11 Facts About the End of the Great War

I have a special fascination with World War One, a fascination that intensified when my father told me that his dad served in the Marines in 1917-1918. (My other grandfather and my wife’s grandfathers served in World War II, but my dad’s dad was in the first war.) My grandpa had trained as a sniper, but was never sent to France and was discharged after the armistice. The following are 11 fascinating facts concerning the people and events of the finale of the most destructive and bloody war in human history (until World War II, of course), which ended at 11 a.m. on 11/11/1918.

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Journey to Armistice

Once they crossed the lines on Nov. 8, the German delegates were not driven directly to the railway car where the armistice talks were to be held. Rather, the French gave them a 10-hour “scenic tour” that showed incredible damage to the French countryside after four years of war. The delegates were then ushered into a rail car in the forest of Compiegne to begin the talks that lasted three days. After being informed that Kaiser Wilhelm II had abdicated on Nov. 10, the German delegates received an un-coded message from general-in-chief Hindenburg to accept whatever terms they could get — and quickly — because of rioting and increasing unrest at home. The picture shows just a small portion of the devastation in northern France.

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Rare Visual Record

The Germans and Allies signed the armistice just after 5 a.m. Paris time. Only one photograph seems to exist of the actual signing, unlike, say, the surrender of France in 1940 or the surrender of Japan in 1945. The photo above appears to have been shot through a window; I think that’s Matthias Erzberger, the chief German negotiator, at far right. This other photo shows the Allied representatives shortly after the signing; Marshal Foch stands second from right.

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Armistice Rail Carriage and Site

The rail carriage (car) and armistice spot later became a national monument. Almost 22 years later, in June 1940, Hitler made the French surrender in that very rail car. Before the Allies liberated France in 1944, Hitler ordered the monument dynamited and the following year ordered the carriage itself destroyed, to prevent a possible second German armistice or surrender from being signed in that same car. Here’s how the site looks today: http://pierreswesternfront.punt.nl/?r=1&id=435051

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Six More Hours

The armistice was signed just after 5 a.m. (Paris time) the morning of Nov. 11. The fighting was to officially end at 11 a.m. The German delegation had requested an immediate cease-fire, but the Allies set a six-hour deadline so that all commanders could get the word. When they heard the news, some commanders had their men stand down. Why fight for piece of ground that you could simply walk over a few hours later? But others continued to attack — especially some American commanders — who saw chances for “glory” or promotion slipping away, or because they thought the Germans needed to be flat-out beaten. Several thousand men on both sides were killed or wounded in the final six hours of the war. For example, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission recorded 863 British and Commonwealth deaths on Nov. 11. The picture shows German troops under attack in the final weeks of the war.

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Future American President

One American artillery captain kept his battery firing at the Germans until just minutes before 11 a.m., because he believed the armistice was premature and the Germans needed to be truly beaten, not just defeated. His name? Capt. Harry S. Truman. Some historians draw a straight line from Truman’s actions on 11/11/1918 and his decision to use the atomic bombs.

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Beginning and Ending at Mons

In a freak coincidence, the British Army started and ended the war at Mons. Some of the first British soldiers killed in the Great War died at Mons in August 1914, when the five divisions of the BEF fought their first battle. More than four years later, the British returned to Mons, and some of the very last Commonwealth soldiers killed in the Great War died there on November 11, 1918. Scroll down this page of the St. Symphorien Military Cemetery at Mons, which has the graves of the first and last British soldiers killed at Mons.

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No End for the Wounded

Many men wounded on November 11 succumbed to injuries after the 11th hour. Many more endured years of pain and suffering over physical wounds that couldn’t quite heal right or could never be healed. One of the most horrifying, a Commonwealth soldier named Thomas, was gravely wounded on Nov. 6, just before negotiations started, and was still alive AND conscious when the armistice took effect. Whatever hit him in the face literally tore away the lower parts of his face — nose, mouth, jaw. Amazingly, he survived. After years of surgical reconstruction, Thomas finally had something approaching a normal looking face in August 1922.

