Great World War

By Andy Seamans

By Dawn Seamans-Shook

May 25, 2012 4 min read

1. World War I was the ultimate outgrowth of a chain reaction starting with an assassination that took place in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. Who was the victim of that assassination?

2. What country was the first to declare war in the sequence of events leading to World War I?

3. The Triple Entente was formed in the days preceding World War I to counter the Triple Alliance. Can you name the nations that constituted each of these?

4. In his autobiography, WWI flying ace, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, credited a member of the Lafayette Escadrille as being "the greatest pilot of them all, The American Ace of Aces." To whom was he referring?

5. Another flying ace in that unit, James Hall, co-authored a classic novel that was based on an historic event. Can you name the book co-authored by Hall and Charles Nordhoff?

6. One of the earliest examples of terrorists sending bombs through the mail occurred during WWI. A radical labor group "The Industrial Workers of the World," which was opposed to the U.S. entry into the war, was suspected of mailing bombs to 18 Americans they viewed as being anti-union. By what other name was this group known?

7. Those early mail bombs all failed for the same reason. Can you cite the reason for their fortunate failure?

8. Turkey was among the nations fighting on the German side against the Allied forces in WWI. Can you name the man who became famous in the postwar era for stirring Arab forces against the Turks?

9. One of the most infamous tragedies in World War I was the sinking of the Lusitania. What was the national origin of the liner?

10. As a follow up to the preceding question, how many people were killed when the Lusitania was sunk?

 

Answers

1. Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir apparent to the throne of Austria-Hungary, who was murdered along with his wife on June 28, 1914.

2. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.

3. In 1907, France, Great Britain and Russia formed the Triple Entente to counter the threat of the Triple Alliance comprised of Austria-Hungary, Germany and Italy, which dated to 1882.

4. Rickenbacker's model was the third-ranking American air ace, Raoul Lufbery of the famed Lafayette Escadrille.

5. The WWI flying ace co-authored "Mutiny on the Bounty."

6. The WWI members were known as the Wobblies.

7. The packages did not carry sufficient postage.

8. Thomas E. Lawrence organized the Arabs in a revolt against the Turks in WWI. He is also known as Lawrence of Arabia.

9. The Lusitania, sunk by a German sub off the Irish coast on May 7, 1915, was flying a British flag.

10. The sinking of the Lusitania resulted in 1,195 deaths, 128 of which were American.

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