian revolutionary, Joseph Stalin. Both wanted to take control of Russia when Lenin died in 1924.

Remembered as one of the most ruthless leaders in world history, Stalin's name means 'man of steel'. He took over the communist party when Lenin died.

While many of his decisions helped the Soviet Union become a major world power again, his government was seen as very controlling and he ruled the country as a dictator.

Millions would die under his rule, but he also led the Soviet Union into victory in World War II.

What happened next?

During its years as a communist state, Russia had a huge impact on the rest of the world.

Years after the October revolution in Russia, many other countries became communist, including China, North Korea and Cuba.

Over time, there was a division that grew between communist countries and other countries, such as the USA.

The USSR existed as a communist state from 1922 to 1991, at which point the communist party ended its rule.

The October revolution happened on 24-25 October.

However, the world is marking 100 years since it happened now - at the start of November - because in Russia in 1918, there was a change in the calendar.

It moved from something called the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, which we use today.

This meant that dates shifted around a little, which is why the anniversary is being marked now.

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In 1917 a series of events happened in Russia that would change the world forever. Find out about the history of the Russian revolutions.

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The involvement of the US (April 6th, 1917)

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The involvement of the US (April 6th, 1917)

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The United States, under the leadership of Woodrow Wilson, was determined to stay neutral to the war in Europe. He even won the re-election in 1916 with the slogan 'he has kept us out of war'.
At the beginning of the war, the US-European trade increased, especially with the UK.

German submarines sinking ships containing Americans caused the US to turn against Germany. The most famous example is the Lusitania, which was sunk in 1915. 1200 people died, including 128 Americans.
The sinkings led to a movement called the “Preparedness Campaign”, whose advocates wanted an expanded and well-trained US Army and Navy in the event that America were to join the war.
Wilson tried to calm the increasingly pro-war passions of Americans.

Between 1914 and 1917, American production greatly increased, especially steel production. American exports quadrupled and American loans helped finance the Allied war effort. America went from being a debtor nation to a creditor nation.

In February, 1917, Germany announced they would resume unrestricted submarine warfare.
On March 1st, President Wilson made the “Zimmermann Telegram” public, this was a message that had been sent by the German foreign minister to Mexico. He had proposed that Mexico wage war on the US, with German support. In return, Mexico would receive the states of Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico as compensation.

On April 6th, 1917, the U. S. formally declared war on Germany.
(https://www.historyonthenet.com/us-involvement-in-ww1)

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Most Americans are indifferent about the nation's involvement in World War One (under half say the U.S. had a responsibility to fight in the war; one-in-five say it didn't). Many figure it entered the conflict too late to claim much credit, or intervention was discreditable. Some say the U.S. had no compelling national interest to enter the Great War; worse, U.S. intervention allowed Britain and France to force on Germany an unjust, punitive peace that made the rise of Adolf Hitler's National Socialist German Workers Party inevitable. But others argue that America's involvement saved Europe from a militaristic dictatorship that would have resulted in a worse 20th century. We look at all these aspects of America's involvement in the war in this episode.

President Wilson: Background

1. Wilson had grown up in Virginia and other parts of the South. His father was a minister, and the family moved a lot.

2. Wilson attended Princeton and later taught there. Eventually, he became the president of the university.

3. He was elected Governor of New Jersey and then US president in 1912.

4. A devout Presbyterian, he believed that he was being used by God to affect change worldwide. He saw himself as an outsider and above politics. He tried to communicate directly with the American people, bypassing political institutions.

5. When the war broke out, he was determined to keep the U. S. neutral.

6. He won re-election in 1916, running under the slogan "He has kept us out of war." But at the same time, he offered to mediate an end to the war. The Europeans rejected his offer.

America's March Toward War

1. When war broke out in 1914, few Americans were interested in getting involved.

2. 12 million immigrants had come to America (most from Europe) since 1900, and many had experienced conscription, European-style military service, and even war. They wanted no part of war.

3. Many immigrants had ties to Germany and Austria-Hungary. Irish immigrants felt no love for the Allies, especially the UK.

