Archduke Franz Ferdinand's Assassination
On June 28, 1914; Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie; were assassinated by Gavrilo Princip. Gavrilo was a member of the "Black Hand", which was a secret military society formed by officers in the Kingdom of Serbia. The assassination of the Archduke enraged Austria-Hungary and soon declared war on Serbia. I chose this artifact because it embarked the start of World War I.
Alliances
After the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand; Russia, Great Britain and France formed the "Triple Entente". While Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy formed the "Triple Alliance". The first month of combat was filled with continuous movement of troops and bold attacks on both of the fronts. Serbia was attacked by Austria-Hungary causing the Battle of Marne. Leading to Austria's ally Germany declaring war on Russia and France. Germany, then begins an invasion into Belgium and Great Britain seeing that their ally's are under attack; declares war against Germany. The United States decided the best solution was to stay neutral and out of combat. I chose this artifact because it was one of the reasons WWI started and shows people the importance of alliances in WWI.
New Technology
During WWI, technology emerged tremendously. New technology made war more difficult and deadly than ever before. Poisonous gas was lethal on the battlefield, killing millions of troops in WWI. German soldiers introduced the deadly weapon when they attacked the Russians at Bolimov, killing thousands in the process. The whole world scratching their heads, no one knew how to fire back at this horrible weapon. However, France and Great Britain began to introduce their own chemical weapons and gas masks. The gas masks protected soldiers from breathing in the deadly gas and allowing them to fight without worrying about the gas. I chose this artifact to represent one of the new technologies in WWI.
Trench Warfare
Trench warfare was an entirely new concept and was used for defense against attack. It was used as a strategy with influx of new weaponry along with protecting the troops from machine guns and artillery from above. Troops would also advance through a place called “No Mans Land” which was the land between opposing sides and was ineffective and led to many casualties. Trenches also brought diseases and death along with it. Diseases like dysentery, cholera, and typhoid were spreading quickly to the other troops. In conclusion, trench warfare made WWI one of the deadliest wars in history and that’s why I chose this artifact to represent how important trench warfare is to WWI.
The End of WWI
More than 70 million troops including 60 million Europeans were mobilized during WWI. However, only 113 million troops were sent home. Leaving 16 million dead during this war. The war killed almost 7 million civilians and 10 million personnel. In total that left 37 million people dead. This is considered the worst conflicts in history of man kind. In 1913, the military made it mandatory to wear identification tags, in order to know who you are if you did pass. The tags were circular and were hand stamped with the troop’s name, rank, serial number, and religion. I chose this artifact to represent the death that was presented by this war.
Citations
I Do Not Own Any Of These Images!!
Credit Goes To These Creators.
Franz Ferdinand: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FranzFerdinand_uniform.jpg
Alliances: https://alphahistory.com/worldwar1/alliances/
New Technology: https://peterpappas.com/2015/01/wwi-and-chemical-warfare-shaping-world-opinion.html
Trench Warfare: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-one/10640588/First-World-War-Around-the-war-in-a-handful-of-objects.html
The End of WWI: http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~cacunithistories/military/American%20Dog%20Tags.html
Cover Page: https://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/photos-world-war-i-images-museums-battle-great-war/
Credit Goes To These Creators.
Franz Ferdinand: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FranzFerdinand_uniform.jpg
Alliances: https://alphahistory.com/worldwar1/alliances/
New Technology: https://peterpappas.com/2015/01/wwi-and-chemical-warfare-shaping-world-opinion.html
Trench Warfare: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-one/10640588/First-World-War-Around-the-war-in-a-handful-of-objects.html
The End of WWI: http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~cacunithistories/military/American%20Dog%20Tags.html
Cover Page: https://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/photos-world-war-i-images-museums-battle-great-war/