WORDS AND OBJECTS TO TELL
WORLD WAR 1 TRAGEDY

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WW1 by the words
WW1 by the artillery
WW1 by some objects
WW1 by visits
WW1 links
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The odds of the encounter with an old book, an old photography, an old battlefield relic or a place of remembrance is often enough to trigger some curiosity. Satisfying it by more extended researches can give birth to a genuine passion for World War 1.

Uncertain ground waves or grooves - trench remains - on fields or in the woods, rusted steel fragments or steel wire pieces, some oxydized cartridges, shell bodies and fuzes resting along ploughinhs, sometimes some bones that we hope not to be human, a war memorial, a tomb in a cemetary, trophies, a museum... there are so many clues !

But without some explanations these moving witnesses sometimes fail to communicate the horror that so much young men lived. The dead, the mutilated, the wounded, and for so many a intolerable moral and physical suffering in a thick atmosphere of angst, hunger, cold, humidity and stench... The passion for these times history is soon joined by a real compassion for the men. This website ambition is to help the ones who want it to make all these witnesses tell their stories and feel that compassion.

Grenade 'Cuiller' F1, prudemment photographiée sur la cote 304, à Verdun

Walking on a former world war 1 battlefield will often guide your steps in a seductive nature, following the geometric ploughings of a consciencious farmer, on the nice green grass of a quiet pasture, under the shadow of majestic trees, immerged in a charming countryside where birds are singing. The nature and the men took their rights back, and a unaware walker could simply remember of a nice promenade.

The nature is quiet and soothing... but Death is still close, it did not put its toys tidy.

Woe betide the one who would grasp this strange pine cone ! more than one century after its end, the Great War still kills and mutilates.

For those who make the effort to read some witnesses, to learn to identify some relics, it becomes easy to immerse in the period, to feel a real emotion and a respectful remembrance. It it then possible to walk in full conscience on the other battlefields that used to be hell on earth for so much young men. Progressively the promenade is transforming, the tortured soldiers souls seem looking at us, they are there and our rare visits are perhaps giving some consolation to those forgotten humans...

Little by little a thought imposes itself, exaucing the wishes of Maurice Genevoix, that this WW1 veteran and famous French author wrote in the forwords of its magistral "Ceux de 14" :

I would like that the veteran soldiers, reading those souvenirs, find in here a bit of theirselves, and of the men they once were; and I would like that some other people maybe, after finishing this lecture, think, if only for a minute : "It was like that, though; It was happening, though...".
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Follow these guides to better understand the Great War :

World War 1 by the words
Who better than the ones who lived or studied id could witness the Great War or explain it ? The recommended readings in these sections are excellent guides.
La Guerre, Madame... me croirez-vous ? Books to witness, explain or document

Commented bibliography of witnesses, historians, guides, etc... an incomplete extract of my rich bibliotheque made of more than 1000 items.
Maurice Genevoix Quotations that hit

Impressive words and quotations, gathered during my readings and that moved me.
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World War 1 by the artillery
The artillery, soldiers' flesh chopper, the most deadly weapon of WW1 that wrecked havoc the grounds for centuries. Discover that weapon in the following sections pretty well known among the entire world specialists.
155 Schneider à Bruxelles Artillery guns and ammunitions universe

The complete path to discover the WW1 artillery ; the main principles that rule its weapons and ammunitions, the description of this period guns, howitzers and mortars, the shell fuzes galleries and many other resources
Canon de Bange de 155 mm à Fleury Surviving guns

Direct link to one of the more famous sections of this website : the History of artillery in 1914-1918 and the description of its weapons through an inventory of the hundreds of surviving ones still visible nowadays in the whole world.
Maurice Genevoix Shell fuzes galleries

The other most popular section of this website : the gallery of WW1 shell fuzes with pictures, schemes and detailed explanations that allow to identify them and understand their mechanisms.
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World War 1 by the objects
Apart from the ones related to the artillery, included in the previous lines, the Great War left numerous other objects in the families, the museums or on the old battlefields.
Casque à pointe Different categories of WW1 objects

Just some examples of these ojects classified in categories, pictures of typical WW1 items
Grenade Britannique Grenades galleries

Direct link to one of the most populated categories of this WW1 objects section : the hand grenades from several nations.
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World War 1 by visits on sites or on websites
For the happy ones who are able to do it, a visit on former battlefields or museums dedicated to WW1 is a must. But the Web is also full of websites allowing anyone to share his knowledge and his experiences on this topic.
Isolateur pour fil téléphonique WW1 recommended links

Numerous links to websites dedicated to the Great War
Bienvenue à la Main de Massiges... WW1 related locations visits

Some pictures of visits on locations belonging to the Great War memory.
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Useful resources on this website
Use them to improve your browsing experience on my website, and to contact me
Casque à pointe What's new ?

Follow this website evolution, from its beginnings in 2004 until today, and be informed of the latest updates.
Grenade Britannique Search this website

Make a Google search restricted to this website perimeter.
Grenade Britannique Contact me

Send me your advices, your critics, your congratulations, your suggestions.
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