World War I
The Modern Grenade: A Brief History
By William McPeakWhen did humanity begin throwing explosive devices? What are the origins of the modern grenade, and how did explosives evolve? Read more
World War I
World War I was a global conflict of the early 20th century from 1914-1918, between the Central Powers, Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria, and the Allied powers, primarily Great Britain, France, Russia, and later the United States. World War I was ignited in the Balkan city of Sarajevo in June 1914 with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and war was declared in August. World War I was characterized by the horror of trench warfare on the Western Front and the rise of Bolshevism in the East, and millions died in the catastrophic conflict. The causes of World War I were many, including various territorial disputes, a major arms race, conflicting political ideologies, and more. World War I ended with the Treaty of Versailles; however, the agreement left many issues unresolved and heaped blame and the requirement for reparations on Germany, sowing the seeds of World War II.
World War I
U.S. Marine Hero John J. Kelly in World War I
By William E. WelshChicago native Private John J. Kelly of the 78th Company of the 6th Marine Regiment and another soldier requested permission from First Lieutenant James M. Read more
World War I
Senseless Slaughter at Gallipoli
By William E. WelshThe crash of the heavy guns from a dozen British and French capital ships, one of which was the super-dreadnought the HMS Queen Elizabeth, reverberated against the shoreline of the Dardanelles on February 19, 1915. Read more
World War I
Heroic Stand at Verdun
By Mark CarlsonThe morning of June 23, 1916, dawned over the broad crenellated valley of the Meuse River in northeastern France. Read more
World War I
Evolution of the Submarine
By John ProtasioThe concept of a ship that could submerge beneath the water and then resurface dates back as far as the late 1400s, when Italian Renaissance artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci claimed to have found a method for a ship to remain submerged for a protracted period of time. Read more
World War I
Count Felix von Luckner, Captain of SMS Seeadler
By Blaine L. PardoeCount Felix von Luckner was known by many titles in his life: runaway, sailor, hero, braggart, fool—even spy. Read more
World War I
American Stand At Chateau-Thierry
By George T. RaachFor the hard-pressed German Empire, New Year’s Day 1918 brought a compendium of evils. The Allied naval blockade, increasingly effective, depressed industrial production and stoked a war weariness made manifest in strikes and bread riots. Read more
World War I
The 1903 Springfield Rifle’s Storied Military History
By Christopher MiskimonOn November 17, 1915, Major Smedley Butler and a small force of U.S. Marines approached the old French bastion of Fort Riviere in Haiti. Read more
World War I
Hard-Won Victory at Passchendaele
By Mike PhiferBritish soldiers fixed their bayonets and waited tensely in the trenches for the order to go over the top. Read more
World War I
Curt Prufer’s German Espionage in the Near East
By Kevin Morrow
Robert Mors was in serious trouble. Immigration officials had stopped him for questioning upon his arrival at the port of Alexandria, Egypt, from Istanbul, and they immediately became suspicious. Read more
World War I
WWI’s Massive German Spring Offensive of 1918
By Mike PhiferGerman artillery officers watched as a white rocket streaked across the dark sky above the French village of St. Read more
World War I
Alvin York became the most famous of a group of U.S. doughboys who went into harm’s way to thwart a German attack on October 9, 1918.
By Christopher MiskimonOn October 8, 1918, soldiers of the U.S. Army’s 328th Infantry Regiment arrived at Hill 223 and started dying. Read more
World War I
George S. Patton Jr.’s Upbringing: The Making of the Legend
By Duane SchultzGeorge Patton knew exactly what he wanted to be from childhood on. “When I was a little boy at home, I used to wear a wooden sword and say to myself, ‘George S. Read more
World War I
How Winston Churchill Prolonged the Defense of Antwerp in World War I
By Eric NiderostJoseph Mary Nagle Jefferies, a correspondent for Britain’s Daily Mail, was assigned to cover the opening phases of World War I in Belgium in October 1914. Read more
World War I
WWI’s Daring Cavalry Charge at Beersheba
By Alex ZakrzewskiIn late 1917, the most successful cavalry charge of World War I took place not on the muddy killing fields of the Western Front, but at the foot of the Judean Hills in southern Palestine. Read more
World War I
Doughboys’ Bloody Baptism at the Battle of Cantigny
By William StroockAs the fateful day drew to a close, the exhausted soldiers of the German 25th and 82nd Reserve Divisions huddled in their trenches. Read more
World War I
Brusilov’s WWI Breakthrough on the Eastern Front
By Eric NiderostThe high command of the Imperial Russian Army, known as Stavka, met on April 14, 1916, at Mogilev in Belarus to discuss possible offensive action against the Germans and their Austro-Hungarian allies on the Eastern Front. Read more
World War I
Germany’s Bold Naval Raider
By Christopher MiskimonWorld War I was only a few days old when the German light cruiser SMS Emden, patrolling off the Korean Peninsula, spotted its first target. Read more
World War I
WWI Timeline: Sowing the Seeds of the Conflict
by Arnold BlumbergThis WWI Timeline covers the first decade of the 20th century, in which the so-called “Great Powers” of Europe attempted to advance their economic and technological prowess to out-do—or at worst, at least keep pace—with their neighbors and rivals. Read more
World War I
World War I Doughboys’ Bloody Baptism
As the fateful day drew to a close, the exhausted World War I soldiers of the German 25th and 82nd Reserve Divisions huddled in their trenches. Read more
