Photos WW1 British, Commonwealth & US Forces

King George V of the United Kingdom, stands in front of the 15" guns of the super dreadnought HMS Queen Elizabeth, 1917.
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A shell-hole in the side of HMS Chester sustained at the Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916. Visible on deck is a 5.5-inch gun
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Private Jack Gaghan (SN 2370) in South Australia, 1915.
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John "Jack" Gaghan was born at Petersburg or Tarcowie, South Australia, on 7 October 1897 to Sarah Gaghan, née McDonald, a presbyterian mother. In 1915 he was single and worked as a labourer in Tarcowie, a small town in South Australia. He decided to enlist at Keswick on 24 March 1915 and served with the 10th Infantry Battalion. Gaghan embarked on HMAT Kanowna A61 in Adelaide on 23 June 1915. After a time in Egypt he was redirected to London, where he suffered injuries and was then placed for combat. He was shot in his right forearm on 21 September 1917 and wounded again on 31 May 1918, this time a gunshot on his right knee. He recovered in September and rejoined his unit, and eventually returned to Australia in 1919, where he received the Victory and British War Medals three years later, as well as a 1914-15 Star. He had served 4 years and 105 days. Gaghan was married to Noemie Ashken Arzeian and died 20 December 1933.

Source: State Library of South Australia (Ron Blum Collection: B73109)
 
New York recruits heading to training write messages on the sides of their train. (Photo: National Archives and Records Administration)
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Soldiers make their way through training trenches in Camp Fuston at Fort Riley, Kansas. (Photo: National Archives and Records Administration)
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A World War I soldier lets the regimental mascot climb on him. (Photo: National Archives and Records Administration)
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Soldiers training at Camp Devens, Massachusetts, stand with their bayonet targets helpfully named things like "Kaiser Bill" and "Hindenburg." (Photo: National Archives and Records Administration)
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HMS Campania sinking after dragging anchor and colliding with nearby ships during a Force 10 at Rosyth (Scotland), Nov 5th 1918.
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The Grand Fleet from the deck of HMS Cordelia, WW1
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US soldiers advance upon a German-occupied town in France where they receive some sniper fire along the way during the Meuse–Argonne offensive (October 1918)
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Harley-Davidson Armoured Sidecar's,
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This is a US Military Harley Davidson with an added gunshield and armoured chassis with sidecar, built in 1916 and designed by William Harley, and armed with a M1909 Hotchkiss / Benét–Mercié machinegun converted to 30-06 in it's land fed by straight ammunition strips you can see down to the left of the image- the variant used for these armoured motorcycles was the 'Portative' lightweight variant, and it was attached to the motorcycles via the tripod mount and used with 3 linked together 25 round feed strips for a total of 75 rounds ready in the initial engagement, with additional strips behind the gunner's position.

There was a few of these up-armoured bikes that saw limited use by Gen. John “Black Jack” Pershing in the Pancho Villa Expedition by the US military to the Mexican Civil War between March 14, 1916, to February 7, 1917, as well as armed variants being used later during WW1 as part of specialised 'Motor Mobile Infantry' units, with various different armaments, armour (or lack of it) as well as in more conventional non-armed roles like medical transport.

In total, 20,007 motorcycles of the two manufacturers were shipped overseas by the end of WW1.
 
US soldiers fire a 37mm infantry support gun during an advance against German positions during the Meuse-Argonne offensive (September 1918)
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US Troops, Meuse-Argonne offensive, Sept 26 - Nov 11, 1918
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2nd Battle Squadron ready to open fire on the High Seas Fleet in the evening sun. Battle of Jutland 1916
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Battleships of the RN Grand Fleet in the North Sea as they head out to meet the German High Seas Fleet at Jutland, 31 May 1916
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HMS Defence (1907) showing stern 9.2 inch Mk XI guns. HMS Defence was sunk at Jutland
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Liverpool, NSW. 1915. Men of the Australian Light Horse in training before heading off to war.
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HMS Queen Mary explodes during the Battle of Jutland, May 31, 1916
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She was hit twice by the German battlecruiser Derfflinger during the early part of the battle and her magazines exploded shortly afterwards, sinking the ship.

One shell hit forward and detonated one or both of the forward magazines, which broke the ship in two near the foremast. Stationed inside 'Q' turret, Midshipman Jocelyn Latham Storey survived and reported that there had been a large explosion forward which rocked the turret, breaking the left gun in half, the gun breech falling into the working chamber and the right gun coming off its trunnions. Cordite in the working chamber caught fire and produced poisonous fumes that asphyxiated some of the turret's crew. It is doubtful that an explosion forward could have done this, so 'Q' turret may have been struck by the second shell. A further explosion, possibly from shells breaking loose, shook the aft end of the ship as it began to roll over and sink. Tiger, the battlecruiser behind her, was showered with debris from the explosion and forced to steer to port to avoid her remains. 1,266 crewmen were lost; eighteen survivors were picked up by the destroyers Laurel, Petard, and Tipperary, and two by the Germans.

Queen Mary, along with the other Jutland wrecks, has been declared a protected place under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 to discourage further damage to the resting place of 1,266 officers and men. Surveys of this site conducted by nautical archaeologist Innes McCartney in 2001–03 have shown the wreck is in three sections, with the two forward sections being heavily damaged and in pieces. Her aft end is upside down and relatively complete except for her propellers, which have been salvaged. Examination of the damage to the ship has suggested that the initial explosion was not in the magazine of 'A' or 'B' forward main turrets, but instead in the magazine of the forward 4-inch battery. An explosion of the quantity of cordite in the main magazine would have been sufficient to also ignite 'Q' magazine, destroying much more of the ship. The explosion in the smaller magazine would have been sufficient to break the ship in two, the blast then spreading to the forward magazine and ripping apart the forward section
 
General Edmund Allenby enters Jerusalem following its surrender to British forces, 1917
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Town class light cruiser HMS Glasgow, seen here in Valparaiso, Chile. Lightly damaged by German cruisers during the Battle of Coronel she in turn assisted in the sinking of SMS Leipzig during the Battle of the Falklands.
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A National Guard soldier stands outside in NY streets in 1917, This is the reserve component of the US Army which is often used for domestic duties but can also be called up during wartime.

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It's 1918 and this US Army soldier is testing out new body armor for WW1 while using a Civil War musket.

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Photo by: Frank Hurley and George H(Hubert) Wilkins:
Australian billet among the ruins of a house near Ypres. Soldiers prepare a meal and rest. 1917.
Source: IWM

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