First World War in the News -- WW1 History from causes to trenches

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Miniature submarines continue treasure hunt for Tsarist gold in Lake Baikal timesonline.co.uk :: 2009-06-28
£4.5m expedition (partly set up by the Russian Academy of Sciences) has returned to Lake Baikal with 2 minisubmarines to continue a treasure hunt for a fortune in Tsarist gold that, legend has it, was carried by Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak's White Army as it fled the Bolsheviks during Russia's civil war. Tales abound about the fate of the gold (1,600 tonnes). Some say that troops travelling across Baikal's icy surface froze to death as temperatures hit minus 60C. When the spring arrived, the sacks of Imperial gold sank to the bottom of the lake. Others say that the gold was lost when railway carriages fell into the lake from a branch of the Trans-Siberian line at Cape Polovinny. [Unsolved Mysteries]

The Secret Battle: Emotional Survival in the Great War [book review] eadt.co.uk :: 2009-06-28
The part played by families' letters and packages in supporting what was in reality a young and amateur army is highlighted in Michael Roper's book, The Secret Battle: Emotional Survival in the Great War. It shows how soldiers adapted everyday habits (like sewing) to the trenches. It reveals, too, how battlefield trauma exposed the deepest emotional ties of childhood - and how First World War experiences scarred soldiers' lives long after their return home. Because of the increasingly mechanised and deadly weapons, violence was random and unpredictable, and troops never knew when death would come. [Buy from Amazon: US, UK, CA, DE, FR] [Trenches and Fortifications warfare]

British servant murdered by the Bolsheviks alongside last tsar has his name cleared dailymail.co.uk :: 2009-06-16
He had devoted his life to serving his master, and even in the face of certain death that loyalty never wavered. Yet for 90 years, Brian Johnson, killed by Bolsheviks in Russia, was labeled an "enemy of the people". As valet to Michael Romanov, brother of Tsar Nicholas II, Johnson had known he faced execution as the 300-year-old dynasty was wiped out in 1917. Michael asked his servant to escape to Britain, but Johnson refused. On June 12, 1918, both were shot by a mob. As Johnson lay dying, the wounded Michael went to his aid, begging the execution squad: "Let me say goodbye to my friend." Soon, he too was dead. Now the Kremlin has rehabilitated Johnson and the members of the Imperial Family. [Russian Empire]

Arthur Roberts: The life and times of one of Scotland's first black soldiers sundayherald.com :: 2009-06-16
A unique WWI diary by one of the first black soldiers in a Scottish regiment has been discovered. The diary, by Private Arthur William Roberts (the King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSB) and Royal Scottish Fusiliers, May 1917 - March 1918) describes avoiding Jerry's shrapnel; surviving gas attacks and the mud; going over the top; the boredom of life in the trenches. "We want him to be remembered as Arthur Roberts, not as a black soldier, but it was unusual to have a black soldier in the regiment then. There were black regiments fighting in the WWI and they were subject to quite a lot of ... prejudice. But he is the only one ... in the KOSB," explained Ian Martin, of the KOSB Museum. [Scotland - Scottish]

105mm calibre 1FH 16 German gun captured at Vimy Ridge in Niagara all along stcatharinesstandard.ca :: 2009-06-08
It's been an undiscovered historical treasure, located in plain sight for 12 years in a Niagara-on-the-Lake park. The German gun from World War I is exposed to the weather, played upon by kids and generally has a low profile. Not anymore. When members of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment Foundation traced its serial number through Ottawa, they were amazed to discover the gun was seized in the Battle of Vimy Ridge. "We were aware it was a WW1 gun. We really weren't aware it was somewhat iconic," stated Jeff Cairns, executive director of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment Foundation and chairman of its museum. [Weapons: Bayonets & Machine guns]

Erwin Bleckley was killed while dropping emergency supplies by air to the "Lost Battalion" kansas.com :: 2009-06-08
9 decades after his plane was shot down Lt. Erwin Bleckley, a First World War Medal of Honor winner, will have his name placed on a bronze memorial plaque alongside that of his pilot, Lt. Harold E. Goettler, in ceremonies that will include a flyover of vintage WWI planes. On Oct. 6, 1918, the two WWI aces volunteered to drop supplies from a biplane to 600 men of the "Lost Battalion," which had been encircled by Germans during a battle in the Meuse-Argonne Forest. "What they did was a major historical event in air service. They were the forerunners of the US Air Force," said Jerry Hester, a WWI aviation historian. [Airforces & Aviation]

Last First World War Digger Jack Ross passes away theaustralian.news.com.au :: 2009-06-05
With the death of Jack Ross, none remain of the 416,809 Australians who signed up for the First World War - a national baptism of blood and pointless slaughter that continues to hold Australia in emotional grip. Ross never saw action because his mother pleaded with the authorities for him to remain in Australia rather than join his brother (who got spinal injuries) on the western front battlefields. Shortly after, Ross was moved to the Light Horse Brigade in Sydney, where he decoded German morse-code messages sent from Nuremberg. During the Second World War Ross again enlisted and again remained in Australia, as a member of the volunteer defence corps. [Last Living Veterans]

WWI photographs of British Commander General William Birdwood up for auction cctv.co :: 2009-06-05
A large photograph collection of battle scenes from the First World War has come up for auction. The collection once belonged to British Commander General William Birdwood, who had a distinguished military career and commanded the Australian and New Zealand forces at the Battle of Gallipoli in Turkey in 1915. Birdwood accumulated a collection of 600 war photos from the various fronts and campaigns of the war. Many of the pictures show ANZAC troops in action, while tracking the war's industrial revolution illustrating the motorbikes, battle tanks, and planes used in the fighting. [Photographs, Pictures & Images]

The First World War (August 1914 to November 1918) is also known as the Great War, The War to End All Wars, World War I and WW1.

Many of the bloodiest battles in military history occurred during the First World War. In trench warfare hundreds of soldiers died for each yard of land captured. Artillery with fragmentation shells caused the most casualties and made massed infantry attacks futile.

First World War in the News is an edited review of hand-picked World War I 1914-1918 articles.