World War I

World War I was a global conflict of the early 20th century from 1914-1918, between the Central Powers, Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria, and the Allied powers, primarily Great Britain, France, Russia, and later the United States. World War I was ignited in the Balkan city of Sarajevo in June 1914 with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and war was declared in August. World War I was characterized by the horror of trench warfare on the Western Front and the rise of Bolshevism in the East, and millions died in the catastrophic conflict. The causes of World War I were many, including various territorial disputes, a major arms race, conflicting political ideologies, and more. World War I ended with the Treaty of Versailles; however, the agreement left many issues unresolved and heaped blame and the requirement for reparations on Germany, sowing the seeds of World War II.

World War I

U.S. Marine Hero John J. Kelly in World War I

By William E. Welsh

Chicago native Private John J. Kelly of the 78th Company of the 6th Marine Regiment and another soldier requested permission from First Lieutenant James M. Read more

World War I

The Short-range Shotgun

By Christopher Miskimon

Coming upon the enemy’s rear guard outside the western Kentucky village of Sacramento, four days after Christmas 1861, Confederate Colonel Nathan Bedford Forrest ordered his cavalry to advance. Read more

Marines of the British Royal Naval Division go over the top in an assault against Ottoman positions on the strategic high ground of Achi Baba at the base of the Gallipoli Peninsula.

World War I

Senseless Slaughter at Gallipoli

By William E. Welsh

The crash of the heavy guns from a dozen British and French capital ships, one of which was the super-dreadnought the HMS Queen Elizabeth, reverberated against the shoreline of the Dardanelles on February 19, 1915. Read more

Indian lancers overrun an Ottoman position in the Valley of Armageddon on the second day of the Battle of Megiddo.

World War I

Fatal Blow at the Battle of Megiddo

By Richard Willis

The six-day Battle of Megiddo fought in September 1918 was a decisive climax to the struggle in Palestine between the Ottoman Empire, backed by the Germans, and Great Britain and her allies. Read more

French soldiers launch a ferocious bayonets assault against German defenders inside Fort Douaumont in a successful counterattack against the strongpoint in October 1916.

World War I

Heroic Stand at Verdun

By Mark Carlson

The morning of June 23, 1916, dawned over the broad crenellated valley of the Meuse River in northeastern France. Read more

Bannerman Castle, in the Hudson River, sits in ruins today, 50 miles north of New York City.

World War I

Pollepel Island: Private Fortress on the Hudson

By Dorraine Fisher

In central New York, 50 miles north of New York City on the Hudson River, is a small spit of land known as Bannerman Island. Read more

An American Army officer fires his Colt 1892 revolver at charging Filipino insurgents in this painting by Frederick Remington.

World War I

Savage Model 1907: Rival of the Colt M1911

By Steve Lilley

In the 1939 movie The Real Glory, elite U.S. Army officers arrive in the southern Philippines to mold the Filipinos into a military force to defend their villages against marauding Moro tribesmen. Read more

Three crews were lost during tests of the Horace L. Hunley, shown in a painting by Conrad Wise Chapman.

World War I

Evolution of the Submarine

By John Protasio

The concept of a ship that could submerge beneath the water and then resurface dates back as far as the late 1400s, when Italian Renaissance artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci claimed to have found a method for a ship to remain submerged for a protracted period of time. Read more

World War I

Trench Art

By Peter Suciu

Art is in the eye of the beholder, of course, but for those who collect militaria there is a special kind of art that requires a special kind of appreciation. Read more

Luckner survived hazardous duty as a turret officer at the Battle of Jutland in May 1916.

World War I

Count Felix von Luckner, Captain of SMS Seeadler

By Blaine L. Pardoe

Count Felix von Luckner was known by many titles in his life: runaway, sailor, hero, braggart, fool—even spy. Read more

World War I

Victoria Cross Recipient Private Henry Tandey

By Robert Barr Smith

Private Henry Tandey had a clear shot at the German soldier. He was so close that he could look his enemy in the eyes. Read more

A seemingly endless procession of trucks brings American soldiers and supplies to the front at Chateau-Thierry in May 1918. Painting by William James Aylward.

World War I

American Stand At Chateau-Thierry

By George T. Raach

For the hard-pressed German Empire, New Year’s Day 1918 brought a compendium of evils. The Allied naval blockade, increasingly effective, depressed industrial production and stoked a war weariness made manifest in strikes and bread riots. Read more