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http://www.theatlantic.com/static/infocus/wwi/introduction/

Some very nice pictures mostly of the western front.

I loved this one...

Needs more wiener dog.

Good find.

I kind of want to see picture 2 photoshopped into the Sgt. Peppers album cover. Nice find though.

Fascinating stuff! Thanks for sharing!

The one of the priest blessing the plane, brilliant.
And the first, the decimated tress and muddy puddles. Just WOW.
Ta for sharing.

#23 is the one that does it for me. It shows that, even in the midst of the war, some people refused to let go of their humanity and decency. "Here lie brave French warriors", written in German...

Xmas Day

“A German looked over the trench – no shots – our men did the same, and then a few of our men went out and brought the dead in and buried them and the next thing a football kicked out of our trenches and Germans and English played football.”

Did England lose the penalty shootout?

Thanks for sharing.

The French Battleship in the Dardenelles was really interesting.

 Howard A Treesong wrote:
Did England lose the penalty shootout?

Of course! But it should never have got that far. Captain Edmund Blackadder would like to remined you that he was NEVER offside! It should have been 2-1 England.

 Easy E wrote:
Thanks for sharing.

The French Battleship in the Dardenelles was really interesting.

It looked like some kind of advanced IronClad ship.

Such utter waste...

Oh man, the look in some of those men's eyes.... haunting.

The picture of the stretcher bearers in the mud.

I did find the step by step production of the Stahlhelm fascinating.

Best 1000 yard stares are those from Vietnam and OEF/OIF

That image of the western front from the air was amazing and horrifying at the same time.

Those are, in equal parts, horrifying and fascinating. Some of those photos also bring to light just how widespread the first World War really was. Especially for those that thought it was confined to Europe. It was also interesting for me to learn that the Japanese threw in their lot with the allies during WW1. I genuinely did not know that.

Thanks dude, fascinating and thought provoking

I always find it fascinating, the football thing. People cite it as an example of human decency, which it undoubtedly is, but one of the reasons I've read for the footballs being there in the first place is actually quite horrifying, as I recall. Some units were given footballs to kick into the opposing trench as they advanced, with soldiers rewarded for scoring 'goals'.

There's something about the boyish naivete of that, that I find utterly gut-wrenching. It's completely detached from the reality of what those poor sods were faced with.

They're remarkable, because it's a world that's basically gone completely, and the pictures are from the time when it was at the edge of ending.

I've got an old National Geographic somewhere that has an article that I find heartbreaking. It's from a woman who did a cycling tour through Poland in 1938.

 Albatross wrote:
I always find it fascinating, the football thing. People cite it as an example of human decency, which it undoubtedly is, but one of the reasons I've read for the footballs being there in the first place is actually quite horrifying, as I recall. Some units were given footballs to kick into the opposing trench as they advanced, with soldiers rewarded for scoring 'goals'.

There's something about the boyish naivete of that, that I find utterly gut-wrenching. It's completely detached from the reality of what those poor sods were faced with.

Pretty much sums up the whole war.

I'm curious how much (if any) of the original trenchwork/cratering there still is. Are there any places where it stayed preserved? That aerial photograph was some pretty extensive terrain damage, but 100 years probably smooths out a lot of stuff.

Edit: Never mind, answered my own dang question, and gave you all a new set of photographs to look through!

http://www.theatlantic.com/static/infocus/wwi/century/

Great find, some incredible photos and moments in time.

 Swastakowey wrote:

 Easy E wrote:
Thanks for sharing.

The French Battleship in the Dardenelles was really interesting.

It looked like some kind of advanced IronClad ship.

That's just what pre dreadnought battleships looked like, calling them advanced iron clads really isn't too far off base compared to the classes of battleships that would follow them.

Fun fact, there is only one pre dreadnought battleship left afloat world wide, the IJN Mikasa, who is anchored in Yokosuka as a floating museum, a veteran of the Ruso-Japanese war where she served as a flag ship, and where the Japanese equivalent of Nelson's famous "England Expects" the "Z flag" was first raised before the IJN engaged the Russian Baltic fleet.

Fun fact two: There are actually more original ships of the line from the age of sail still afloat then pre dreadnought battleships by a ridiculous ratio.

Admiral Nimitz had a big part in getting Mikasa restored after WWII. He had a lot of respect for Admiral Togo.

Excellent pics, most of which I haven't seen before. (and I've seen a lot) Thanks for the link.

 dementedwombat wrote:
I'm curious how much (if any) of the original trenchwork/cratering there still is. Are there any places where it stayed preserved? That aerial photograph was some pretty extensive terrain damage, but 100 years probably smooths out a lot of stuff.

Edit: Never mind, answered my own dang question, and gave you all a new set of photographs to look through!

http://www.theatlantic.com/static/infocus/wwi/century/

Ah, a pioneering new innovation in mine clearing.

I am pretty familiar with Pre-WWI navies... in textual form.

Actually seeing that French battleship helped remind me what an extraordinary revolution the H.M.S. Dreadnought really was.

I can see why the ship was deployed to a "secondary" theatre like the Dardenelles. Even still,t he naval casualties to mines there was pretty heavy.

 Easy E wrote:
I am pretty familiar with Pre-WWI navies... in textual form.

Actually seeing that French battleship helped remind me what an extraordinary revolution the H.M.S. Dreadnought really was.

I can see why the ship was deployed to a "secondary" theatre like the Dardenelles. Even still,t he naval casualties to mines there was pretty heavy.

Yeah, the pre-dreanought BS's were pretty much relegated to shore bombardment roles.

A related story.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_vault/2015/01/13/history_of_wwi_lucky_charms_gathered_by_edward_lovett.html

Pictures of Lucky Charms carried by WWI soldiers.

Some threats haven't changed

Maryland representing at #27!

I'm actually listening to Dan Carlins Hardcore History about World War 1, about a quarter of the way through the series.