4. Still, most Americans sympathized with the Allies. Plus, American trade had increased with the Allies due to British naval policy (especially the blockade), while trade with Germany had been virtually eliminated.

5. German sinkings of ships containing Americans caused Americans to gradually turn against the Germans. The most famous sinking was the Lusitania in 1915, a luxury liner. 1200 people died, including 128 Americans. The Sussex sinking in 1916 also caused a great deal of outrage among Americans.

6. The sinkings led to a movement among Americans called the "Preparedness Campaign." Preparedness advocates wanted an expanded and well-trained US Army and Navy in the event that America were to join the war. Theodore Roosevelt was a key leader of the movement.

7. Some Americans volunteered to join European forces. One famous unit was the French "Escadrille Lafayette," an air unit.

8. President Wilson tried to calm the increasingly pro-war passions of Americans, charting a middle ground. He argued that Americans were "too proud to fight."

9. Between 1914 and 1917, American production greatly increased. Steel production increased 76%. American exports quadrupled. American loans helped finance the Allied war effort, and America went from being a debtor nation to a creditor nation.

10. In February of 1917, Germany announced the resumption of Unrestricted Submarine Warfare. The U. S. broke diplomatic relations with Germany and began arming merchant vessels.

11. On March 1, Wilson made the "Zimmermann Telegram" public. This had been sent by the German foreign minister to Mexico. Zimmermann had proposed that Mexico go to war with the US, with German support. In return, Germany would make sure that Mexico received the states of Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico as compensation. This was the last straw for most Americans.

12. On April 6, 1917, the U. S. formally declared war on Germany. In his war message, Wilson said "The world must be made safe for democracy." But he said the U. S. was not joining the Allies, but rather becoming an "Associated Power."

American War Aims and Propaganda

1. The Germans, in particular Kaiser Wilhelm, were portrayed as evil monsters by American propagandists.

2. On January 8, 1918, Wilson laid out American war aims very clearly in a set of principles called the "Fourteen Points." These included national self-determination, open covenants (treaties), disarmament, freedom of the seas, free trade, a free Poland, and (most importantly), a League of Nations (which would provide collective security).

3. The Fourteen Points were intended partly to counter Bolshevik propaganda.

4. The Fourteen Points were received enthusiastically by many people around the world. Wilson became a hero. On the other hand, some European leaders saw Wilson as naive, moralistic, and presumptuous. George Clemenceau said "God gave us the Ten Commandments and we broke them. Wilson gives us the Fourteen Points. We shall see."

5. Some of the points were in conflict with the Allies' war aims and actions.

6. Wilson also portrayed the war as a Crusade for Democracy.

7. A government agency called the Committee on Public Information (CPI) was formed. It grew rapidly, with 150,000 employees. Their job was to promote enthusiasm for the war. They had thousands of employees called "Four Minute Men" who travelled the country giving four-minute patriotic speeches. In 18 months, about 400 million spectators heard 1 million four-minute speeches.

8. The CPI also commissioned movies.

9. German language and culture were discouraged in the U. S. German works of music were shunned by American orchestras. German language newspapers were shut down. German-language church services were stopped. Sauerkraut became known as "liberty cabbage." Hamburgers were renamed "liberty sandwiches." Even German Measles were now called "Liberty Measles."

10. People with German surnames Anglicized them. Others of non-English descent were encourged to fully Americanize.

Industrial and Political Mobilization

1. The federal government became actively involved in the economy, founding the War Industries Board. They set standard prices and profits and tried to prepare the U. S. economy for full mobilization. They used the threat of nationalization to get U. S. corporations to cooperate.

2. Railroads were nationalized.

3. The income tax (passed in 1917) was expanded.

4. The Food and Fuel Act (August 1917) used price controls to spur production and decrease consumption. Under this law, Herbert Hoover was made food administrator.

5. Industrial production boomed during the war, leading to a shortage of workers. The power of labor unions increased. 1 million women entered the workforce.

6. Free speech was limited. The press was censored. The Espionage Act of June 1917 and the Sedition Act (May 1918) cracked down on speech viewed as hostile to the war effort. The American socialist Eugene Debs was jailed for a speech in which he defended opposition to the war.

