World War I

Unlikely savior: The remarkable properties of spaghnum moss help preserve long-dead bodies, sequester carbon and even heal wounds.

How Humble Moss Healed the Wounds of Thousands in World War I

The same extraordinary properties that make this plant an “ecosystem engineer” also helped save human lives

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Network of WWI Training Tunnels and Trenches Found in England

They were meant to prepare soldiers for gruelling conditions on the frontlines of Belgium and France

Stragglers—French Wounded in the Retreat of Chateau-Thierry by Claggett Wilson, ca. 1919

After Nearly a Century in Storage, These World War I Artworks Still Deliver the Vivid Shock of War

Pulled from the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Claggett Wilson's watercolors are in a traveling show

On the Wire, by Harvey Thomas Dunn (oil on canvas, 1918)

When Artists Became Soldiers and Soldiers Became Artists

A rare opportunity to see works by the American Expeditionary Force's World War I illustration corps, and newly found underground soldier carvings

The courtyard at St. Ermin's Hotel in London.

This Luxury Hotel in London Was Once a Secret Spy Base

St. Ermin’s Hotel has sat at the middle of British secret intelligence since the 1930s

Alexander Kerensky, as Minister of War, meets with other military officials.

In a Czar-less Russia, Winning Was Easy. Governing Was Harder.

Now without a sovereign, Russia’s provisional government sought to maintain peace at home while waging a world war

Women of the Salvation Army relied on ingenuity to serve up thousands of donuts to WWI soldiers.

The Women Who Fried Donuts and Dodged Bombs on the Front Lines of WWI

Even if they had to use shell casings as rolling pins, the donuts still got made

Ex-president Theodore Roosevelt speaks to crowds in Mineola, New York, in support of US entry into the First World War, 1917

Why Teddy Roosevelt Tried to Bully His Way Onto the WWI Battlefield

Tensions ran high when President Wilson quashed the return of the former president’s Rough Riders

An American aid worker in France writes a letter back home for a wounded soldier in 1918.

World War I Letters From Generals to Doughboys Voice the Sorrow of Fighting a War

An exhibition at the National Postal Museum displays a rare letter from General John Pershing

A poster by artist Edward Penfield promotes The Woman’s Land Army of America, created to encourage women to step into agricultural jobs after men were called into military service.

These Powerful Posters Persuaded Americans It Was Time to Join the Fight

The Smithsonian offers a rare opportunity to see an original iconic Uncle Sam "I Want You" poster, among others, of the World War I era

Great War memorial

Why It Matters Whether Students Learn About World War I in American History or World History Class

Some of the most important lessons of the Great War get lost between the two approaches

The Carnes arm had a complicated mechanism that controlled the movement of wrist and fingers.

How World War I Influenced the Evolution of Modern Medicine

Medical technology and roles during World War I are highlighted in a new display at the National Museum of American History

Women of the Signal Corps run General Pershing's switchboard at the First Army headquarters.

Women On the Frontlines of WWI Came to Operate Telephones

The “Hello Girls” risked their lives to run military communications—and were denied recognition when they returned home

President Woodrow Wilson addresses Congress

How Woodrow Wilson’s War Speech to Congress Changed Him – and the Nation

In 70 days in 1917, President Wilson converted from peace advocate to war president

“I am now a member of the 95th Aero Squadron, 1st Pursuit Group,” Quentin Roosevelt proudly announced to his mother on June 25, 1918. “I’m on the front—cheers, oh cheers—and I’m very happy.”

World War I Letters Show Theodore Roosevelt's Unbearable Grief After the Death of his Son

A rich trove of letters in the new book “My Fellow Soldiers” tells the stories of generals, doughboys, doctors and nurses, and those on the home front

The Complex Maneuvering of WWI's Biggest Naval Battle

On May 31, 1916, a small skirmish between British and German warships would pave the way for the biggest naval confrontation of WWI

Hundreds of Liquor Bottles, Downed by British Soldiers during WWI, Found in Israel

For nine months, the troops waited for orders to advance into Jerusalem. And while they waited, they drank

A quarter of the U.S. population (including a girl in Moline, Illinois) turned out for the Liberty Bell.

How the Liberty Bell Won the Great War

As it entered World War I, the United States was politically torn and financially challenged. An American icon came to the rescue

What Did WWI Soldiers Leave Behind in Their Secret Bunkers?

The French-German border is littered with as many as 500 underground sites used during World War I. Researcher Jeff Gusky explores them

What Do Native American Carvings in French WWI Quarries Mean?

Why is there a Native American canoe carved in an abandoned quarry inhabited by U.S. soldiers during WWI?

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