5 Unforgettable Images From World War I That Moved Millions
Haunting photos of WWI reveal how little we know about it.
World War I, or The Great War, began in 1914 after the assassination of one person from Austria, Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
The death of this one man propelled the world into a war that lasted for more than four years and caused millions of casualties.
In these times of great conflict, The Central Powers: the Ottoman Empire, Austria, Bulgaria, and Germany, fought against Allied Forces: The United States Of America, Russia, Great Britain, Japan, Italy, France, Romania, and Canada. This was by far the biggest conflict in modern history.
The destruction and massacre level seen during World War I is unparalleled, thanks to trench warfare and modern technologies.
The victory was claimed by the Allied Forces when the war ended. However, there was not much to celebrate because the conflict claimed the lives of more than 16 million, whether civilians or soldiers.
Below you will find some historical and disastrous pictures from the front lines of World War I, a war that locked civilization into horrific circumstances, a war that displaced almost 8 million people and caused millions of deaths.
1. Expecting The Conflict To Be Short
Germany was one of the key players in World War I, their footprint in the war was massive. They gave so much importance to the war that most of their policies revolved around it.
The soldiers were often told that the battle they were being sent to was for only a short period, and the trip would be short and swift. What a joke.
In the picture above, you can see German soldiers in 1914 on their way to the battlefront.
During these initial stages of the war, all sides expected the conflict to be short, which can be seen in the picture — where it is written ‘Trip to Paris’.
2. The Biggest And Bloodiest Battle Of World War 1
The Battle of Somme was perhaps the bloodiest battle of all time, a battle that caused more than 1 million deaths.
The German army fought the battle against the British and the French armies. The conflict was so intense that more than 19,000 men died, and well over 57 thousand were wounded and incapacitated on the first day of battle — all these casualties and fatalities to gain three square miles of territory.
One of the weapons that were used extensively in the Battle of Somme was a chemical weapon.
The picture above was taken during the Battle of Somme, in which you can see British Vickers gunners in action and using gas masks to protect themselves from the harmful chemical gasses.
3. Sinking Dream Of An Easy Win
World War I was fought not only on land with infantry and tanks but also in the air and on seas.
While talking about seas, how can we forget the most advanced battleship of its time HMS Irresistible, a formidable class battleship, the most advanced battleship in the pre-dreadnought era?
During the first World War, HMS Irresistible was used to bomb the Germans forces in the northern areas of France.
The ship was a beacon of hope for the British and the Allied Forces. However, their dreams were short-lived, and a mine explosion rocked the ship while it was on its way to attack the forces of The Ottoman Empire.
The historical picture above in which you can see HMS Irresistible halted and sinking was taken from a battleship (Lord Nelson) that was accompanying HMS Irresistible on the 18th of March 1915.
4. Inevitable Death In The Trenches During The First World War
During the first World War, trenches were used by all sides taking part in the war, whether for attack or defense, support, or communications.
However, this place was not liked by anyone for obvious reasons. These long and narrow ditches were dug into the ground where soldiers were supposed to eat, sleep, rest, and fight.
Trenches were very muddy, and this made life for the soldiers very difficult, like the problem of toilet overflow and the problem known as trench foot.
The picture above shows Royal Irish Rifles waiting for orders from above in a communication trench to head out towards the attack trench on the first day of the Battle of Somme in 1916.
5. War Crimes, Most Of Which That Were Never Reported
Countless were killed and massacred daily in Austria. This massacre was against the Serbian population in the area.
Putting to death and burning anything that is Serbian was the talk of the day, and not a single day passed by when mass hangings and shootings didn’t occur.
Whole villages were taken hostage. Women were sent to the frontlines to be raped and eventually killed. Remember that this is just one place we are talking about; things were not different in other places either.
Ways The First World War, Changed The World
The first World War is also referred to as the first modern war because of its technologies and tactics.
Whether radio communications or aerial combat, ground troops attack and defend formations or deploy tanks and machine guns. All these advancements were introduced and put into place during World War I.
Another major problem that was a gift of World War I was the use of chemical weapons such as phosgene and mustard gas.
These poison gasses killed thousands, blistered the eyes, tore the skin, and whatnot — the effects it had on civilians and soldiers were severe.
Thankfully no one is allowed to use these types of chemical weapons anymore after the Geneva Convention agreement.
The Great War changed the world in many ways, and of them was a massive social upheaval. Millions of women entered the workforce as a replacement for the men who went to fight for their country during the war and never came back. However, not all changes came positively.
The war was also responsible for one of the deadliest pandemics in the history of humanity, the Spanish Influenza of 1918. The epidemic infected more than 500 million people and killed at least 50 million.
A conflict that started from killing one person took millions and millions of lives.
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