Military Mobilization

1. The U. S. built up its military with great speed. In May 1917, Congress passed the Selective Service Act. By the end of the war, 3 million men would be drafted, and the total number of American servicemen was 5 million. About a fifth of these were foreign born.

2. General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing was placed in command of the American Expeditionary Force.

3. American soldiers were nicknamed "Doughboys." No one knows for sure where this came from.

4. The first American soldiers landed in France in June 1917 (but this was just a small initial force). The arrival of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) was very gradual. But by the end of the war, 2 million more would arrive.

5. Many American soldiers used French or British weapons and gear.

6. For many American soldiers, coming to Europe was a great adventure.

7. The Americans wanted to keep American forces together as an integrated unit. This was in opposition to the French and British desire to divide them up. African-American soldiers (400,000 in all) served in segregated units, but under French command. One unit, the "Harlem Hellfighters," received the Croix de Guerre (the highest French award) from the French government.

8. The first American attack occurred on May 28, 1918 at the village of Continie.

9. In June 1918, at Bello Wood, American forces stopped a German advance.

10. After this, the AEF went on the attack in September 1918 at St. Mihel and then in the Meuse-Argonne offensive.

11. One famous American soldier was Alvin York, who was originally a pacifist. In the Meuse-Argonne, when his unit was pinned down, he killed 25 German soldiers and obtained the surrender of 100 others.

12. 117,000 American soldiers died in WW1.

13. Many future American political leaders served in WW1, including Harry Truman, George Marshall, and George Patton.

Cite This Article

"US Involvement in WW1" History on the Net
© 2000-2021, Salem Media.
November 4, 2021 <https://www.historyonthenet.com/us-involvement-in-ww1>
More Citation Information.

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Loading... Most Americans are indifferent about the nation's involvement in World War One (under half say the U.S. had a responsibility to fight in the war; one-in-five say it didn't). Many figure it entered the conflict too late to claim much credit, or intervention was discreditable. Some say the U.S.

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The troups of the Central Powers were exhausted and the Allies, with the help of the U.S., had launched the Hundred Days' Offensive. This caused a withdrawal of German troops. The Germans soon realised that their situation was hopeless.

After peace talks had gone on for three days, a German delegation sat down to sign the armistice in a railway carriage.
The Armistice was signed near Compiègne at 11:00 AM on November 11th, 1918 by the Allies and Germany. Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary had signed previous armistices.

The conditions were quite harsh on Germany, they were forced to surrender all their forces and weaponry. They also had to leave the Rhineland and release all Allied prisoners. Meanwhile, the Allies would occupy the Rhineland and would maintain the naval blockade of Germany.

Officially, the end of the war is marked by the signing of the peace treaty in Versailles, but many people see November 11th, 1918, as the real end of the war.
(https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/armistice-day-celebrations-1918/)

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The first Armistice Day in rare pictures, 1918 - Rare Historical Photos

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On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, was declared between the Allied nations and Germany in the First World War.

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The first Armistice Day in rare pictures, 1918

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Aftermath: the Treaty of Versailles (June 28th, 1919)

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Aftermath: the Treaty of Versailles (June 28th, 1919)

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The treaty of Versailles was the official treaty to end the war. Its terms were made up completely by the Allies, Germany was not consulted at all and had no say in the matter. Germany was not given much of a choice other than to sign the treaty.

In a nutshell, Germany was blamed for the war, and would have to pay an enormous amount for damages.
Also, Germany's military power was greatly reduced; their army was limited to 100,000 men; they were not allowed to own aircraft, submarines or armoured vehicles, and the Rhineland became a demilitarised zone.

Finally, Germany lost many territories to France and other nations. The League of Nations was set up as an international force for peace.

When the Treaty terms were announced in June 1919, there was a mixed reaction among the British people. The general opinion was that the terms were fair and should probably have been more severe. Any complaints by the Germans were dismissed as trickery and play-acting.

When Prime Minister David Lloyd George returned from Paris in June 1919, he received a hero's welcome. The king came out to meet him at the railway station, which was completely unheard of in British history.
(https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/greatwar/g5/cs2/background.htm)

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How harsh was the Treaty of Versailles really?

