WHAT IS COVERED IN THIS BLOG POST
- Introduction to the world war one, how it started, how many casualties were recorded, and who ultimately won this so called one of the deadliest battle in world history - INTRODUCTION TO WORLD WAR 1 SHOCKING FACTS
- Hidden facts that very very less people of the world knows, facts related to contribution of the Indian army in world war one - 18 LESSER KNOWN FACTS ABOUT INDIA & THE WORLD WAR ONE
INTRODUCTION
World War I or WWI which began in 1914, after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, saw unprecedented levels of carnage and destruction, that left more than 41 million people - soldiers and civilians - dead and wounded.
During this Great War Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire (the Central Powers) fought against Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan and the United States (the Allied Powers), which continued for 4 years, 3 months and 2 weeks until 1918 when the war ended with the victory of the allied powers.
18 SHOCKING FACTS ABOUT INDIA & WORLD WAR I
- In Belgium, over 900,000lbs of explosives were simultaneously detonated in 19 underground tunnels. The explosions were heard 140 miles away by the British prime minister in Downing St.
- Indian Army during first World war contributed a large number of divisions. Over one million Indian troops served overseas, of whom at least 74,187 Indian soldiers died during the war.
- Indian soldiers had not been eligible for the Victoria Cross until 1911. But at the First Battle of Ypres, Khudadad Khan became the first Indian to be awarded a Victoria Cross.
- King George V (Great Britain), Kaiser Wilhelm II (Germany) and Tsar Nicholas II (Russia) were cousins, and grandchildren of Queen Victoria.
- Field-Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck, Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from 1942 asserted that the British "couldn't have come through both wars ( World War I and II ) if they hadn't had the Indian Army.
- About 116,000 Americans were killed, even though the US was only in the war for about 7 months.
- Dogs were used to carry messages during the war. Pigeons were also used and about 500,000 pigeons were dropped into enemy lines by parachute, to deliver messages.
- A pigeon named Cher Ami managed to carry a message to US soldiers 25 miles away despite having been shot and saved 500 US soldiers life. She was awarded the Croix de Guerre for bravery.
- It was Indian jawans who stopped the German advance at Ypres in 1914, soon after the war broke out, while the British were still recruiting and training their own forces.
- A surgeon from Britain, Geoffrey Keynes, designed a portable blood transfusion kit. Initially ignored by most surgeons, it saved thousands of lives during World War 1.
- Many cataract patients were used in WW1 to detect flashing UV beacons, as they have an “extraordinary sensitivity” to ultraviolet light.
- The British, commemorated the war by constructing the triumphal arch known as India Gate in New Delhi.
- India Gate built in 1931 commemorates the Indian soldiers who lost their lives fighting in World War One.
- In WWI, Canadians survived the first chemical attack by urinating on their handkerchiefs and holding them over their faces as masks.
- Due to steel shortages during WW1, concrete ships were built. Only ten of them are still afloat.
- Tanks were secretly developed by the British during the first world war. Originally they were called "landships", but this was changed to "tanks" (water tanks) to confuse the enemy.
- Lieutenant General (retd) J F R Jacob, hero of the Bangladesh War and a WWII veteran, said the two world wars were the greatest military achievement of the Indian Army.
- Russia mobilized 12 million troops during WWI, making it the largest army in the war. More than 3/4 were killed, wounded, or went missing in action.
