World War I, THE GREAT WAR

THE WESTERN FRONT

Revised February 14, 2001

How Twenty Marines Took Bouresches by Frank E. Schoonover

Table of Contents

The Great War 1914-1918	1917
1914	1918
1915	1919
1916	In Flanders Fields

Private Albert McSorley was killed in action on 9/04/18. He served in the 1/4 btn South Lancshire Regiment and has no known grave.  His death scroll reads as follows:   He whom this scroll commemorates was numbered among those who at the call of King and Country, left all that was dear to them, endured hardness, faced danger, and finally passed out of the sight of men by the path of duty and self sacrifice, giving up their own lives that others might live in freedom. Let those who come after see to it that his name be not forgotten. 

The Great War 1914-1918

• THE GREAT WAR--To start things off, the writer has attached a number of his own files which some will find useful and interesting.
• The Clock--The Great War--This site provides a very good, quick look at WW I.
• The Great War--This site provides an overview of the war (PBS online).
• WWI Sites: Links to Other Resources--This site contains many links to WW I topics.
• World War I, 1914-1918--This section gives some very basic information about World War I with emphasis on the perspectives shared throughout British society.
• World War I Aviation Homepage--World War I played an important role in shaping the early 20TH century. The men and the air battles that took place during this time were one part of the colorful history of World War.
• FIRST WORLD WAR LOSSES--The number of known dead has been placed at about 10,000,000 men.
• Out of the Crucible of War--Those that do remember, learned long ago that when all reasonable diplomatic means have been exhausted in the face of a determined aggressor, war is still sometimes necessary. They will be the first to agree that on both sides of the conflict in such wars of necessity, far too often, the normal constraints on human behaviour invoked by civilized societies, are set aside in the pursuit of military objectives, resulting in ghastly acts of destruction of human life and property and a general yielding to the passions of violence, ethnic hatreds and revenge; that while there is in final consequence, no real glory in war, out of the same, come acts of individual courage and valour that have few parallels in peace time and with a rational valid only in the venue in which they took place.
• The Battlefields--Provides the viewer with a virtual tour of some of the Battlefields as they appear today--be sure to view the introduction.
• In Flanders Fields--It is a lasting legacy of the terrible battle in the Ypres salient in the spring of 1915. Here is the story of the making of that poem.
• LITERARY AMBULANCE DRIVERS--Several years ago, the author became interested in why so many famous writers were ambulance drivers in World War I.
• Chronology of the First World War--This site provides a timeline for WW I with hypertext links.
• THE GREAT WAR--At 11 p.m. on 4th August, 1914 Britain found herself at war in Europe.
• The Great War Series--This series combines into one page, all material in The War Times Journal which relates to World War I. It contains rare archives of personal memoirs and galleries of previously unpublished photographs, as well as articles and summaries provided on-line by our magazine.
• World War I, Trenches on the Web--The trenches are set up in such a way as to allow you to explore the "The Great War" at your own pace and in your own manner. If you don't know where to start, then the Reference Library is a good bet. It is a complete catalog of everything out here.
• The Great War--"We're not making a sacrifice. Jesus, you've seen this war. We are the sacrifice."
• Nurse in the Great War--Helen Burrey went to work at age 14 at Pogues, a department store in Pittsburgh. She worked there until she entered nursing school at St. Francis Hospital. When World War I began, she volunteered to serve as an army nurse. She was one of the first to be sent to France.
• The Heritage of the Great War--Dedicated to the aftermath and consequences of World War I, it contains a large picture archive and is available in English and Dutch.
• Doughboy Center--The Story of the American Expeditionary Force
• Photos of the Great War--These are the images of that time, an eternal testament to all those whose lives were lost or forever altered by "The Great War."
• Canadian Great War Homepage--It is not my intention to tell the entire story of World War 1, but to provide the visitor with an overview of Canada's role in this terrible conflict which cost the lives of more than 56,500 Canadian soldiers.
• The Great European and World War--However you name it, the World War that lasted from 1914 to 1918 was a great tragedy that defined the end of an old order and laid the foundations for a new and different century. The purpose of this page is to provide essential information on a limited variety of topics related to the opening months of the great conflict.
• Life in the Trenches--After the Battle of the Marne in September, 1914, the Germans were forced to retreat to the River Aisne. The German commander, General von Falkenhayn, decided that his troops must at all costs hold onto those parts of France and Belgium that Germany still occupied. Falkenhayn ordered his men to dig trenches that would provide them with protection from the advancing French and British troops. The Allies soon realized that they could not break through this line and they also began to dig trenches. This site gives the reader a good look at what it would be like to live in the front line trenches.
• The First World War--The International Internet Encyclopedia of the First World War is being created by teachers and students from several different countries. Each entry includes several pages of narrative, illustrations, and links to other relevant websites. The strategy is to look at the international, the national and the local dimension of the conflict. By the middle of 1998 we hope to have over two thousand pages of information in the encyclopedia.

