In early 1915 the Western Front resembled a tag-team wrestling match. No sooner had the French had jumped out of the ring after the disaster at Champagne, they slapped the hand of the British who took up the baton for the Allies and launched their own offensive at Neuve Chapelle. The objective handed to the [...]

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The situation Germany found herself in at the end of 1917 was somewhat mixed. Yes, the defeat of Russia in the East had released a huge number of troops and supplies that could be switched to the Western Front, but the window of opportunity for effective action in the West was rapidly diminishing as the [...]

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95 years ago today, the Imperial German army marched into Belgium. They were, ultimately, on route to Paris and beyond, to encircle the French army (not necessarily to capture the captial) and force France to surrender before the might of the Russian war machine mobilised and headed towards Prussia. Britain, lept to the defense of [...]

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Now, it is often thought that Pte John Parr of the 4th Btn. Middlesex Regiment was the first British battle casualty of the War. Not true. Although he is obviously an early casualty (killed on the 21st August 1914) he was not the first British casualty. In the early morning of August 6th 1914, with [...]

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After the assassination of the Archduke there began a period of political bicep flexing and a flurry of pacts, friendly handshakes and aggressive finger pointing as the major (and some of the not so major) powers of Europe shuffled themselves into two distinct sides ready for an August face-off. On the 6th July, Germany put [...]

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The Assaination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. 28th June 1914.Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, however the a large percentage of the population of the province of Bosnia Herzogovina were unhappy at Austrian rule, instead favouring a union with Serbia. The Archduke and his wife were invited to [...]

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