A Swipe at Pacifism (Life Magazine, 1918)
It always seems like a good time to diss a pacifist or two; and this cartoon is good for all conflicts.
1918
Articles from 1918
Flag Day in Germany (Punch, 1918)
A cartoonist at PUNCH MAGAZINE had a laugh at the expense of Germany and it’s humiliation during the first few days of the Armistice.
Firing from the Rails (Sea Power Magazine, 1918)
Illustrated with six photographs, this 1918 article is one of the first pieces of journalism to document the planning, construction, testing and deployment of the Railway Batteries that were manned by the U.S. Navy in W.W. I France.
They dreamed a dream wherein a squadron of colossal trains, sheltered in armor plate, cruised constantly on dry land behind the battle lines. On each train a hundred bluejackets and their officers lived, ate, slept and worked the giant guns that rested upon mechanically perfect mounts and hurled explosive shells to the limit of their extreme ranges. In short, they dreamed the United States Naval Railway Batteries just as complete to the firing lines a few months later.
An Interview With Mary Pickford (Current Opinion, 1918)
When this two page profile appeared in print Pickford was world famous, married to the handsomest actor in Hollywood, adored by all – she could do no wrong. Just fourteen years later, the respected New York playwright Clara Boothe Brokaw would ridicule her in the pages of Vanity Fair (August, 1932: p. 18) as a sad symbol representing a vulgar era.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, today few people know who she was – although she does get twice as many Google searches than Lillian Gish (but whose counting).
Amazon offers a PBS salute to the actress on a DVD that is strangely titled Mary Pickford
Enrico Forlanini and His Dirigible (New York Times, 1918)
A New York Times photograph and report on the military dirigible designed by Italian Senator Enrico Forlanini (1848 – 1930). A concise account of the differences between Forlanini’s dirigible and the German Zeppelin are listed as well as the speed, altitude and various offensive capabilities. Enrico Forlanini is is best remembered today for his ground breaking work on steam-powered helicopters, hydrofoils and various other aircrafts, such as his 1909 dirigible, Leonardo Da Vinci.
Christmas Shopping for the Doughboys (Vogue, 1918)
These three pages were from the last of the two wartime Christmas issues American Vogue had managed to produce prior to the Armistice. Featured are some fashionable accessory items sold on New York’s Fifth Avenue that the Vogue editors deemed suitable for industrial warfare.
Click here to read about the Sam Brown Belt.
The U.S. Army Assault on November 11, 1918 (The Stars and Stripes, 1918)
This uncredited STARS and STRIPES article dwells on the same topic as the well-researched book by Joseph Persico, Eleventh Month, Eleventh Day, Eleventh Hour: Armistice Day, 1918 (2003, Random House). For those who are curious about the violent climax of the war, this two page article will help you to understand which A.E.F. units were still attacking along what front at 10:59 a.m. on November 11, 1918.
Then a quite startling thing occurred. The skyline of the crest ahead of them grew suddenly populous with dancing soldiers… The Germans came with outstretched hands, ear-to-ear grins and souvenirs to swap for cigarettes.
‘Our Special Reporter at the Armistice Table” (The B.E.F. Times, 1918)
From our humor department came this submission that first appeared in a British Army Trench magazine.
The Famous One: The Burberry Trench Coat (The Stars and Stripes, 1918)
The trench coat, the submarine and the machine-gun were just a few of the innovations bequeathed to the modern world following the bloody brawl of 1914-1918. All three are still with us today, and one could even argue that, given the bitter peace that followed, these three were the only victors that emerged from that war. If that is the case, three cheers for Field Marshal Burberry and his legion of trench coats that have marched on every capitol city since that first autumn on the Marne!
The Famous One: The Burberry Trench Coat (The Stars and Stripes, 1918)
The trench coat, the submarine and the machine-gun were just a few of the innovations bequeathed to the modern world following the bloody brawl of 1914-1918. All three are still with us today, and one could even argue that, given the bitter peace that followed, these three were the only victors that emerged from that war. If that is the case, three cheers for Field Marshal Burberry and his legion of trench coats that have marched on every capitol city since that first autumn on the Marne!