Facts about World War one!
CASUALTY FACTS
During the summer and fall of 1914, France lost as many men on the battlefield as the U.S.Army would lose in all of the 20th century!
Russia's losses were never actually counted. It is estimated that over 6 million Russian soldiers were killed in WWI.
During World War One, 230 soldiers perished for each hour of the four and a quarter years it continued.
The world's worst train accident occured in France, in December 1917 with the deaths of over 600 soldiers.
There were 70,000,000 men and women in uniform of that number one-half were either killed, wounded or became prisoners of war.
In Great Britian at the end of the war there were 250,000 wounded soldiers who suffered total or partial amputation.
The Spanish Influenza of 1918 killed 51 million people worldwide!
The U.S. was in the war in actual combat for only seven and a half months. During this time 116,000 were killed and 204,000 were wounded.
In 1916 in the Italian Alps a winter avalanche killed 10,000 men. In four years of conflict on the Italian Alpine Front 50,000 soldiers killed by avalances.
The Italian Front 1915-1918 was the site of the largest scale mountain warfare in history.
During the course of the Great War 11% of Frances's entire population was killed or wounded.
The site of the Battle of Verdun is remembered as the battlefield with the highest density of dead per square yard.
The biggest naval battle in history occurred off the coast of Jutland in the afternoon of May 31, 1916. More than 200 warships and 100,000 men of the rival navies were involved. The British "Grand Fleet" lost 14 ships. The German "High Seas Fleet" lost 11 ships.
Half of the dead of Great War have no known grave.
The largest man made explosion occured at Halifax Harbor, Nova Scotia, Canada 1917 with the collison of 2 ammo ships.
The 10 month Battle of Verdun, 1916 caused over a million casualties.
At the end of the war in France the 650,000 war widows became a powerful voting block .
Italian Front
60,000 Alpine troops would freeze to death in the "high mountains" (Dolomiti Adamello ranges) during 3 years of war.
WORLD WAR ONE FIRSTS
First war to be fought on 3 continents.
First industrialised conflict.
First use of chlorine & mustard gas.
First use of the flame thrower.
First tank battle.
First use of mass airplanes.
First use of x-ray in the military.
First use of a blood bank.
First use of guide dogs by blinded soldiers.
First four-star general, General John J. Pershing
First use of trillion in estimating war costs.
First commissioning of war art for propaganda.
First use of the IQ Test given to Doughboys of 1917.
First U.S. president to visit a European country
while in office was Woodrow Wilson on 12/04/18.
by Theis » Sat Nov 11, 2006 5:17 am 
Bar by Mees
