Officers examining a map, Western Front, during World War I. Five officers gathered around a map. Some of the men are using shovels to sit on, as if they were shooting sticks. The cap and collar badges of three of the men are visible and show the Stafford knot and crown of the South Staffordshire Regiment.

Much of the mapping during the war was undertaken by the Royal Engineers. In the late nineteenth century, they had been involved in the Ordnance Survey mapping of Great Britain and had been responsible for surveys in India and Canada.

(Source: Flickr / nlscotland)

August 01, 2012, 12:54pm / 9

West African and French dignitaries photographed placing flowers on the tomb of the unknown soldier in Paris; The Senegalese statesman Blaise Diagne (the first black African to be elected to the French Chamber of Deputies) stands at the center with hat in hand, 1922.

August 01, 2012, 11:59am / 10

An American soldier with war orphans ‘adopted’ by his unit, London, 1943.  Robert Capa

(via queenofmultitasking)

August 01, 2012, 4:08am / 3539

German soldiers and officers decorating a makeshift Christmas tree in their trench, c. 1914.

August 01, 2012, 3:57am / 724

Today in history: Henry Ford honored by Adolf Hitler

Henry Ford was awarded Nazi Germany’s Grand Cross of the German Eagle on July 30, 1938, his 75th birthday. He was the first American to receive the medal, the highest decoration Germany bestowed on foreigners.

Fritz Hailer, the German vice consul in Detroit, presented it to him at Ford Motor’s Dearborn offices, explaining that Adolf Hitler wanted to recognize how the automobile tycoon made cars available to the masses. The previous year, the same medal was given to Benito Mussolini, the founder of Fascism and leader of Italy from 1922 to 1943.

July 30, 2012, 6:35pm / 67