An Ode To A Cootie

What is a cootie? Ask a World War I soldier, and you’d get a much more serious answer about a much more serious problem than you might expect.

The Battle of Loos

Lance Corporal Bernard Scott Budge served with Company D, 5th Battalion, Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders. The young soldier was wounded by shrapnel during the Battle of Loos.

Quartermaster Corps: Show Me the Bacon!

The task of feeding soldiers during WWI was enormous and the logistics staggering. For the first time in U.S. history, a trained military unit was responsible for supplying the troops.

Trench Warfare

Over four years, both sides of WWI would launch attacks against the enemy’s trench lines, attacks that resulted in horrific casualties.

Soldiers’ Mail

Mail service has historically been a cornerstone of American life and communication, and that was especially true for those serving overseas during World War I.

Stories from the Somme

Lieut. Raymond B. Penniman was just one of countless young men who fought in the Battle of the Somme. The following letters were donated to the Museum in 2013 by his relatives.

Italy Enters World War I

When World War I began in July 1914, Italy was a partner in the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary, but decided to remain neutral.

Dogs in WWI

Dogs played an important military role for most European armies during World War I, serving in a variety of tasks. Dogs hauled machine gun and supply carts.

Artillery

World War I was a war of artillery - The Big Guns. Rolling barrages destroyed the earth of France and Belgium and the lives of many.

Oral Histories

These interviews, recorded between 1978 and 1980, allowed surviving veterans of the First World War to share their experiences, in their own words.

Unrestricted U-boat Warfare

At the dawn of 1917, the German high command forced a return to the policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, engineering the dismissal of opponents of the policy that aimed to sink more than 600,0

Doughboys

Indelibly tied to Americans, “Doughboys” became the most enduring nickname for the troops of General John Pershing’s American Expeditionary Forces, who traversed the Atlantic to join war weary Alli

Filling the Ranks

By February 1917, the United States was on the verge of war, though the country was almost totally unprepared. After entering World War I, The U.S.