By May 1913, Adolf Hitler, age 24, moved to an estate in Munich, away from his deceased father, Alois. Adolf continued earning money by selling paintings of architectural scenes. Adolf’s reason for leaving Vienna, the city Adolf had originally lived in, was to evade conscription, compulsory enlistment for service of a state/country, of the Austrian Army. He claimed that the Habsburg Empire had too much mixture in the races. Despite his unwillingness to be conscripted, the Bavarian police transported Adolf to Salzburg, Austria-Hungary for military conscription. Adolf, however, failed the physical exam on February 5, 1914. As a result, he was sent back to Munich.

On June 28, 1914, at 10:14 am, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by Nedeljko Čabrinović, a Yugoslav Nationalist, in Sarajevo. This assassination put the nail in the coffin, and by July 28, 1914, Germany and Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, marking the beginning of the First World War. The Central Powers, consisting first of Germany and Austria-Hungary and other larger and smaller empires, and the Allied Powers, consisting first of mainly Britain, France, Russia, and other smaller nations, were formed. Adolf wanted to join the war as he loved it, but he did not want to be apart of the Austrian Army. He requested permission to join the ranks of the Bavarian Army due to his Austrian citizenship. It was granted, yet in 1924, Adolf was questioned by Bavarian Authorities as they suspected an error in the conscription as he would have sent back to Austria-Hungary. It was concluded that whenever he was conscripted, his citizenship was not simply raised. Adolf as he was in the army had spreaded German nationalism that he learned at a young age.

Adolf served in France and Belgium in the Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 16. Adolf also served as a dispatch runner during the war. His first experience of the war was during October 1914 as an infantryman in the First Battle of Ypres. This battle is also known as the Kindermord bei Ypern, Ypres Massacre of the Innocents, in Germany for the countless lives lost there. After 20 days, the aftermath of the battle was indecisive, but it appeared as a victory for the Central Powers with the casualties of the Allied Powers being 58,155. The Central Powers had casualties, though close, of 46,765. The German Empire lost approximately a third to a half of the total 9 newly-enlisted infantry regiments. Adolf’s regiment’s numbers were diminished from 3,600 to a staggering 611 soldiers. His company was reduced to 42 from original total of 250. Despite so much death, Adolf came out unscathed. Adolf was additionally promoted from Schütze (Private) to Gefreiter (Lance Captain) due to a lack of soldiers in the regiment. He was also awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class. Soon after, Adolf was assigned to the job of messenger, or runner.

The job as a runner, in Adolf’s case, was “a relatively safe job” as the regimental headquarters are usually several behind the Front (Western and Eastern). Duties of runners would change overtime in the German Empire whenever their army went into defensive positions. So in turn, fewer messages have been sent by bicycle and by foot and now by telephone. Adolf would spend some time with a group of close army friends at headquarters. His comrades would laugh at “Adi” for his smutty stories, and Adolf would exchange some of his tobacco for their jam rations.  

Adolf never complained about the horrid conditions they had to fight and live in and he did not talk about women. He preferred to speak about the arts and history in his freetime. Adolf only received letters, but no packages from home. His fellow comrades also regarded him as this unusual and messy person, but very eager to fight on the frontlines. He was described as a loner.

By early 1915, Adolf adopted a stray dog, a pit bull, which he named Fuchsl, meaning “Little Fox”. The dog was taught tricks and became the faithful and beloved companion of Adolf. He describe Fuchsl as a “proper circus dog”. His regiment fought at the Battle of the Somme in 1916. On October 7, Adolf’s leg was wounded by an artillery shell where he was hospitalized two months at a Red Cross hospital at Beelitz in Brandenburg. During his recovery, he went sightseeing in Berlin. Adolf was distraught and furious about the by anti-war seminent and apathy of the German Civilians. Notably, Adolf blamed the Jewish population for the undermining Germany’s war effort. He was sent back to the Front in the March of 1917. The war continued to influence his overall ideology, especially during the second half whenever the Central Powers lose, suffering the most major of losses.