In the previous Newsletter I mentioned that the Historiana team has begun to develop a module on World War I. We are building up source collections of postcards from the trenches, propaganda posters, battle plans and maps, newspaper reports and silent newsreels. An animated time map has been produced to show how and why a local conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia quickly escalated into a global war. Work is now underway to develop a timeline of key events and moments leading up to, during and just after the war, so that we include those conflicts and developments that were a direct outcome of the war.
Our aim is to have a multi-strand timeline that will include not just the Eastern and Western fronts, the Italian front and the conflict in the Middle East but also a strand for the other conflicts involving the Allied and Central Powers in Africa and Asia. In that way we hope to show why it was a global and not just a European war.
By key moments and events we do not just mean battles. We will also include in the timeline the sinking of the Lusitania; the Zimmerman letter, which had such a significant impact on public opinion in the United States after it had been intercepted by the Allies, de-coded and made public; the secret Treaty of London which led to Italy joining the war on the side of the Allies; the Russian Revolution; the food riots in Germany, Austria and Hungary in 1916-17 and the emergence of an anti-war movement.
Before we finalise the timeline in August we would welcome your ideas and suggestions. You can access a first draft of the timeline for the Western and Eastern Fronts in the attachment of this article. A lot more work will be needed before the final version is ready to be uploaded onto Historiana but please let us know if you feel there are any gaps in the timeline that need to be filled.
Ideas and suggestions should be sent to Judith Geerling at: judith@euroclio.eu
Bob Stradling
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