Tag: World War One

World War One Illustrated magazine backstory

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By Dana Lombardy. In late 2013, I proposed World War One Illustrated (WWOI) magazine as a proof of concept for the nonprofit World War One Historical Association. As a permanent member of the board of directors of WW1HA, I was aware of the organization’s need for a new publication as it entered the 100th anniversary years commemorating WW1 – known then as the Great War (1914-1918).

I wanted WWOI to appeal to a broader audience than just people who already had an interest in WW1. This included wargamers, like me, and a graphic-intense design that included color maps and color illustrations.

I also felt that WWOI provided an opportunity to present the most recent scholarship, with comparative charts and diagrams called “sidebars” in the page layouts. I’m a data and statistics “geek” and trust numbers more than the opinions of historians who may have agendas for promoting or disparaging leaders or weapons or strategies. As publisher and senior editor of WWOI, I collected and assembled articles, images, and information for each issue to make the magazine something that I wanted to read.

I published issues 1 through 9 from 2013-2018. Number 7 was a special WW1 book issue with reviews of more than 100 books released between 2017-2018.

I am currently assembling the next book review issue, renamed the Tomlinson Prize Review of World War One Books. It will include books published from 2018, 2019, and some released earlier this year. (I sit on the judging committee for the Norman B. Tomlinson Prize, awarded annually by the World War One Historical Association to the best English-language book(s) on World War One. This award was first presented in 1999. You can see the Tomlinson Prize winners here.)

I am very pleased with the critical acclaim received by the magazine, and with the positive feedback on the four mini-games games I designed that were published with the first four issues of World War One Illustrated.

As a wargame designer, I firmly believe that games enable us to explore history, especially alternate history. Games can also be valuable tools for teaching. I was incredibly gratified that my Russia’s Great War: 1914 received a 2019 bronze level prize from the International Serious Play Awards in the Educational Board Game category.

All of these minigames were designed for solitaire and 2-players. The large 1-inch square markers were perforated so they could be easily separated. The game board, markers, and rules were printed in a 4-page stiff cardstock folder. Additional rules for #2 and a historical guide and game tutorial for #4 were also provided. You supply the six-sided dice needed.

All the minigames that appeared in WWOI, can be purchased through the LOMBARDY STUDIOS shop.

World War One Illustrated Number 1
FEATURED GAME Zeppelin Raider – A quick-playing, three-turn game that uses no dice as the British pilot tries to destroy the mammoth airship.

World War One Illustrated Number 2
FEATURED GAME Assassination in Sarajevo – The 2-step play starts with the 1914 assassination attempt that even if unsuccessful or partially successful may or may not lead to war.

World War One Illustrated Number 3
FEATURED GAME On to Paris! – The two German armies on the far right of the 1914 invasion of France try to quickly overcome the French armies and British Expeditionary Force.

World War One Illustrated Number 4
FEATURED GAME Russia’s Great War – The outnumbered German 8th Army tries to stop two invading Russian armies in the 1914 Tannenberg campaign. 2019 AWARD WINNER.

It was not possible to continue producing a game for every issue of WWOI. However, I am developing more minigames for WW1 and other historical eras using the unique magazine insert format created for WWOI. Sign up here for updates in that will appear in my blog.

Cachets Commemorate World War One

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Shown above are veterans USMC MajGen Mike Myatt (left), San Francisco Postmaster General Abraham Cooper, and SF Fleet Week board director Ed Flowers ©️ San Francisco Chronicle

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By Dana Lombardy. Help the ongoing educational efforts of the San Francisco War Memorial Veterans Building by purchasing the 100th anniversary collectible cachets (envelopes) with the new World War One “Turning the Tide” Forever postage stamp.

Each affordably priced cachet is printed on acid-free paper and has a unique 1918 theme and story about the role each group played in helping to win this catastrophic war. Eight different cachets feature:

  • U.S. Army
  • U.S. Marine Corps
  • U.S. Navy and Coast Guard
  • U.S. Air Service
  • U.S. Women
  • African Americans
  • U.S. Animals
  • San Francisco War Memorial Veterans Building dedicated to all who served in World War One.

Buy an individual cachet or all 8

Prices include shipping to a U.S. address. Contact us for shipping outside the U.S.A.

For collectors, history enthusiasts, and supporters of our military.

Thank you for helping us preserve this history and remember the service of these brave Americans.

 

Cachet Set Cachet Set of 8 + Stamp + Cancellation $25.00 Click the picture to view close ups of each cachet and BUY one or more sets with stamps and cancellations. Price includes heavy duty shipping carton and postage to a USA address.
display Acrylic Display Stand $12.00 Display your cachets with a 7-inch by 5-inch acrylic stand that shows one cachet but will hold all 8 cachets—simply rotate the cachet that is face out to keep the display fresh. Click the picture to BUY one or more display stands. Price includes heavy duty shipping carton and postage to a USA address.

Deluxe 38-inch long by 23-inch tall framed set shows all 8 cachets, plus (centered) the text on the back of all 8 cachets. $380 includes: custom mat framing, extra packing, insurance, and shipping via UPS ground to a USA address.

Click the picture to BUY a custom framed display.