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Negotiator Assassinated

Matthias Erzberger, Germany’s lead negotiator at the Armistice, initially supported the war until 1917. By then, the static and incredibly bloody lines in France convinced him that Germany should negotiate a peace. Prince Max Von Baden picked Erzberger to lead the negotiations because Erzberger was a civilian and known opponent of the war. After the fighting ended, Erzberger joined the newly formed government and endorsed the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, which many hard-core Germans held in contempt. For his role in the “stab in the back” (see #2), Erzberger was forced from office in 1920 and murdered in 1921.

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The Last Men Killed

Historians generally (but not totally) list a German soldier by the name of Lt. Tomas with being the final German casualty. He was killed after the 11th hour by an American unit that apparently hadn’t received word of the cease-fire. The final German killed before the 11th hour is not known. According to generally accepted records, the last British, Canadian, French and American men killed were the following: British soldier George Edwin Ellison died around 9:30 a.m. while scouting around Mons. French soldier Augustin Trébuchon was killed at 10:45 a.m. while spreading the news that they would get hot soup after the 11th hour. Canadian soldier George Lawrence Price died two minutes before the 11th hour, just north of Mons.

The last man believed killed in the Great War was American soldier Henry Gunther, 60 seconds before the 11th hour. German soldiers were shouting and waving at Gunther and the others to go back. The photo above is of Gunther.

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The “stab in the back”

Most accounts of the end of World War I and the origins of World War II contain some discussion of the “stab in the back,” the claim that the German army had not been defeated but was betrayed by the civilian leadership. This wasn’t merely a Nazi propaganda line, either – many Germans heading home from France, Belgium, Romania, Italy, Russia, etc. really did believe it. Never mind the facts. The military leaders had told the Kaiser that the army and navy would no longer support him; naval mutineers had refused to fight any more; the army high command had sought the armistice before Allied armies hit German soil; and the home front was literally starving and rioting. Nevertheless, the legend of the “stab in the back” became darn near holy writ. So, while the Nazis didn’t create the “stab in the back” legend, they certainly exploited it to devastating effect.

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Prophetic Predictions

Both AEF commander Gen. Pershing and Allied supreme commander Foch of France were unhappy with the nature of the armistice and subsequent Versailles peace treaty. Pershing believed that it was a grave mistake to let the Germans simply lay down their arms without actually being beaten. (They were defeated, yes, but not beaten.) He correctly predicted that because they did not make the Germans beg for peace on their knees inside a ruined Germany, the Allies would soon be fighting them again. Foch was even more prescient. Upon reading the Versailles treaty in 1919, Foch was heard exclaiming, “This isn’t a peace. It’s a cease-fire for 20 years!” Twenty years and two months later, England and France declared war on Germany.

Top 10 Fascinating Wine Facts

Newcomers to the world of wine ought to at least know the answers to some of the most basic questions about the liquid that has been immortalized by writers from Aristophanes to Ernest Hemingway. Here are 10 facts that every wine lover ought to know:

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A Brief History

Wine was discovered about 6,000 years ago in either Mesopotamia, Palestine/Israel or what is now called Georgia. It originally fermented by accident when native yeasts stuck to grapes stored in containers turned sugars in the grapes into alcohol. The ancient Egyptians refined the sciences of both grape-growing and winemaking, to the point of including wine in burial crypts for consumption in the afterlife. The Greeks spread winemaking throughout the Mediterranean and the Romans turned it into a big business. Spanish exploration of the New World brought winemaking to the Americas, and other Europeans took it to Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Winemaking, from all indications, also was practiced by the ancient Chinese, though its discovery in Chinese history is vague.

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How Wine is Made

Single-celled organisms called yeast convert the sugar in grapes into alcohol and carbon dioxide, and also release heat in the process. The process has been refined over thousands of years with the cross-breeding of grapes and discoveries about how climate affects them, as well as through discoveries about aging, yeast and storage, But the basic principles remain the same.

