VOICES FROM THE WAR

THE ACCOUNTS OF 12 INDIVIDUALS

Tanisha Bagchi | History Project | 14.06.2018

 1. Mother of Countess Sophie Chotek
The account of the mother of Countess Sophie Chotek on hearing of the assassination of
the Archduke and his wife, Sophie Chotek.

Caption: Wilhelmine Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau, Countess Chotkova (left) and company. Mid
1870s.Wilhelmine was the mother of the tragic Sophie Chotek, Duchess of Hohenberg, spouse of
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria.
Source : Duchess-of-Hohenburg." Trending | Tumblr. Accessed May 01, 2018.
http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/Duchess-Sophie-of-Hohenberg.

I am Wilhelmine Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau. I married into the family of a prominent
Bohemian aristocrat and Ambassador, Count Bohuslav Chotek von Chotkow und Wognin. I was
the mother to one son and seven daughters - Wolfgang Chotek, Henriette Chotek, Zdenka Chotek,
Marie Chotek, Caroline Chotek, Oktavia Chotek, Maria Antonia Chotek and finally, Sophie
Chotek. Sophie was born into our family on the First of March, 1858, in Stuttgart. Sophie,
though a member of this prominent Bohemian aristocratic family whose ancestry included some
royal lineage from the female line, was very much below the Archduke in rank and importance,
and served as lady-in-waiting to one of the Hapsburg relations. In the eyes of the snobbish, close-
knit Austrian monarchy and aristocracy, it was the wedding that should have never happened.
Now that I look back, had Sophie never married the Archduke, she would probably still be alive.

The relationship between Sophie and Franz grew into a public scandal. Nevertheless, Archduke
Franz Ferdinand defied his rank, his family, and his social circle to marry the woman he loved,
and the fourteen years of marriage, he and Sophie were permitted, further defied the unspoken
edict against finding love outside of a dynastic match. In the days preceding the Sarajevo crisis,
Franz was warned against choosing the 28th of June as the date for his visit, as it was Vidovdan,

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the Serbian national holiday commemorating the day Saint Prince Lazar and the Serbian holy
martyrs fell during the epic Battle of Kosovo against the Empire. Sophie pleaded against going to
Sarajevo on that day. Franz Ferdinand accepted the invitation of Bosnia's governor, General
Oskar Potoirek, to inspect the army maneuvers being held outside Sarajevo. It had been four
years since a prominent Hapsburg had made a goodwill visit to Bosnia. The visit would also
roughly coincide with his 14th wedding anniversary. While Sophie , not being of royal descent
was not allowed to ride in the same carriage as her husband in Vienna, such prohibitions and
proscriptions did not apply to provincial cities like Sarajevo. During the visit, Sophie would be
able to ride beside her husband -- a thoughtful anniversary present . Security during the visit was
not tight. Franz Ferdinand was a brave man and disliked the presence of secret service men. Nor
did he like the idea of a cordon soldiers between the crowd and himself. However the Serbians
interpreted it as a means to rub salt in their wounds. Arrangements were not based on the
assumption that the streets were lined with assassins.
The newspapers rang with anticipation before the visit and on the days succeeding the
assassination the newspapers kept printing details about the assassination. I was heartbroken.
Every paper in the country and even the world had details on assassination of my daughter
Sophie and her husband. If only my son-in-law had arranged for better safety, if only Sophie had
managed to dissuade her husband from going to Sarajevo. Even after their assassination there
was some speculation regarding the outbreak of the war. My poor Sophie was nothing more than
collateral damage.
Despite all of this, my son-in-law really did love her. In fact, when Sophie was shot alongside
Franz Ferdinand, these were his last words to her, as published in “Archduke of Sarajevo”:
“Sopherl, Sopherl, don’t die. Stay alive for the children!”

Word Count : 555

newspaper clipping about the assassination."A Quick History of The July Crisis, 1914." Quick
History. November 24, 2016. Accessed May 01, 2018. http://quick-history.com/2016/02/08/july-
crisis-1914/.

PAGE 2
 2. BRITISH SOLDIER GOING TO WAR ON AUGUST 1914

Caption : 1914 poster describing terms of enlistment

Source : "Kitchener's Army." Wikipedia. June 10, 2018. Accessed June 14, 2018.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitchener's_Army.

I joined the 6th infantry brigade, the York and Lancaster regiment of Kitchener’s new army,
on 5th august, 1914, three weeks after my 20th birthday. Lord Kitchener had called for
volunteers to join up in order to fight the war against the Germans. The New Army soon
became part of the Regular army of the British Expeditionary Force or BEF. Leaving for war
just weeks after I turned 20 makes me both melancholy and proud.

On one hand I visualize the terrors of the war and the uncertainty of ever waking up to
another day and on the other hand I feel chivalrous and patriotic at having decided to leave
behind a life of comfort and fight for my country.First there was vigorous training in public
buildings such as schools, churches and warehouses, which were used in response to the
need for more adequate training spaces. While at the training camps, We were put through
their paces with physical fitness training, as well as marching and drills. As well as the skills
to fight, we learnt the basics of survival on the front line. Cooking, for example, was taught
to all new trainees. We leave for Mons to fight the Germans sometime around the 20th of
August. The news here says that the French Fifth army ought to join us in Mons. The BEF
had already been deployed to France on the 9th, but since the number of men may be
inadequate, we’re being sent to the front as well. Never having been in a war, my mind is
terrified and curious. I wonder what horrors the war may unleash and what victories the war
would grant us.