To Buy the Cachet Envelopes Individually, Click Here.

These cachets are a project of the World War I Armistice Centennial Commemoration Committee to observe the 100th anniversary of the signing of the WWI Armistice, November 11, 1918 ending The Great War. The Committee is chaired by Maj. Gen. J. Michael Myatt, USMC (Ret.), and Judge Quentin L. Kopp (Ret.), president of the Korean War Memorial Foundation. The Committee was formed by community members with support from the War Memorial Board of Trustees to organize exhibits and activities to commemorate the Armistice Centennial. San Francisco’s projects and exhibits were selected by the U.S. World War One Centennial Commission as one of its official 100 American Cities 100 Memorials.

World War One minigames

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These quick-playing minigames can be enjoyed solitaire or 2-player

Just $10 each in our Shop—or get all four for $30!

Zeppelin Raider
Terror from the Skies
Fly against—or as—one of the MONSTERS OF THE AIR. Diceless.
(First published in World War One Illustrated magazine No. 1)

Assassination in Sarajevo
Can the Austrian Royal Couple Survive?
Was war inevitable in 1914? Requires 1 six-sided die.
(First published in World War One Illustrated magazine No. 2)

On to Paris!
Can the Germans Win the Great War in 1914? Requires 13 six-sided dice.
(First published in World War One Illustrated magazine No. 3)

Russia’s Great War: 1914*
Can the Tsar’s armies win in East Prussia? Requires 3 six-sided dice.
(First published in World War One Illustrated magazine No. 4)
Download a free Russia’s Great War 1914 mini-game tutorial here.
*2019 Serious Play Conference award-winner in Educational Board Game category.

World War One Illustrated is a publication of World War One Historical Association. Click the magazine’s title for information on issues 1–9, available through Lombardy Studios Shop. Click here to read the backstory on the creation of World War One Illustrated magazine.

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World War One Illustrated magazine

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Dana Lombardy published WORLD WAR ONE ILLUSTRATED for the nonprofit World War One Historical Association from 2013 to 2018. (Click here to read the backstory.) WWOI presents:

  • The most recent research
  • Comparative diagrams and analysis
  • Illustrations and photographs throughout
  • Operational, strategic and tactical maps created specially in color for the magazine – in issue #9 the first day of Verdun is a unique composite of separate French and German maps
  • “Amazing War Stories” in every issue, inspired by the Ripley’s Believe or Not newspaper comic

And more about the Great War.

Issues 1–9 were designed and edited by Dana and are available through our Shop page. Issues 1–4 came with a board game and can be ordered with or without the game. (To learn more about the games, go to World War One MiniGames.)

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The Great War Revealed in San Francisco

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By Dana Lombardy. In February I was asked by the World War One Centennial Commemorative Committee to help create 100th anniversary exhibits that explain America’s role in World War One.

In late May 2018, they installed eight 8-foot square banners in the lobby outside the Herbst Theatre and American Legion Veterans Hall. This is in the War Memorial Veterans Building at 401 Van Ness Avenue. It’s across the street from San Francisco City Hall. The display is free to the public. You can view it at http://alwmcsf.org/ww1/. In 2019 the banners were moved to the second floor.

The Banners Have a Story to Tell

The banners tell the story of America’s initial desire to stay out of a foreign war in 1914. Then the growing sympathy for victims and refugees, horror at the unprecedented numbers of casualties. Then finally the United States joining as a co-belligerent in that war.

It was the first war that saw the widespread use of mechanization. Submarines, airships and airplanes, artillery cannon, machine-guns, tanks, and poison gas were all used. The lethality of these weapons drove armies underground. Soldiers lived for years in dugouts and trenches, separated by a devastated “No Man’s Land” of shell holes and barbed wire.

Millions of American women volunteered to work on farms, in factories, and in many other traditional male jobs. These women replaced nearly five million American men who entered  into the U.S. Army and Navy. Women’s service in the war provided key political leverage to get the right to vote. Congress passed the 19th Amendment in 1919, with states’ ratification in 1920.

The initial banner display in 2018 was supported by videos and additional exhibits of artifacts and photographs set up in the Veterans Gallery on the lobby level. There was also a series of seminars. The banner exhibit ran through the end of 2019 to commemorate the centennial of the Versailles Treaty (June) and founding of the American Legion.

Who Did This?

The United States World War I Centennial Commission chose San Francisco’s War Memorial Veterans Building as one of its 100 Cities / 100 Memorials matching grant. This award helps preserve monuments with the designation as a World War I Centennial Memorial.

The Performing Arts Center Foundation authorized the World War One Armistice Centennial Committee that created The Great War display. The Foundation administers the War Memorial Veterans Building complex that houses the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, Herbst Theatre, Opera House, and San Francisco Ballet. The Committee chairman is Major General J. Michael Myatt, USMC (Ret.), with co-chair Judge Quentin L. Kopp (Ret.), President of the Korean War Memorial Foundation.

On 11 November 2018, the 100th anniversary of the Armistice (now called Veterans Day in the USA), the second part of The Great War exhibit opened in the Veterans Gallery of the War Memorial Veterans Building. It also is free to the public. Dana is available for tours and is working on preserving the exhibit as an interactive video.