One of the most dangerous and biggest conflicts in the human history, the 1st World War changed everything for the counties around the world in the 20th century . These are 10 interesting things you did not know about World War I.
1. International Conflict
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In the World War 1 about 65 million people from 30 countries participated in the war. Nearly 10 million died people died in the bloodiest war. The Allies (The Entente Powers) lost about 6 million soldiers in the war and the Central Powers lost about 4 million soldiers. More than 1 million were Indian soldiers who participated in the first World War, nearly 75,000 Indian soldiers died in the World War 1.
2. Total Deaths
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Over 35 million civilian and soldier suffered casualties in WWI. Over 15 million people died and 20 million were wounded because of the war.
3. Catastrophic Casualties
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Russia mobilized more than 12 million troops during the World War 1, and it was the largest army in the war. More than 3/4 of them were died, wounded, or went missing in the war.
4. Loud Noise
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Artillery barrage during attack could be heard for 100’s of miles along with exploding mines it created a very loud noise. In 1917, the explosives which were blowing up on the German lines in Belgium could be heard in London which is 140 miles (220 km) away from the site.
5. Dog Messengers
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During WWI, Armies used dogs as messengers and the dogs carried orders to the front lines in capsules which were attached to their bodies. Dogs were also used by armies to lay down telegraph wires.
6. Big Bertha
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Big Bertha was a 48-ton howitzer developed and used by the Germans in first World War. It was named after the wife of its Gustav Krupp, who was the designer of the Big Bertha . The Big Bertha could easily fire a 930-kg shell to a distance of 15 km. It took a crew of 200 people and six hours to assemble. Germany made 13 of these huge guns.
7. Rittmeister von Richthofen
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Considered as the most successful fighter pilot of the entire war was Rittmeister von Richthofen (1892-1918). He successfully shot down 80 planes, which were more than any other World War 1 pilot. He died fighting in the war. France’s René Fonck (1894-1953) was the most successful fighter pilot in the Allies, shooting down 75 enemy planes.
8. A Mexican Sneak Attack
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In early 1917, British cryptographers successfully deciphered a telegram which was sent by German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann to Germany’s minister in Mexico. It was to encourage Mexico to start invadig U.S. territories. The British decided to keep it a secret from the U.S.A. for more than a month. They wanted to show it to the U.S.A. at very right moment which would help them to draw the U.S into the war on their side.
9. Presidential Irony
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The slogan for the second term of Woodrow Wilson’s in campaign was “He kept us out of war.“ About a month after he took office for second time, the United States of America declared war on Germany.
10. A High Cost
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The total cost of World War 1 is estimated $185 billion.
