How did WW1 air pilots became 'Aces'? How many shells were fired by the British during the Battle of the Somme? Why were trenches built in a zig-zag and who was the youngest winner of the Victoria Cross? If you want to know the answers to these questions and many more like it, then check out these fifty fantastic facts from the First World War!

1. Fifty Fantastic Facts
from the First World War

2. Weapons

3. Over 86 million British 18 pound artillery shells
were fired during the war

4. The largest gun of the war was made by German
manufacturer Krupp. Nicknamed the ‘Paris Gun’ it
could fire a 210Ib shell over 80 miles

5. Approximately 75,000,000
British No.5 grenades
were made during the war

6. ‘Little Willie’ was the first prototype tank. Built in
1915, it carried a crew of 3 and could travel as fast
as 3 mph (4.8 km/h)

7. Approximately 30
different poisonous gases
were used during WWI

8. Trench warfare

9. All frontline trenches were
built in a zig-zag with angular
‘fire-bays’ to minimise the
effect of shell fire and to
prevent the enemy from firing
down the length of the trench

10. During the night, perhaps 1 man in 4 was posted
on sentry duty. Their job was to listen and watch
for signs of enemy activity

11. During dawn and dusk, the entire front line on all sides
was ordered to ‘Stand To!’
Every man was put on full alert in case of enemy attack.

12. The Germans started constructing the Hindenburg Line in
September 1916 and it was still being built in late 1918

13. In the trenches in the Vosges area of the front winter
temperatures dropped so low that bread and wine froze

14. The Air War

15. The Allies lost 2.2 planes for every one lost by Germany and
the Central Powers

16. The temperature in the gondolas of Zeppelins
would often fall to -25°C and below

17. To become a British ‘Ace’ a British fighter pilot had to score 5 kills.
It was the same for French and American pilots

18. The most successful fighter of the entire war
was Rittmeister Manfred von Richthofen.
He shot down 80 planes.

19. The Royal Flying Corps decided not to issue their pilots with parachutes
because they thought that this would encourage them to bail out of
their distressed plane rather than try to bring it home safely

20. The War at Sea

21. The Battle of Jutland took place at the
end of May 1916 and was the largest
naval battle of the war

22. By the end of the war a total of 375
German U-boats had been commissioned

23. 7,646 Allied ships were hit (sunk/damaged/captured)
by U-boats between 1914 and 1918

24. A total of 16,500 depth charges were used by
The Royal Navy during the war

25. Infantry Battles

26. In the preliminary artillery bombardment for the Battle of the Somme,
British artillery fired 1.73 million shells on to the German lines

27. Kaiser Wilhelm was so
confident of victory at Ypres in
1914 he travelled to the front
to lead his troops through the
town on a victory march.
He would be disappointed.

28. During the landings on the Gallipoli peninsular, 17,000 ANZAC
troops were dropped off at the wrong beach

29. The battle of Verdun caused almost 1 million casualties,
making it one of the most deadly battles in history

30. During 100 days of fighting the Third Battle of Ypres, the
Allies managed to advance a little over 5 miles

31. Combatants: Britain & The Commonwealth

32. Almost 5.4 million men from the British and
Commonwealth armies served on the Western Front
at some point during the war

33. It is thought that 15% of
British wartime volunteers
were underage

34. 3,080 British men were sentenced to death (1.1% of all convicted).
Of these, 89% were reprieved and the sentence converted to a lesser one

35. Within two weeks of
Kitchener’s ‘Call to
Arms’, 100,000 men had
signed up: Kitchener’s
first army of volunteers
(K1) was born

36. Combatants: Imperial Germany

37. 8 of the German scientists who worked on their gas warfare project
went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize

38. During the war the Germans used
600 million sandbags

39. Paul von Hindenburg
wrote 1,500 letters to
his wife Gertrude
during the war

40. The Pickelhaube was gradually replaced
with the distinctive Stahlhelm. The coal
scuttle steel helmet was also used in
various guises throughout WW2

41. Bravery
VC, DSO and Bar, MC and Bar, MM group
awarded to Captain James McCudden, RFC

42. During the Battle of the
Somme, 51 Victoria
Crosses were awarded.
17 of them were
awarded posthumously

43. Captain Noel Chavasse (RAMC) was the only man
awarded the Victoria Cross twice during the war

44. 119 Americans were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor
during the war

45. Known informally as ‘The Blue Max’ the Pour le Mérite was the
highest order of merit issued by the Kingdom of Prussia

46. The youngest recipient of the Victoria Cross was Boy (First Class)
John Cornwell. He served on HMS Chester and was 16 years old

47. Animals at War

48. 8 million horses died on all sides during the war

49. Sergeant Stubby, a Boston Bull Terrier, was the most
decorated dog of the war and the only dog to be
promoted to the rank of sergeant

50. By 1918 there were around 22,000 pigeons carrying
post to British soldiers along the western front

51. Germany had 6,000 trained dogs ready for
action at the beginning of the war

52. CasualtiesCasualties

54. Each British soldier was given 2 bandages as part of their field
dressing kit. This was to enable them to treat a bullet wound
that passed completely through their body – thus causing 2
wounds

55. There were 863 British and Commonwealth deaths on
11 November 1918

56. At the end of the war
there were over 250,000
wounded British and
Commonwealth soldiers
who suffered total or
partial amputation

57. There were approximately 37,500,000 casualties
(killed/wounded/missing/prisoner) during the war

58. Surrender and Armistice

59. There were 3 separate Armistices signed
towards the end of the war:
Turkey signed an armistice on 30 October 1918,
Austria-Hungary signed one on 3 November,
and finally, Germany signed an Armistice on 11
November 1918

60. The original peace treaty signed by Germany on 11 November was
only actually valid for 30 days but was continually renewed until the
signing of the Treaty of Versailles

61. The Treaty of
Versailles was the
formal peace
settlement signed
after the war had
ended. It was signed
on 28th June 1919

62. French Field Marshal
Ferdinand Foch, who was
of the opinion the
restrictions on Germany
didn’t go far enough, said
of the Treaty of Versailles:
‘This is not peace. It is an
Armistice for twenty
years.’

63. Loved these facts?
Want some more?
Get 500 Fantastic
First World War Facts
FOR FREE!!

64. Loved these facts?
Want some more?
Get 500 Fantastic
First World War Facts
FOR FREE!!
Click on the book cover and
download your free copy now!