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How harsh was the Treaty of Versailles really?

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This video compares the Treaty of Versailles with other treaties of that time, in order to determine how fair it was.

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How Harsh was the Treaty of Versailles Really? (Short Animated Documentary)

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During the war, many soldiers spent years in trenches in horrible conditions. Many experienced shell-shock. In order to keep sane, many wrote in a diary or wrote poems.
The war has given us many tragic poems that sketch a lifelike image of being stuck in those trenches yourself.

Some good examples of wartime poets are Rupert Brooke, Robert Graves and Wilfred Owen.
This article provides a number of good examples of wartime poets.
(https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/9-poets-of-the-first-world-war)

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Robert Graves was the son of a British father and a German mother. He won a classical scholarship to St John's College, Oxford, in 1914, but instead obtained a commission in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. He was sent to France in May 1915, where he took part in the Battle of Loos.

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https://allthatsinteresting.com/world-war-1-in-color#1

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These colorizations from the battlegrounds bring a terrifying new understanding to the unprecedented carnage wrought by World War I.

Dubbed The Great War, a tremendous amount of blood was shed over the course of World War I which lasted four years from July 1914 to November 1918.

In addition to being the first fully mechanized war and the first to introduce the use of chemical weaponry, World War I was the deadliest conflict human history had yet seen with an estimated nine million soldiers and 10 million civilians killed.

The conflict is often underrepresented in favor of the more modern World War II, but the realities of the Great War were every bit as horrific. But these colorized photos of World War I may help you to truly understand just how inhumane it was.

Behind The Conflict Of World War I

With the assassination of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, on June 28, 1914, the world was launched into war.

Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Russia joined Serbia and Germany declared war on Russia to join up with Austria-Hungary. France, in support of Russia, was therefore in support of Serbia and Great Britain, in support of France, was therefore also in support of Serbia.

Eventually, all of the armed forces across Europe mobilized with Serbia, Russia, France, the British Empire, and the United States on the allied side. On the opposing side was Austria-Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire.

World War I stands out not only because of how many countries became involved but also because it was the first conflict where chemical weapons and heavy machine artillery were introduced. These methods famously unleashed a worldwide pandemic of disease and ultimately death.

Some of the most notable bloodbaths were the Battle of the Somme and the Battle of Verdun which each killed hundreds of thousands to a million in just days.

The true extent of the war's horrors is strongly captured in the writings of those who fought - and died - in it. As Captain Daniel Hickey of the Eighth Battalion Tank Corps wrote in his memoirs:

"He at once put up flares which made the night as bright as day. Then hell was let loose!... Machine-gun bullets cracked all round like a thousand whips...one of the tanks was lit up like a blacksmith's fire by the quantity of bullets striking it."

One of the most enduring first-hand accounts of World War I are the works of Wilfred Owen, a young poet who served in the war.

In his poem Dulce et Decorum Est, Owen describes the death of a soldier in front of him and the terrifying nightmares that followed:

In all my dreams before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin.

Owen's poems portray the deep ugliness of war and are regarded as poignant depictions of the conflict. Sadly, he died a week before the "war to end all wars" ended on Nov. 11, 1918.

Displaying World War I In Color

Much of the archival footage from the First World War is in black-and-white. But thanks to advances in film technology, we can now see World War I in color. These restored photographs inject viewers with a deeper sense of pain for those lost in battle.

Modern computerized colorization was invented in 1970 by former NASA engineer Wilson Markle. The basis of his process was quite simple: black-and-white footage was copied and placed into a computer to determine the exact shade of grey of every object in the footage. Then, a palette of 4,000 shades matched each gradient of grey to color.

One of the most ambitious restoration efforts of World War I footage was the 2018 documentary film They Shall Not Grow Old by blockbuster director Peter Jackson who is best known as the force behind the Lord of The Rings saga.

What's unique about Jackson's rendition of World War I in color is that it took hundreds of hours of black-and-white archival footage from the war to create a 90-minute film using modern colorization techniques.