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Fermentation

The process of primary fermentation, left uncontrolled, can happen very rapidly, especially in red wines. Winemakers typically want to slow down the process, to allow more flavors and, in the case of red wines, colors to be extracted. The typical red wine fermentation lasts less than a week. Whites are fermented longer, sometimes over a span of several weeks, to bring out more flavors and aromas.

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Where Wine is Made

Wine is made on every continent except Antarctica, but its historic home is in Europe, especially France, Italy and Spain. Despite demographic changes through the years, those three countries still lead the world in wine production. Most of the major modern research about wines began in those countries, with the first academic center devoted to the study of wine in France.

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Wine Colors

Almost all wine grapes produce clear juice. Red wines get their color from the skins, which are included in the mix when a red wine is fermented. White wines usually are fermented only from juice, so they are much lighter in color. Pink wines typically are made from starting a fermentation with red wine juice and skins, then removing the partially fermented wines from the skins after a short period.

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Flavors and Smells

Wines get their basic sensory characteristics from the grapes; a wine’s “aroma” is the product of the grapes that were used to make it. But other factors can influence and enhance the sensory experience, including the area where the grapes were grown, ripeness levels, yeast, fermentation temperatures, storage conditions, the use of barrels or other wood, and even the time and conditions when a wine is in a bottle.

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Proper Storage

Wines that have corks in them should always be stored in such a way that he cork stays moist — on their sides or upside down. A dry cork can let wine leak out or air leak in. All wines also should be kept in moderate temperatures and somewhere where there is little variation in that temperature. Large fluctuations in can affect the cork, as well as wine sealed in other ways. Wines also should be kept away from sources of vibration and chemical contamination.

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Bottles

Traditionally, wine is sold in a bottle that reflects the origins of the grapes that made the wine. The bottles with high shoulders and long, slender necks are for wines that originated in the Bordeaux region of France, and they include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec. Bottles with the longer, sloping shoulders are for wines that originated the Burgundy region of France. They include Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The name for the very tall and slender Hock bottle comes from a British term for the region of Germany and France where they originated. They also are known as Alsatian or German bottles, and the wines in them typically are made from Riesling or Gewurztraminer. In most places, there are no laws to regulate which bottles are used for which wines. But the wine business can be very traditional, so many wineries stick to the bottle guidelines.

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Temperature

The temperature at which a wine is served is critical to its flavors and aromas. In general, the lighter-bodied a wine is, the colder it should be served. The cooler a wine, the more apparent its acidity will be, and acidity is a major component of a white wine’s character. Red wines are much more complex chemically, so they are served at a temperature where the acidity still can be sensed, but only as a balancing component. “Room temperature” for a red wine means 65-70 degrees, and whites should be served at 45-50 degrees, depending on their weight.

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Labels

Outside of Europe, if a label says the name of a grape, then that grape made up a large percentage of what is in the bottle. (The percentage varies from one country to the next.) A traditional European wine label identifies the region where the wine was made, although more and more of the European wines made for export are now labeled with the name of the grape. The year on a label indicates the year the large percentage of the grapes were picked.

10 Fascinating Facts About Western History

The vast majority of people would agree that our modern civilization is based mainly on ancient western civilizations. Every modern government has some connection to the legacy left by the Ancient Greeks and Romans, either in terms of organization or ideology. The legacy of the Renaissance and the French Revolution’s ideas are still prominent and influencing our everyday life. The British Empire had a massive impact on the modern world, hence billions of people today are speaking English around the world. Western technology and science changed the shape and course of the world for good.

However, most of the significant and influential facts regarding the Western History and Civilizationare widely known. They have been acknowledged again and again, so there’s not much to be added. The sole purpose of this list is to introduce the readers to little known stories (with no massive impact on the world), which is the reason why there is no chronological order and connection between the facts on the following entries. So let’s have some fun and why not learn something new.

