26 Interesting facts about WW1 battles

Millions of soldiers suffered “shell shock”, what we call today posttraumatic stress disorder. Tweet This

U.S. government granted Native Americans citizenship only in 1924; yet more than 12,000 of them served in WWI. Tweet This

Over 200,000 African Americans served in the war, but only 11 percent of them were in combat forces (in segregated divisions). Tweet This

Germans were quite successful at intercepting and deciphering Allied codes. It changed when U.S. started using so-called Choctaw Code Talkers (Native Americans). Tweet This

YOU MAY ALSO CHECK OUT: WORLD WAR I FACTS – INTRO FROM THE AUTOR

Half a million pigeons carried messages between HQ and front lines. Tweet This

A wounded pigeon saved the lives of 200 American soldiers. Tweet This

The most terrific death toll in British army history occurred during the Battle of Somme – 60,000 casualties in a single day. Tweet This

Battle of the Somme took the life of 1.2 million soldiers. More British were killed in that single battle than U.S. lost during the whole WWI. Tweet This

YOU MAY ALSO CHECK OUT: 27 FACTS ABOUT WW1 BATTLES AND WEAPONS

During WWI, as an act of genocide, Ottoman Empire slaughtered 1.5 million Armenians. Tweet This

Dr. Doolittle stories appeared when Hugh Lofting started writing his children creative letters, instead of describing the true horrors of trench life. Tweet This

British King George V, German Wilhelm II and Russian Tsar Nicholas II were all cousins and grandchildren of Queen Victoria. Tweet This

11.5% of French population was killed or wounded during WWI. Tweet This

YOU MAY ALSO CHECK OUT: 24 INTERESTING WORLD WAR 1 FACTS

117,000 Americans were killed, although they fought only during last year of the war. Tweet This

By war’s end, in U.S. 2.7 million soldiers were drafted and 1.3 million joined as volunteers. Tweet This

Herbert Hoover was US Food Administrator during WWI and encouraged Americans to plant their own garden (Victory Garden). Millions followed the advice and thus reduced U.S. food consumption by 15%. Tweet This

A soldier would normally spend 15% of the time on the frontline, usually no longer than 2 weeks at a time. Tweet This

YOU MAY ALSO CHECK OUT: 23 LESSER KNOWN WORLD WAR ONE FACTS

In 1917, wide-spread anti-German sentiments made U.K. king George V change his family name from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Windsor. Tweet This

In 1914, soldiers didn’t have metal helmets. French introduced them in 1915. Tweet This

Life expectancy in the trenches was below 2 months.  Tweet This

346 British soldiers were executed by their colleagues, chiefly for desertion. Tweet This

In 1917, U.K. government prohibited use of rice at weddings and feeding of pigeons, due to food shortages. Tweet This

Dead horses were melted down for fat which was later used for production of explosives. 8 million horses were killed on the Western Front. Tweet This

Trench language enriched the English language with words like lousy and dud. Tweet This

The Defence of the Realm Act (1914, U.K.) outlawed buying binoculars, talking on the phone in a foreign language, or hailing a taxi at night. Tweet This

When soldiers returned home, there was a baby boom. Tweet This

In WWI, almost 120,000 Americans were killed and 200,000 were injured. Tweet This