The Battle of the Ourcq – The Americans make their presence felt at the Marne
Although they only arrived in the final year of the First World War, the Americans made their presence felt. The volume of manpower and resources…
The Dawn of the Submarine: U-21 sinks HMS Pathfinder
In 1914 submarines were still a novel idea. Many nations had not utilized them until 1900, Germany not until 1906. Soon their worth would be…
Four Great Disasters of the First World War
The First World War is regarded by many with horror. Ill-considered tactics, stubborn persistence, and a lack of understanding of how war was changing led…
The largest American military operation of the First World War – The Meuse-Argonne Offensive
The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was the largest American military operation of the First World War. Engaging over a million American soldiers throughout the last months of…
Forces of Nature – Dealing with Weather in the Trenches of WW1
One of the most important battlegrounds of WW1 was the battle in the trenches. It was gruesome, for many reasons. At times the soldiers would be…
Battle of WWI merchant raiders: HMS Alcantara v SMS Greif
On February 27, 1916, the Norwegian cargo ship Rena steamed out of Cuxhaven on Germany’s North Sea coast. In peacetime, this would not have been…
Five Inspiring British Officers of the First World War – A Time of Great Bravery, Great Horror, and Great Sacrifice
Thousands of men served as officers in the British army during the First World War. Many of them lost their lives, and the survivors were…
The Schneider CA1 Was The First Operational Tank Ever – A First In Military History
The beginning of armored weaponry dates back to the days of the First World War when a stalemate occurred on the Western Front due to…
The Letter That Forced America Into WWI
When the war in Europe was declared, America was determined to stay neutral until a letter forced its hand. It was rather complicated, but Japan,…
Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, Legendary German WWI Commander Who Triumphed Against All The Odds
Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck faced the most challenging task of any German commander in the First World War. In Europe, the Germans were confident of…
General Jan Smuts: Fighting Snobbery and Germany in East Africa in WWI
As a South African officer in the British Army of World War One, General Jan Smuts struggled against prejudice as much as he did against…
Unique Guns of Battlefield 1 – The History behind the Game
While WWI did not consist of soldiers running about with 900 round-per-minute submachine guns, the guns of the video game Battlefield 1 did exist in…