The Explorers' Club Special: June-July 1914

Operation AXIOM: The World War
As the centenary of the World War (the Weltkrieg to German speakers, the Great War to English speakers) approached in 2014, I decided that "The Explorers' Club" would make a "real time" study of what was happening in the course of the war, one century earlier:

For the next five years, we here at "The Explorers' Club" will be remembering the First World War, dedicating a minimum of one episode per month to the centenary of an event during the Great War, on or about the date it happened in 1914-1919. This may tinge "The Explorers' Club" with sepia tones of tragedy, but 'tis necessary, tis essential that we remember "the war to end all wars," lest the glorious dead died in vain, lest Western civilization again marches enthusiastically toward Tophet. As Rudyard Kipling, who lost his boy Jack to the war, wrote, "Lest we forget." Lest we forget.

This dedication of "a minimum of one episode per month to the centenary" quickly became all consuming. It truly was a World War & there was so much more happening than one episode per week could possibly track. The decision was taken to come up for a breath of fresh air, dedicating a minimum of one episode per month to any subject other than the centenary of the "War to End All Wars," but more often than not that hope failed.

"The Explorers' Club" as we know it today came of age in the crucible of the Great War centenary. The Sunday publishing schedule was more & more conformed to the actual anniversary of events, a tendency that continues today in our study of spaceflight anniversaries. More & more information was included in each episode, culminating in the four-line maximum that still prevails today.

Studying the World War is a grim but necessary business. The tragedy of 1914-1919 could happen to us again, & will happen to us again if we don't learn the lessons of the past. 2022 saw the return of major, high-intensity warfare to Europe for the first time since 1945, the end of the Second World War. The isolationist retreat of the United States under Presidents Obama, Trump, & Biden has reignited great-power competition for the first time since 1991, the end of the Cold War. In terms of economic power, the People's Republic of China is much more of a peer competitor than the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ever was. I invite you, dear readers, to join me again as we explore the triumph & the tragedy of the First World War.

The Wayback Machine Tour of the World War: June-July 1914
"The Explorers' Club," № CCCXCIX: The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
"The Explorers' Club," № CD: The "July Crisis"
"The Explorers' Club," № CDI: The Triple Alliance
"The Explorers' Club," № CDII: The Triple Entente
"The Explorers' Club," № CDIII: The "July Ultimatum"

Lest we forget.