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The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the event that would eventually trigger World War I. The assassin was Garvio Princip, who was a part of a group called the Black Hand. They had previously attempted to assassinate him earlier that morning with a bomb. Later that day, the driver had taken a turn, and Princip was there with a gun and shot the Archduke and his wife. Austria-Hungary had blamed Serbia for the assassination, which eventually led to the start of World War I. -
WWI began on July 28, 1914, after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. This followed shortly after the assassination of the Archduke of Austria-Hungary. Things quickly started to escalate with the following days containing mobilization, alliances being made, and invasion. -
Arnold Hokes initially served in the Iowa National Guard during the war. For the first three years of the war, he served in the U.S. as part of the National Guard. After 1917, he would join the army and get into the trench warfare of World War I.
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The Battle of Somme was one of the most deadly battles in history, with over 1 million casualties. The battle lasted nearly 5 months and was between the allied forces of Britain and France versus the German Empire. The battle was trench warfare along the Somme River in France. The battle was a victory for the Allies due to them being able to weaken the German armies and being able to inflict heavy damage on German lines.
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The U.S. officially joined the war in 1917 when Congress declared war on Germany. This came after Woodrow Wilson requested Congress for a declaration of war against Germany. The U.S. supplied ample troops, supplies, and funding to allies. The U.S. ended up sending over 1 million troops over to Europe as part of the American Expeditionary Forces. -
During a battle in France, he lost his brother in the middle of the warfare. He said that it was a rough time, and he was looking for his brother, seeing how his brother had had many close calls in the past. He goes into detail about how difficult it was having family in the same business of war and the hardships of it.
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The fighting of World War I ended on November 11, 1918. The Treaty of Versailles, which officially ended the war, was signed on Jun 28, 1919. By the end of the war, there were around 40 million casualties, made up of both military and civilian. With the end of the war came some heavy restrictions on Germany as part of the treaty. Following the war would come 20 years of politics, the roaring 20s, the Great Depression, and then WWII. -
On December 14, 1922, Arnold Stephen Hokes became a second lieutenant of the army. This came shortly after World War I. This would be his final year of military service before retiring and going on with his family.