World War One Heroes and Villains

Carrier Pigeons During WWI, messages were transmitted by telegraph or field phones, but two-way communications was not available. It was often difficult to string the necessary wire, so field commanders often carried several carrier pigeons. Pigeons were often seen in the skies, some even taking pictures of enemy positions! But the most important role they served was as messengers.Important messages were written on a piece of paper, then secured in a small Canister attached to the pigeon’s leg. Once released, it would try to fly to its home back behind the lines.

The U.S. Signal Corps were responsible for insuring messages between all units got through. The Army Signal Corps was given 600 pigeons for the purpose of passing messages when it couldn’t be done by signal flag or field phone. The pigeons were donated by bird breeders in Great Britain, then trained by American soldiers. After getting a message tied to his leg, the pigeon would fly back to his home coop behind the lines. When he landed, the wires on the coop would sound a bell or buzzer. A soldier would remove the message and then send the message to the right person. The enemies were often nearby when the pigeons were released and tried their best to shoot down the pigeons.

Cher Ami An Unlikely Hero

Mata Hari (Margaretha Zelle) Born in Holland in 1876 and married a Dutch Army officer 21 years older than her when she was 18. She divorced and then made her way to Paris, France to reinvent herself as an Indian temple dancer. She changed her name to Mata Hari. French officials supposedly asked her to spy on the German naval and army attaches for one million francs. The French thought she got a little too friendly with the Germans and arrested her on February 13, 1917 for being a double agent. Secret ink was found in her room; she claimed it was makeup. She admitted taking money from the Germans and was found guilty.

Mata Hari An Unlikely Villian