So you want to be a WWI Reenactor…

This page represents a place for new people to learn about what we do and how to get started. The following links will help you to get started in building your impression.

In reenacting, the periods and events you can choose to reenact are endless, but the one time period that most hear of, often in a mysterious and serious way, is WWI! Known as the “reenactor’s reenactment,” it has always been shrouded in mystery. Much of that is because it ISN’T aimed at the mass market. WWI reenacting is most often experienced through private tactical events and living history with one binding experience: EVERYBODY DIES! Like it was for the original combatants, there are no winners at reenactments. After a weekend of WWI, you will have a new perspective on history, and in fact, all other forms of "reenacting” will seem dull after a weekend "in the trenches.”

The Great War saw war at its unbelievable worst. Gains were measured in yards, at a cost in lives that is still unresolved to this day. Death was a constant companion stalking through the trenches, as it never had before. Life for the soldiers took on new horrors, the kind that only trench warfare can produce. Soldiers experienced new and unheard-of horrors such as week-long artillery bombardments and poison gas—not to mention the "normal" old horrors of war such as rats, disease, mud, constant terror, and mutilation beyond comprehension. There had never been anything like it before and there won't ever be anything like it again. A whole generation of men was lost forever, and those men who weren't killed on the battlefield, had their lives irretrievably shattered.

The Great War Today

The accurate recreation of such an era of warfare has 

been no simple task, but on small battlefields around the United States (around the world, in fact) reenactors have created the closest thing possible. These battlefields have trenches, bunkers and yes, real barbed wire. There are grenades and working mortars, as well as machine guns and full-scale over-the-top assaults. Trench raids, carried out under the eerie light of flares and star shells, punctuate the nighttime. In the adjacent trench bay, there is the sound of a hand-to-hand struggle, as each side battles for possession of the trench, with the victor usually being driven back by a reorganized counter-attack. After the fight, you scurry back to your trenches, but even this can put you into a nasty barbed wire entanglement if you are unaware of the "safe" paths or draw a hail of fire for having forgotten the "password." You tumble back into the safety of your own lines and collapse on the muddy firing step to try and get a gulp of air, catch your breath and then a long drink of water. Hopefully, the enemy won't drop a mortar shell on your head tonight, or decide to gas your line—thus forcing you to don your stuffy and uncomfortable gas mask, that is also impossible to even see out of, let alone fight in it.

What was it like to live and fight in the trenches? When you reenact WWI, you will get a slight hint, the smallest “taste” of what it was like, and that really, YES, it WAS that bad—that horrible! You will start to see just how much this war changed the very shape of our world.

Keep in mind, WW1 is completely different from any other period of reenacting. Because you're sitting in a trench most of the time, seeing little beyond the troops manning the parapet to your left and your right and the sky above, there is necessarily much greater focus on the living history aspects of the hobby (although combat can get pretty intense sometimes too!).

If this appeals to you, and you want to jump in and start reenacting WWI, it is not  hard; you ask someone who is doing it or go to one of the organizations listed at the end of this article.

Before you “jump in”, you will need to take a few minutes to decide what side you’re going to portray: Allied or Central Powers the Allies would be the side the U.S. was on, along with the British, French, Italians, Russians, Australians and New Zealanders, along with a number of other smaller countries. The Central Powers consisted of the Germans, Austrians, Turks and Bulgarians.

People do impressions for many reasons, some for heritage, some because they like that army’s uniforms, etc. Some people choose an impression because they have a gun from that army. Whatever! Know this: if you’re going to do a foreign country, you WILL end up needing to learn some of that language. Don’t think that you’ll be doing German or French and not learn any of the language.

Try joining an existing unit instead of getting the notion of setting up your own. First, there are WAY too many nuances for a newbie to pick up without a LOT of help from guys who have been around the block a few times. Second, WW1 in the trenches works much better when there is coordination, leadership, and teamwork. This is vastly simpler when there are a few big and well-organized units than when there are dozens of units made up of 2-5 guys.

If this kind of madness appeals to you, if it makes you curious, then you might want to consider reenacting the Great War. It's all there for you to experience, and what you get out of Great War reenacting is directly determined by what you put into it. You can live for days in a bunker without the modern world intruding—living like they did, without a bath or comfy bed to sleep in. You can get drenched to the skin, muddy all over, and still fight to hold or retake a section of the line, during a downpour. You will throw grenades into an enemy trench, take part in all-out assaults on the enemy's line and then face the thrill of repelling a mass of men swarming over your barbed wire into your trenches. Experience being part of a raiding party and storming the enemy's trenches. Or, if you're careless, you might have your throat cut by a silent raider while strolling through your own rear lines. It's all up to you and your involvement in the hobby. One thing we can promise you is that by the end of the event, you will be totally exhausted, as you never have before. You will also acquire a new outlook on the term "re-creation" as opposed to "reenactment."

One last thing, WWI is not a place for kids (no matter what your wife might say), you need to be 18 years old to participate. People can and do get hurt — if absolute safety is your goal, perhaps a calmer time period might be better to pursue. Our mortars fly though the sky—we wear helmets for a reason. Grenade simulators exploding (with a small squib charges), REAL barbed wire—you and YOU ALONE are responsible for your safety. Not to say you WILL get hurt, but you might get scratched and bruised and your uniform WILL get dirty torn and torn. Is it for you? Only you can answer that, just take it as it is, don’t try and change it to fit you! If you can do this, WELCOME!

In the United States, the premier WWI reenactment group is The Great War Association (GWA) www.great-war.org. The GWA is  the oldest and by far the largest WWI reenactment organization in the States. They own a permanent site in Newville PA that comes complete with bunkers, trenches, and wire emplacements.

The West Coast counterpart to the GWA is the GWHS (The Great War Historical Society) https://gwhs1918.org/.

We’d recommend that you check these groups out and see where you may fit in. Most will bend over backwards to help you — and a new man willing to pitch in is always welcome.