“I look upon the people and the nation, as handed on to me, as a responsibility conferred upon me by God. And I believe, as it is written in the Bible, that it is my duty to increase this heritage, for which one day I shall be called upon to give an account. Whoever tries to interfere with my task, I shall crush.” Kaiser Wilhelm II, 1913
“Schlieffen concluded that a massive and successful surprise attack against France would be enough to put off Britain becoming involved in a continental war. This would allow Germany time to transfer soldiers who had been fighting in the successful French campaign to take on the Russians.”
Captain R Armes wrote to his wife of "the most extraordinary scenes imaginable"
"The Germans had lit their trenches up all along the front and were shouting 'no shooting'."
“Humanity is mad! It must be mad to do what it is doing. What a massacre. What scenes of horror and carnage! I cannot find words to translate my impressions. Hell cannot be so terrible! Men are mad!”
Anonymous French soldier
"The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty.........We seek no indemnities for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make."
Woodrow Wilson - American President
"Their governments composed of men and responsible only to the men of each country, and backed by the majority of men who have caught the war and glory fever, have declared war on one another. The women of all these countries have not been consulted as to whether they would have war or not..."
Harriette Beanland, English dressmaker August 1914
"I have seen and endured the sufferings of the troops, and I can no longer be a party to prolong these sufferings for ends which I believe to be evil and unjust."
“I believe that the war is being deliberately prolonged by those who have the power to end it”.
Siegfried Sassoon
The Victoria Cross
Erich Remarque
“I am a woman who enjoys herself very much; sometimes I lose, sometimes I win.”
Mata Hari
"If any question why we died, Tell them, because our fathers lied."
Rudyard Kipling
A story about a group of soldiers' last days before the battle of the Somme in 1916. It shows the conditions in the trenches during World War 1 and takes you into the minds of the soldiers.
Full War Movie Daniel Craig Paul Nicholls James D'Arcy
Franz Ferdinand's car, a Graf und Stift, showing where the bullet penetrated the car. The car is displayed in the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Vienna
British cartoon from Punch (1914) depicting "young" Belgium barring "elderly" Germany's path
“Expeditions which are decided upon and organised with insufficient care generally end disastrously.”
“We go up to the attack tomorrow. This will probably be the biggest thing yet. We are to have the honor of marching in the first wave.”
Alan Seeger - American, fighting with French troops
“We could not believe that we were expected to attack in such appalling conditions. I never prayed so hard in my life. I got down on my knees in the mud and prayed to God to bring me through.”
- Private Pat Burns, 46th Canadian Infantry Battalion, Passendale, November 1917
"Looking at the conference in retrospect there is much to approve and much to regret. It is easy to say what should have been done, but more difficult to have found a way for doing it."
Edward M. House 1919
One of the main purposes of propaganda was to persuade people to act.
"I have no fear nor shrinking; I have seen death so often that it is not strange or fearful to me." 
German solider in World War One - dogs equipped with gas masks.
“Wearing a uniform of some kind (whether in the forces or as a male or female police officer, postal worker or bus conductor) was an obvious way of contributing, but civilians working in a factory making uniforms, guns, ammunition, tanks or ships had every right to feel they were contributing as much to the war effort as a man with a gun. So, too, did dockers and miners.”
Germany's response to devaluation of currency and runaway inflation in the early 1920s was to print more and more cash, until every paper factory was churning out larger and larger denomination bills - exacerbating the problem to the point where the Deutschmark was virtually worthless.
"COWARD" is a 28 minute film set during World War 1 that brings to light some of the brutal treatment soldiers received for suffering what would now be known as shell-shock. It follows two cousins, Andrew and James, from their home in Northern Ireland who join the British Army to fight for their Country and make their families proud. Through their eyes we see the reality of life on the front lines.
“Germans had been right all along in claiming the ship was carrying war materials and was a legitimate military target.... The diving team estimates that around four million rounds of U.S.-manufactured Remington .303 bullets lie in the Lusitania's hold at a depth of 300 ft.”
G. Edward Griffin
“Today the fate of the British Empire hangs in the balance. I place my trust in the Canadian Corps knowing that where Canadians are engaged, there can be no giving way. You will advance or fall where you stand facing the enemy. To those who will fall, I say, you will not die but step into immortality.”
Arthur Currie’s speech to his troops
"Paris was a nightmare, and every one there was morbid. A sense of impending catastrophe overhung the frivolous scene; the futility and smallness of man before the great events confronting him; ......all the elements of ancient tragedy were there."
John Maynard Keynes
"Trench life was terrible. The enemy would throw grenades and bombs that would make craters in the trenches. When it rained, the craters would fill up with water and get all soggy causing high fevers, colds and other horrible illnesses. One common symptom from water was trench foot."
Unknown soldier from trenches
You’re walking down the street and you see this girl. And you look at her, and she looks at you… So you smile at her and she smiles at you. You saunter over towards her – and she hands you a white feather, saying, “You should be in uniform.”
Some 616 South Africans died when the SS Mendi sank on 21 February 1917.
Armored Tank
"The English had hit upon a splendid joke. They intended to catch me or to bring me down"
Manfred von Richthofen
Ghost of the Old Pilot - "I wonder if he would drop me now!"
