The First World War was where the 19th and 20th centuries met, and the image posted above sums it up nicely. The German cavalryman sits atop a beautiful steed, he wears a pair of elegant riding boots and carries a lance; his shiny breastplate and sword have been replaced with two elements created by the world of industrialized warfare: a steel helmet and a gas-mask. He appears to resemble a soldier who would prefer to believe that machine guns and high explosive artillery shells don’t exist, but just in case he brought along this other stuff.
Attached is a column by the admired British war correspondent Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett (1881 – 1931) concerning those distinct elements of the First World War that combined to make it something unique in the history of the world.
Click here to read about the fashion legacy of W.W. I…
Articles about trench warfare can be read here.
