Ten Things You Might Not Know About World War I-- Part 2

3.  Russia mobilized 12 million in its military, the largest of the war.  More than 3/4 ended up killed, wounded or missing.

4.  Dogs were used as messengers and also laid down telegraph lines.

5.  The most successful aviation fighter pilot was Baron von Richtofen (1892-1918) who shot down 80 Allied planes.  France's Rene Fonck (1894-1953) had the most success on the other side with 75 confirmed kills.

6.  To  increase the size of the US Army during the war, Congress passed the Selective Service Act in May 1917.  By the end of the war, 2.7 million men had been drafted.  Another 1.3 million volunteered.

Four More to Come.  --Cooter

He's the Red Baron

The December 8th Chicago Tribune had a brief blurb on a Polish historian finding the death certificate of Manfred von Richthofen, the famous World War II German pilot known as the Red Baron from the color of the Fokker triplane he flew while raking up 80 Allied planes shot down.

Maciej Kowalczyk reported that he had found it last month while going through old World War archives in the western Polish city of Ostrow Wielkopolski, formerly a part of Germany. Baron von Richthofen was stationed there.

The one page entry is hand-written, surprising that it was so short considering Richthofen's celebrity.

Curse You Bloody Red Baron, Snoopy's Nemesis. --Cooter