Jackson's producers for the film also converted the images into 3D, reduced the speed of the film, and added sound, bringing the stories of the movie's late soldiers to life in an utterly compelling way.

"I wanted to reach through the fog of time and pull these men into the modern world, so they can regain their humanity once more - rather than be seen only as Charlie Chaplin-type figures in the vintage archive film," Jackson, whose grandfather fought in the war, told the BFI. "I felt that I was learning about what my grandfather went through."

They Shall Not Grow Old premiered at the BFI London Film Festival in October 2018 and copies of the film were distributed to the U.S. and the U.K. as educational materials for schools.
After this look at World War I in color, read the incredible true story of the Christmas Truce of 1914 during The Great War and take a look at 44 old color photos made with autochrome that remain stunning a century later.

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32 Colorized Photos That Bring The Horrors Of WWI's Trenches And Chemical Warfare To Life

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Dubbed The Great War, a tremendous amount of blood was shed over the course of World War I which lasted four years from July 1914 to November 1918. In addition to being the first fully mechanized war and the first to introduce the use of chemical weaponry, World War I was the deadliest conflict human history had yet seen with an estimated nine million soldiers and 10 million civilians killed.

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https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-I
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zqhyb9q/articles/znhhrj6
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zqhyb9q/articles/zhw3jhv
https://www.britannica.com/event/First-Battle-of-the-Marne
https://www.worldwar-1.co.uk/first-battle-of-the-marne/
https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/gallipoli
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01fmksl
https://www.britannica.com/summary/First-Battle-of-the-Somme
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/41904621
https://www.historyonthenet.com/us-involvement-in-ww1
https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/armistice-day-celebrations-1918/
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/greatwar/g5/cs2/background.htm
https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-real-story-of-the-christmas-truce
https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/9-poets-of-the-first-world-war
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cVSjzuvThE

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World War I, an international conflict that in 1914-18 embroiled most of the nations of Europe along with Russia, the United States, the Middle East, and other regions. The war pitted the Central Powers-mainly Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey-against the Allies-mainly France, Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan, and, from 1917, the United States. It ended with the defeat of the Central Powers. The war was virtually unprecedented in the slaughter, carnage, and destruction it caused.

World War I was one of the great watersheds of 20th-century geopolitical history. It led to the fall of four great imperial dynasties (in Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey), resulted in the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, and, in its destabilization of European society, laid the groundwork for World War II.

The last surviving veterans of World War I were American serviceman Frank Buckles (died in February 2011), British-born Australian serviceman Claude Choules (died in May 2011), and British servicewoman Florence Green (died in February 2012), the last surviving veteran of the war.

The outbreak of war

With Serbia already much aggrandized by the two Balkan Wars (1912-13, 1913), Serbian nationalists turned their attention back to the idea of "liberating" the South Slavs of Austria-Hungary. Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijević, head of Serbia's military intelligence, was also, under the alias "Apis," head of the secret society Union or Death, pledged to the pursuit of this pan-Serbian ambition. Believing that the Serbs' cause would be served by the death of the Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the Austrian emperor Franz Joseph, and learning that the Archduke was about to visit Bosnia on a tour of military inspection, Apis plotted his assassination. Nikola Pašić, the Serbian prime minister and an enemy of Apis, heard of the plot and warned the Austrian government of it, but his message was too cautiously worded to be understood.

At 11:15 am on June 28, 1914, in the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, Franz Ferdinand and his morganatic wife, Sophie, duchess of Hohenberg, were shot dead by a Bosnian Serb, Gavrilo Princip. The chief of the Austro-Hungarian general staff, Franz, Graf (count) Conrad von Hötzendorf, and the foreign minister, Leopold, Graf von Berchtold, saw the crime as the occasion for measures to humiliate Serbia and so to enhance Austria-Hungary's prestige in the Balkans. Conrad had already (October 1913) been assured by William II of Germany's support if Austria-Hungary should start a preventive war against Serbia. This assurance was confirmed in the week following the assassination, before William, on July 6, set off upon his annual cruise to the North Cape, off Norway.

