World War I

Sailors reading, writing and relaxing at the Red Cross Rest Room in New Orleans. Around 400,000 African Americans served in World War I.

How World War I Planted the Seeds of the Civil Rights Movement

The Great War was a “transformative moment” for African Americans, who fought for the U.S. even as they were denied access to Democracy

The film opens on Christmas Day.

The True History Behind the '1917' Movie

A story shared by director Sam Mendes' grandfather, a veteran of the Western Front, inspired the new World War I film

A sonar image of the S.M.S. Scharnhorst, which sank in the south Atlantic on December 8, 1914

German Ship Sunk During WWI Found Off Falkland Islands

Archaeologists started searching for the "Scharnhorst" on the centenary of the 1914 battle

Between 1930 and 1933, the U.S. government funded segregated trips to American military cemeteries in Europe for mothers and widows of fallen soldiers. This Gold Star Pilgrim is visiting a soldier’s grave at Suresnes American Cemetery, west of Paris.

Jim Crow Compounded the Grief of African American Mothers Whose Sons Were Killed in World War I

Smithsonian Books presents ‘We Return Fighting,’ a groundbreaking exploration of African American involvement in World War I

Soldiers take a psychological test (the exact type of examination is unclear) in Camp Lee in Virginia in November 1917, the year the United States entered World War I and Woodworth first developed his test.

The First Personality Test Was Developed During World War I

Long before online quizzes and Myers-Briggs, Robert Woodworth’s “Psychoneurotic Inventory” tried to assess recruits' susceptibility to shell shock

Members of the 3rd Calvary arrive in D.C. to quash the racial unrest

One Hundred Years Ago, a Four-Day Race Riot Engulfed Washington, D.C.

Rumors ran wild as white mobs assaulted black residents who in turn fought back, refusing to be intimidated

A group waits for news out of Versailles by a wireless Marconi radio, June 1, 1919.

Europe Reacts to the Treaty of Versailles, in Photos

One hundred years ago, the news broke that World War I had officially ended.

Canadian Memorial at Vimy, France

Explore These World War I Trenches and Tunnels in France and Belgium

These four sites give visitors a glimpse into the trench warfare tactics soldiers experienced during the Great War

A German artillery shell hits the cathedral

The Debate Over Rebuilding That Ensued When a Beloved French Cathedral Was Shelled During WWI

After the Notre-Dame de Reims sustained heavy damage, it took years for the country to decide how to repair the destruction

A World War I Soldier's Cholera Seemed Odd. 100 Years Later, Researchers Have Sequenced His Bacteria's Genome

The cholera bacteria in his body may not have even been the cause of his symptoms after all, the new analysis found

An American infantry camp in Siberia, Russia, December 1918

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

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Introducing Our Special Issue on America at War

The nation's epic, expanding fight against terrorism overseas

We Finally Know What Sank the U.S.S. San Diego During World War I

After six visits to the ship and sophisticated modeling, historians have concluded that a German mine sunk the cruiser off the coast of New York in 1918

The Nazis appropriated Christmas imagery for political purposes, even changing the lyrics of traditional holiday songs like "Silent Night"

Berlin Exhibition Chronicles Evolution of Christmas Decorations From 19th Century to Today

Selections include swastika-adorned baubles from Nazi Germany, miniature bombs and warships popularized during World War I

Listen to the Moment the Guns Fell Silent, Ending World War I

A new exhibit at the Imperial War Museum uses seismic data collected during the war to recreate the moment the Armistice went into effect

At Fort Sill, Oklahoma, you can see "Atomic Annie," the first and only cannon to ever fire a nuclear shell.

This Veterans Day, Visit America’s Top Military Sites

A new book offers a guide to the museums, bases and once-secret locations that reveal America’s complex military history

At the Arc de Triomphe in 1919, Edwards blew “Taps” in honor of the fallen for their service and their sacrifice.

Hartley Edwards Played “Taps” on this Bugle After World War I to Honor the Fallen

But the bugler remembered the story a bit wrong. A century later, a curator sets the record straight

Cellucotton, the material used to make Kotex sanitary pads, was used in World War 1 hospitals as a bandage. Nurses quickly found another use for it.

The Surprising Origins of Kotex Pads

Before the first disposable sanitary napkin hit the mass market, periods were thought of in a much different way

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The Scars of World War I

One hundred years after the end of the bloodshed, one photographer finds personal connections to the war

From left to right: Sgt. Harold J. Higginbottom, Brigadier General Amos A. Fries, 2nd Lt. Thomas Jabine

How Three Doughboys Experienced the Last Days of World War I

The end of the war was a welcome reprieve for these three American soldiers, eager to return home

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