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Medieval Stairs

Fact: Medieval spiral staircases went clockwise for a reason

Spiral stairs in medieval times were generally made of stone and wound in a clockwise to place attacking swordsmen who were most often right-handed at a disadvantage. The asymmetry, usually forced the right-handed swordsman to engage the central pike and degrade his mobility compared with the defender who is facing down the stairs.

Extant 14th to 17th century examples of these stairways can be seen at Crathes Castle and Myres Castle in Scotland. Exceptions to the rule always exist though, and one of these can be seen in Scala of the Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo, which winds up counter-clockwise.

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Wrestling Lincoln

Fact: Abraham Lincoln was a marvelous wrestler

Abraham Lincoln is one of the most famous Presidents in the history of United States, because of his strong and direct involvement in the abolishment of slavery in the country. However, despite his notoriety and all of the references in popular culture to him, there are some things you haven’t heard about Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln, as a young man, was an incredible wrestler due to his strength and the length of his limbs. Allegedly, Lincoln only lost one out of the 300 matches he had fought during his wrestlingcareer. His immaculate wrestling abilities earned him an “Outstanding American” award, and he was inducted into the Wrestling Hall of Fame.

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Bountiful Beer

Fact: Beer was more than just a drink for Europeans

During the Middle Ages, beer was as much a daily necessity as a source of inebriation and amusement. It would also be used as medicine in several cases. It could be flavored with everything from the bark of fir trees to thyme and fresh eggs, and was consumed by men, women, and even children. It was the beverage of choice of urban populations that lacked access to secure sources of potable water—a commodity of economic, as well as social importance. Beer was also a safe drink for daily consumption that was vastly cheaper than wine and of course a major source of tax revenue for the state.

During the Renaissance, beer was even safer to drink than water because the beer’s fermentation process cooked the bacteria that caused diseases such as cholera and dysentery. Modern beer, however, even though’s still very popular in all over the Western world, has little in common with the drink that carried that name through the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

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Bare Knuckled Boxing

Fact: The last bare knuckled boxing fight in history lasted 75 rounds

Under bare knuckle boxing rules, a round of fighting lasted until a fighter was knocked down or thrown down; wrestling techniques were also permitted. John L. Sullivan, also known as the Boston Strong Boy, is generally recognized as the last heavyweight champion of bare-knuckle boxing. He was also the first American athlete to earn over one million dollars.

What many people don’t know is that John was the victor of the last bare knuckle boxing fight in history against Jake Kilrain, on July 7th of 1889. “The boxing match of the century” as they later called it, is still considered one of the most significant fights in the history of the sport.

Just to get an idea of how competitive and brutal the fight was, according to official sources who attended the event, in the 35th round, Kilrain had a broken nose, split lips, and one eye swollen shut. Sullivan had a black eye, his left ear was bleeding, and both hands were swollen twice the normal size. The fight wasn’t even half over. Kilrain consumed a quart of whiskey during the fight, while Sullivan was drinking tea.

In the 75th round and after 40 more bloody rounds, a doctor said to Kilrain’s trainer that if he kept sending his boxer out there, he would see him die inside the ring. That was enough. They tossed in the sponge, the fight was over and a whole era of blood, sweat, broken ribs and teeth, faded away for ever.

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Cold Cream Origins

Fact: A young Greek gladiator invented cold cream.

Galen of Pergamon—the man—was an Ancient Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher, who has been very well known through history for his incredible contributions in various fields of science and medicine such as anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, and neurology. Galen of Pergamon—the boy—invented cold cream as a young budding gladiator who was growing and living in Roman Greece. Galen was fascinated by gladiators as a youngster and he started practicing at gladiator school in Pergamon. To soothe tired sword arms, he mixed olive oil, beeswax, and rose petals. The resulting glop’s water content evaporated on the skin, leaving a cool, soothing feeling. Galen called it ceratum humidum. We now call it cold cream. Fortunately for the mankind, Galen chose the world of science after getting older, instead of becoming a gladiator.