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 3. Emperor Nicholas II of Russia
Emperor Nicholas II of Russia on the night before he declares war on Germany. What are
his thoughts that he enters in his diary?

Caption: Nicholas II of Russia Source : Nicholas II. In PINTEREST. Accessed May 2, 2018.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/411305378450542459/.

I, Tsar Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, am a 46 year old man , with 20 year reign. Within
this short 20 year reign I have had to face bitter defeat and sacrifice my very principles.
Though I believed and continue to believe in Autocracy, the event ,( which now is infamously
called “ Bloody Sunday”) , forced me to concede to creating an elected legislature, called the
Duma. Despite this concession, I still continue to resist government reform, included those
suggested by the elected minister of the interior, Peter Stolypin.As far as the external threats
are concerned , the defeat in the Russo-Japanese war , made me more cautious in my
political tactics. But now, after considerable help from France , as far as industrialization is
concerned , I think we are ready to come to the aid of fellow Slav , Serbia.

I, Tsar Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, am writing in this daily ledger with more
apprehension than I have possibly ever felt , for tomorrow is the day we declare war on
Germany. Despite this apprehension, I enter this war with confidence, for Russia , with the
largest army in the world, standing at 12,000,000 soldiers; (when fully mobilized the Russian
army expands to over 5,000,000 soldiers) , has absolutely minimal chances of being defeated

PAGE 4
in battle. According to Russian intelligence, Austria-Hungary’s meagre 7,800,000 men will
be left at the post.The war seems so close to fruition. Only days ago on the 29th of July, there
were so many telegrams exchanged between my first cousin, Kaiser Wilhelm, and I ,
regarding the newly erupted war in the Balkan region.
One day prior to this , Austria-Hungary had declared war on Serbia, one month after the
assassination at Sarajevo of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife by a Serbian
nationalist. In the wake of the killings, Germany had promised Austria-Hungary its
unconditional support in whatever punitive action it chose to take towards Serbia, regardless
of whether or not we stepped into the conflict. By the time an ultimatum from Vienna to
Serbia was rejected on July 25, we defied Austro-German expectations, and had already
ordered preliminary mobilization to begin, believing that Berlin was using the assassination
crisis as a pretext to launch a war to shore up its power in the Balkans.
On a more personal note my relationship with Wilhelm, the second grandson of Queen
Victoria had long been a rocky one. Though Wilhelm described himself as Victoria’s favorite
grandson, the great queen in turn warned me to be careful of Wilhelm’s “mischievous and
unstraight-forward proceedings.” Victoria did not invite the Kaiser, who she described to her
prime minister as “a hot-headed, conceited, and wrong-headed young man,” to her Diamond
Jubilee celebration in 1897, nor her 80th birthday two years later. Now, however, we both
stand at the center of the crisis that might soon escalate into a World War.
“In this serious moment, I appeal to you to help me,” I wrote to the Kaiser in a telegram sent
at one o’clock on the morning of July 29. “An ignoble war has been declared to a weak
country. The indignation in Russia shared fully by me is enormous. I foresee that very soon I
shall be overwhelmed by the pressure forced upon me and be forced to take extreme
measures which will lead to war.”* However Germany and Austria-Hungary failed to
mediate this crisis. The Kaiser is fully responsible for the exhorting of the Austrians to take
a hard line with Serbia, the totally unnecessary naval arms race with Britain, and the
bellicose posturing. In light of all these events , I am to declare war on Germany tomorrow.

Word Count : 600

 Citation of the quote (source) - History.com Staff. "Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany and Czar Nicholas of Russia
Exchange Telegrams." History.com. 2009. Accessed May 02, 2018. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-
history/kaiser-wilhelm-of-germany-and-czar-nicholas-of-russia-exchange-telegrams.

4. A GERMAN SOLDIER LIVING IN THE TRENCHES

A German soldier living in the trenches writing a letter home to his family just before
Christmas 1914

PAGE 5
CAPTION : One of the first colour pictures taken during WWI, on the German front © Hans
Hildenbrand
Source : Omar, Mohamed. "Rarely Seen WWI Photographs Brought To Life In Colour."
HuffPost South Africa. November 13, 2017. Accessed May 03, 2018.
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.za/2017/11/12/rarely-seen-wwi-photographs-brought-to-life-
in-colour_a_23275024/.

Dear Mother,
I, Thomas Müller, your son am writing to you from the most deadly, dangerous ,dirty and
depressing places in the world – the trenches. Though I start on such an optimistic note, I
am in fact well and alive. I had to give up such a beautiful life back in Germany to come fight
on the Western Front, in an unfamiliar place called “---------“.When I first left home to go to
war on the 14th of August 1914 dressed in my feldgrau (field-grey) uniform , I had so much
pride coursing through my veins. Just the thought of serving my fatherland , Germany , filled
me with a sense of fulfilment and pride And though the fire of patriotism and sense of pride
still burns within me , the only thing that has changed is the feeling of utter despair and
apprehension , for any day might turn out to be my last .

