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Yes, it's quoted on the page for The Merry Wives of Windsor as well, though both articles cite different sources (and neither are sources I'm familiar with). I first encountered it in college during a class I took on the origins of the Great War, I just don't remember which book I first read it in.

I highly recommend checking out both Rites of Spring by Modris Eksteins and 14-18: Understanding The Great War by Stéphane Audoin-Rouzeau & Annette Becker, in any case. Both are fantastic books, easy to get into - and 14-18 was reissued in 2014 in a new edition for the 100th anniversary of the start of the Great War.

Of course! Though, disappointingly my French collection is not up to snuff with the rest of my collection, as I primarily reenact a Prussian Riflemen of the Imperial German forces, but I've got some odds and ends.

The pride and joy would be my M1915 Adrian helmet, with original paint still in tact as well as the army badge on the front. The liner had long ago rotted out, so I had a great friend of mine who specializes (and is his sole income) in refurbishing original helmets from The Great War through to The Korean War. I have an affinity for head wear, especially steel helmets, to which I have a Belgium, Russian, Serbian, and even Polish variation of the French Adrian helmet!

I have a French Lebel M1886 rifle, dated 1905, which definitely saw some use in the war. Which, believe it or not is still pretty fun to take out and shoot, ammo isn't too hard to find for it (8mm Lebel, incidentally the first smokeless powder cartridge ever developed and adopted by a nation). Kept clean and lubricated I haven't had any foul ups or breakages. Along with the rifle, came the infamous "Rosalie" bayonet-- a blade of 20 inches or so long, also dated 1905.

Other than that, I have a pipe that was from a collection of some personal effects as well as some trench art on an artillery shell that came from an estate sale many, many years ago.

I do have the Horizon Blue greatcoat, literally just to wear when it gets very cold or I'm up in the mountains someplace because I think it looks awesome. It is however a reproduction that was made when a member of the club sourced some bolts of original fabric while he was in France visiting family. Decent amount of providence!

If you have not yet already read it, you should do yourself a favor and obtain the book "Poilu: The World War I Notebooks of Corporal Louis Barthas, Barrelmaker" by Louis Barthas. It is hands down one of the best personal accounts of the Great War, and specifically of the French trials and tribulations, the man was in the war from nearly the beginning, through to the end and all the horrible battles the French fought in, 9/10 he was there. Fascinating, horrifying, unbelievably nerve-racking primary sources and documentation of the war from a conscripts point of view.

I could go on, and on, and on, and on... I love this stuff, and the Great War especially is a fascination, hell, an obsession of mine. Enjoy!

So that's Woodrow Wilson singing a peace tune. Very interesting in light of his later campaigning after his Presidency for the League Of Nations, which was a good first attempt at preventing war.

He is also a subject of the book Wilson's ghost which later became the academy award winning documentary The Fog of War.

Edit: a word, and presidency, and typo

Indeed. I'm amazed the modern version is so old.

That said, the Ancient Greeks used to chew the resin of the mastic tree. You can actually get a modern version in Greece today (with a shit ton of sugar added). Amazon sells it... it's weird, but not bad. Certainly an acquired taste.

According to Wikipedia, the Aztecs had a similar sweet resin that they chewed, and evidence of birch bark tar used for chewing was found in neolithic Finland.

And almost as good as this guy.

The book "Band of Brigands" is an account of the development of the first tanks, and the volunteers who manned them. It's an excellent read.

Edit: I also recall hearing about some incident during the demonstration of the tanks for the King. In this video, from around 2:20, the tank is being demonstrated. The tank had a crew size of 11 men. However, at the end of the demonstration, only 4 of the crew could clamber out of the machine; the other 7 were knocked unconscious by the drop and the chassis having no suspension.

https://www.amazon.com/Hobbit-Wardrobe-Great-War-Rediscovered-ebook/dp/B00PWOH1EM

Great book about Lewis and Tolkien and how the war impacted their writing.

I believe it's taken from https://www.amazon.com/Chronicle-20th-Century-Clifton-Daniel/dp/0131337033

https://www.amazon.com/Paris-1919-Months-Changed-World/dp/0375760520

Paris 1919

Seems a book was written about it. https://www.amazon.com/Mrs-Sherlock-Holmes-Detective-Captivated/dp/1250072247

I assume that you are talking about this. All I can say is that my Polish version of this book doesn't say anything about this occurrence. It only mentions G. Hanotaux's "Histoire de la Guerre de 1914" publication, but maybe my Polish sources are biased...

Source is "Le "nazisme" en dates" by Thierry Feral: https://www.amazon.fr/nazisme-dates-Novembre-1918-Novembre-1945/dp/2296114601. It doesn't say there was a clash, just that the Freikorps (les corps franc) first entered Bavaria on that date

You know how it is, sources often vary.