“Missing” – Review by Mark Barnes
It is to my constant regret that I didn’t begin my pilgrimage to the Great War battlefields until a few years into this century. That…
All the Mayhem in Sam Mendes’ 1917 is Real, Not CGI
It turns out the amazing battle scenes in Sam Mendes’ film 1917 were so realistic because they were mostly real. The actors in the movie…
Britannic: A Century After Being Lost to the Waves, Opened to Divers
The HMHS Britannic hit a mine off the Greek island of Kea in the Aegean Sea and French underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau was credited with…
As Australian As Mascots Get: Kangaroos In WWI & WWII
Other uniquely Australian animals and birds were smuggled by troops to the Egyptian and other First World War fronts, such as wallabies, kookaburras, koalas, and…
The Officer Awarded The Military Cross in WWI, The Victoria Cross WWII
The fighting in East Africa was particularly difficult for European troops. The weather was blisteringly hot, and the terrain was extremely difficult to get through.…
The Battle of Le Hamel: When Australian & US Troops Fought Side by Side
The Battle of Hamel was an offensive against German troops strategically holed up, in and around the high ground near the French town of Le…
Photos of George Patton You Probably Haven’t Seen Before
Gen. George Patton went down history as one of America’s most beloved military figures, and his popularity was only exceeded by his accomplishments on the…
Good American Husbands Wanted:Strange Stories From WWI
In typical British humor, some recruitment efforts freely went tongue in cheek. One recruitment effort declared, “The country is arranging a trip to Germany for…
Over the Top: Why Were Whistles Used in the Trenches of WWI?
Artillery shells and bullets whizzing over the trenches created a cacophony of noise. With all of this noise, shouted commands could go unheard. Trench whistles…
Was Committed to a Mental Asylum: The VC Recipient Who Saved Over 20 Men in No-Mans Land
O’Meara managed to rescue over twenty men during those few days. He also carried much-needed supplies and ammunition to trenches under heavy bombardment. While war…
Lawrence of Arabia: Archeologist, Writer, Warrior, Spy
In an audacious desert crossing, Laurence and his Bedouin group reached Aqaba and launched an attack against the bastion on the morning of July 4,…
Australian Forces at the First & Second Battles of Villers-Bretonneux
Then Germans bombarded the Australian troops with mustard gas. This had a devastating effect causing over 1,000 casualties with varying degrees of “blindness.” Villers-Bretonneux is…