BC3 Library: World War I: Web resources

Life in the trenches of World War I

"In Flanders Field" by John McCrae

The poem "In Flanders Field" was written by John McCrae during the First World War and is considered to be one of the best known war poems of all time. McCrae was a Canadian soldier and physician during World War I and wrote the poem after his experiences in the second Battle Ypres on the Western Front. It was first published in the magazine Punch in 1915 and has gone on to being a poem synonymous with remembrance and is recited today during war memorial services throughout the world. McCrae died near the end of the war from complications related to pneumonia.

General Websites on World War I

'Hello Girls' Kept World War I Communications Humming
Serving as civilian telephone operators for the Army, more than 200 American women leapt at the chance to serve overseas during the Great War
40 maps that explain World War I
The Great War killed 10 million people, redrew the map of Europe, and marked the rise of the United States as a global power. Here are 40 maps that explain the conflict — why it started, how the Allies won, and why the world has never been the same.
The Armenian Genocide (1915-16): overview
Sometimes called the first genocide of the twentieth century, the Armenian genocide refers to the physical annihilation of Armenian Christian people living in the Ottoman Empire from spring 1915 through autumn 1916.
The Centennial of the Armistice of WWI
A digital exhibition on the World War I Armistice
Continuing Conflict: Europe after the First World War
In many parts of Europe and beyond, the end of the First World War did not mean an end to the fighting. Peace did not return to Europe until 1923, five years after the end of the First World War.
The Forgotten Story of the American Troops Who Got Caught Up in the Russian Civil War
Even after the armistice was signed ending World War I, the doughboys clashed with Russian forces 100 years ago.
Gas in the Great War
One of the enduring hallmarks of WWI was the large-scale use of chemical weapons, commonly called, simply, ‘gas’.
Greatest World War I Films
Horse power in the First World War
A war horse is often thought of as a huge cavalry charger or a smart officer’s mount. But during the First World War (1914-18), horses' roles were much more varied. Their contribution included carrying and pulling supplies, ammunition, artillery and even the wounded. Without these hard-working animals, the Army could not have functioned.
How deadly was the poison gas of World War I?
The first major gas attack in war occurred 100 years ago this weekend, in what is now Poland. Gas soon became a routine feature of trench warfare, horrifying soldiers more than any conventional weapon.
How did animals (even slugs) serve in World War I?
To honor our animal veterans, this post highlights five animals that made significant contributions to the Great War.
How Nurses in World War I Helped Change Ideas About What Women Could Accomplish
How the Great War shaped the world
The trauma of 1914-18 forever changed geopolitical boundaries, the science of killing, and the meaning of war.
How the poppy came to symbolize World War I
Red blooms help the world commemorate a bloody war.
How the Treaty of Versailles and German Guilt Led to World War II
A hundred years after the Armistice
If you think the First World War began senselessly, consider how it ended.
Location of the 1914-1918 Battlefields of the Western Front
This map illustrates the battlefield sectors of the 1914-1918 Western Front.
Nine poets of the First World War
"Poetry seemed a natural outlet for the intense emotions generated by the war and its range challenges the concept that only those with direct experience of fighting, i.e. soldiers, were allowed to write about war. The Great War was a total war and no one was left untouched by it."
Nine Reasons Why Gallipoli Was One Of The Worst Fronts Of The First World War
The Signing of Peace in the Hall of Mirrors, Versailles, 28th June 1919
The Story of the WWI Christmas Truce
At Christmas 1914, an event occurred that was not repeated again during the First World War. An unofficial, spontaneous truce took place along some parts of the Western Front.
Take the World War I quiz
Do you know how World War I started, or when it ended? How much have you picked up about life in the trenches? Find out with this quick 10-question quiz, and test your knowledge of the World War I.
The Treaty of Versailles, 1919
After four years of devastating fighting, the First World War came to an end in 1919 in Versailles. The treaty, which represented “peace” for some and a “diktat” for others, also sowed the seeds of the Second World War, which would break out twenty years later.
Viewpoint: How WW1 changed aviation forever
When the world went to war in 1914 the Wright Brothers had only made the world's first powered flight little over a decade before. But the remarkable advances made in aviation during World War One are still at the core of air power today, says Dr Peter Gray.
Why was the Zimmerman Telegram so important?
The Zimmermann Telegram (or Zimmermann Note or Zimmerman Cable) was a secret diplomatic communication issued from the German Foreign Office in January 1917 that proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico if the United States entered World War I against Germany. Mexico would recover Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico.
World War I: Around the Globe-Google Earth
Learn about 10 key battles that spanned multiple continents as the major powers fought at home and in territories abroad, making the Great War one of the first truly global conflicts.
World War I in photos
World War I Memorials
From poppy strewn castles to peaceful cemeteries, remember The Great War in Google Earth.
World War I music
Sheet music covers from the era with songs meant to inspire action, entertain, or comfort.
World War I sinking of the Lusitania recalled
Some 1,200 people died when the ocean liner Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat in World War One. A centenary since its loss, a new exhibition is remembering the massacre, which is often seen as bringing the United States into the conflict.

A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway I WHO DID WHAT IN WW1?

Armistice: The signature that ended World War I

Open Educational Resources

For more OER Resources, see the Open Educational Resources LibGuide.

African American soldiers in World War I
African American soldiers are often rendered invisible in the traditional historical narrative of United States involvement in World War I. But hundreds of thousands of African Americans fought on the western front to make the world “safe for democracy,” in President Woodrow Wilson’s phrase. This primary source set emphasizes the experiences of African American doughboys during the war while also highlighting how they were perceived by white Americans.
America during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic
Armenian Genocide
Students will be able to explain the causes, events, and effects of the Armenian Genocide during World War I. Students will then write a letter advocating their opinion on whether Turkey should or should not assume responsibility for the genocide, citing specific examples from the lesson in their argument.
Blockades, u-boats and sinking of the Lusitania
Learn about the naval warfare between Britain and Germany that led to the sinking of the Lusitania.
Exploring Irony in the Conclusion of All Quiet on the Western Front
After reading "All Quiet on the Western Front", students discuss the novel's ironic ending, then compose alternate titles and endings for the book, and design new book covers.
Great writers inspire: World War I poetry
The poetry written during the First World War was often created as an elegiac response to the disaster of the war. The following essay examines the different portrayals of mourning present in the poetry of Wilfred Owen, Edward Thomas, and Isaac Rosenberg. Whilst the poets appear to treat the theme of mourning in a slightly different manner, each poem is rendered a site of lamentation which displays the horror of the Great War. Somewhat poignantly, all three of the poets were killed in action, just like the soldiers eulogized in their works.
World War I Resources from the MacArthur Memorial
In many ways, World War I set the fault lines of the modern world. It was the end and the beginning of an age. But a hundred years later, why does this war still matter? What were the causes of the war? And, who were the major players? These free MacArthur Memorial educational resources will help students answer these important questions, while reinforcing SOLs related to US History, World History and Geography

World War I: Web resources

Life in the trenches of World War I

"In Flanders Field" by John McCrae

General Websites on World War I

A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway I WHO DID WHAT IN WW1?

Armistice: The signature that ended World War I

Open Educational Resources

World War I Facts

Henry Johnson And The Harlem Hellfighters I WHO DID WHAT IN WW1?

The Christmas Truce of 1914: What Really Happened?

Map of the 1915 Armenian Genocide in the Turkish Empire