Welcome to History's Not Boring by kidopoly.com. I'm Mira. And I'm Finn. Before we start our time machine, we have some very special shout-outs. First, a huge shout-out to Thomas Stevens in Freeport, Maine. Thomas is in the fourth grade, is super interested in history, and asked us how World War One started.
SPEAKER_00That's right. Thomas loved our episode on how World War II started. This one's for you, Thomas.
SPEAKER_01We also want to say a huge hello to Comma and Emmett Hurley in Owen Sound, Ontario. This episode is for both of you too.
SPEAKER_00Yeah! And since we just passed the anniversary of the event that started the whole thing back in June, it's the absolute perfect time to answer Thomas' question.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. Today we're travelling back to 1914 to uncover how a single wrong turn in a car started the biggest war the world had ever seen up to that point.
SPEAKER_00Wait, a wrong turn? Like someone got lost and accidentally started a world war.
SPEAKER_01It sounds crazy, but yes. And the war that followed changed the planet forever. Finn, try to imagine a ditch dug into the mud, deep enough for a person to stand in.
SPEAKER_00Okay, I'm imagining a muddy ditch. Ew.
SPEAKER_01Now imagine that ditch stretching on and on. During this war, soldiers dug so many of these ditches, called trenches, that if you put them all in a single continuous line, they would stretch for 25,000 miles.
SPEAKER_0025,000 miles? That's enough to wrap all the way around the entire Earth.
SPEAKER_01Yep, or to stretch all the way across the United States about eight times. Today we're talking about the Great War, World War I. To understand how this massive war started, we have to travel back to the early 1900s. The year is 1914. What was the world like back then?
SPEAKER_00Were there cars and aeroplanes?
SPEAKER_01There were a few early cars, but people mostly used horses, carts, and trains. But Europe was completely different from today. It wasn't made up of lots of independent countries. It was ruled by five giant empires. Giant empires?
SPEAKER_00Like in movies?
SPEAKER_01Yes. There was the British, Russian, German, Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman empires. And they were massive. The British Empire alone controlled almost a quarter of the world's population. That was over 400 million people. Whoa, that is huge! And the Russian Empire was so big, it spanned 11 different time zones. But here's the problem: they were all super competitive. They were racing to build the biggest armies and the most powerful warships.
SPEAKER_00That sounds like a recipe for trouble.
SPEAKER_01It was. To protect themselves, these empires made complicated alliances. That means they signed strict treaties saying, if anyone attacks you, my army will help you fight them.
SPEAKER_00So if someone picked a fight with just one empire, they'd accidentally pull all their friends into the fight too. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01Europe was like a giant pile of dry firewood, just waiting for a spark. And that spark happened on Sunday, June 28, 1914, in a city called Sarajevo.
SPEAKER_00Where exactly is Sarajevo?
SPEAKER_01It's a beautiful city in a region called the Balkans. Back then, it was controlled by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. But many people there didn't want to be ruled by a foreign empire. They wanted their own independent country.
SPEAKER_00I can understand that. Nobody likes being bossed around by a king who lives far away.
SPEAKER_01One of those people was a young student named Gavrillo Princip. He belonged to a secret group that wanted freedom. How old was he? He was only 19 years old, and on that day in June, the VIP of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was visiting Sarajevo. His name was Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and he was next in line to be the Emperor.
SPEAKER_00Uh-oh. The VIP visiting a city where secret groups want to overthrow his empire. That sounds dangerous.
SPEAKER_01It was very dangerous. The Archduke and his wife Sophie were driving through the city in an open-top car. No roof, no bulletproof glass. What? Why would they do that? He wanted to show he wasn't afraid. The Archduke's motorcade was driving down the main street. Thousands of people were cheering. But in the crowd, Princip's secret group was waiting. Suddenly, one of his friends threw a bomb at the Archduke's car. Oh no! Did it hit them? It bounced right off the folded back roof of their car and exploded under the car behind them. It injured a bunch of officers and people in the crowd.
SPEAKER_00That was a close call. So I bet the Archduke got out of the city as fast as possible, right?
