How Can a Pigeon Be a War Hero? And Other Very Important Questions and Answers About the First World War: Published in Association with Imperial War Museums

By Tracey Turner

Why did the First World War start? Who was fighting who? Did soldiers still fight with swords? Had aeroplanes been invented yet? What was it like to be inside the first tank sent to war? How could a shaving brush help you escape being captured? Did animals fight in the war? How can a pigeon be a war hero? What was the Women's Land Army? Why did it go on so long? How did it end?

Find out the answers to these and lots of other exciting questions in How Can a Pigeon Be a War Hero? And Other Very Important Questions and Answers About the First World War. Published in association with the Imperial War Museum, Tracey Turner's brilliantly informative book will tell you everything you ever needed to know about World War I.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Release date: May 8, 2014
• ISBN: 9781447259909

Tracey Turner

Tracey Turner lives in Bath and is the author of many non-fiction books for children, including The Comic Strip History of the World (and further Comic Strip titles), 101 Things You Need To Know (And Some You Don't), and the Hard Nuts of History series.

Book preview

Thanks to Kira Andrews for her enthusiastic research for this book

Contents

The First World War 1914–1918

How did the First World War start?

The main countries involved were . . .

So what happened exactly?

Which countries fought in the war (and where did all the soldiers come from)?

What about countries from outside of Europe?

Why did Russia leave the War?

What happened in the Russian Revolution?

Why did America join the war?

What do you mean, underneath the Atlantic?

How many people fought in the war?

Did women fight in the war?

So there weren’t any British female solders?

Did any children fight?

Were people forced to fight?

If you volunteered for the army, could you stay with your mates?

Why were some men given white feathers?

Who was in charge of the armies?

So governments and monarchs were in charge, not army commanders?

A Big Unhappy Family Tree

What were the different uniforms like?

Where did the fighting happen?

The Different Fronts

What was the Arab Revolt?

What happened to the ordinary people who lived near the Western Front?

What happened at Gallipoli?

Were there any sea battles?

What were the trenches?

What was it like living in the trenches?

What was no-man’s-land?

Did soldiers really play football in no-man’s-land at Christmas?

What did soldiers do when they weren’t fighting?

Were there toilets in the trenches?

Did the officers in charge have to use the toilet pits too?

What did soldiers eat?

That doesn’t sound very healthy! What about vegetables?

Could soldiers keep in touch with their families?

How did soldiers communicate with one another when they were far apart?

Did soldiers get holidays?

Who were the war artists and war poets?

Why were horses used in the war?

What other animals were involved in the war?

Did soldiers like having animals around?

How can a pigeon be a war hero?

What happened to Cher Ami at the Battle of the Argonne?

What weapons did soldiers use?

That sounds scary. How big were the shells?

What other weapons did soldiers in the trenches use?

Why did soldiers still fight with swords?

So did the cavalry ever ride across no-man’s-land?

What was mustard gas?

What was a Zeppelin?

Were bombs dropped from planes?

Was it dangerous to be a pilot?

What was an air ace?

Were there tanks in the First World War?

How many people did it take to drive a tank?

What did ‘going over the top’ mean?

What was it like inside the first tanks sent to war?

Why were soldiers sent ‘over the top’?

Which was the bloodiest battle of the war?

Apart from the Somme, which were the other most deadly battles?

What happened to prisoners of war?

What were prison camps like?

How many people died in the war altogether?

How many of them died in battle?

How many soldiers were wounded?

What was shell shock?

What do we call shell shock today?

Where were the hospitals for the wounded?

What was it like in the hospitals?

Did wounded soldiers ever get sent home?

What was the Home Front?

What was it like in Britain and Germany while the fighting was going on?

Did rationing work?

Were there blackouts during the First World War?

What else changed at home?

What other rules did DORA put in place?

What were Dead Man’s Pennies?

Who were ‘enemy aliens’?

How did people at home find out what was happening in the war?

What was the Women’s Land Army?

How did the war change women’s lives?

What else did the war change for women?

What did spies do in the war?

How many spies were caught in Britain?

Who won the war?

What happened next?

What happened when the soldiers came home?

What was life like for soldiers after the war?

How did the war change the world?

Why do we remember it now?

What effects of the war can I see every day?

How do I find out more?

Glossary

Alphabetical index of main topics

Acknowledgements

Picture credits

Why Would a Dog Need a Parachute?

Author biography

Also in this series

How did the First World War start?

Maybe you’ve heard answers to this question that start with an assassinated archduke, then Austria-Hungary and Imperial Germany and a Black Hand get involved, and after that things become more complicated and confusing until you end up wishing you’d never asked. It is a bit complicated. So take a deep breath, because we’re about to become involved in empires, alliances and a struggle for world power.

By the beginning of the First World War, the powerful countries of Europe had been spoiling for a fight for some time, until one event started a chain reaction that led to war. But if that event hadn’t happened, the strong likelihood is that something else would have started the war before very long anyway.

The main countries involved were . . .

So what happened exactly?

In June 1914, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was killed by a Bosnian Serb youth who had been armed by an organisation called the Black Hand. This was the first step on the road to the First World War . . .

This photo of Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife was taken in Sarajevo in 1914, moments before they were assassinated.

•  Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia . . .

•  Russia stuck up for Serbia, which caused Germany, Austria-Hungary’s ally, to