Top 10 Mysteries of World War 1

In October 1917, the 10th Battalion of the 1st Australian Division fought German forces in the Celtic Wood in West Flanders, Belgium, as part of the Battle of Poelcappelle. However, out of the 85 soldiers that entered the forest, 37 of them were never seen again and seemingly vanished into thin air. The lack of accurate recordings and misinterpretation of what happened added fuel to this mysterious fire. While some chalk it up to supernatural occurrences, others believe the 37 soldiers were slain in the battle and deposited into a hidden mass grave. In 2008, researchers Robert Kearney and Chris Henschke claimed the soldiers were obliterated by shelling, with no identifiable remains left behind.

In February 1918, the US Navy ship, the USS Cyclops, left Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, carrying 306 passengers and crew, along with a cargo of manganese ore. Concerns arose that the vessel was overloaded, which prompted an unscheduled stop in Barbados. Following a seemingly uneventful assessment, it resumed its journey bound for Baltimore, Maryland. Yet by March, the Cyclops hadn’t arrived. The ship, its cargo, and all souls aboard were determined to have been inexplicably lost at sea. German records show they weren’t involved, despite their presence in the West Indies. Other theories suggest that the ship either succumbed to a storm, disappeared within the fabled Bermuda Triangle, or that its captain was a German sympathizer who handed them the Cyclops.

In December 1915, Lieutenant William Speight sat in the trenches in Ypres, Belgium. The location was infamous for the brutal fighting which claimed approximately one million lives, including an unnamed friend of Speight. When the Lieutenant looked up as someone approached, he was startled to see the ghost of his fallen friend. The next night, Speight brought another officer, who also saw the specter. This ghost pointed towards an area on the floor of the dug-out before vanishing. Acting on the spectral guidance, Speight and other soldiers excavated the area. They found a tunnel created by the Germans below them that was filled with explosives, which were quickly diffused. This possible apparition saved many lives that night.

With World War One dominating everyone’s attention, in Russia, a revolution was underway to remove the monarch. To save their fortune, Tsar Nicholas II and the White Army moved the family’s riches from Saint Petersburg to Kazan, then to Siberia. Eventually, the Bolsheviks’ Red Army got their hands on the treasure. Yet, when they returned it to Kazan, a large portion was missing. Valued at a possible $80 billion today, it hasn’t been recovered since. One theory states that Czechian soldiers hid the missing gold when they returned it to the Bolsheviks. However, while transporting it, the train derailed and sank in Lake Baikal along with its riches. Another idea is that it’s buried near train tracks in Siberia.

One of the most prized possessions of Albert, France was The Golden Virgin sculpture atop the Basilica of Our Lady of Brebières. In 1915, as the Allied forces fought Germany to take back the town, the church was heavily damaged, causing the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ statue to lean excessively. A superstition emerged amongst soldiers on both sides that the war would end when the sculpture fell. In April 1918, an intense skirmish between the British and Germans eventually caused the sculpture to fall. Only a few months later, the war was over. However, the fallen Golden Virgin disappeared in the fight and hasn’t been seen since. A new version was recast and put on the Basilica in 1929.

In 2013, the Abertay University in Dundee, Scotland, found a suitcase in the psychology department that appeared to belong to World War One Nurse Margaret Maule. But what makes it strange is Maule has no recorded connection to the university, and little is known about her. Within the case were faded photographs, a newspaper article she wrote, and her diary, dating back to 1914. In the diary, Maule detailed her reluctance to treat injured Germans at the Dartford War Hospital in Kent, England, as her brother was killed by one in the war. But over time, her writings indicated those feelings diluted as she treated both German and allied soldiers. The case also had a book that contained autographs and sketches by her patients.

In 1912, teenager John Parr lied about his age to join the British Army. By August 1914, he was working as a scout for the 4th Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment. The Private and another soldier were sent on bicycles to gather information on the German forces in Obourg, Belgium. However, exactly what happened here is unknown. One eyewitness claimed Parr held off the Germans to allow his fellow scout to escape before getting shot. This is a version of events most believed, making Parr the first British fatality of the war. However, another theory cast doubt on the presence of a German battalion in the area. Instead, claiming Parr met his end from friendly fire during the Battle of Mons.

In the history of fighter pilots, one of the best to take to the skies was Manfred von Richthofen, nicknamed the Red Baron. After all, he’s credited with 80 air battle victories and led the famed Flying Circus unit. But in April 1918, the 25-year-old was shot down near Vaux-sur-Somme, France, and didn’t survive. Yet, the exact circumstances of his final flight remain a mystery. On the fateful day, he was in the air fighting Canadian pilots in the British Royal Air Force. A single bullet seemingly struck the German hero, causing his demise. But where it came from is up for debate. While the RAF attributes it to one Canadian pilot, others claim it came from anti-aircraft weaponry firing from the ground.

In August 1914, the vastly outnumbered British Army had the impossible task of holding the German forces at Mons, Belgium. Yet, somehow, rather than being overwhelmed and destroyed, the British managed to resist the Germans before they eventually retreated. According to some who witnessed the combat, this was due to supernatural intervention. Following the battle, Arthur Machen, inspired by these tales, published “The Bowmen,” which involved ghostly archers helping the British. Although Machen clarified that his work was fictional, rumors of specters and angels supporting the allied forces soon began to spread, boosting morale among soldiers and civilians in the UK. Even years later, former soldiers spoke about the angels that saved them to their descendants.

In 1916, the owner of a house near Budapest, Hungary wanted to renovate the property previously rented to Béla Kiss. Kiss had been conscripted into the army for World War One, leaving the property empty. However, upon investigation, workers discovered several metal drums containing human remains. They had stumbled upon a serial killer who had taken the lives of over 24 people. With that, the hunt was on to find Kiss amid the chaos of war. Police eventually traced him to a Serbian hospital, but upon their arrival, he had vanished, leaving behind a deceased soldier in his bed. After Kiss’ escape, sightings of him sprang up across Europe and even in New York City, but he was never seen again.

Do you have an explanation for any of the mysteries mentioned in the video? Or perhaps one of the ones we didn’t cover, such as the missing Florentine Diamond or the artist only known by the initials, “J.M.?” Let us know below!