SPEAKER_01Actually, no. The Archduke gave a scheduled speech at the City Hall. Then he insisted on going to the hospital to visit the officers who were hurt by the bomb.
SPEAKER_00Wow, that's really brave. But isn't it super dangerous to stay there?
SPEAKER_01It was. They decided to take a completely new route to the hospital to stay safe. But there was a massive miscommunication. Someone forgot to tell their driver.
SPEAKER_00Wait, really? The driver didn't know the new safety plan?
SPEAKER_01Nope. At 10.45am, the driver turned right onto Franz Joseph Street, which was the old published route. An official yelled at him that he was going the wrong way and to stop and turn around. So he slammed on the brakes? Yes, and he put the car in reverse, but the heavy car stalled. The engine just died. And Finn, you'll never guess where the car stopped.
SPEAKER_00Where?
SPEAKER_01Where did it stop? It rolled to a stop less than five feet away from Gavrillo Princip, the 19-year-old who wanted to attack the Archduke.
SPEAKER_00No way!
SPEAKER_01He was just standing there on the sidewalk. What are the odds? Millions to one! Princip couldn't believe his eyes. He stepped forward on the sidewalk, pulled out a small pistol, and fired two shots.
SPEAKER_00Oh no.
SPEAKER_01Tragically, both Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were hit. They died shortly after. It was a terrible, shocking moment.
SPEAKER_00That's so sad. But wait, Mira, that was an attack by one teenager. You said this started a world war that killed millions. How did that happen?
SPEAKER_01Remember those complicated alliances we talked about? The giant pile of dry firewood.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Gavrilo Princip's two shots were the spark. Austria-Hungary was furious and blamed the country of Serbia because they believed the Serbian government helped the attackers. So, exactly one month later, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
SPEAKER_00And let me guess. Serbia had a giant friend?
SPEAKER_01Yes! The Russian Empire stood with Serbia and started getting its massive army of millions of men ready.
SPEAKER_00Which meant Austria-Hungary called their friend.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. The German Empire promised to back up Austria-Hungary, so Germany declared war on Russia. This is out of control. Did anyone else join in? Then France stepped in because they had a treaty with Russia. Germany decided to attack France by marching straight through a smaller country called Belgium. Did Belgium have friends too? They sure did. Great Britain had promised to protect Belgium, so when Germany marched through, Britain declared war on Germany.
SPEAKER_00Wow! Austria-Hungary, Serbia, Russia, Germany, France, and Britain. All at war in just five weeks. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01It was a terrifying chain reaction. When the soldiers marched off in August 1914, most of them thought it would be a quick adventure. They told their families they would be home by Christmas.
SPEAKER_00But they weren't, were they?
SPEAKER_01No. Instead of a quick war, both sides dug those 25,000 miles of trenches. They were stuck facing each other in the mud for four long years.
SPEAKER_00Ooh, four years in a muddy ditch. Did they have normal weapons at least?
SPEAKER_01This war saw the invention of terrifying new technology. It was the first time airplanes were used in combat on a massive scale. But they weren't metal jets, they were made of wood and canvas cloth. Wood and cloth? That sounds super fragile. It was. The war also saw the very first tanks. In 1916, the British invented a massive 28-tonne metal beast called the Mark I.
SPEAKER_0028 tonnes? That's as heavy as five elephants. How fast could it go?
SPEAKER_01Barely four miles per hour. That's about the speed of a person walking. But it could roll right over barbed wire and trenches.
SPEAKER_00That must have looked like a slow-moving metal monster.
SPEAKER_01It completely changed how battles were fought. Sadly, there were also terrible weapons like machine guns and poison gas. Soldiers on all sides showed incredible resilience just surviving the mud, the freezing cold, and the giant rats. How many people fought in this whole war? Around 65 million soldiers from all over the world were sent to fight. And the scale of loss is hard to even imagine. By the time the guns finally fell silent in November 1918, over 16 million people had lost their lives.
SPEAKER_0016 million. That's really, really sad, Mira.
SPEAKER_01It is deeply sad, Finn. That's why we learn about it and why we wear red poppy flowers today. To remember their courage and make sure we never forget the cost of that war. When World War I finally ended on November 11, 1918, the world was completely different.
