On the Battlefield

Explore photographs, textual, and other records related to the World War I battlefield in our Catalog.

There are more than 110,000 World War I photographs in the National Archives Catalog.

• American Unofficial Collection of World War I Photographs, 1917 - 1918 
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• German Military Activities and Personnel, 1917 - 1918 
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• British Photographs of World War I, 1914 - 1918  
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Interested in further online research?  Visit the National Archives Catalog to begin your own search.

While many resources are available online for research, there are many more records to discover in National Archives research rooms across the country. The following records have been described at the Series and File Unit level, but have not yet been digitized. This list is not exhaustive; please consult our Catalog to browse more records, and contact the Reference Unit listed in each description for more information. 

• Papers of Colonel John S. Fair and Colonel H. C. Smither, Assistant Directors of the Division, 1917 - 1920 

• Correspondence of General Hugh S. Johnson, 1918 - 1919

• Harry S. Truman Papers Pertaining to Family, Business and Personal Affairs, 1876 - 1964 Military Files, 1914 - 1936

• Records of the 35th Division Association World War I Files 

• Edward Jacobson Papers, World War I Files 

• Records Relating to the Meuse-Argonne Operation, ca. 1918 - 1918

• Name Card Index to Casualties in the American Expeditionary Forces, 1917 - 1919 

• [1st Division] 710.1-B/DO [Nov 3, 1917] Correspondence - From Regiment, Division, Brigade and Staff 

• Reports, Summaries, and Lectures Relating to Saint-Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne Operations, 9/1/1918 - 2/3/1919

• American Expeditionary Forces, Secret General Correspondence, 1917 - 1919 

• General Correspondence, 1917 - 1919

• American Expeditionary Forces, Reports of the Commander in Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces, Staff Sections, and Services Relating to the History of the U.S. Army in Europe During World War I, 2/12/1919 - 7/8/1919  

• 129th Field Artillery-Chronology of Events, Correspondence, Orders and Notes, 1917-1919  [removed from a photograph Album] [1 of 2]

• 129th Field Artillery-Chronology of Events, Correspondence, Orders and Notes, 1917-1919 [removed from a photograph Album] [2 of 2]

• 129th Field Artillery-Diary, 1918-1919  

• Handwritten Account by Vic Housholder of his Experiences as a Member of Battery D, 129th Field Artillery in France during World War I 

• Records Relating to Army Pigeons, 1919 - 1948

• Final Lists of Delinquents and Deserters, 1917 - 1918 

• Army Award Cards, 1917 - 1940 

• Monthly Reports and Personnel Records, 1917 - 1950  

• Court-Martial Case Files, 1917 - 1938 

• World War I Officers and Nurses Pay Cards, 1917 - 1921 

• Field Clerk Pay Cards, 8/1916 - 1921 

• U.S. Army Warrant Officer Pay Cards, 1917 - 1921 

• World War I Officers and Nurses Final Pay Vouchers, 1917 - 1921 

• World War I Enlisted Men Final Military Pay Vouchers, 1917 - 1921 

• U.S. Army Enlisted Personnel Payment Records, 7/1915 - 9/1917 

• Austro-Hungarian Military Records Relating to World War I, 1918 - 5/12/1947

• French Military Records Relating to World War I, ca. 1918 - 4/1/1940

• Records of Divisions, 1917 - 1920

• Reports of the Commander in Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces, Staff Sections, and Services Relating to the History of the U.S. Army in Europe During World War I, 2/12/1919 - 7/8/1919

• War Diaries of the American Expeditionary Forces Headquarters, 1917 - 1918

• Journals of Operations, 3/1/1918 - 8/31/1919

• Reports, Studies, Monographs, and Other Records Relating to the Activities of the First Army in France During World War I, 8/19/1918 - 4/20/1919

• Reports, Studies, Monographs, and Other Records Relating to the Activities of the First Army, 8/10/1918 - 4/20/1919

• Reports, Studies, Monographs, and Other Records Relating to Activities of the Second Army, 10/12/1918 - 4/15/1919

• German Military Records Relating to World War I, 1918 - 1938

• British Military Records Relating to World War I, 1918 - 1924

• Italian Military Records Relating to World War I, 1917 - 1924

• Subject Card Index to General Correspondence and Secret General Correspondence, 1917 - 1919

• Reports, Studies, Monographs, and Other Records of the Office of the Corps Commander, 1918 - 1919

• Reports, Studies, Monographs, and Other Historical Records, 1918 - 1919

• Historical Reports, 7/12/1918 - 2/12/1919

Explore teaching and learning resources for World War I, including primary sources, online tools, lesson plans, and multimedia.

• Find primary sources and online activities for teaching World War I on DocsTeach.org, our online tool for teaching with documents.
• The National Archives has partnered with the United States World War One Centennial Commission, the National World War I Museum & Memorial, and other partner organizations to present a collection of World War I Education Resources.

• Meuse Argonne Offensive
• Photographs of Military Mascots in World War I, The Unwritten Record blog 
• Shooting World War I: The History of the Army Signal Corps Cameramen, 1917-1918, The Unwritten Record blog
• World War I, Herbert Hoover Library and Museum blog series
• They Answered the Call, Military Service in the United States Army During World War I, 1917-1919, Prologue Magazine, Fall 1998
• Harry Truman's World War I Letters, Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum
• Day 72: FDR visits the front in World War I, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library Tumblr
• Original and Supplemental Materials from the Manifest for the RMS Lusitania, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library Tumblr

• War at Sea: Sinking of the RMS Lusitania, 1915, excerpt from the online exhibit "Eyewitness"

• World War I: A Soldier's Story