How does World War I poetry help us understand the complexity of the experience of the war? Why was poetry so important then? Why does the poetry of World War I continue to have such resonance? To answer these questions, the World War I Podcast hosted two subject matter experts: Dr. Connie Ruzich, Professor of English at Robert Morris University and editor of International Poetry of the First World War: An Anthology of Lost Voices, and Dr. Jennifer Orth-Veillon, a professor at Georgia Tech -...

When most people think of World War I on the Western Front, they probably think of trenches. Trench systems were present along most of the 475 miles from the English Channel to the Swiss Alps. It wasn’t just one straight continuous line, however. The system had many layers that supported the daily life and movement of millions of soldiers. If laid end to end, the trench systems would have stretched an estimated 35,000 miles.  Trenches play a prominent role in most WWI movies. They are often...

Part II In early October 1918, several companies of the US 77th Division found themselves surrounded in the Argonne Forest during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.  Led by Major Charles Whittlesey, the Lost Battalion, as it came to be known, survived a hellish six days. It’s a story many are aware of – but like most such stories – it’s likely that the popular version we are familiar with doesn’t have the richness or nuance of what actually happened. To explore the story of the Lost Battalion, the...

Part I In early October 1918, several companies of the US 77th Division found themselves surrounded in the Argonne Forest during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.  Led by Major Charles Whittlesey, the Lost Battalion, as it came to be known, survived a hellish six days. It’s a story many are aware of – but like most such stories – it’s likely that the popular version we are familiar with doesn’t have the richness or nuance of what actually happened. To explore the story of the Lost Battalion, the...

Between September 1814 and June 1815, against the backdrop of Napoleon’s exile to Elba and his brief return, the Congress of Vienna worked out a new way to balance the power of the Great Powers and avoid future conflict. This system was called the Concert of Europe. It was supposed to keep the peace, and indeed, on the eve of World War I, many people in Europe were celebrating a century of relative peace on the continent – a golden age of European power and civilization. There had been...

In 1914, as German forces quickly outmaneuvered Allied armies in the opening days of the war, there was some suspicion among the Allies that the circuses that had traveled around Europe in the years before the war – many of which were owned by German families or had German names – had helped prepare the German army by perfecting the art of rapid and efficient mobilization and transport. Even Americans – not yet involved in the war – suspected this to be the case and looked at circuses like...

When World War I began, the famed historian, sociologist, and civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois was at the height of his influence. When the United States entered the war, he encouraged African Americans to “close ranks” and support the Allied cause. Tasked with writing a definitive history of the African American soldier in World War I, Du Bois ultimately came to be haunted by his support for the war. The manuscript for that project remains unpublished. To discuss Du Bois and World War I,...

In the winter of 1918, General John J. Pershing presented then Brigadier General Douglas MacArthur with his second Distinguished Service Cross. The award was for actions in France at the Côte de Châtillon between October 14-16, 1918. The citation ends with an interesting sentence: “On a field where courage was the rule, his courage was the dominant feature.” What happened there? What do we know about the circumstances behind this award? To answer these questions, MacArthur Memorial historians...

In 1890, half of the US Government’s budget was devoted to disability pensions for Civil War veterans. This enormous financial burden combined with medical advances led to a different approach when it came to the US Army’s care of wounded soldiers in World War I. Far from the passive convalescent homes of previous wars, in World War I the US Army’s commitment to rehabilitation would mark a new chapter in the care of the wounded. To share the story of these rehabilitation programs, the World...

Between 1914-1916, Portugal walked a delicate line. While actively engaged in an undeclared war with Germany in Africa, Portugal was not a combatant in Europe, nor did it officially declare neutrality. It stayed out of the war, but it provided support in a variety of ways to Britain – its historical ally. Britain hoped to maintain this arrangement for the duration of the war. In contrast, the Portuguese government was anxious to join the war. In March 1916, it got its way. By 1917, the...

When WWI began in 1914, Catholic priests were virtual pariahs in France. This was the result of a trend towards anti-clericalism that began with the French Revolution and continued in fits and starts into the 20th century. Prior to WWI, to further eliminate perceived privilege, France’s Third Republic made priests eligible for military service. Ironically though, this attempt to erase them as a distinct social class provided French priests the opportunity to be seen as patriots. Tens of...

On Feb. 8, 2022, a local undertaker was digging a grave in the cemetery at Villers-sur-Fère, a small village in northeastern France near the Ourcq River, where the U.S. Army’s 42d Infantry Division pushed back German forces in 1918. At about four feet down, the undertaker unearthed human bones. He didn’t know it at the time, but he had found an American Doughboy.  Michael G. Knapp, Director of Historical Services for the American Battle Monuments Commission, joined the World War I Podcast...

