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July Crisis
On Sunday, 28 June 1914 around 10:45, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo. The assassination was intended to free Bosnia and Herzegovina from Austro-Hungarian rule. The assassination was also intended to establish a common South Slav state. The people who had plotted the assassination hoped that the assassination would provoke Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia. This assassination did spark the war. -
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World War l
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Deployment
Frank Buckles was extremely young yet very eager when reading about the War in the newspapers. On 4th of July, 1910, he went to the Tennessee Fair and found himself wandering off to the Marine Corps recruiting station. There was one officer present when he asked to enlist but was told he needed to be at least 21 years old. He was 16 years old when he lied to a different officer and went to army training. Frank's training would involve hands-on training like carrying recruiters on his shoulders. -
First battle of the Marne
The first battle of the Marne took place from September 5 - 12, 1914. This battle was a strategic victory which allowed the French to continue the war. The Germans were left in the muddy trenches which prevented them from eliminating the second front of World War l. The battle marked the end of the German sweep into France and led to the establishment of trench warfare. -
Snappy American Soldier
Frank Buckles described himself as a very snappy American Soldier. Usually on his walks he runs into officers and he must salute them but for the past week they have not returned the salute. That day on his walk he walked past them without saluting them. One of the officers called him over and asked him why he didn't salute him to which Frank replied back saying it was customary for an officer to return the salute. -
The Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun took place from February 21 to December 18, 1916. In the hills north of Verdun-sur-Meuse, in northeastern France. This battle lasted a total of 300 days making it the largest battle of World War l. The battle of Verdun resulted in an estimated 800,000 soldiers dead, wounded, or missing. The Germans planned to use artillery to destroy French units but neither side gained much territory. -
The battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was fought from May 31 to June 1, 1916. This battle was the largest naval battle of World War l which involved 150 ships and around 100,000 men. The battle was a victory for the British because the German naval force was prevented from controlling the seas. The German naval force was also trapped in the North Sea. -
The battle of Somme
The battle of Somme was a major battle in World War l. It took place from July 1 to November 18, 1916. The battle was fought on both sides of the upper Somme River in France by the British Empire and the French Third Republic. The primary weapons used in this battle include rifles, machine guns, grenades, and tanks. This battle is significant because it was the turning point in World War l. It showed devastation of casualties due to trench warfare and the growing strength of the British Army. -
Ambulance Service
Frank Buckle's group had been out-ranked by another group. The group that had out-ranked them had been shipped somewhere else while his group was put into an emergency hospital. He ended up driving multiple vehicles while on duty. He drove a motorcycle for a short amount of time then moved on to driving a car. If he wasn't driving while on duty he had to take in service calls. Frank Buckles served in the ambulance service. -
France Incident
Since his job was in France he had a few incidents happen to him. One incident happened during the night when it was extremely dark. He had three young friends and they all came up with a plan due to a thought of an invasion. They set up a time, location, and date to where they would all meet up. When they all met up they agreed to follow some troops but they were taken to a station to be shipped out. It took them 3 weeks to finally return to France. -
Carpathian Wreck
Frank Buckles was talking to Captain Aurthor when they received the message about the Carpathia Wreck on July 17, 1918. His operator had no specific hours. He was taking off his shoes when his receiver gave out an SOS emergency alert. He immediately ran to the Captain as he was told to tell them they were on their way and to give them their locations. When they arrived the ship had already sunk but they were able to find the boats floating in the pitch dark.