World War 1 | War History

The First Yale Unit: College Students Form a Flying Squadron in 1916

In the Spring of 1916, as WWI was raging in Europe, the students at Yale University’s class of 1918 were preparing themselves for a summer of…

Sergeant Stubby: an Unlikely Hero of WWI

He fought in WWI and became an American hero with nine medals. After the war, he met three presidents and attended university despite standing a…

WWI in East Africa, and the Legendary Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck

The East African campaigns of the First World War were quite unlike the fighting that dominated Europe. Instead of the four years of trench-on-trench stalemate…

“They Shall Not Pass” – New Downloadable Content for Battlefield 1 Brings The French Into The Action

Most players agree that EA DICE hit a homerun with Battlefield 1. Its setting is a breath of fresh air (with some gas), and it…

French Visitors Learn About Maori Participation In WWI

A group of twenty-eight visitors from Le Quesnoy township in France visited New Zealand to learn more about Maori participation in World War I. The…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Long Overdue Recognition for Men Killed In One of the Worst British Maritime Disasters of the 20th Century

Graham Scott, of Wessex Archaeology, co-author of a new book on the disaster of the SS Mendi in 1917 that took the lives of 616…