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15 World War I Facts That Will Blow Your Mind

World War I, also known as the Great War, began in 1914 and ended in 1918. It was triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. During the conflict, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire (the Central Powers) fought against Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Canada, Japan, and the United States (the Allied Powers). It was also a time to test new military technologies. At the end of the war, there were unprecedented levels of carnage and destruction. By the time the war was over and the Allied Powers claimed victory, more than 16 million people, soldiers, and civilians alike were dead. Quite catastrophic I must say.

Here are 15 World War I Facts That Will Blow Your Mind.

1. Assassination of Prince Archduke Franz Ferdinand Sparked

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of AustriaAuthor unknown painter.

Just before World War I, there was rising tension in Sarajevo. As heir to the throne, Prince Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie were in the city. The purpose of the visit was to inspect the imperial armed forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina, annexed by Austria-Hungary in 1908. The annexation had not gone well with Serbian nationalists, who believed the territories should be part of Serbia.

As a result, a group of young nationalists hatched a plot to kill the archduke during his visit to Sarajevo, and after some missteps, 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip was able to shoot the royal couple at point-blank range. The killings sparked a chain of events that led to the outbreak of World War I by early August 1914.

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2. Britain Declared War On Germany After They Invaded Belgium.

A German Trench occupied by British Soldiers. Author John Warwick Brooke.

The German invasion of Belgium was a military campaign that began on 4 August 1914. This was intended to bring the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Armies into positions in Belgium from which they could invade France.  Earlier, on 24 July, the Belgian government had announced that if war came it would uphold its neutrality. However, they did not keep their word and on 2 August 1014, the German government sent an ultimatum to Belgium, demanding passage through the country which passed without a response. The Germans, therefore, invaded Luxembourg in retaliation. Due to this, the British government came in to offer military support to Belgium.

3. The Ottoman Empire Wrong Decision To Attack Russia Led To Their Collapse

Map of the Ottoman Empire at its greatest extent, at the end of the 16th century (1600).

The Ottoman Empire’s entry into World War I began when two recently purchased ships of its navy carried out the Black Sea Raid, a surprise attack against Russian ports, on 29 October 1914. The Ottoman government had declared neutrality in the recently started war. Russia with the help of its allies, Britain and France retaliated the attack and was able to repulse the enemy.

This decision would ultimately lead to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Ottoman citizens, the Armenian genocide, the dissolution of the empire, and the abolition of the Islamic Caliphate.

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4. It Was The Central Powers vs. The Allied Powers.

Composition of various images of the 1st world war taken from CommonAuthor Vedi file singolis.

This war was a competition between the central powers and the allied powers. The Central Powers were composed of Austria-Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire. On the other hand, the Allied Powers were formed by Great Britain, Russia, France, Romania, Italy, Japan, and the United States. Despite the above, other countries in the world were also involved directly or indirectly as interested parties in terms of offering military personnel and material support.

5. World War I Led To The Fall Of Four Great Imperial Dynasties

Before World War I, dynasties commanded a lot of influence and power. Things took a dramatic change at the end of the war. According to historians, it led to the fall of four great imperial dynasties (Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey). It also resulted in the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, and, in its destabilization of European society, laid the groundwork for World War II.

6. World War I Was Initially Supported By Many European Citizens

The period prior to the war had not witnessed a war of such magnitude. There had been a lot of investment in the military in terms of technics, military equipment, and personnel amongst other things. There was also a war of superiority between nations and the building of allowances. It was therefore not a surprise when the outbreak of war in August 1914 was generally greeted with confidence and jubilation by the people of Europe.

To them, it inspired a wave of patriotic feeling and celebration. They exhibited confidence that their country鈥檚 side would be victorious within a matter of months. The war was welcomed either patriotically, as a defensive one imposed by national necessity, or idealistically, as one for upholding right against might, the sanctity of treaties, and international morality. In the end, it was just a story of massive destruction and loss of lives.

7. During The War An Army Could Comprise Between 50,000 to 250,000 Men

Army. Photo by Specna Arms on

Military might was about numbers and patriotism. This was manifested by the number of people who voluntarily accepted to fight for their country without expecting any rewards. Of all the initial belligerent nations, only Great Britain had a volunteer army, though it was relatively small at the start of the war and increased gradually as the war progressed.  The other nations had much larger conscript armies that required three to four years of service from able-bodied males of military age, to be followed by several years in reserve formations.