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Racist Mobster

Fact: An Italian-American mobster died from being racist

Gregory Scarpa, Sr. was an enforcer for the Colombo crime family, specifically for the boss Carmine Persico. He was responsible for at least three murders in 1991. In addition to being a murderer, Scarpa was also racist. He despised African Americans. In fact, in 1986, he underwent emergency ulcer surgery at Victory Memorial Hospital in Brooklyn. He refused blood donations from the local blood bank because he feared that the blood may have been donated by African Americans.

Instead, he took blood donations from several family members and associates. One associate was mobster Paul Mele, who was a body builder and steroid user. Mele had contracted HIV from a dirty needle and ended up passing it on to Scarpa. It eventually progressed into AIDS which caused the death of the mobster.

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JFK Cigars

Fact: JFK loved Cuban cigars a little too much

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed the trade embargo against Cuba. This shut down trade between the US and Cuba because of Cuba’s repressive form of government. It is still in effect today. However, Kennedy didn’t sign it before he was able to secure some Cuban goods of his own.

The night before Kennedy signed the trade embargo, he asked his head of press, Pierre Salinger, to secure 1,200 Cuban cigars for him. Salinger was successful, and Kennedy got his cigars before the embargo went into effect.

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Nazi Fanta

Fact: Nazis invented Fanta soft drinks

No matter how unbelievable this fact might sound to some, Fanta was invented by Nazis in Germany back in 1941. It was very difficult for the Nazis to import Coca-Cola syrup into Germany during World War II due to trade embargos. So, the head of Coca-Cola Deutschland, Max Keith, decided to make a new product for the German market.

He used ingredients available already in Germany at the time, including whey and pomace. During a brainstorm on what to name the beverage, Keith said “use your imagination” or “fantasie” in German. Salesman Joe Knipp yelled out “Fanta!” And this is how Fanta was born. Today you can find over 100 flavors of Fanta worldwide.

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Italians and Greeks

Fact: Southern Italians are descendants of Ancient Greeks

Most historians acknowledge that there is an undeniable influence of the Ancient Greek culture and civilization in most aspects of Roman history. According to some modern archaeologists, geneticists and anthropologists though, it seems like there’s more than just a simple cultural link between the two nations.

Magna Graecia, or Greater Greece is the name given to many parts of southern Italy, colonized by the Ancient Greeks almost 3,000 years ago. Obviously, the internal migrations of modern Europe are nothing new. For the ancient Greeks, southern Italy was their America.

Long before the Roman Empire flourished, Ancient Greeks sailed west in search of new lands. They settled around the hospitable coastline of Calabria and Sicily, dominating local tribes, building huge temples to their gods and founding Greek-speaking colonies. Naples alone was a town founded by the Greeks and the name of the city deprives from the Greek Nea Polis, which means New City; within the city they spoke Greek until the 9th century AD.

The Greek cities were later destroyed by the Romans, but the DNA connection remained. Even today, the presence of the Greek element is pretty obvious in many parts of Southern Italy. Many Southern Italian dialects use a lot of Greek words, while the influence can be found in music and cuisine, with a major example being the Italian food parmigiana, which is very similar to the Greek moussaka.

As previously mentioned, only very recently have archaeologists been able to reconstruct the history connection between two of the greatest ancient nations of the western civilization, but the puzzle is still missing many pieces, which hopefully will come to light in the near future.

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Drunk Founding Fathers

Fact: The founding fathers of the US loved to drink.

While in France, Jefferson spent a great deal of time in the vineyards of Burgundy. John Adams is said to have drunk cider for breakfast every day to the day he died. In 1787, two days before they signed off on the Constitution, the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention partied at a tavern. According to the bill preserved from the evening, they drank 54 bottles of Madeira, 60 bottles of claret, eight of whiskey, 22 of porter, eight of hard cider, 12 of beer and seven bowls of alcoholic punch.

In their defense, we must mention that getting drunk and not losing control was socially acceptable and perfectly normal back in those times. Of course that would slowly change and become less acceptable, until the US had alcohol prohibition in the early 20th century.