War is a Nightmare. That is a summary of my life right now, but I’m sure you; Angela, my
wife, and the children will not be satisfied with a one sentence letter. So here is what I’ve
been up to. We have been spending the past few months in the trenches. I highly doubt that
these trenches are any safer than normal warfare .The appalling suffering and loss of life, the
fear and the monotony, the incessant artillery barrages, the rotting corpses, the damp, the
cold, the mud, the rats and the lice. All of this is enough to break the spirit of the manliest

PAGE 6
man. There is constant disease and death. The smells are putrid. If you really need an idea,
imagine dead corpses, human waste, and men who haven’t showered in months. There are
many times where we are ankle deep in mud for weeks on end. Many of us have trench foot
(a horrible condition where our feet become waterlogged and frozen and the only hope of
survival for the affected person is amputation).Under all these conditions, many of the men
began wondering whether it’s really worth it to serve our Vaterland (Fatherland). Many
fellows decided it wasn’t. They shot themselves “accidentally” so that they may go home
instead of serving.Atleast they’ll be back in time for Christmas. How exciting had the days
leading up to Christmas been? Everyone frantically buying gifts for their loved ones, the
women preparing feasts fit for kings, and the children, all gathered near the Christmas tree,
wishing everyone a “Frohliche Weihnachten”.The atmosphere was so joyous, calm and
exuberant. This year, instead of hearing the sweet tune of “Stille Nacht” (Silent Night) on
Christmas Day, I will probably hear the terrifying sound of gunshot and the ear-splitting
shriek of a dying man, unfortunate enough to get shot on Christmas Day.
I don’t know when the letter will reach you, but, I wish you a very very Merry Christmas. I
must go now. Take care of yourselves and pray for me and my comrades.

Your loving son,

Thomas Müller
P.S. If it isn’t any trouble, could you please send me some socks? All of mine are in a horrid
condition.The supplies are taking too long to arrive from ------------, and when they do arrive,
the clothes usually have holes in them (because of the mice), and the food is a soggy mess.
P.P.S - You might find certain words being blacked out. That’s all thanks to the censor.

Word count : 572

PAGE 7
5. A CENSOR
A censor complaining to his superior about the letters he has to edit.

Caption : A censored letter

Source : "WWI Egypt." Pinterest. Accessed June 14, 2018.
https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/483644447456464110/.

I am Richard Clifton , a censorship officer . The Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) was passed
in the United Kingdom on 8 August 1914, four days after it entered World War I. It gave
the government wide-ranging powers during the war period, such as the power
to requisition buildings or land needed for the war effort, or to make regulations creating
criminal offences.
DORA ushered in a variety of authoritarian social control mechanisms, such as censorship:
"No person shall by word of mouth or in writing spread reports likely to cause disaffection or
alarm among any of His Majesty's forces or among the civilian population”. Though this was
the original aim of censorship, now we are being ordered to censor information like a son’s
letter to his mother where he complains of the bullet wounds all over his body. Censorship is an
indispensable war weapon: its task was to keep the people in an atmosphere of utter ignorance
and unshaken confidence in the authorities, and to allow their boundless indoctrination so that
they would, despite terrible losses and privations, accept the necessity of holding on until the
bitter end and the complete “knock out” (David Lloyd George) of the enemy. However , despite
its necessity it is cruel to deprive a mother to hear of the sorrows her son has to face .

PAGE 8
6. A FRENCH SOLDIER WRITING HOME TO HIS MOTHER
A French soldier writing home to his mother about a Gas attack in 1915.What happened?
What were his thoughts and feelings?

Caption: Aftermath of the chlorine gas attack at Ypres

Source : Everts, Sarah. "First-hand Accounts of the First Chlorine Gas Attack." 100 Years of
Chemical Weapons. February 22, 2015. Accessed May 03, 2018.
http://chemicalweapons.cenmag.org/first-hand-accounts-of-the-first-chlorine-gas-attack/.

Dear Mother,
I, Jean, your loving son have escaped from the clutches of the most frightful deaths
imaginable to man. When I first joined the “1er régiment d'infanterie” (The 1st Infantry
Regiment) on 4th August, 1914, I was an eager 25 year old, who was willing to serve the
country. There was so much glory surrounding the idea of going to war. Now, having served
at the Western Front for little less than a year, that glory has diminished a lot. However, I
don’t mean to demoralize you. Let my wife-Marie, and my beautiful 5-year old daughter -
Sylvia know that I love them very much.

PAGE 9
This is the first day they have allowed us to write letters since this battle began and I have no
doubt you are apprehensive to hear from me. Well, we have lost an awful lot of our comrades
and to those of us who are left it seems just a miracle that any of us came out of this battle
alive. How I did not get hit I do not know, but I was one of the lucky ones that got through it
without a scratch, although I got several bullet holes through my clothes.

