50 Facts from the First World War
Weapons
Over 86 million British 18 pound artillery shells were fired during the war
The largest gun of the war was made by German manufacturer Krupp. Nicknamed the ‘Paris Gun’ it
could fire a 210Ib shell over 80 miles
Approximately 75,000,000 British No.5 grenades
were made during the war
‘Little Willie’ was the first prototype tank. Built in 1915, it carried a crew of 3 and could travel as fast
as 3 mph (4.8 km/h)
Approximately 30 different poisonous gases were used during WWI
Trench warfare
All frontline trenches were built in a zig-zag with angular ‘fire-bays’ to minimise the effect of shell fire and to prevent the enemy from firing down the length of the trench
During the night, perhaps 1 man in 4 was posted on sentry duty. Their job was to listen and watch for signs of enemy activity
During dawn and dusk, the entire front line on all sides was ordered to ‘Stand To!’ Every man was put on full alert in case of enemy attack.
The Germans started constructing the Hindenburg Line in September 1916 and it was still being built in late 1918
In the trenches in the Vosges area of the front winter temperatures dropped so low that bread and wine froze
The Air War
The Allies lost 2.2 planes for every one lost by Germany and the Central Powers
The temperature in the gondolas of Zeppelins would often fall to -25°C and below
To become a British ‘Ace’ a British fighter pilot had to score 5 kills. It was the same for French and American pilots
The most successful fighter of the entire war was Rittmeister Manfred von Richthofen.
He shot down 80 planes.
The Royal Flying Corps decided not to issue their pilots with parachutes because they thought that this would encourage them to bail out of their distressed plane rather than try to bring it home safely
The War at Sea
The Battle of Jutland took place at the end of May 1916 and was the largest
naval battle of the war
By the end of the war a total of 375 German U-boats had been commissioned
7,646 Allied ships were hit (sunk/damaged/captured) by U-boats between 1914 and 1918
A total of 16,500 depth charges were used by The Royal Navy during the war
Infantry Battles
In the preliminary artillery bombardment for the Battle of the Somme, British artillery fired 1.73 million shells on to the German lines
Kaiser Wilhelm was so confident of victory at Ypres in 1914 he travelled to the front to lead his troops through the
town on a victory march. He would be disappointed.
During the landings on the Gallipoli peninsular, 17,000 ANZAC troops were dropped off at the wrong beach
The battle of Verdun caused almost 1 million casualties, making it one of the most deadly battles in history
During 100 days of fighting the Third Battle of Ypres, the Allies managed to advance a little over 5 miles
Combatants: Britain & The Commonwealth
Almost 5.4 million men from the British and Commonwealth armies served on the Western Front at some point during the war
It is thought that 15% of British wartime volunteers were underage
3,080 British men were sentenced to death (1.1% of all convicted). Of these, 89% were reprieved and the sentence converted to a lesser one
Within two weeks of Kitchener’s ‘Call to Arms’, 100,000 men had signed up: Kitchener’s first army of volunteers (K1) was born
Combatants: Imperial Germany
8 of the German scientists who worked on their gas warfare project went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize
During the war the Germans used 600 million sandbags
Paul von Hindenburg wrote 1,500 letters to his wife Gertrude during the war
The Pickelhaube was gradually replaced with the distinctive Stahlhelm. The coal scuttle steel helmet was also used in various guises throughout WW2
Bravery
VC, DSO and Bar, MC and Bar, MM group awarded to Captain James McCudden, RFC
During the Battle of the Somme, 51 Victoria Crosses were awarded. 17 of them were awarded posthumously
Captain Noel Chavasse (RAMC) was the only man awarded the Victoria Cross twice during the war
119 Americans were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor during the war
Known informally as ‘The Blue Max’ the Pour le Mérite was the highest order of merit issued by the Kingdom of Prussia
The youngest recipient of the Victoria Cross was Boy (First Class) John Cornwell. He served on HMS Chester and was 16 years old
Animals at War
8 million horses died on all sides during the war
Sergeant Stubby, a Boston Bull Terrier, was the most decorated dog of the war and the only dog to be
promoted to the rank of sergeant
By 1918 there were around 22,000 pigeons carrying post to British soldiers along the western front
Germany had 6,000 trained dogs ready for action at the beginning of the war
CasualtiesCasualties
Each British soldier was given 2 bandages as part of their field dressing kit. This was to enable them to treat a bullet wound that passed completely through their body – thus causing 2
wounds
There were 863 British and Commonwealth deaths on 11 November 1918
At the end of the war there were over 250,000 wounded British and Commonwealth soldiers who suffered total or partial amputation
There were approximately 37,500,000 casualties (killed/wounded/missing/prisoner) during the war
Surrender and Armistice
There were 3 separate Armistices signed towards the end of the war:
Turkey signed an armistice on 30 October 1918, Austria-Hungary signed one on 3 November, and finally, Germany signed an Armistice on 11 November 1918
The original peace treaty signed by Germany on 11 November was only actually valid for 30 days but was continually renewed until the signing of the Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was the formal peace settlement signed after the war had ended. It was signed on 28th June 1919
French Field Marshal Ferdinand Foch, who was of the opinion the restrictions on Germany didn’t go far enough, said of the Treaty of Versailles:
‘This is not peace. It is an Armistice for twenty years.’
All of these facts have been taken from The First World War Fact Book by Scott Addington
Available on Amazon Kindle for less than the price of a takeaway coffee.
Download your copy now!
Amazon UK
Amazon.com
Recommended