• The March to War, The Summer of 1914--Germany proclaimed "state of threatening danger of war."
• The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand--As everyone knows, the old Austrio-Hungarian Empire was built by conquest and intrigues, by sales and treacheries, which held [...] men of the upper classes were ardent patriots. They were dissimilar in everything except hatred of the oppressor.
• President Poincaré's War Message--Since the ultimatum of Austria opened a crisis which threatened the whole of Europe, France has persisted in following and in recommending on all sides a policy of prudence, wisdom, and moderation.
• Clemenceau Calls France to Arms--William II has willed it. The cannon must speak. The German Ambassador has decided to depart, tired of waiting in Paris for acts of violence which do not occur. Do you know the official reasons for his departure? It is that a French aviator is alleged to have thrown bombs on Nuremberg. In courteous language M. Viviani replied that this was an untruth, although it was only too true that a German troop had come into our territory and killed a French soldier; and the Ambassador, finding nothing to say, slipped away only to return a few minutes later to repair a slight omission. He had forgotten to deliver to the Minister a declaration of war. One cannot think of everything at once. . . .
• The Fall of Liège--The third phase of the bombardment began at 5 o'clock in the morning of the 15th, firing being kept up without a break until two in the afternoon.
• The Battle of Mons--Following the surrender of the Leige Forts by the Belgian Army, the German Army continued its push toward Paris under the Schlieffen Plan.
• President Wilson's Declaration of Neutrality--The effect of the war upon the United States will depend upon what American citizens say and do. Every man who really loves America will act and speak in the true spirit of neutrality, which is the spirit of impartiality and fairness and friendliness to all concerned.
• Kitchener's Address to the Troops--You are ordered abroad as a soldier of the King to help our French comrades against the invasion of a common enemy.
• Marshall Joffre's Report on the Marne--The first month of the campaign began with successes and finished with defeats for the French troops.
• Battle of Albert--The small town of Albert was the site of a major offensive by the French Second Army in September (25th to 29th) 1914. French attacks were initially successful but eventually they were driven back beyond the town of Albert.
• Abandonment of Paris--In order to watch over the national welfare, it is the duty of the public powers to remove themselves temporarily from the city of Paris.
• Trench Warfare Begins on the Aisne--So far as we are concerned, the action still being contested is the Battle of the Aisne. The foe we are fighting is just across the river along the whole of our front to the east and west. The struggle is not confined to the valley of that river, though it will probably bear it's name.
• The First Battle of Ypres--There were no reserves except an odd battalion or two and some regiments of cavalry, all of which had already been sorely tried during the past days. The French sent an urgent message to Foch for re-enforcements, and was refused. At the end of the battle he learned the reason. Foch had none to send, and his own losses had been greater than ours.
• The First Battle of Ypres--With the German retreat from the Marne River in the late fall of 1914, the Allies scrambled to counterattack the Germans and to keep them from regaining momentum to advance back toward Paris.

The soldiers in the mud, what was it like, intimate moments of war! Detached, from the sound, the smell and death.

