Good evening! I recently got ahold of this photo of my great grandfather who served in WWI. I’ve poked around trying to figure out the various insignia, but haven’t had much luck. I believe he was in the RASC (cap badge looks similar) but can’t puzzle out the aiguillette, collar and badge above the right pocket. Thanks!

Got this at a bookstore since it seemed interesting and I’ve looked at reviews. Either people are saying it’s a refreshing, neutral look at the war and others are saying it has nationalist elements.

I came across a List of Men Ordered to Report to Local Board for Military Duty from 1917, and found that- while most names have checks next to them, some have x's, and some have circled x's.

What is the difference between a regular X and a circled one? I can assume the check means that they showed up

It would be a lot harder to blockade the Central Powers for one. The Regia Marina would be a substantial risk to the Mediterranean operations of Greece, France, and Britain and aided by Ottoman ports in Lebanon and Syria, one of which the Italians ironically attacked in 1911-12, it could be a big problem. Cyprus is close to Ottoman shore, as is the Suez Canal, and Malta is pretty much as close to Italy as it gets yo any other place.

Italian troops in Libya and Eritrea and Somalia could pose big headaches for France and Britain, making it harder to go on the offensive in Palestine, endangering the shipping routes to the Red Sea for the Entente, and providing a way for Ottoman routes to get to Eastern Africa which the Germans could use to reinforce their colonies. Algeria, Tschad and the rest of the French Sudan, Tunisia, they become harder to hold by France when their forces are tied up fighting Italians and Iralian backed locals, and if the Italians are particularly successful they might even have the means to make French control over Morocco weak or untenable. It would take further resources at least to take out or neutralize or shadow the Libyan garrisons as well as those in Eritrea and Somalia at a time when it would be really inconvenient to do this.

The German colonies could be reinforced more often. Vorbeck was able tonite down a lot of resources with few of his own, imagine putting some airship bases in Somalia Libya, and Eritrea, the Germans really did try to do an airship reinforcement in real life but it got cancelled halfway to Tanganyika.

It also means that Italy doesn't tie up Austro-Hungarian forces in the Alps and allows their navy to join in the fight too, which could make the Salonika Front untenable, and may make the Gallipoli campaign impossible to sustain months before they left which frees up Ottoman forces and Ottoman naval power months before they were. Given king Constantine's sympathies it might even make Greece side with the Central Powers or at least the Germans. They didn't fully trust the Entente and were basically forced to pick a side.

It does tie down French resources most likely in an Alps theatre. France badly needs to not be distracted with another front on their border in 1915 and 1916 and the Russians do not want Austro-Hungarian forces freed up from Salonika, Serbia, and Italy to be sent their way, so that could be quite dangerous.

A lot of the war was on a knife's edge partway through and I can't imagine that the Entente wins as quickly as they do, or with only the casualties they sustained in real life, and with the diplomatic outcomes and peace treaties they got with Italy switching sides.and if Italy loses, I wonder is the Entente breaks up Italy and I imagine its colonies are taken and certainly don't share in the spoils of Southwest Turkey for a few years nor of the Dodecanese or Southern Tyrol or some of Dalmatia. Fascism probably takes a different path as well after the war depending on the outcome.

The Gernans were a big minority in America. Add in the Italians and it might be enough to make America less helping of the Entente than they actually were, slowing it down somewhat, and if they declare war anyway, they have to go after Italian Americans too. If the Italians are able to prevent a blockade from being effective and can get enough food into Germany and Austria Hungary, unrestricted submarine warfare is less necessary and may delay American entry to the war with all the ramifications that has.

What alternate activities can you imagine occur?

Was just given this anecdote by a crusty old army sergeant--mustard gas could apparently accumulate and freeze during winter and thaw during the spring, leading to a delayed impact on troops on the Western Front. Does that sound reasonable? Do we have any record of this?

Read contemporary sources on the death of Manfred von Richthofen on 21 April 1918.

I’m pretty sure this is a memorial/cemetery for fallen German soldiers during WW1, used to go here as a child without knowing a single thing about this. More pictures will be posted..