Incredible Facts About the Great War 

You undoubtedly know the basics of this monumental event, but some lesser-known facts can still surprise after all this time. From a pack of wolves postponing battle to unofficial Christmas ceasefires, here are some things you may or may not have learned before. 

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1. Children Fought in the War

With so many eager people racing to sign up, plenty of young boys slipped through the cracks. Though the legal age to serve was 18, that didn’t stop youngsters like Sidney Lewis from signing up and fighting in the Battle of the Somme. He was only twelve—the youngest authenticated British soldier. 

Photo by Captain Frank Hurley. on Wikimedia

2. German Was Abolished

Americans took great strides to weaken any perceived German influence, leading to several significant changes. Hamburgers, for example, were called “liberty sandwiches,” some Americans stopped listening to German music, and schools eventually stopped teaching the language. 

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3. Famous Authors Served

Given the scale of WWI, it’s no surprise that famous names enlisted. Among them were Ernest Hemingway, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien. Famous poet E.E. Cummings and A.A. Milne, the author of Winnie the Pooh, also served. 

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4. The Elephant Lizzie

When you think of WWI animals, your mind likely drifts to carrier pigeons and messenger dogs, but Britain enlisted the help of a rather unconventional animal. They recruited Lizzie, a circus elephant, to help with heavy lifting such as carrying munitions and scrap metal. 

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5. Hitler Received the Iron Cross

It’s a name associated with WWII, but Adolf Hitler served a rather important role in WWI. Though it seems odd to conceive of now, he was actually regarded as a rather brave dispatch runner and even earned the Iron Cross twice—shortly before his irredeemable reign. 

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6. Tanks Had Genders

Yes, that’s right. Male and female tanks were classified by the artillery they carried. Male tanks often carried machine guns and two six-pounder guns while female tanks only had machine guns.  

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7. Dr. Dolittle Was Created in the Trenches

Remember how we talked about famous authors and poets? Well, famous stories also came out of WWI, namely Hugh Lofting’s creation of Dr. Dolittle. He actually created the story and illustrations in the trenches, penned in letters to his children.  

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8. Disease Claimed a Third of Lives

We all know the battlefield claimed millions of lives, but violence wasn’t the only perpetrator. Everything from malaria and typhoid to mumps and venereal disease took nearly two million lives. It also didn’t help that the Spanish Flu reared its head shortly before the war’s end. 

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9. Munitionette Football

With so many men enlisted, women soon joined the workforce to make up for all the shortages. Many of them produced munitions, earning them the nickname “munitionettes,” and an interesting role in sports—after the Football League suspended games during the war, munitionettes started to play during their lunch breaks and formed teams of their own. 

British official photographer on Wikimedia

10. A Hungry Pack of Wolves

You wouldn’t think opposing sides would band together, but a hungry pack of wolves is more than enough to encourage a truce. After a large pack targeted livestock and children alike, German and Russian forces called a temporary ceasefire to hunt the animals together—before they resumed their own battles. 

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While you may not have known those last facts, these next ten are ones everyone should know by now. 

1. WWI Lasted Four Gruelling Years

Once Gavrilo Princip took the lives of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, tensions quickly rose across Europe. It’s widely considered the catalyst event for WWI, a grueling war that lasted between 1914 and 1918.

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2. The War Was Global

The Great War was a largely global event with 30 nations joining the fight. Serbia, Russia, Britain, and France made up the majority of the Allies, banding together to fight the Central Powers, which mainly consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey. However, troops from Japan, Italy, and America were also present. 

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3. Women Took Up Jobs

As mentioned, women joined the workforce to make up for all the massive shortages. They did everything from truck driving and munitions production to translators and railway workers. 

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4. Animals Played an Important Role

Outside of Britain’s circus animals, everyday friends like dogs, pigeons, and horses also valiantly served during WWI. Pigeons carried messages, dogs ran messages and carried supplies, and horses were used for cavalry and supply transportation. 

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5. New Weapons Were Invented

With so many nations at odds, everyone was in a mad dash to better their weaponry. WWI caused all kinds of innovations in guns and grenades but new, devastating items were also invented—flamethrowers, poison, and tanks. 

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6. An Unofficial Christmas Truce

Just five months after everything started, unofficial truces occurred throughout the Western Front. It’s estimated that roughly 100,000 British and German troops ceased fire on Christmas, a truce that allowed for caroling, mass burials, and even gift exchanges between sides. 

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7. Trenches Were Rife With Disease

As you can imagine, muddy trenches packed with soldiers were hardly a sanitary place. All sorts of devastating problems wreaked havoc throughout including trench foot, PTSD (known as “shell shock” at the time), and trench warfare. 

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8.  The 11th Hour

In 1918, the Allies and Germany signed an armistice that effectively ended the war. Its impact took place “on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month,” originally marking it Armistice Day and eventually Remembrance Day.

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9. Soldiers Were “Shell-Shocked”

Before the recognition of PTSD, soldiers were diagnosed with “shell shock” on account of their experienced horrors. Soldiers experienced headaches, dizziness, and aversions to loud noises, though their condition remained poorly understood. Treatments ranged from behavioral therapy all the way to shock therapy. 

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10. Millions of People Lost Their Lives

Reports vary on just how many lives were lost during WWI. However, most scholars agree that the total combined number of military and civilian casualties ranges from 20 to upwards of 30 million people.

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