World War One

Find old World War 1 articles here. Find information on uniforms, women, gas warfare, prisoners of war and more.

Winston Churchill Recalled the U-Boat Problem
(Liberty Magazine, 1941)

Former Lord of the Admiralty (1911 – 1915), Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965) wrote the attached article sometime after the First World war and recalled the tremendous difficulties faced by the Royal Navy when this new form of warfare came to the fore:


“There followed the fourth prime feature of the war — the grand U-boat attack on the Allied shipping and the food ships and store ships which kept Great Britain alive. Here again we were exposed to a mortal risk. Not merely defeat but subjugation and final ruin confronted by our country.”

How the AEF Intelligence Service Did It
(American Legion Monthly, 1939)

A fascinating read. Written twenty-one years after the war, journalist Thomas M. Johnson, who had covered the A.E.F. for The New York Sun, revealed all the tricks employed by the U.S Army Intelligence Service to get the most information out of every German prisoner they could get their hands on – and none of them involved breaking bones or shedding blood.


More about W.W. I prisoners of war can be read here

General Helmuth von Moltke
(N.Y. Times Book Review, 1923)

“If ever there was a German who foresaw nothing but defeat and punishment for his native land, even in the days when the great majority of his fellow-countrymen were mad with anticipation of victory and world domination, it was Helmuth von Moltke (1848 – 1916).”


Click here to read a 1922 review of the Kaiser’s war memoir.

”Never Again”
(American Legion Magazine, 1939)

In the attached article, an American journalist ruminated about the U.S. experience in W.W. I on the eve of W.W. II. All told, he didn’t think intervention was a good idea but was grateful America learned its lesson.


“Suffice it here to record the unquestioned fact that American determination which was enthusiastic at the outset became more and more grim as reality replaced imagination.”

”Never Again”
(American Legion Magazine, 1939)

In the attached article, an American journalist ruminated about the U.S. experience in W.W. I on the eve of W.W. II. All told, he didn’t think intervention was a good idea but was grateful America learned its lesson.


“Suffice it here to record the unquestioned fact that American determination which was enthusiastic at the outset became more and more grim as reality replaced imagination.”

General Charles Summerall
(American Legion Magazine, 1939)

Looking back twenty-one years at the W.W. I commands of General Charles Summerall (1867 – 1955), historian Fletcher Pratt pointed out that it was the general’s unique understanding of artillery that served as the key to his success in battle.

General Charles Summerall
(American Legion Magazine, 1939)

Looking back twenty-one years at the W.W. I commands of General Charles Summerall (1867 – 1955), historian Fletcher Pratt pointed out that it was the general’s unique understanding of artillery that served as the key to his success in battle.

Tommy’s Alphabet
(The B.E.F. Times, 1917)

The front-line Tommy of the First World War, like Fritz, Jock, Sammy and Les Poilu, had a good deal of time on his hands between terrors. Some wrote letters, some made trench art, some slept – and the ones we’re concentrating on were the ones who made this handy alphabetic guide that explained their world:


“Z is for ZERO, the time we go over,

Most of us wish we were way back
in Dover
Making munitions and living in clover
And far, far away from the trenches”

”Daughters of Valor”
(American Legion Monthly, 1939)

Here is an interesting history of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during the First World War. The author, Robert Ginsburgh, delves into how many nurses served, how many were killed, how they were recruited and trained, where they served in Europe, and the decorations they earned.

”Daughters of Valor”
(American Legion Monthly, 1939)

Here is an interesting history of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during the First World War. The author, Robert Ginsburgh, delves into how many nurses served, how many were killed, how they were recruited and trained, where they served in Europe, and the decorations they earned.

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