Myths & Legends of the First World War

Accounts of World War I usually center on grueling life in the trenches, living and fighting on the front line. While incorporating wartime life, this book gives a refreshingly different perspective by looking at the rich crop of legends that sprang from the battlefields. Some of these myths still persist in the public consciousness even today, yet all are mirrored in recent conspiracy theories, folk tales of the paranormal, and moral panics. The Angel of Mons is an example of a myth still debated today. The legend says that British troops, exhausted from many days marching to battle, reported sightings of a troop of angels on the battlefield at Mons—the supernatural presence then terrified the German soldiers, who were forced to retreat. The unexplained disappearance of a whole Territorial battalion of the Norfolk Regiment at Gallipoli is another a lingering controversy. Using a wide range of contemporary documentary sources, James Hayward retells the story of each myth with possible explanations for how they came about, illustrating his narrative with a variety of contemporary photographs and illustrations, some of which are rare and from his own private collection.