SPEAKER_00How different? Did the kings and emperors go back to their castles?
SPEAKER_01No. The war caused four of those giant empires to completely collapse. The Russian, German, Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman empires all fell apart and ceased to exist.
SPEAKER_00Whoa! So the map of Europe must have looked totally different.
SPEAKER_01Exactly! Entirely new countries were created, and borders were completely redrawn. The war was so massive it became known as the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, because people hoped nothing that terrible would ever happen again.
SPEAKER_00History is super heavy sometimes. Do we have any lighter stories from the war?
SPEAKER_01We do. One incredible story of bravery involves the famous scientist Marie Curie. She realised wounded soldiers needed X-rays quickly.
SPEAKER_00X-rays? Like to look at broken bones?
SPEAKER_01Yes. So she invented mobile X-ray machines and put them in the back of trucks. They were nicknamed Little Curie's, and she drove them right to the front lines to help doctors save thousands of lives. That is amazing!
SPEAKER_00Marie Curie was a real-life superhero.
SPEAKER_01She was! And speaking of heroes, soldiers in the trenches adopted lots of stray animals. The most famous was a stray dog named Sergeant Stubby.
SPEAKER_00Wait, a dog got a real military rank?
SPEAKER_01He did! Sergeant Stubby was a little Boston terrier mix who learned to warn soldiers of incoming attacks before humans could even hear them. He even caught a German spy by biting his pants.
SPEAKER_00Good boy, Stubby. I love historical dogs. He totally deserved to be a sergeant.
SPEAKER_01Me too. And did you know armies used fake trees on the battlefield? Fake trees? Like in a school play? Kind of. Artists would secretly study a real dead tree out in no man's land. Then they'd build a hollow steel replica of it back at camp. In the dead of night, they'd swap the real tree for the fake metal one. Why would they go through all that trouble? So a soldier could climb inside the hollow metal tree and spy on the other side through a tiny peephole.
SPEAKER_00That is the ultimate game of hide and seek. I'd be so scared the enemy would notice the tree look different.
SPEAKER_01It was extremely risky, but it shows how creative people had to be. Alright, Finn, I think it's time to see how much you learned today. Alright, Finn, time for the quiz! Are you ready?
SPEAKER_00Okay, I'm ready.
SPEAKER_01Hit me with the history. First question. In what city did the fateful car ride in assassination take place? Next one. The assassin Gavrilo Princip was how old when he fired those shots? Question three. If you put all the trenches dug during the war in a single line, roughly how many miles would they stretch? Here's number four. What kind of giant animals lived in the trenches? Last question. How many giant empires collapsed because of World War I? Great job! Let's see how you did. The first answer is, it happened in the city of Sarajevo. For question two, Gavrilo Princip was only 19 years old. Number three, the answer is, soldiers dug an incredible 25,000 miles of trenches. Question 4. The trenches were filled with giant rats. And the final answer is four giant empires collapsed after the war. I got most of those right.
SPEAKER_00But wow, Mira, I can't believe how one stalled car engine literally changed the entire world.
SPEAKER_01It's one of the most incredible what-if moments in all of history. If that car hadn't stalled right in front of that teenager, the entire 20th century would have been completely different.
SPEAKER_00It's amazing to think about. And it reminds me why history is so important to learn. Even the heavy stuff.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. Speaking of which, if you enjoyed learning with us today, we would absolutely love it if you could leave us a five-star review.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, just scroll down on whatever app you're using right now and tap the five stars. Do it for Sergeant Stubby the hero dog.
SPEAKER_01Yes, do it for Stubby. Oh, and don't forget to check out our site kidopoly.com. We've got tons of fun learning games, activities, and cool history resources there for you to explore.
SPEAKER_00Kidopoly.com is awesome. And hey, if you want a shout-out on the show, like Thomas, Connor and Emmett got today, or if you just want to say hi, email us at hello at kidopoly.com.
SPEAKER_01We love hearing what topics you want us to cover next. Thank you so much for travelling back in time with us today and learning about a really important piece of our world's history.
SPEAKER_00See you next time on History's Not Boring. Bye everyone.