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10 facts to know about World War I

The World War I that started in 1914, marked a centenary this year. A war that shook the world, caused destruction of life and property began on July 28, 1914, when Austria-Hungary declared war on

India TV News Desk Updated on: February 25, 2015 10:58 IST

7. Many people suffered facial injuries during the First World War

One of the most dangerous weapons in the war and the cause of many facial injuries was shrapnel. Unlike the wounds inflicted by bullets, the twisted metal shards produced from a shrapnel blast could rip a face off.
 
Improved medical care meant that more injured soldiers could be kept alive, but urgently dealing with such devastating injuries was a new challenge.
 
Harold Gillies was the man the British Army tasked with fixing these grisly wounds.
 
Born in New Zealand, he studied medicine at Cambridge before joining the British Army Medical Corps at the outset of World War One.
 
Gillies was shocked by the injuries he saw in the field, and requested that the army set up their own plastic surgery unit.
 
As plastic surgery was primitive, artists created copper masks to hide the injuries. The masks were held on by glasses and painted to match each soldier's skin tone. Some even featured eyelashes made from curled metal.
 
In a way, this war gave birth to plastic surgery.
 

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