By: Steven Schroeck

When, where and why did it start?

• World War I started on July 28, 1914, when the conflict started when the Austro-Hungarian army invaded the country of Serbia. It mainly took place in European countries.

Weapons

M1911 Pistol

• It was originally manufactured only by Colt, but demand for the firearm in World War I saw the expansion of manufacture to the government-owned Springfield Armory.

Chauchat Machine Gun

• The United States lack automatic weapons in France once they entered World War I.

• We were the second-largest user of the Chauchat behind France, the first and main producing of the automatic weapon.

M1903 Springfield

• The Springfield first came into American service in the year 1903 and was used for the next 54 years until 1957.

• The Springfield Armory and Rock Island Arsenal produced 843,239 Springfields by the time of U.S. entry into World War I.

F1 Grenade

• It was a percussion grenade that turned into a time-fused grenade, or a “time bomb.”

• It was first produced and used in France in 1915 during WWI.

• The F1 was the preferred grenade by American forces during World War I.

Winchester M1897

• The Winchester M1897 was first produced in the year 1897, as the name suggests, and was used until the year 1957, being in service for about 60 years.

• The Germans protested against the Americans using shotguns, saying it broke the law of war.

Time Span of World War I

• World War lasted for1,568 days, which is:– 4 years, 3 months, and 15 days.– 37, 608 hours.– 2,256,480 minutes.– 135,388,800 seconds.

Casualty Chart

Maps

Europe-Controlled Countries European-Controlled Africa

Battles

Battle of Ypres

• There were in fact three battles fought around Ypres during the War. The first, in 1914 was an attempt to halt the rapid advances of the Germans. The second, in 1915, was the first time the Germans used their poison gas. It was the long-planned offensive of July 31, 1917, that holds the most significance. Here, terrible weather conditions and misguided persistence led to horrific losses. By the time the offensive was called off, total casualties for both sides had been approximately 250,000. The horrors of the battle have become equal with the images of the War.

Battle of the Marne

• On September 4, 1914, the rapid advances of the German army through Belgium and northern France caused panic in the French army and troops were rushed to halt the advance. Combined with the British Expeditionary Force, the Germans were eventually halted.

• By the end of May, 1918, the Germans had reached the Marne again.

Battle of Verdun

• The Battle of Verdun is considered the greatest and longest in world history. Never before or since has there been such a lengthy battle involving so many men

• Verdun was a very small plot of land, not even encompassing more than 10 kilometers, which is approximately 6 miles.

• The battle, which lasted from February 21, 1916, until December 19, 1916 caused over an estimated 700,000 casualties.

Battle of the Somme

• On July 1st, 1916, after a week-long artillery bombardment launched the now infamous "Big Push" attack across the river Somme. The British intended to breakthrough the German defenses within hours.

• It was one of the biggest slaughters in military history.• The Germans emerged from their bunkers and destroyed the waves

of the British.• After the first day, the British had suffered 57,470 casualties. They

pressed on with the attack until November 19th of the same year. The total losses the British suffered totaled 419,654. German casualties numbered between 450,000 and 680,000.

Battle of Cambrai

• On November 20, 1917, the British launched the first full-scale offensive that was designed exclusively to accommodate the tank. A surprise artillery attack started the offensive and 476 tanks moved against the German lines. Supported by infantry men, the advances made by the British were huge, penetrating the almost impenetrable Hindenberg line to 4-5 miles. It seemed to surprise British High Command equally as much as the Germans that they had advanced so far.

THE END