1916 – Page 4 – Old Magazine Articles

The Noises of Battle (The Cambridge Magazine, 1916)

This letter is very short and was composed by a German soldier who is simply identified as a socialist. Writing to his wife from the war-torn Eastern European front in Moldavia, he describes what the man-made Hell of industrial war was like – the gas shells, the grenades, the ceaseless rattle of machine guns and the never ending groans of the wounded. The soldier concludes that if only the kings who were responsible for the war could witness this carnage for only fifteen minutes, then surely the war would end.

Click here to read about the foreign-born soldiers who served in the American Army of the First World War.

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A Look at at What the Prohibition Amendment Might Look Like (The Outlook, 1916)

Two years before the Prohibition Amendment would be passed, the New York State Superintendent of the Anti-Saloon League, William H. Anderson (1874 – 1959), wrote this piece defending a draft of the amendment that was, at that time, sitting before Congress.

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Wars Affect the Art of a Nation (Literary Digest, 1916)

Various musings concerning the influences that war has had on art through the centuries are discussed in this article, with particular attention paid to the historical belief that wars are won by those nations that host the more vibrant and original arts communities.

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A Letter from a Bombardier in the French Air Corps (Vanity Fair, 1916)

In the attached letter from the artist Bernard Boutet de Monvel (1884 – 1949), the artist explains thoroughly his thoughts and adventures as an bombardier in a Vosin biplane; experiences which contrast greatly with his days in the trenches and he writes well on the feelings of lonliness that an aviator can experience at 2000 feet.

For those who are interested in learning about the living conditions and daily life of World War One pilot officers this article can only help you. Click here

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Liquid Fire (Literary Digest, 1916)

– A well-illustrated article which sought to explain to American readers the workings of one of the most heinous inventions of the First World War:

This idea of projecting upon the adverse trenches and their occupants a rain of liquid fire was no sudden afterthought of the German mind. It was conceived, studied, and perfected for several years before the war, and its history may be traced in the German patent office.

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Above Verdun (Cambridge Magazine, 1916)

ARBEITER ZEITUNG, a Viennese newspaper, quoted the following swelled with hubris recalling his flight over crushed French Village in the Verdun sector:

I felt like a king, loaded with my bombs… I flew over Saint Privat quite low, so that I could see all the houses, and if I dropped my bombs there, I should have been able to to destroy half the village…

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Greenwich Village Bohemians (Vanity Fair, 1916)

Robert Benchley (1889 – 1945) drama critic, humorist and actor. Upon graduating from from college (1912) he began his career writing for a number of New York papers. At the time this witty anthropological study of Greenwich Village wildlife was printed, Benchley was serving as a contributing editor for Conde Nast’s ‘Vanity Fair’.

Click here if you would like to read a 1934 profile of Robert Benchley.

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‘Dogs of Battle, Dogs of Mercy” (Vanity Fair, 1916)

We are happy to say that in the course of performing our daily duties, the scanning and posting of historic magazine articles, no dogs were harmed in any way; but sadly no such boast can be made by any participant of the Great War. Published during the bloodiest year of that conflict, this VANITY FAIR MAGAZINE article lists a good many of the particular services dogs were trained to perform on behalf of their belligerent masters.

The French war dogs are divided into five classes, each of which performs a special type of work. There are sentinel dogs, patrol dogs, ambulance dogs, dispatch dogs and drought dogs. In all these departments of military activity they have proved their worth.