1918

Articles from 1918

An Advertisement for W.W. I Officer Boots (Stars and Stripes, 1918)

A black and white illustration showing the sort of British made boot favored by American officers during World War One. A look at the many pictures which depicted the officers of the A.E.F. and it is clear to see that the lace-to-the-knee style of trench boot was much preferred over other varieties. However, many pictures from the closing days of the war tend to also indicate the line officer’s preference for ankle-boots with puttees.

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The Evolution of the U.S. Army Web Belt (Outing Magazine, 1918)

The attached article, How Our Soldiers Carry Their Ammunition, was originally published in a 1918 sporting magazine and gives an account as to how one uniform element unique to the U.S. and British military establishments came into prominence during the earliest years of the Twentieth Century. Written by Paul A Curtis, Jr., the essay describes the difficulties inherit with leather belting, the British need for an alternate material in order to maintain colonial regiments in India and the father of the American web belt, General Anson Mills (1834 – 1924).


When the Doughboys complained, they complained heavily about their uniforms; read about it here.

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Reminiscences of August Rodin (Vanity Fair, 1918)

Not long after the death of Auguste Rodin (1840 – 1917) Paris-based artist Stephen Haweis (1878 – 1969) remembered his friendship with the French sculptor:

He loved flattery, as all human beings do, and would listen attentively to rhapsodies from almost anybody, though they do say that a pretty lady got more attention from him than a half-starved journalist.

Rodin proclaimed himself the culminator of one era of sculpture, the inspirer, and nearly the author of another. He was the father of various schools which are lumped under the title of Modern Art.

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The Case for Leonard Wood (Vanity Fair, 1918)

Major General Leonard Wood (1860 – 1927) served as the U.S. Army Chief of Staff between the years 1910 through 1914 and was relieved of that office by President Wilson, who was unnerved by his wariness concerning America’s inability to wage a modern war. Having alienated the president and other prominent generals in Washington, he continued on this path by launching the Preparedness Movement a year later in which he established four volunteer army training camps across the country.
Wood’s admirer’s were legion, and this article opines that his finely tuned military mind was not being put to proper use:

General Wood has committed the sin of having been right from the very start. He has always been right. He has been right when Washington has been wrong. It is upon the heads of the entire pacifist crew who sold their shriveled souls and their country’s safety to the devil of German propaganda, that is falling the blame for the blood of those who are dying on the hills of Picardy and the plains of Flanders.

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