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1915

• The Battle of Dogger Bank--The German ships appeared to be on fire more than once, and at last there was no doubt about one of them--the Blücher. It was then that our turn came, and as her fire slackened we quickly came up with her and started with our bow six-inch with lyddite. This is a terribly destructive shell, and when our big ships were firing, their shells on exploding caused clouds of yellow smoke. Our starboard battery of four-inch also came into play, but unfortunately all this time I had to stand idly by with a shell in my arms, as none of the guns on our side got a chance; this was rather trying.
• President Wilson's First Warning to the Germans--The Government of the United States views those possibilities with such grave concern that it feels it to be its privilege, and, indeed, its duty, in the circumstances, to request the Imperial German Government to consider, before action is taken, the critical situation in respect of the relations between this country and Germany--which might arise were the German naval force, in carrying out the policy foreshadowed in the Admiralty's proclamation, to destroy any merchant vessel of the United States or cause the death of American citizens.
• The Battle of Neuve Chapelle--The Battle of Neuve Chapelle was an action in which, through a surprise attack, the British reconquered the position which the Germans had occupied in October and powerfully organized in front of the British pivot at La Bassee. This position formed a salient in the British line, and in order to preserve the integrity of that line (in other words to make it stronger), it was necessary to take the village of Neuve Chapelle.
• 13 May, 1915, The First Lusitania Note to Germany--In view of recent acts of the German authorities in violation of American rights on the high seas which culminated in the torpedoing and sinking of the British steamship Lusitania on May 7, 1915, by which over 100 American citizens lost their lives, it is clearly wise and desirable that the Government of the United States and the Imperial German Government should come to a clear and full understanding as to the grave situation which has resulted.
• Italian Premier Antonio Salandra's Declaration for the Allies--I address myself to Italy and to the civilized world in order to show not by violent words, but by exact facts and documents, how the fury of our enemies has vainly attempted to diminish the high moral and political dignity of the cause which our arms will make prevail.
• THE 36th (ULSTER) DIVISION AND ITS PART IN THE GREAT WAR--In October, 1915, after several months of preparation in England, men of the 36th (Ulster) Division sailed across the Channel and began to disembark in France.
• Second Battle of Ypres--The Second Battle of Ypres, 1915--By late April 1915, the Ypres front once again became the sight of brutal fighting. On April 22, the Germans opened up on the Allied lines with an intense artillery barrage. As the barrage continued, a yellow-green cloud descended on the Allied lines. For the first time in the history of warfare, poison gas was being used.

Ruins of Soissons

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1916

• The Brusilov Offensive--The surprise assault was launched on 4-June-1916. Three of the Russian armies broke through Austro-Hungarian lines.
• Verdun--What is the secret motive underlying the German attempt to break the French line at Verdun, in which the Crown Prince's army is incurring such appalling losses?
• Beatty's Official Report on the Battle of Jutland--After the first report of the enemy, the 1st and 3rd Light Cruiser Squadrons changed their direction and without waiting for orders spread to the east, thereby forming a screen in advance of the Battle Cruiser Squadrons and 5th Battle Squadron by the time we had hauled up to the course of approach.
• THE 36th (ULSTER) DIVISION, AND THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME, 1916--Across the battlefields of France on 1st July, 1916, dawn broke early, for, even during the night at that time of year, there was little darkness. In the area of the River Somme the arrival of the first pale glimmerings of light brought with it a little drizzly rain. However, this was soon to pass, and the battle of this tragic, harrowing day was destined to be fought under a blue, cloudless sky, and a hot pitiless sun.
• Lloyd George on the Battle of the Somme--So, much to the secret satisfaction of General Joffre, we turned our backs on Salonika and our faces once more to the Somme. It ranks with Verdun as one of the two bloodiest battles ever fought on this earth up to that date. The casualties on both sides were well over a million.
• The Somme Offensive--The Battle of the Somme was the first all out offensive planned by the British against the German Army in the First World War.

 

Tending the wounded of the 1st Lancashire Fusliers. 1-July-1916

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1917

• The Battle of 3rd Ypres (Passchendaele)--In 1917, the area of Flanders to the east of Ypres had great strategic importance because it was dominated by a German occupied ridge from the East to the South of Ypres. This was the only high ground in a flat, featureless plain and, if the British could only break out of the Ypres salient and take it, they could turn North and drive the Germans from the Belgian coast and capture the ports of Ostend and Zeebrugge from the enemy. The German position in Belgium would be outflanked and their industrial heartland in the Ruhr would be under threat.
• Trench Warfare--Between the two forward trenches lay the deserted No-Man's Land which could be as wide as half a mile, or at some points only twenty or thirty yards.
• THE ROAD TO PASSCHENDAELE--Nearly eighty years ago, just before dawn at six a.m. on 6th November, 1917, the final assault and battle for the devastated ruins of the tiny village of Passchendaele began. The cold, dull but unusually rainless sky was lit up by the flashes from thousands of cannons and guns spewing their murderous barrage onto the German defenders sheltering in their trenches and fortified positions in and around Passchendaele.
• British Trench Warfare 1917-1918--This page is a small reprint from the British reference manual on Trench Warfare, British Trench Warfare 1917-1918.
• Vimy Ridge--The Battle for Vimy Ridge, beginning 9th April 1917, was crucial for two reasons--firstly, it gave the Allies control over an important, heavily fortified ridge, that assisted in bringing eventual victory to the Allies; and secondly, it gave the Canadians who took it a sense of national pride that has not been forgotten.