Looking across to the German trenches at about four thirty in the evening , we saw a series of
sharp puffs of smoke and then along with the wind came the queer greenish-yellow fog that
seemed strangely out of place on that bright clear April day. It reached the parapet gathered
itself like a wave and lapped over into the trenches.
Then passive curiosity turned to active torment – a burning sensation in the head, red-hot
needles in the lungs, the throat seized as if by a strangler. Many fell and died on the spot. All
of the animals had come out of their holes to die. Dead rabbits, moles, and rats and mice
were everywhere. The smell of the gas was still in the air. It hung on the few bushes which
were left. The others, gasping, stumbling with faces contorted, hands wildly gesticulating,
and uttering hoarse cries of pain, fled madly through the villages and farms and through
Ypres itself, carrying panic to the remnants of the civilian population and filling the roads
with fugitives of both sexes and all ages.
As for me, I have never been more grateful to have served on board a ship carrying lead acid
batteries. Seeing the effect the greenish yellow gas had on my fellow comrades, it didn’t take
me a lot of time to realize that it was Chlorine gas. In the industries that employed or
produced such gasses and was carried on board naval ships that carried lead-acid batteries
(which could leak chlorine gas if the sulphuric acid electrolyte mixed with seawater) the first
defence technique taught to us was to take simple flannel pad, soaked in chemical solutions
(or, if necessary, urine) and hold it over the mouth. I screamed orders to my fellow comrades
and as the gas slowly overtook us, we out the flannel pad over our mouth and nose , closed
our eyes and ran as fast as we could , away from the gas. It was just a nightmare retreating
across the ground, with the Jack Johnsons digging great holes and the shrapnel raining down
upon us, and the bullets striking everywhere. We could see the boys falling everywhere, and
it was just awful to hear them cry out.
Thank goodness the Artillery and English reinforcements came up when they did and drove
the Germans off. About two brigades of Canadians held about five times as many Germans. It
would have done you good to see the boys. I did not see one show the white feather, but each
had a set face and went right at it.
After a few hours , when the gas had cleared a Canadian sergeant, Lance Sergeant Elmer
Cotton who had witnessed the gas attack , told us about the gas attack , which we were
fortunate enough to escape –
“It produces a flooding of the lungs – it is an equivalent death to drowning only on dry land.
The effects are a splitting headache and terrific thirst (to drink water is instant death), a knife
edge of pain in the lungs and the coughing up of a greenish froth off the stomach and the
lungs, ending finally in insensibility and death. The colour of the skin from white turns a
greenish black and yellow, the colour protrudes and the eyes assume a glassy stare. It is a
fiendish death to die.”

Word count : 700

PAGE 10
7. A BRITISH MOTHER WHO HAS TO WORK IN THE
FACTORIES
A British mother who has to work in the factories because the men have gone to War

Caption: Women working in Woolwich Arsenal

Source: "9 Women Reveal The Dangers Of Working In A First World War Munitions
Factory." Imperial War Museums. Accessed May 04, 2018.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/9-women-reveal-the-dangers-of-working-in-a-first-world-
war-munitions-factory.

I, Ethel Dean, am a Canary Girl. A few months ago, before a full-blown war engulfed the
whole of Europe and probably the world, I was a member of the WSPU (Women’s Social and
Political Union). I was a Suffragette, and I was prepared to lay down my life for our cause-
giving women the right to Vote. I continue to labor in the munitions factory with the strong
conviction and hope that one day our worth will be recognized, and we will be given the
right to have a say in how this country is run and by whom. Both my son and husband have
gone off to war. My son was a mere 18 year old when conscription was introduced and my
husband, a 40 year old man. I don’t resent this system of military recruitment , but that
doesn’t stop me from praying for their safety every night.

PAGE 11
At the outbreak of the Great War, life for us women was mainly tied to a life of domesticity,
and our places were still largely in the home. We Suffragettes, were still campaigning vocally
for change, but the glass ceiling remained at ground level. Now, as Britain's men headed
abroad to fight, we women decided that it was our duty to take their place en masse in
factories, shops and offices across the country. To fill the gap left by a generation of fighting
men we took their places in their various fields of work. I began working at Woolwich
Arsenal, a munitions factory. My sister started working as a tram driver , her 17 year old
daughter became a postal worker , and my 58 year old aunt took up the job of a clerical
worker . Just like that various women from different walks of life began working to serve the
country in a time of crisis. In my job I have to produce munitions for the front. As proud as I
am doing this job , there are perils attached to it too. Accidents in the form of explosions are
very common in a TNT plant , not to mention the dangerous chemicals which we had to
handle without gloves at one point of time. TNT had turned thousands of workers' skin
yellow – the so-called 'canaries' of the arms factories – before finally we decided to wear
gloves. But still the health hazards aren’t nullified. The working conditions feature poor
ventilation, exposure to harmful chemicals and sometimes even asbestos; and the physical
labour involved – which includes lifting heavy shells and operating machinery –is either
back-breaking or extremely risky,
Besides that, factory work is as monotonous as ever. All I ever seem to be doing is filling
hundreds and hundreds of shells with chemicals .Further , in order to keep pace with the
current demand we have to work for 12 hour shift almost daily. However what really agonizes
me is that the wages we get for the hours we put in is almost less than half of what the men
received for lesser hours of work . However, I am happy that my family and I are playing our
part in ensuring Britain’s victory .
Word count: 528

Caption: Statistics showing the wages and jobs of women

Source: Adie, Kate. "What Did World War One Really Do for Women?" BBC. Accessed May
04, 2018. http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z9bf9j6#z2d42

PAGE 12
8. An Indian soldier serving in the British campaign in the
Middle East
An Indian soldier serving in the British campaign in the Middle East. How does he feel about
the war and the British efforts in particular?

