The New York Times – Page 2 – Old Magazine Articles

The Slaughter of the Aristocrats
(NY Times, 1915)

This 1915 article goes into great length listing the names of all the assorted European noblemen and plutocrats who fell during the first year and a half of the First World War.

The great world conflict which broke out soon after [the murder of Archduke Ferdinand] has placed the pall of mourning over every third home in the belligerent countries of Europe… The dreadful slaughter has fallen with especial heaviness on the upper and wealthy classes…

The writer, Charles Stolberg, also included the names of the most admired European athletes who gave their lives for king and country.

The Decorated Marines from Belleau Wood
(NY Times, 1918)

An eyewitness account of the decoration ceremony that took place on a lawn of an unnamed French chateau in the Marne Valley on July 11, 1918. The ceremony was presided over by U.S. Army General James Harbord (1866 – 1947) and well over 100 Marines of the U.S. Second Division were cited for their deeds in the fighting North-West of Chateau-Thierry.

Yip! Yip! Yaphank!
(NY Times, 1918)

Salon d’Automne, Paris
(NY Times, 1911)

Among all the paintings on exhibition at the Paris Fall Salon, none is attracting so much attention as the extraordinary productions of the so-called ‘Cubist’ school. In fact, dispatches from Paris suggest that these works are easily the main feature of the exhibition.

A Diagram of a French WW I Grenade
(NY Times, 1918)

A black and white mechanical drawing of a World War One French grenade with all parts labeled. In 1918, the New York Times wrote:

The pine-apple grenade, or as the French are wont to call it, the citron grenade (lemon) is charged with a powerful explosion called shedite, which when exploded on open ground is said to cause injuries at 250 yards. Primed with a sensitive detonator, the grenade is caused to explode when it strikes the ground. Very often the grenade is not thrown far enough, so the that the explosion is likely to cause casualties among one’s own troops. Apart from these disadvantages, the grenade is an excellent weapon for hand to hand fighting.

The Collapse of the European Aristocracy
(NY Times, 1919)

The three great military monarchies which have lately fallen to pieces – Russian, Austro-Hungarian and German – were all based upon an aristocracy of large landed properties, whereas the other European countries had become parliamentary and democratic states. Europe was thus divided between two political orders, founded on two social orders, in fact, into two different worlds between which the river Elbe was approximately the boundary…

The war proved a decisive test of the stability of the two social orders; the democratic states went through it without flinching, the monarchies which had which had engendered the war in the hope of strengthening their position have gone under; from their defeat has sprung the revolution, which is overthrowing all aristocracies.

Click here to read a 1916 VANITY FAIR article about how the war had affected the British upper class.

Letter from a Veteran
(NY Times, 1916)

An experienced Canadian trench fighter gives some tips to an American Guardsman.

Men enthuse over descriptions of bayonet charges. They are no idle pastimes, so it behooves all soldiers not only to become absolutely perfect in bayonet exercises, but to practice getting under way, keeping abreast with your mates and having a firm hold on your rifle. The soldier may say, ‘Oh, that bayonet exercise isn’t practical in a charge. No? Very well, that may appear right to some, but I should advise every one knowing every parry, thrust and counter so thoroughly that after they become second nature you can then do whatever your intuition at the moment directs.

Living the Trench War
(NY Times, 1915)

This World War One correspondence makes for a wonderful read and it gives a very lucid picture of what the war must have been like once both sides had resigned themselves to trench warfare. The letter was dated October 8, 1914 and the British officer who composed it makes clear his sense that no modern war had ever been fought in this queer manner before.

Trench Warfare Tips from a Veteran
(NY Times, 1916)

An experienced Canadian trench fighter wrote the attached columns offering sound advice to the American National Guardsmen he knew were bound to enter the war at some point.

‘The German Concrete Trenches”
(NY Times, 1915)

Some of the trenches have two stories, and at the back of many of them are subterranean rest houses built of concrete and connected with the trenches by passages. The rooms are about seven feet high and ten feet square, and above the ground all evidence of the work is concealed by green boughs and shrubbery.

The Battle of the Cooties
(NY Times, 1918)

Cooties, in the World War One sense of the word, were tiny little bugs that lived in the seams of uniforms for that unlucky multitude who lived in the trenches. Being an equal-opportunity sort of parasite, they plagued all combatants alike, regardless of one’s opinions concerning Belgian neutrality, and were cause for much complaining, scratching, discomfort and the creation of way too much juvenile verse.

The attached article from 1917 tells the tale of some fortunate Doughboys and their encounter with a U.S. Army Cootie Graveyard (read: delousing station):

They entered a bedraggled, dirty, grouchy lot of sorry-looking Doughboys. They came out with faces shinning and spirits new. They knew they had before them the first good night’s rest in some time and sans scratching.

As far as cooties were concerned, the American infantrymen of the Great War had it far easier than his European comrades and counter-parts, for he only had to contend with them for the mere six month time that he lived in the trenches, rather than the full four years.

Mustard Gas Warfare
(NY Times, 1918)

A 1918 NEW YORK TIMES article that reported on the expectations among the French and British for the United States to both use and manufacture mustard gas now that they have joined the war against Imperial Germany. The reporter went to some length elucidating as to the nasty, obscene and vile nature of mustard gas:

Several months ago when I was making an experiment, some mustard gas got between two of my fingers. It was so little that it escaped notice. It was not until 9 o’clock that night that my hand began to look puffy. The next morning it was badly blistered.

Secretary of War Newton Baker Visits the Front Trenches
(NY Times, 1918)

Attached is a front page story from a 1918 NEW YORK TIMES that covered the important visit Secretary of War Newton Baker (1871 – 1937) had made to the American front line trenches during his World War I tenure at the Department of War. During this trip the former Ohio Governor donned trench coat, helmet and gas-mask while chatting it up with the Doughboys.

Click here to read an article from 1927 by General Pershing regarding the American cemeteries in Europe.

Tales of the Mounted German Corpse
(New York Times, 1915)

A ghastly story from a 1914 front is told in this letter written by British trooper S. Cargill as he recalled a skirmish between German Lancers and British cavalry.

The Introduction of the U.S Army Overseas Cap
(New York Times, 1918)

A NEW YORK TIMES correspondent reported from Washington what the official line was as to why the U.S. Army had seen fit to toss out the campaign hat in preference to the European-style Overseas cap:

When the Americans entered the trenches, said an official statement today, it was found that the brim of their campaign hat interfered with sighting through the trench periscopes and that the high crown, in the case of tall men, could be seen above the parapets. The new cap is so low that it permits the men to move with the same freedom as when they are hatless.

A Letter from the Freshly Dug Trenches
(New York Times, 1915)

This World War I letter makes for a wonderful read and it gives such a vivid picture of what the war must have been like once both sides had resigned themselves to trench warfare. The letter was dated October 8, 1914 and the British officer who composed it makes clear his sense that no war had ever been fought in this queer manner before.

A Letter from the Trenches
(New York Times, 1915)

An interesting letter written during the opening weeks of the war by a Canadian officer stationed with a British Guard regiment. The letter is filled with earnest enthusiasm:

We are all one in aim, in spirit and in that indefinable quality of loyal co-operation which holds together the British Army fighting against enormous odds in France, as it binds together the British Empire by bonds not less strong because they are invisible.

British Officer’s Full Dress Caps
(New York Times, 1915)

Color illustrations of six full dress British Army service caps. Pictured are the dark blue caps worn by those who held such ranks as Aide-de-Camp to the King, Equerry to the King, Staff Officer, British Army Pay Officer and Army Medical Officer.