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28/05/2026

In front of the Château de Beaucaire castle in southern France Spahi Cavalry in France practising maneuvers on a beach. This newsreel clip, IWM IWM 508-12, released on May 31 1917, shows the Spahi Cavalry in France. Spahis were cavalry of the French colonial army, recruited primarily from French colonies in what is now Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. By the end of the French had seven Spahi regiments operating.

26/05/2026

This was the 1st major battle for American forces in . During the Battle of Cantigny May 28-30 1918, this newsreel clip (IWM IWM 508-64) shows 28th Infantry Regiment, 1st Division, advancing on German lines with French Schneider CA1 Tanks. The footage also shows Schneider CA1 Tanks returning from their attack on German lines with German POWs marching with the wounded. "The Americans were supported by French air, artillery, tank, and flame units" since the Americans didn't have any of their own.

25/05/2026

Some of the more experimental innovations of

The Standschütze Hellriegel MG from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was an attempt to create a portable, miniature water-cooled MG fed by a drum belt of 9 mm Steyr rounds, the standard Austro-Hungarian ammunition
ÖNB Digital ID:15626855, 15626848
Colourized by R. Candeias

May 23 1916 US patent, US1184078A, granted to Charles J. Cooke for a repeater with trench periscope. "a veritable stream of .... missiles may thus be literally poured into the invading ranks, from numberless rapid fire machine arms"

US1113675 was granted on Oct 13 1914. Gas mask from famous African-American inventor Garrett A. Morgan. He used this device to rescue several men after a Jul 24 1916, tunnel explosion under Lake Erie

This newsreel clip, IWM IWM 1061-06d, shows the Allenbury Patent gashood. Built by the Company Allen and Hanbury in May 1915 this footage was just a few weeks after the first poison cloud by the Germans on Apr 22 1915.

The Illustrated War News Dec 30 1914 British Submarine prototypes, what might have been

May 17 1916 A parasite fighter experiment is successful when a Bristol Scout (C3028) launches off a huge Porte Baby (No.9800) floatplane
In the Porte Baby was designed by John Cyril Porte RN at the naval air station, Felixstowe May 17 1916 parasite aircraft was successfully launched IWM Q 63768

Le Petit Journal Jun 4 1916 publish this invention that allows soldiers to walk on water. Le Ski aquatique qui vient d'être expérimenté

Colourized version (by Kaiser Colorizations) of the B&W image I used in the post above. The Ma**er C96 AA rack" on a plane of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As PikeGrey1418 describes, the M1916 Prussian "Red 9" had a wooden holster/shoulder stock

24/05/2026

David McLellan photos of the Concert party named The Queerios at Montreuil-sur-Mer, France on May 25 1918. Also photographed is Warrant Officer George Elias Hogg who managed the group while working in the intelligence section. Historian Sarah Worthman says that every Division in the Canadian and British World War I militaries had a troupe of male actors dressed as women who performed for the troops.

One of the most famous was Canadian Ross Hamilton. Hailing from Pugwash, N.S. he enlisted in the Canadian Army Medical Corps as an ambulance driver. He created the personna Marjorie to entertain the Canadians. He enlisted again in WW2 but was actually outed to military officials and kicked out of the military. He went back to Nova Scotia and passed away in 1965 at the age of 76.

Undated photos of Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) ratings taking part in rifle practice at Crystal Palace, London. Hi...
24/05/2026

Undated photos of Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) ratings taking part in rifle practice at Crystal Palace, London. His majesty approves the formation of The WRNS on Nov 29 1917 and thousands served in the Royal Navy

23/05/2026

This 40 year old German physicist Karl Schwarzschild joined the military to prove his loyalty to the German Fatherland. On the Eastern Front he came across Einstein's work and started a correspondence with the scientist. He later predicted Black Holes and provided the 1st exact solution to Einstein field equations of general relativity. Illness on front forced Karl out of the military and he died May 11 1916.

The loss of celebrated UK physicist Henry Moseley on Aug 10 1915 in Gallipoli caused the UK to change their rules on who can join front lines. Asimov wrote, "In view of what he might still have accomplished … his death might well have been the most costly single death of the War."

22/05/2026

Gerald du Maurier stars in the 1917 silent movie, "Everybody's Business" directed by Ralph Dewsbury. It was a propaganda film about food rationing that uses some interesting stock footage.

Directed by: Ralph Dewsbury
Written by: Frank Powell

Starring:
Norman McKinnel
Gerald du Maurier
Matheson Lang

Release date: June 1917

21/05/2026

In Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, naked Australians carry Ottoman officer Major Kemal Ohri around the beach front line obstacles to negotiate a rare occurrence in , a truce. It was negotiated between the two armies to bury the fallen that lay where they fell in no-man's-land, between the two trench lines.

In May of 1915 the Ottoman Army tried to break the ANZAC lines with a mass charge attack, an attack that the ANZACs were able to repel with sustained weapons fire and even shots from offshore warships. Thousands of Ottoman soldiers lay rotting, creating a horrific smell and a risk of disease.

25 year old Pte Léopold Delisle (s/n 62218) Canadian Infantry (Quebec Regiment) 22nd Bn, was executed on May 21 1918. He...
21/05/2026

25 year old Pte Léopold Delisle (s/n 62218) Canadian Infantry (Quebec Regiment) 22nd Bn, was executed on May 21 1918.

He enlisted Apr 22 1915, his time in service record instants of drunkenness, absences, insubordination, and striking a non-commission officer. After disappearing Mar 28 1918 he was court martialed for desertion and was sentenced to ex*****on.

https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/599301

20/05/2026

Captain-Commandant Fernand Maximillian Leon Jacquet was the first Belgian pilot to get an aerial victory, on Apr 17 1915, and the first Belgian ACE (hitting 5 victories) on Feb 1 1917. His Belgian Farman HF.20 pusher plane of the 2me Escadrille de Chasse had a skull on the front. The pusher plane allowed them to fire forward at the sacrifice of speed due to having the propeller in the rear. Once the Allied developed synchronized firing allowing pilots to fire through the propellers, pusher models were replaced.

19/05/2026

Soldiers of the Hong-Kong-Singapore unit invade Palestine in World War 1. This newsreel clip, IWM IWM 28 (released Jun 1918) shows the Hong-Kong-Singapore Mountain Battery of the Imperial Camel Corps operating during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign.

AWM B01464 - "The Hong-Kong-Singapore Mountain Battery of the Imperial Camel Corps, on the march across the sand, the camels are carrying small loads."

AWM B01465 - "The Hong-Kong-Singapore Mountain Battery of the Imperial Camel Corps, training with their light field" pieces

"The Hong Kong-Singapore Mountain Battery of the Imperial Camel Corps, the camels are carrying Vickers 2.75 inch (70 mm) MK 1 Mountain [pieces] and other supplies."
AWM B01459, AWM B01448

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