Caption : Indian soldiers in the Middle East

Source: "The Great War." Pinterest. Accessed June 14, 2018.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/129267451777082384/
.
I, Sushant Trivedi, am part of the Indian Expeditionary Force E stationed in Egypt under the
command of. I am part of the 22nd (Lucknow) Brigade. I am a Brahmin by caste and I hail
from Poona. When the war broke out in August 1914, we never would have anticipated the
truly global dimension it would take on. As a sepoy in the British Indian Army, it was
considered to be our duty towards the rulers to serve outside India. Besides that even the
nationalist leaders were all for India’s assistance to England in the War. It had been tough for
me to come to terms with the fact that I would have to leave Hindustan and undertake a sea
voyage, leading to loss of cast.
The conflict started out as a scrap over dominance in Europe. However, because the
European states were all also imperial powers, war for Europe quickly came to mean war for
the world . For Great Britain, which had the largest empire when the war broke out, the
manpower and economic resources of the colonies became important advantages that had to
be utilized quickly to gain an upper hand in the war. India’s involvement in the war stems

PAGE 13
from this context. British India made the largest contribution to the war effort in terms of
manpower from any of the colonies and dominions of the British empire, with almost a
million and a half Indians playing a role in the war. As early as August 1914, Indians—not just
as infantry and cavalry, but also as sappers and miners, labourers and followers—were
making their way across the once forbidden Kalapani, crossing the seas to take part in the
war. I too was compelled to cross the Kalapani, and serve in the Middle Eastern region of
Palestine . Crossing the Kalapani meant that if we move away from our Karmabhoomi
(India), it is considered that we lose our sanctity as Hindus. Seafaring trading communities
who don’t come under Vysyas are the only sects of Hindus who are used to going to foreign
countries. When the war broke out, several prominent nationalist leaders in India (including
Mahatma Gandhi, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Sarojini Naidu) pushed for us Indians sepoys to
take on a large role in the war. To some extent at least, this reflected a genuine belief that it
was in our own self-interest to fight Germany and her allies for the sake of our country’s own
security. Many Indian leaders were indeed worried and perplexed about German attempts to
invade India via Central Asia. Many nationalist leaders also campaigned extensively for the
war effort because they believed that India’s contribution to the war would allow her to
demand greater freedoms and even the possibility of Dominion Status or even Self-
government from Britain. “Purchase war debentures, but look to them as the title deeds of
Home Rule,” said Tilak.

In November 1914, the Ottoman Empire, the world's greatest independent Islamic
power, abandoned its ambivalent neutrality towards the warring parties, and became a
belligerent in the conflict, with the sultan declaring a military jihad (holy war) against
France, Russia and Great Britain. With Germany as an ally, the Ottoman Empire
represented a serious threat to the British Empire, so in a pre-emptive strike, London
immediately landed an Anglo-Indian force at Basra, near the estuary of the Euphrates
and Tigris rivers. This was done to protect the Anglo-Persian oil pipeline, which was
vital to the British navy, and to show the Union Jack in this strategically important area
in the Persian Gulf.Britain was unwilling to commit all of its emerging military
resources in 1915 to the Western Front, where trench warfare prevailed, the British
leadership embraced a naval offensive against Istanbul to force the Ottoman Empire
out of the war. When the Royal Navy in February and March was unable to fight its way
through the Dardanelles to place the Ottoman capital under its big guns, the military
authorities hastily assembled an expeditionary force to land on the Gallipoli peninsula.
The Ottoman/Turkish Fifth Army, well armed and fighting from strong defensive
positions, had proved more than a match for the Allies. As the Gallipoli campaign
wound down, the Anglo-Indian regiment to which I belonged was cut off and
surrounded at Kut-el-Amara, a town about 100 miles south of Baghdad. The limited,
defensive stance at Basra had evolved into a distant and risky advance up the Tigris
toward Baghdad, and this had been the result. We did not have the necessary reserves
or logistical support to retain Baghdad, even if we had been able to capture it.
Moreover, a strong British presence in Mesopotamia had no connection to the defeat of
Britain's primary strategic rival, Germany. But our government was concerned that a
holy war might be ignited in Persia and Afghanistan, thus threatening India. A more
difficult theatre in which to fight would be hard to imagine. Flies and mosquitoes
attacked the troops, many of whom became sick. Soldiers froze during the winter
nights, and were overcome by heat during the summer. Dust turned to mud when the

PAGE 14
banks of the Tigris overflowed during the rainy season. Despite all these hardships we
continue to labour for the British Government.

