World War I Articles | The Western Front Association

Articles on every aspect of the First World War written by experts in their field. Some were first published in Stand To! or Bulletin, others have been researched and written for the web. If you would like to contribute an article please get in touch.

Absolution at Aubers : May 1915

Although the Battle of Neuve Chapelle in March 1915 had given grounds for optimism, in the weeks...

'Aces Low': The Wimbledon Champion at Aubers

In the years leading up to the First World War, one of the most famous sportsmen of the Edwardian...

Medal Index Cards

During the late part of the First World War the Army Medal Office began a system of making out an...

The Execution of the 'Iron Twelve'

The early weeks of the First World War saw the Germans advancing across most of Belgium and large...

Aubers Ridge 9 May 1915: The Unpleasant Truth

For it appears ridiculous to call it so, the 'battle' of Aubers Ridge fits perfectly the stereoty...

British Corps Commanders in the Great War

As identified by Andrew Simpson in his PhD thesis,[1] there is remarkably little written about Br...

The Chatsworth Rifles raid at Richebourg

An ideal way to obtain an understanding of the First World War is through reading the memoirs of...

The Battle of the Boar's Head

Lord Kitchener's famous call for volunteers 'Your Country Needs You' resulted in an overwhelming...

The Coldstream Guards and Irish Guards at Cuinchy 1915

Cuinchy is a village astride the La Bassée Canal and is referred to by Robert Graves in his class...

The (other) man who shot down the Red Baron

By far the most famous ‘ace’ of the Great War was Manfred Albrecht von Richthofen, popularly know...

Two men with five names: The Curious Case of Cornelius Costello

The image of the headstone below, which is in Dover (St James's) Cemetery, is perhaps not terribl...

The loss of HMS Bulwark : 26 November 1914

Losses of life in the First World War are more often than not attributed to engagements in battle...