contain more expressions of bitterness, cynicism and gloom mixed freely with their expressions of nationalism. This is a cynicism first born in the slaughter, the mud and misery of W. W. 1. It found a natural expression in the literature and poetry produced during and immediately after the war. Soldier/writers like Sasson, Graves, and Remarque came to represent the all too human voice of all the war’s combatants for generations. They told us of the abject misery, horror and sadness experienced by the common soldiers at the front. They spoke to us of the unequal contest of blood and bone against machine gun, technology and high explosive, and they contrasted this against the incompetence of generals living in splendor and comfort in rear area villas. I recall years ago, that I saw an interview with the documentary film maker, Ken Burns. In it he said that- all history is made up of “family stories”. That idea stuck with me and is the guiding principle of this site. The Scaled Scenarios web site will attempt to illustrate and document varied aspects of the war and the lives and roles of the men and woman who were involved in it. This web site will in no way attempt to be, nor claim to be comprehensive. The in-depth analysis, strategic overview, and the lasting significance of the war are all issues that have already been explored by others with far better insight, intelligence and literary talent than I could ever bring to these subjects. Rather I hope that by focusing on the individuals, and the conditions they lived in, their images, letters, and other documents, I can perhaps, to borrow a phrase from historian Stephan Ambrose, “contribute to the sum of world knowledge.” That is at least my ambition, my intention, and my goal.
Bob Platts, June 2006
Preface
American Volunteer Ambulance driver
I’ve only recently become interested in the study of World War 1. In the past, I had always been drawn to other historical periods and other conflicts. Even the fact that my grandfather had served as a combat engineer with the 77th Division (“New York’s own“) in France, could not peak my curiosity. The little I had read of W.W.1 only reinforced my impression that the war was a useless and senseless slaughter of men, a tragic waste of lives and treasure, for no apparent reason or any appreciable gain.
However with the start of the second invasion of Iraq, I found myself reading a history of Iraq. The book spanned from Iraq’s inception after WW1 to the present time. This book got me thinking about WW1 as it relates to the boundaries and recent histories of the middle east. After reading both, Barbara Tuchman’s superb book ,“ The Guns of August,” and John Keegan’s book “THE FIRST WORLD WAR”, I became convinced that WW1 was still relevant today, and that the war still had lessons to teach us.
I began to see that in many places in the world the issues and conflicts that are still in dispute can be traced back to unresolved issues from WW1. With My curiosity peaked, I’ve immersed myself in study of WW1 ever since.
While I am convinced of the wars relevance to today, particularly when compared to our unstoppable rush toward invasion of Iraq, and Washington’s subsequent attack on American civil liberties. I am mostly drawn to the war’s unique confluence of people, their societal attitudes and personal foibles. I have became much more interested in the who and what; I found that the people involved, their words, and their pictures interested me much more then the why, and how, the when or where.It was while planning to build a series of dioramas to document the war and the life of the soldier’s involved in it, that I discovered the vast quantity and diversity of original WW1 material available for sale on the internet. Collecting photos and letters further sparked my curiosity, I found that being able to study first hand the original material, opened a window on the lives of these people. With the growth of my collection, I began to think of building a website to share my collection, and hopefully those who took the time to view the material would find it as interesting as I do.
One of the things I found interesting when I first read the soldiers’ letters, was their expressions of patriotism, nationality and their almost naive belief in the authorities better sense, and judgement. This is especially apparent in the letters from American soldiers.It should be remembered that the Americans were only in the war from 1917 and with a few exceptions, they were in combat for only a few months time. This optimism, it is arguable could be a “National” trait, but it could also be argued that the Americans weren’t in the mud long enough, or wasted and slaughtered bad enough, to reach the same conclusions as the other combatants.Letters from British, Canadian, French and German soldiers