Its March 1917 now, and we are being transferred to Gaza under orders from London.
The purpose behind this lighting strike is to capture Gaza, the gateway to Palestine
which is currently occupied by Ottoman/Turkish forces.

Word Count : 800

PAGE 15
9. General Haig of the British Army

Caption : General Haig of the British Army

Source : Jr. "Paralipomena (2)." Field Marshal Douglas Haig Would Have Let Germany
Win. January 01, 1970. Accessed May 16, 2018. http://parajr.blogspot.in/2008/11/field-
marshal-douglas-haig-would-have.html.

I, Douglas Haig was a top British military leader during World War I. A graduate of the
Royal Military College at Sandhurst, I fought in the Sudan War and the South African
War. Named commander of the 1st Army in 1915, I went on to become commander in chief
of the British Expeditionary Force and then field marshal. My previous battle experience in
the mobile, colonial wars of the Sudan and South Africa did not prepare me well for the
static nature of war on the Western Front. However, I believe that my ability to adapt to
the situation and rise up to the occasion was decisive in Britain’s victory in the World war.

PAGE 16
The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, was one of the largest
battles of the First World War. It was fought between July 1 and November 1, 1916, near the
Somme River in France (On the first day, the British suffered more than 57,000 casualties,
and by the end of the campaign the Allies and Central Powers lost more than 1.5 million
men). Early 1916, the French proposed a joint Franco-British offensive astride the river
Somme. Because of Verdun, the British army assumed the major role of the Somme
offensive. Hence, on July 1, 1916, the British army attacked north of the Somme with
fourteen infantry divisions, while the French attacked astride and south of the Somme
with five divisions.In defense, the German army deployed seven divisions. After July 1, a
long stalemate settled in, with the German army digging defenses faster than Allied
attacks could take place. Despite small advances the German army was weakened and in
February retreated to new, and shorter, defensive lines.Many people have criticized me for
the death of so many lives in the Battle of Somme. However, I believe that the loss of lives,
though sad, was necessary and justified. These men didn’t die for nothing. They died as
martyrs, and for a noble cause. First, it was Britain's first major offensive. During this
battle, the British began improving the offensive strategies that would later help the
British fight back Germany and Austria-Hungary. It was also important to France because
the French were able to regain a decent amount of land from the Germans. The Battle of
the Somme was important because it weakened the German army, forced their retreat and
encouraged an allied offensive. It allowed the allies to take the land back from the
Germans, push their lines further into Europe, and recalibrate military strategiesThe
Somme broke the backs of the Germans. It was a very, very close run thing and because of
trench warfare and the weapons available, frontal assaults were the only way so casualties
were inevitable.

Word Count:500

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10. President Woodrow Wilson

Caption: President Woodrow Wilson

Source: Lehr, Richard. "The Legacy of Woodrow Wilson." The
Atlantic. November 27, 2015. Accessed May 16, 2018.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/11/wilson-legacy-racism/417549/.

Dear Edith,
Ever since the war broke out in 1914, you have always been my rock. Hence, I find it my
duty, as your husband to tell you why I
Since the 1870s, most of the major countries in Europe had been gearing for war with each
other. Preparations had been subtle. The independent German kingdoms united in the
1870s and had quickly become the largest power on the continent. France meanwhile was
arming heavily in case its centuries-old rival Germany chose to attack. Russia also feared
the growing German threat and sought to ally itself with Great Britain, France, and even
Germany itself for protection. The British, for their part, tried hard to remain out of the
conflict, but found that having the world's most powerful navy made that impossible.
Rebellious provinces within the Austro-Hungarian Empire made central Europe extremely
unstable, and the leaders of the Ottoman Empire in the Near East sought to expand their
power. The U.S. has had a strong precedent of distancing itself from European political
entanglements, and this time too we had no desire to alter that tradition. Not only were
the American people united in this sentiment, but Congress and I myself were as well. In a

