Bold Leaders of World War I

The emotions that World War I evoke are often contradictory. It can be seen as a time when men and women believed in the causes they were fighting for, yet on the other hand it can be viewed as a war in which many elite generals used their forces stupidly. Some have said the fighting in that time before nuclear weapons was cleaner than that which we are threatened with now. Others say that the trench warfare conducted during the conflict was the ugliest, most bloody fighting civilized man has ever known. No matter which position seems valid, anyone interested in why we live the way we do today must be interested in World War I. And what better way to learn about history than to study the men and women who lived it? Here, then, are portraits of twelve men and women both little-known and famous who contributed to this crucial time in the history of the modern world. 

ERICH LUDENDORFF: He led the German troops on their brutal march through Belgium and France. 

GENERAL JOFFRE: The old general who rose to the defense of France. 

EDITH CAVELL: The Red Cross nurse whose execution was used as potent propaganda against the Germans. 

FRITZ KREISLER: The world-famous violinist who put away his instrument in order to fight for his country, Austria. 

WINSTON CHURCHILL: The young Englishman who saw the war as a chance to advance his career. 

PHILIPPE PETAIN: He was chosen to command the troops in one of the bloodiest battles of the the war: Verdun. 

BILL BRECKENRIDGE: A Canadian who fought with "the ladies from Hell." 

CARL MANNERHEIM: The Finn who made an epic journey to the Far East. 

MANFRED VON RICHTOFEN: The flying ace who became known as "The Red Baron." 

LAURENCE STALLINGS: The ex-marine whose disgust with the war turned him into a playwright. 

GEORGE C. MARSHALL: World War I served as the start of his distinguished career. 

RALPH EATON: The naive first-aid man who survived the war and went on to attend West Point.