The GWA
"Authenticity Regs & More"

by Bob Ruegsegger

[Editors Note: Bob Ruegsegger wrote this article for Smoke Fire & News.]

The acrid smell of smoke and the deafening roar of artillery fill the air. Intermittent rifle fire and the staccato chatter of machine guns only intensify the confusion and add to the ferocity of the acoustic turbulence. All is definitely not quiet on the western front.

Underway on the grounds of historic Endview Plantation, the 2 nd annual World War I Reenactment – The Western Front 1918 is going full blast. The unusual program, sponsored by the Virginia War Museum in Newport News, is one of the few re-enactment events that specifically focuses on “the war to end all wars.”

“World War I was 3,000 miles away. Americans just don’t have this great connection to it – unlike the British or the French,” said John Quarstein, director of museums for the City of Newport News. “Of all areas to really do a lot with World War I, our area is a very appropriate place,” he observed.

“In 1914 – when the war broke out – as a port area we began shipping horses and war material to Great Britain,” Quarstein noted. When the U-39 torpedoed the Lusitania off Queenstown on the Irish coast, 128 Americans lost their lives. The tragic incident caused a profound emotional reaction in the United States. Newport News was directly connected. “Albert Hopkins, president of the Newport News Shipbuilding Company, and his assistant Fred Gauntlett are on board the Lusitania to sign contracts with the English government,” said Quarstein, “Albert Hopkins dies with the Lusitania sinks. Fred Gauntlett swims to safety – and tells stories about it for the rest of his life.

After America entered World War I, Newport News became the Hampton Roads port of embarkation. Over 750,000 troops entered Newport News and left the port for France. Locally, Newport News Shipyard built ships for the war effort, and the Curtis Flying School trained pilots – among them Eddie Rickenbacker and Billy Mitchell. Military bases such as the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station and Fort Eustis were created. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and the Naval Base were both expanded during the war.

“The American experience in the First World War was very, very short – a nine month war,” observed David Hughes, a re-enactor with the 1 st Battalion Irish Guards. “What we teach in our schools is that Archduke Ferdinand is killed in 1914. The Lusitania is sunk in 1915. The United States declares war on Germany inn 1917. The United States wins the war,” said Hughes. “It’s much more than that. The First World War is four years of total bloodshed on the front that ran 350 miles from the Belgian coast to the Swiss frontier.”

Among the local re-enactors at The Western Front 1918 were Salvation Army Doughnut Girls, Victoria Boone, and Mary Kayaselcuk, who provided doughnuts, fresh lemonade, and encouragement for American Doughboys in the trenches at the western front.

“I was amazed at what the Salvation Army did. I have so much respect for them,” said Victoria Boone. “They were on the front lines – during battles and guard changes – serving coffee and doughnuts in the trenches to the soldiers to warm them and keep up their spirits.”

Supported by several artillery pieces and an 8mm DWM machine gun, the 459 th German Infantry Regiment successfully breached the formidable Allied (English-American-French) defenses. Simulated machine gun fire, poison gas attacks, smoke grenades, and modern state-of-the-art pyrotechnics contributed realistic special effects to the attack-counterattack scenarios across a desolate and forbidding No-Man’s-Land.

Frank James, a re-enactor who portrays Unteroffizier "Max" Stiebritz with the 459th Infantry Regiment, traces his interest in World War I to the classic motion picture "All Quiet on the Western Front" based upon Remarque’s timeless novel. “It was a movie that really stuck with me as a kid. It sparked my interest in World War I,” recalls James. “The movie is very authentic. It goes through each phase of the war – from beginning to end. It’s really a fascinating movie.”

Between the attacks, event visitors mingled with re-enactors from both the German and Allied armies. Responding to visitors’ inquiries about trench warfare, equipment, and specific military units, re-enactors added personal touches to the battlefield impressions. Lou Brown, vice-president of the Great War Association, participated with the German 459th Infantry Regiment, a unit historically raised in the Rhineland Province in 1917. “It’s our impression that the Great War, to a great extent in American society has been forgotten,” said Brown. “You can trace almost any development in the 20th century back to an origin in the First World War,” he said. The Great War Association, a group of dedicated historians and re-enactors, owns the Caesar Krauss Great War Memorial Site in Newville, Pennsylvania where the organization has recreated a World War I battlefield to hold tactical events for association members at various times throughout the year. The events at the Newville site are not open to the public. “It’s a wonderful thing to get together with your friends and actually suspend reality for a short period of time,” said Brown, “but in events like this, you get to interact with the public. It’s a great experience,” he said. “You get to expose people to the war. You get to talk to the people. They get to see the equipment. They get to ask questions.