The 16th Irish and 36th Ulster in the ruins that were once the village of Wytschaete. June-1917

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1918

• The Allies Appeal for American Assistance--It is the opinion of the Supreme War Council that, in order to carry the war to a successful conclusion, an American Army should be formed as early as possible under its own commander and under its own flag.
• Floyd Gibbons at Belleau Wood--On June 6, 1918, Floyd Gibbons, war correspondent for the Chicago Tribune, and Lieutenant Oscar Hartzel of the Intelligence Division entered Belleau Wood.
• 9 - 10 June, 1918, The Americans Take Belleau Wood--I believe that when the history of the war is written, the Americans' capture of the Bois de Belleau will be ranked among the neatest pieces of military work of the conflict.
• THE 1st. U.S. DIVISION AT CANTIGNY, 27th. APRIL - 8th. July 1918--In face of the urgency created by the German offensive on the 21st March, 1918, General Pershing placed all his forces then available in Europe at the disposition of General Foch. Amongst these units, the 1st U.S. Division which, on the 5th April had been positioned in the region North of Paris, received on the 27th April, the responsibility for a sector to the West of Montdidier, in the 6th Corps of the French 1st Army. This was the first time, on an active battle front, that an American Division took up position.
• THE 3rd.U.S. DIVISION IN THE REGION OF CHATEAU THIERRY--The success of the attack on the morning of 27th May, 1918, between Berry-au-Bac et Anizy-le-Château was a surprise. As from their first assault, the Germans captured the Chemin des Dames; at midday they were on the Aisne river which they crossed on the bridges that the French had not had time to blow up. The German success exceeded their hopes, in the evening they crossed the Vesle river, and in the morning of the 29th they captured Soissons. They advanced rapidly toward the Marne, in the direction of Paris, which the Government evacuated for Bordeaux.
• HENRY B. DAVIS DANS LA 2EME BATAILLE DE LA MARNE--The Second Battle of the Marne was fought four years later. "Terrific battles, ushering in the dawn of victories which will ensure the freedom of the world, were fought in July and August, 1918, between the Marne and Vesle Rivers, from Chateau-Thierry to Soissons and Fismes. In this soul-stirring struggle, the young American troops played a large part, and played it with heroism and success."
• LT GEORGE STROTT - MEDICAL DEPARTEMENT US NAVY - WITH THE 2ND DI. US--In connection with the planned employment of the Second Division in a large scale counteroffensive (Foch, Directive No 2-- E.M. No 64, 3 April 1918) to be launched north of Paris, near Amiens, on 15 June 1918, the Fourth Brigade, after full relief at the Verdun positions on 13 and 14 May, started to move toward the new area located in the department of the Oise.
• Battle Analysis of St. Mihiel--From 12-16 September, 1918, on the Western Front of France, one of the most significant battles of World War One was fought, the Battle of St. Mihiel.
• First World War, July-August 1918, around Soissons, France--This site contains many images of WW I around the area of Soissons, France.
• The Armistice Demands--The terms were set by the Allied powers for the Armistice.
• Conditions of an Armistice With Germany--Signed on the 11th day of November, 1918, at 5 o'clock A.M.
• The New York Times Reports the End of the War--WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY IN FRANCE, Nov. 11--They stopped fighting at 11 o'clock this morning. In a twinkling, four years of killing and massacre stopped as if God had swept His omnipotent finger across the scene of world carnage and had cried "Enough." (This is why the U.S. celebrates Veteran's Day on November 11.)

Ruins of Cantigny

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1919

• The Versailles Treaty--The Complete Treaty with all 440 Articles in a single 498k file.
• Buddy Poppy--By wearing a Buddy Poppy, you honor the American men and women who served to make our country free, sometimes at the cost of their own lives!
• Public Record Office | About | World War I Service Records--Since 1996, the Public Record Office has been opening the surviving service records of the men and women who served in the British armed forces during the First World War.

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In Flanders Fields by Major John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below

We are the dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

This page was prepared for the students at Elkton Middle School, Elkton, Virginia, by Pam Robinson so that the Torch will continue to be held high, and all those that made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom will not have done so in vain.

Please share your thoughts on this page with me that together we can work for improvement.

Disclaimer: If you believe that there is a copyright violation on this page, please let me know ASAP. I will immediately take care of it.

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