The First World War was a gigantic affair. The sheer numbers of men, equipment and resources poured into the fight on all sides was eye-watering. Today, when the entire number of fighting personnel of the British Army can fit inside a large football stadium, it is very difficult to image such military scale.
So, in an effort to distill some of the magnitude down to tiny little factoids - and in no particular order - here are some of my favourite First World War facts.
Fact-tastic!
Twenty-four separate nations declared war on one or more of the Central Powers (Germany / Austria-Hungary / Turkey / Bulgaria) throughout the duration of the war.
In total, almost 65 million men were mobilised during the war.
The USA was never officially part of the Allies. When they joined the war in 1917, they were officially known as an Associated Power.
A typical field artillery piece required a team of 6: an NCO in command who received and gave orders, a layer who was responsible for the gun’s alignment and elevation, a gunner who worked the breech and 3 men for handling the shells and fuses.
Big Bertha was the nick-name given to the Krupp 420mm heavy howitzer used by the Germans in WWI. It could fire a 2,050lb (930kg) shell a distance of 9.3 miles (15 km). However, it took a crew of 200 men 6 hours or more to assemble.
By 1918 each and every Allied offensive was supported by between 5,000 and 8,000 artillery guns.
The German army used 270 million grenades of all types on all fronts during the war.
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.
140,000 Chinese labourers served on the Western Front over the course of the First World War. Their main task was to dig trenches.
The oldest soldier to die during the first day of the Battle of the Somme was Lt. Henry Webber 7th South Lancashire aged 68, he joined to serve with his 3 sons who all survived.
During the Battle of the Somme in 1916, the Royal Flying Corps lost 800 aircraft and 252 aircrew killed.
The US infantry did not see front line action until late October 1917 when the US 1st Division entered trenches near Nancy.
By the end of the war the USA had mobilised 4,355,000 men
During the battle of Belleau Wood in June 1918 the US Army suffered 5,200 casualties per square mile.
Three men from one street in Canada (Pine Steet, Winnipeg) were all awarded the Victoria Cross during WW1; CSM Frederick Hall, Corporal Leo Clarke and Lt. Robert Shankland. Their street was re-named ‘Valour Road’ in their honour.
At any given time the German army had some 1.5 million horses and mules working at the front line.
These facts, along with another 485 can be found in my ebook - 500 Fantastic First World War Facts. This book is completely free and can be downloaded here!
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