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.

A hard-bitten Prussian recruiting officer dragoons a reluctant peasant into the service in Louis Joseph Watteau’s 1770 painting, The Unwilling Recruit.

World War I

To Field an Army: A Short History of the Draft

By Mike Haskew

The call of a nation on its civilian population either to create a military force or to augment a standing army is virtually as old as civilization itself. Read more

French artillerymen efficiently handle a 75mm cannon and caisson at the First Battle of the Marne, September 1914. French artillery was key to holding off the rampaging German Army and keeping it out of Paris.

World War I

The French 75 Gun: The Secret Cannon Used for Over Half a Century

By Christopher Miskimon

A regiment of Bavarian infantry advanced quietly in the dark, rising from its own trenches and moving toward the French lines across the desolate no-man’s-land in between. Read more

Turkish troops dug into their trenches and awaiting attack near Gaza.

World War I

The Haversack Ruse In Gaza Impressed Even Lawrence Of Arabia

By Harold E. Raugh, Jr.

Since the days of the Trojan Horse, military deception and ruse have been effective instruments when used by an innovative commander to deceive and defeat an enemy, minimizing friendly casualties and expenditure of valuable resources in the process. Read more

World War I

The Red Baron

By Kelly Bell

Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen was born May 2, 1892, as the second of four children to Baron Albrecht and Kunigunde von Richthofen. Read more

“Rescue and Retreat at Romani,” by Jennifer Marshall depicts Major Michael Shanahan of the 2nd Light Horse Brigade astride “Bill the Bastard” rescuing several soldiers at the Battle of Romani in Egypt. Shanahan was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his actions on August 5,1916.

World War I

Death Among The Dunes

By Kevin Morrow

On May 28th, 1915, Ion Idriess, a trooper of the 5th Australian Light Horse Regiment, sat writing in his diary in a dugout at Gallipoli. Read more

World War I

Battle of Amiens: Putting the Allies on the Road to Victory

By Eric Niderost

At the start of the Battle of Amiens, Sergeant Paul Maze was in a forward observation post not a thousand yards from the front, peering into the darkness for any signs of enemy activity. Read more

World War I

Military Weapons: The M2 Browning .50-cal

By John D. Gresham

When one thinks back to the weapons of mass destruction that emerged in the 20th century, usually the atomic bomb or poison gas come to mind. Read more

World War I

Who Won the Battle of Verdun, WWI’s “Operation Judgment”

By O’Brien Browne

Operation Gericht—which means “judgment” or “tribunal”—was the German offensive of the Battle of Verdun. The operation was the brainchild of Erich von Falkenhayn, chief of the German general staff as the year 1915 was coming to a close. Read more

Fleming with the first movie James Bond, Sean Connery.

World War I

Ian Fleming: Biography of the Man Behind James Bond

By Peter Kros

Ian Fleming’s biography would certainly include creating the famous British spy James Bond, but the author also led a secret life of his own. Read more

World War I

World War I Weapons: Germany’s Big Guns

By William Scheck

World War I’s stalemate on the Western Front ushered up varied solutions. The Allies developed tanks for traversing no man’s land to get at the enemy. Read more

World War I

Roles of Women in World War 1: The Russian Battalion of Death

By Don Duffy

By spring 1917, Russia had borne the heaviest burden of World War I. Russian reports counted more than six million men killed, wounded, or interned as prisoners of war. Read more

World War I

Hamilton Fish III and the “Harlem Hell Fighters”

By Blaine Taylor

In July 1918, 30-year-old U.S. Army Captain Hamilton Fish, Jr., was in war-torn France with the 15th New York National Guard Regiment—also known as the (U.S.) Read more

World War I

Choctaw Code Talkers in World War I

By Richard L. Hayes

The affection that Europeans have for the Great American West is well known, so it shouldn’t be surprising that several traveling Wild West Shows happened to be in enemy territory when World War I broke out. Read more

A panther tank and panzer grenadiers of the 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking help to break the encirclement of the Russian town of Kowel in the strategically important area of the Pripet Marshes.

World War I

Waffen SS General Felix Steiner’s WWII Legacy

By Pat McTaggart

“Where is Steiner?” Adolf Hitler demanded as his Thousand Year Reich crumbled around him in April 1945. “Is he attacking yet?” Read more

World War I

The German Cruiser Konigsberg

By Michael Vogel

The field telephone rang on the bridge of the trapped German cruiser SMS Konigsberg. On the other end of the line, the coast watcher spoke the words that had been dreaded for almost eight months—the British were coming. Read more

Baron Manfred von Richthofen was not the first flyer to be awarded the “Blue Max.” In fact, he waited anxiously for it. The award goes back to the 17th century.

World War I

The Pour le Mérite

By Robert Whiter

It was early in the year 1917, and a member of the Luftstreiknafte (German Army Air Service), Freiherr (Baron) Manfred von Richthofen, was feeling a trifle disgruntled. Read more

World War I

Mata Hari: The Dancing Spy

By Robert Heege

Just before six o’clock on the morning of October 15, 1917, a caravan of five rickety automobiles departed the prison at Saint-Lazare and proceeded to make its way post-haste through the gaslit streets of Paris. Read more

Mike Mannock mixes it up with three German aircraft in this depiction of one of his fights. Mannock’s true record is difficult to determine; he set up and wounded enemy aircraft for younger pilots to finish off.

World War I

Famous Fighter Aces: Edward Mannock

By Mauriel P. Joslyn

The agent from the American consul followed a Turkish guard through the prisoner compound. It was early 1915, and he had come on behalf of the Red Cross seeking prisoner exchange for the worst cases in this miserable, disease-ridden place. Read more

British “New Army” infantrymen “go over the top” in a film made in 1916 about the Battle of the Somme, which began earlier in the year. The Allies had high hopes for the offensive.

World War I

A Sunlit Picture of Hell: Battle of the Somme

By O’Brien Brown

Early in the morning of July 1, 1916, a mist blanketed the lolling hills of the Somme region of northwestern France. Read more

World War I

French Revenge at the First Battle of the Marne

By Joshua Shepherd

In the early morning hours of September 10, 1914, long lines of gray-clad German infantry formed up in a steady rain that only seemed to dampen spirits. Read more

World War I

From Around the Network

The Death of Benito Mussolini

Battle of Reipertswiller: The 157th Infantry’s Heroic Stand During Operation Nordwind

Last Stand at Völkerschlachtdenkmal: The Battle of Leipzig, 1945

A War Department Staff Officer Remembers