On October 8, 1918, seventeen American soldiers of Company G, 2nd Battalion, 328th Infantry, 82nd Division flanked a German machine gun nest, surprising and capturing dozens of German soldiers. Acting Corporal Alvin York – a conscientious objector turned warrior – was credited with leading the squad and singlehandedly killing 20 Germans, knocking out 35 machine guns, and capturing 132. York later received the Medal of Honor for this action, and his exploits were forever immortalized in the...

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby tells the novel’s narrator about his World War I military service and a particularly heroic engagement in the Argonne Forest. He ends his story by explaining: “I was promoted to be a major, and every Allied government gave me a decoration – even Montenegro, little Montenegro down on the Adriatic Sea.” The decoration he displays is the Order of Prince Danilo I. Fitzgerald’s description of the award might not be the most accurate, but it is...

The Battle of Gallipoli was fought on the Gallipoli Peninsula from February 19, 1915 to January 9, 1916. The Entente Powers hoped to knock the Ottoman Empire out of the war by seizing control of the Dardanelles and then putting the capital city of Constantinople in the crosshairs. The goal was to break the stalemate on the Western Front, relieve pressure on Russia, and ensure access to the Black Sea. The operation was a brainchild of Winston Churchill and the landings on April 25, 1915,...

When WWI broke out in 1914, women in eight states – mostly in the west – had the right to vote. Women in the other 40 states that made up the US at that time did not have the right to vote. America’s involvement in the war spurred on many suffragists – who while not all united in their response to the war – viewed with hope President Woodrow Wilson’s framing of America’s involvement in World War I as a defense of democracy. They hoped such a commitment to democracy would encourage...

The ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920 removed obstacles to American women exercising their right to vote, but it didn’t happen without a fight - and the final stage of that fight took place against the backdrop of World War I.  Unlike their British counterparts who largely paused their activism during the war, some American suffragists redoubled their efforts during the war. To discuss American women and the fight for suffrage during World War I and its immediate aftermath, the World...

In 2022, US Army COL Charles Young was posthumously promoted to brigadier general – a rank he likely would have advanced to during World War I. In 1917 he was the highest ranking African American officer in the US Army. A veteran of the 1916 Mexican Expedition, his name even appeared on a list of the campaign’s officers that GEN John J. Pershing recommended for future brigade command. Then, months into World War I, he was controversially sidelined after failing a medical exam. To discuss...

Part 3 of 3. Andrew Phillps, curator of the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library in Staunton, VA returns to the World War I Podcast to discuss Wilson and the aftermath of World War I as well as Wilson's legacy as a wartime president. This is the last interview in a series of discussions that examined Woodrow Wilson’s presidency and World War I. Learn more about the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library: https://www.woodrowwilson.org/  Follow us: Twitter: @MacArthur1880 Amanda Williams on...

Part 2 of 3. Andrew Phillps, curator of the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library in Staunton, VA returns to the World War I Podcast to discuss Wilson’s evolving response to World War I and his role as a wartime president.  This is the second of several interviews that examines Woodrow Wilson’s presidency and World War I. Learn more about the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library: https://www.woodrowwilson.org/  Follow us: Twitter: @MacArthur1880 Amanda Williams on Twitter: ...

Part 1 of 3. Woodrow Wilson - the professor turned president and a very complicated figure in American history. He campaigned to be a domestic policy president and later in favor of neutrality but ended up a wartime president. WWI is a fascinating moment in the history and evolution of the American presidency, and Wilson is at the heart of that. To explore this topic,  we will be joined by Andrew Phillips, curator of the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library in Staunton, VA for a special...

In 1899, Queen Victoria decided to send a small brass box containing chocolate to her soldiers fighting in the Boer War. Approximately 123,000 of these gifts were distributed. They were well received and are a fascinating part of material culture from that war. World War I would see a similar royal gift – but this gift would not be directly from the sovereign – it would be part of a campaign led by King George V's daughter, Princess Mary. To discuss Princess Mary’s Christmas Gift, the World...

During WWI, efforts were made on all sides to provide servicemen with identity tags to assist with identifying remains. This helped in some cases, but given the nature of the battlefields, many bodies were never recovered or were not identifiable. These servicemen made the greatest ultimate sacrifice. They not only sacrificed their lives – they sacrificed their identity. They are the “unknowns.” After WWI, many families had to deal with not just the loss of a servicemember but the idea that...

Africa is sometimes referred to as a “sideshow” of World War I, but that label is misleading.  As with modern Europe, it is impossible to understand modern Africa without understanding it’s experience of WWI.  The Cameroon Campaign of 1914-1916 was a campaign fought in West Africa that involved engagements on land as well as a successful amphibious operation. It lasted a mere 18 months, but it continues to have a significant impact today on Nigeria and Cameroon. To discuss the Cameroon...