PAGE 18
public appeal, I announced that the United States "must be neutral in fact as well as in
name" and "impartial in thought as well as in action." As a neutral nation, America and its
merchants initially traded goods such as food, clothing, medicines, equipment, and even
arms to both sides in the war. American ports were open to all powers so long as they were
used for non-military purposes. At first, both belligerent powers agreed not to interfere
with neutral shipping lines. It is true that both powers often seized American merchant
ships, but this provided few serious problems since both sides paid for the cargo they
seized.
The Germans were having trouble receiving any goods from the U.S. and other nations, as
the British Navy had placed an impenetrable blockade around the European continent.
Suffering from a severe lack of supplies and food, Germany consequently began a great
submarine campaign in February of 1915. Submarine, or U-boat, technology had only
recently been perfected, and Germany had produced a large fleet of the new vessels prior
to the outbreak of war.
As submarine technology was so new, regular naval ships had no method of defense. The
German U-boat campaign was therefore so effective that even Germany was astonished by
its success. Furthermore, Germany announced that it could no longer guarantee the safety
of neutral ships. I realized that this new campaign escalated the war to a new level, and he
therefore I began to push for mediation and settlement. We tried extending our services as
arbiter to both sides and all nations involved. In 1915, I sent my trusted friend and advisor
Col. Edward House to England, France, and Germany to propose a peace settlement.
Neither side was willing to listen, however, because each thought it had the upper hand
and would ultimately win the war. At the same time,we also notified Germany that serious
consequences would result if American lives were lost from illegal German submarine
warfare. The situation become more tense in May of 1915 when we learned that the British
ocean liner Lusitania had been destroyed by a German submarine. Over 120 Americans,
including women and children, were among the nearly 1,200 casualties. Despite this
outrage, however, we still wished to remain out of the conflict, for the welfare of the
American people . We declared that the U.S. would not retaliate, as peace was in the
world's best interest. Instead, we dispatched a series of communiqués to Germany,
appealing to their sense of morality to end their attacks on non-belligerent shipping. But
the issue cropped up again in March 1916 with a German torpedo attack on the French-
owned ferry Sussex. The Germans again made promises to leave passenger ships alone, but
in January 1917 it announced a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare. This declaration
prompted our administration to break relations with Germany. The breaking point ,
however , was Zimmerman Telegram - a missive sent by German Foreign Minister Arthur
Zimmerman to Germany’s Mexican ambassador promising to help Mexico reclaim U.S.
land in exchange for support in the war. The telegram was intercepted by the British and
sent to the U.S. on Feb. 24, 1917.All these factors, coupled with the the fact that Germany
was againsts the very democracy that allows the American citizens to enjoy their rights , is
why we finally decided to enter the War which we had avoided entering for so long.

PAGE 19
11. The Red Baron

Caption : Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen(Red Baron)

Source : Jaeger, Peter. "100 Years Ago, WWI's 'Red Baron' Met Defeat." Stars and Stripes.
Accessed May 16, 2018. https://www.stripes.com/100-years-ago-wwi-s-red-baron-met-
defeat-1.522817.

I, Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen was born on May 2, 1892. I was the eldest of three sons
in my family. My father was an Uhlan career officer and hence my career in the military
was inevitable. I was enrolled in the military school at Wahlstatt at age 11, following the
wishes of my father, a Prussian nobleman whose own active military career had been cut
short by deafness. There, I excelled in sports but fell behind academically, working just
enough to get by in an environment I disliked. Six years later, I attended the Royal
Military Academy at Lichterfelde, which I enjoyed more. There I warmed up to the idea of

PAGE 20
life in the military and was determined to apply my riding skills to become a cavalry
officer. After a short time at the Berlin War Academy, I was commissioned an officer in
the 1st Regiment of Uhlans Kaiser Alexander III in April 1911.The following year I was
promoted to Leutnant, and was still participating in regiment horse jumping and racing
competitions when the War broke out in August 1914. I went into battle with the Uhlans
in the early months of the war, and saw action at Verdun. But as static trench warfare set
in, the cavalry became obsolete. I served as a messenger during the winter of 1914-15 and
saw some combat, but I felt there was no glory to be had crawling through muddy
trenches and shell holes. Having had his fill of unromantic ground warfare, I wrote to my
commanding general to request a transfer to the air service.I knew nothing of flying or air
combat and, like many infantrymen, I held aviators in contempt. But now the air offered
me a new way of warfare, one not restricted by an immobile front line. My transfer was
approved. Worried that the war would end before I had a chance to see action in the air,
he decided to train as an observer. Pilots were required to undergo three months of
training. However I was an observer and was ready for the field in four weeks.Sent to
Grossenhain on June 10, 1915, I was the first of my training class to be assigned. I began his
flying career at Feldfiegerabtedung 69 as an observer on the Eastern Front, taking
photographs of Russian troop positions. A couple of months later, I transferred to a
Western Front unit in Belgium (later to become Kampfgeschwader I) as a bombardier.

I had enjoyed flying from the first moment that I took to the air during training. My love
of flight was further enhanced by watching the bombs I dropped explode on enemy
targets. My fascination with seeing the damage I was inflicting earned me my first war
wound. Frantically signalling to my pilot to bank for a clear view after dropping a load on
a village near Dunkirk, I accidentally dipped my hand into one of the bomber’s whirling
propellers and lost the tip of a finger.In September 1915, I had my initial tries at air-to-air
combat, both times firing on Allied Farman biplanes. The first was an exchange of shots
between observers without result. The second encounter ended with the French plane
dropping away and crashing after being hit by a couple of bursts of machine-gun fire. I did
not receive credit for the victory because the plane had fallen behind enemy lines, robbing
me of any physical evidence.After June 1915, the Fokker Eindekker monoplane series
became the most feared aircraft in the air. Equipped with synchronized machine guns that
could fire through the propeller arc without damaging the plane, they gave German scout
pilots a firm advantage in air combat.

With my new assignment at Kampfgeschwader 11, I hoped to get a crack at piloting my

own plane. Still flying as an observer, I prevailed upon my friend Oberleutnant Georg
Zeumer for help. Zeumer was an experienced pilot, and I had often flown as his observer
ever since we were first teamed on the Eastern Front. After only 24 hours of Zeumer’s
tutoring, I took to the air on my first solo flight, and promptly destroyed his plane while
trying to land.Unwounded and undeterred, I kept at it, practicing for two weeks before
heading off to the flying school at Doberitz.

