GoKawiilWWI drove adoption of wristwatches and birth of the term 'zero hour'
Historical accounts, including Béla Zombory-Moldován's memoir The Burning of the World, show how precise timekeeping became essential during World War I as trench warfare made visual and auditory battlefield signals impractical. The New York Times first recorded the phrase 'zero hour' in November 1915, referring to the exact moment a gas attack was to begin. The practice of 'synchronizing watches' also originated from this wartime need for coordinated timing across dispersed units.