The Great War: 100 Years Ago

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was interred at Artstetten Castle on the 14th of July, 1914.   Traditionally the Hapsburg royalty are buried at the Capuchin Church Imperial Vaults in Vienna, but Franz Ferdinand's wife Sophie was not of close royal… more »

The Great War would bring the innovations of the scientific revolution to the battlefield, using tools such as wireless, aircraft, poison gas, oil powered ships, and over-the-horizon artillery to deadly effect, but there was also a number of… more »

Many of the youth who came of age and served in the First World War were traumatized by their experiences.  While short term mental problems from direct action in the trenches was quickly recognized by scholars and given the name shell shock, another… more »

Much of the literature from the war shows the tragedy of life in the trenches, from the poems of Siegfried Sassoon to the paintings of Claggett Wilson.  The book Over the Top by Arthur Guy Empey (published in 1917 by G. P. Putnam's Sons) is different in… more »

This article tries to explain some of why the Great War was so deadly.  While some horrors like poison gas were relatively new, the main cause of death on the battlefield was the same explosive and bullets as had been in use since 1650, only new… more »