Things We May Not Know About WW1 – In 1914, A Soldiers Average Height Was 5’2” And Canadian Troops Had The Highest Rates Of Venereal Disease
World War I was fought from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. Because many of the combatants had colonies and alliances beyond the continent, it…
The “Red Zone” In France Is So Dangerous that 100 Years After WWI It Is Still A No-Go Area
The Zone Rouge (Red Zone) is a region near Verdun, France spanning some 460 square miles of mostly virgin forest – at least on the…
Less Well Known Facts About The Infamous Battle of the Somme
1. The Battle of the Somme was originally meant to be predominantly a French offensive. The Battle of the Somme was first planned in late…
The Oldest Commando Of WWII – 73 Year Old Walter Cowan Of Course, Oh, He Was Also In WWI
When fifteen-year-old Walter Henry Cowan became a Royal Navy trainee in 1884, Great Britain was the dominant naval force in the world. The boy had…
His Eyes Express The Madness Of The War: Shell Shocked Soldier In A Trench During The Somme Offensive
Shell shock was one of the major side effects of WWI. Many soldiers suffered from it, as it was caused by the heavy explosions and constant…
Fast And Adaptable Air Power – Britain’s Bristol Fighter Planes
Starting from a Racer The first in Britain’s series of Bristol fighter planes was the Bristol Scout, which entered service early in WWI. The Scout…
The European Powers Were Rapidly Developing Ground-Breaking New Strategies In World War One
The beginning of WWI was dictated by carefully developed strategies and their failure in the face of reality. The diplomatic and strategic plans of the…
French And British Tanks Changed The Face Of Warfare In WWI, But Germany Did Not Realise Their Value Until The End Of The War
During WWI, military designers created the first tanks which changed the face of warfare. Not every nation, however, embraced them with the same level of…
How 50 German Sailors Sailed, Marched And Rowed Home From A Tiny Island Halfway Around The World
The Keeling Islands are little more than overgrown coral reefs, but in 1914 they saw the beginning of one the most epic adventure stories of…
Frontier Fortresses Of The First World War
Fortresses seldom feature in images of 20th-century warfare. However, in WWI, where for three years the Western Front turned into extended siege lines, large forts…
These Innovations In Weapons Technology Came To Prominence In WWI, The First Fully-Industrialised War
WWI was the first fully industrialized war. Advances in technology and manufacturing brought whole new ways of killing onto the battlefield. Here are some of…
The Youngest Soldier In WWI Was A Serbian Boy, Aged 8
Momčilo Gavrić was the youngest soldier in the First World War. He was born in May 1st, in 1906 in a village near the town of Loznica in…