The Austrians decided to present an unacceptable ultimatum to Serbia and then to declare war, relying on Germany to deter Russia from intervention. Though the terms of the ultimatum were finally approved on July 19, its delivery was postponed to the evening of July 23, since by that time the French president, Raymond Poincaré, and his premier, René Viviani, who had set off on a state visit to Russia on July 15, would be on their way home and therefore unable to concert an immediate reaction with their Russian allies. When the delivery was announced, on July 24, Russia declared that Austria-Hungary must not be allowed to crush Serbia.

Serbia replied to the ultimatum on July 25, accepting most of its demands but protesting against two of them-namely, that Serbian officials (unnamed) should be dismissed at Austria-Hungary's behest and that Austro-Hungarian officials should take part, on Serbian soil, in proceedings against organizations hostile to Austria-Hungary. Though Serbia offered to submit the issue to international arbitration, Austria-Hungary promptly severed diplomatic relations and ordered partial mobilization.

Home from his cruise on July 27, William learned on July 28 how Serbia had replied to the ultimatum. At once he instructed the German Foreign Office to tell Austria-Hungary that there was no longer any justification for war and that it should content itself with a temporary occupation of Belgrade. But, meanwhile, the German Foreign Office had been giving such encouragement to Berchtold that already on July 27 he had persuaded Franz Joseph to authorize war against Serbia. War was in fact declared on July 28, and Austro-Hungarian artillery began to bombard Belgrade the next day. Russia then ordered partial mobilization against Austria-Hungary, and on July 30, when Austria-Hungary was riposting conventionally with an order of mobilization on its Russian frontier, Russia ordered general mobilization. Germany, which since July 28 had still been hoping, in disregard of earlier warning hints from Great Britain, that Austria-Hungary's war against Serbia could be "localized" to the Balkans, was now disillusioned insofar as eastern Europe was concerned. On July 31 Germany sent a 24-hour ultimatum requiring Russia to halt its mobilization and an 18-hour ultimatum requiring France to promise neutrality in the event of war between Russia and Germany.

Both Russia and France predictably ignored these demands. On August 1 Germany ordered general mobilization and declared war against Russia, and France likewise ordered general mobilization. The next day Germany sent troops into Luxembourg and demanded from Belgium free passage for German troops across its neutral territory. On August 3 Germany declared war against France.

In the night of August 3-4 German forces invaded Belgium. Thereupon, Great Britain, which had no concern with Serbia and no express obligation to fight either for Russia or for France but was expressly committed to defend Belgium, on August 4 declared war against Germany.

Austria-Hungary declared war against Russia on August 5; Serbia against Germany on August 6; Montenegro against Austria-Hungary on August 7 and against Germany on August 12; France and Great Britain against Austria-Hungary on August 10 and on August 12, respectively; Japan against Germany on August 23; Austria-Hungary against Japan on August 25 and against Belgium on August 28.

Romania had renewed its secret anti-Russian alliance of 1883 with the Central Powers on February 26, 1914, but now chose to remain neutral. Italy had confirmed the Triple Alliance on December 7, 1912, but could now propound formal arguments for disregarding it: first, Italy was not obliged to support its allies in a war of aggression; second, the original treaty of 1882 had stated expressly that the alliance was not against England.

On September 5, 1914, Russia, France, and Great Britain concluded the Treaty of London, each promising not to make a separate peace with the Central Powers. Thenceforth, they could be called the Allied, or Entente, powers, or simply the Allies.

The outbreak of war in August 1914 was generally greeted with confidence and jubilation by the peoples of Europe, among whom it inspired a wave of patriotic feeling and celebration. Few people imagined how long or how disastrous a war between the great nations of Europe could be, and most believed that their country's side would be victorious within a matter of months. The war was welcomed either patriotically, as a defensive one imposed by national necessity, or idealistically, as one for upholding right against might, the sanctity of treaties, and international morality.

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World War I | History, Summary, Causes, Combatants, Casualties, Map, & Facts

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World War I, international conflict that in 1914-18 embroiled most of the nations of Europe along with Russia, the U.S., the Middle East, and other regions. It led to the fall of four great imperial dynasties and, in its destabilization of European society, laid the groundwork for World War II.