Flamethrowers — known as flammenwerfer during the war — were a German invention: they appeared on the Western front in 1915. The special violence of death by fire was a shocking development. The British press was fascinated by the gruesome new device, Wartime propaganda condemned them as another example of German ‘barbarism’, but the British […]

With a twist of dark humour, these Belgian planes have been painted for extra fighting spirit. One shows comedian Charlie Chaplin, superstar of the early cinema. The newspaper commented on the oddity, as ‘one more testimonial to the universality of fame which a really humorous and original player commands’. The second plane bears an image […]

Dogs were valued comrades for soldiers at the front line, particularly in the French, Belgian and German armies. Highly trained and reliable, these service animals gave essential strategic and medical support. Their companionship was also good for morale: some regiments even adopted dogs as their mascots. Here are five ways dogs took part in the […]

Civilians watched in the streets one night in 1916, when an enemy zeppelin was shot down near London. It caught fire and blazed like a lamp in the sky: a long balloon burning brighter every second as it crashed, slowly, north of the city. The light reminded witnesses of the gas-fuelled lightbulbs in their homes: […]