Five months later, I returned to my squadron as a pilot, flying Albatros two-seaters near
Verdun. They were not the monoplane scouts I had been hoping for, but once I had fixed a
gun to the upper wing of my plane, I was able to both fly and take offensive action. April

PAGE 21
26, 1916, saw my second kill, a French Nieuport, go down near Fort de Douaumontagain
behind enemy lines, and again not officially counted.

Happy, but not wholly content flying bombers and attacking Russian infantry and cavalry
with machinegun fire, I jumped at Oswald Boelcke’s offer to join him on the Somme to at
last become a full-fledged fighter pilot. I left three days later, and reported for duty back
on the Western Front on September 1, 1916.By then, the monoplanes had lost any
advantage they once held. They were now being met in the air by improved Allied scouts
also capable of forward firing through the propeller arc. trained the men under him in the
ways of aerial combat. By the time some Albatros D.II biplanes arrived on the 16th, the
pilots were ready for action. The very next day, I scored my first confirmed kill.

Caption: The Red Baron

Source :

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12. The Tank Commander

Caption: Tanks in the battle of Cambrai

Source: Baker, Neal. "When Was the Battle of Cambrai and How Many Tanks Were Used?"
The Sun. November 19, 2017. Accessed May 24, 2018.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4936758/battle-of-cambrai-world-war-1-how-many-
tanks/.

PAGE 23
I am the Tank Corps Commander, Brigadier-General Hugh Elles leading the way in the
tank ‘Hilda’. On the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, I was posted to the staff
of the 4th Division and departed for France soon afterwards. I served at Le Cateau,
then took part in the Retreat to the Seine and the battle of the Aisne, where
the German Army was halted. I then moved north with the British Expeditionary
Force (BEF) to Flanders, taking part in the Battle of Armentières in October 1914. In
February 1915, I was promoted to brevet major and served as the brigade major of
the 10th Brigade.My men and I believe in the potential of the tank and see an attack at
Cambrai as a way of achieving success and vindicating the faith put in the new
machine.

British pioneers conceived of the tank as a "land ship." It was developed in intense
secrecy. The workers who built the first tanks were told the machines were
mechanized water tanks, designed to.The workers called them "water tanks" or simply
"tanks" for short.
The first tanks were British, and they first went into action against the Germans
on Sept. 15, 1916, near Flers in France, during the Battle of the Somme in the War.
I can just imagine what the German soldiers might have felt on that day: You
think you've seen every terror war can offer — machine guns mowing down platoons,
barbed wire traps, artillery blasting your comrades to oblivion, poison gas torturing
your fellow soldiers who were too slow to put on their gas masks when the wind blew
the gas in their direction. After seeing all of this they were probably pretty hardened
soldiers.
Then from off in the distance came rumbling a giant machine, rolling over craters and
ditches and crushing through the barbed wire obstacles that had stopped so many
infantry attacks before. Then it starts mowing down soldiers with its cannon and
machine guns. Though they attacked it with every weapon they had, but it simply
couldn’t be stopped. The Germans on the front line ran that day. It was one of the few
occasions in the War when any defensive force broke off in terror. It was pretty
daunting for those first British tankers, too. There was huge pressure on these men,
most of whom were common infantry soldiers, to quickly win the war with an
instrument that wasn't especially well-designed or easy to operate. Inside the tank, the
men sweltered from the engine's heat and choked on the toxic smoke from exhaust
fumes. The tank was developed as a means to break the stalemate on the Western
Front .Military technology of the time favoured the defence. Even if an attack did
succeed, it was almost impossible to exploit the breach before the enemy rushed in
reinforcements to stabilize the front.
British pioneers conceived of the tank as a "land ship." It was developed in intense
secrecy. The workers who built the first tanks were told the machines were
mechanized water tanks, designed to.The workers called them "water tanks" or simply
"tanks" for short.

PAGE 24
In April 1917 Mark I and Mark II tanks were used at The Battle of Arras. However, they
made little impact and with new Mark IV tanks becoming available, it was hoped they
would be more effective in upcoming battles.
The first of these was the Battle of Messines, in which 2nd Tank Brigade took part,
using the new Mark IV tanks for the first time. They were directed against the
Wytschaete Ridge but were hardly needed as huge mines were exploded.Although
mechanically speaking the Mark IV was virtually the same as the old Mark I, it had
other features, such as thicker armour, that made it a more practical design, and that
meant it might be able to dominate all the succeeding battles in the War. The Third
Battle of Ypres began on 31 July 1917. Continual rain on muddy ground in low lying
Flanders turned the land into a swamp . My fellow Tank Corps staff J. F. C. Fuller
described it as a” study in how to move 30 tons of metal through a morass of mud and
water”. Successes were limited though, with many commenting at the time that
conditions on a battlefield were likely to be bad, and unless tanks could work in such
conditions they were useless.

Word limit : 735 words

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