 Military strength on land was counted in terms of divisions composed of 12,000鈥�20,000 officers and men. Two or more divisions made up an army corps, and two or more corps made up an army. An army could thus comprise anywhere from 50,000 to 250,000 men. Therefore due to limited resources, it was paramount for citizens to come out in large numbers to participate as volunteers.

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8. The Germans Were More Superior In Terms Of Strategy But Didn鈥檛 Win The War

At times military strength was not just a matter of numbers only but winning the war also required initiative. The higher state of discipline, training, leadership, and armament of the German army reduced the importance of the initial numerical inferiority of the armies of the Central Powers. Because of the comparative slowness of mobilization, poor higher leadership, and lower scale of the armament of the Russian armies, there was an approximate balance of forces between the Central Powers and the Allies in August 1914 that prevented either side from gaining a quick victory.

9. 鈥淚nterior Lines Of Communication鈥� Played A Key Role In The War

Military strategies come in handy in any war. The country with the better strategy always has an advantage over the others. In this war, Germany and Austria enjoyed the advantage of 鈥渋nterior lines of communication,鈥� which enabled them to send their forces to critical points on the battlefronts by the shortest route. According to one estimate, Germany鈥檚 railway network made it possible to move eight divisions simultaneously from the Western Front to the Eastern Front in four and a half days.

10.  The Battle of Jutland Was The Largest Sea Battle Of The War

In the largest full-frontal naval battle of the war 14 British ships were lost to Germany鈥檚 11. Britain also lost more than twice as many sailors as Germany. However, it was not the knock-out blow that the Germans required. This happened as the British were making some advances over the Germans and initially appeared to overcome them.

11. Russia Entered World War I With The Largest Army In The World

Determined to win the war from the onset, Russia entered the First World War I with the largest army in the world, standing at 1,400,000 soldiers. As the war progressed this number increased tremendously and it is said that when fully mobilized the Russian army expanded to over 5,000,000 soldiers (though at the outset of the war, Russia could not arm all its soldiers, having a supply of 4.6 million rifles). If this is not blowing your mind, then I don鈥檛 know what could.

12. British Soldiers Were More Than Willing To Fight For Their Country

Britain only had an army of 733,500 men on mobilization, but by 1918 this stood at 3,196,000. Lord Kitchener recognized that the British Army was far too small in comparison to the French and German forces and wanted to build an army of 70 divisions. When he called for 200,000 men to sign up for the British army in the 1st month of the war, 300,000 men appeared to be enlisted to the surprise of many.  Almost as many men joined the army voluntarily as joined after the introduction of conscription (1916) in Britain. Altogether just under 2.5 million men volunteered to fight in the British Army, approximately 25% of those eligible.

13. A Single Machine Gun Could Fire Up To 600 Rounds A Minute

Though the military equipment that was being used at this time was not as sophisticated as they are now, this was definitely the first test of military technology. Machine guns were the most used military weapons during the war. It is said that at 鈥榢nown range鈥� the rate of fire of a single machine gun was estimated much as 150-200 rifles. Their awesome defensive capability was a major cause of trench warfare.

14. The Somme War Was The Bloodiest Battle Of The War

Military cemetery from World War I and World War II in D膮browa Tarnawacka near Author Pftf.

Towards the end of the war, countries were already feeling the effects of the war and exhaustion had already set in. The Somme war was the bloodiest battle of the war. It took place from July-November 1916, caused by Verdun鈥檚 strain on the French. The Allies made an offensive move against the German troops.

 In total, Britain lost 460,000 men, the French 200,000, and the Germans nearly 500,000 Britain lost around 60,000 men on the first day alone. This massive loss of lives marked the beginning of retreat for the many countries involved in the war and they began to call for a ceasefire signifying the end of the war.

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15. Germany Was The Last To Surrender on November 11, 1918.

Despite suffering humiliation from their enemies, it is only when their allies surrendered, resources waned and they were discontented generally did the Germans forcefully signed the armistice, signifying officially the end of the war.

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