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…
Lawrence of Arabia – one of the most mythologised officers in modern military history
Thomas Edward Lawrence is one of the most mythologised officers in modern history. A biography by a journalist, his own writings, and a film about…
Shell Shock: A Sad Side-Effect of the First World War
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…
How Tanks Decided The First And Second World Wars
The concept of a military tank was not particularly new in 1916. However, the ability to move troops safely through combat territories with a vehicle…
The Early Days Of Drones – Unmanned Aircraft From World War One And World War Two
Unmanned aerial vehicles, popularly known as drones, are most often associated with airstrikes in modern warfare, but their history goes much further back than that.…