Erik Sass

Erik Sass is the author of The Mental Floss History of the United States and co-author with Steve Wiegand of The Mental Floss History of the World, both of which you should go buy right now. When he’s not writing about historical curiosities for mental_floss, he covers online and traditional media for MediaPost. His interests include water gardens, games of strategy, geography, and cats.

WWI Centennial: Allies Rebuff German Armistice Offer

The Central Powers are close to giving up.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Central Powers In Collapse

Germany and its allies face defeat, with Allied victories including American Meuse-Argonne Offensive... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Brits Victorious At Megiddo

Lawrence of Arabia returns.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Americans Attack the St. Mihiel Salient; the Flu Turns Deadly

The Spanish flu epidemic sweeps ever more lethally through war-torn Europe.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Lenin is Shot; Bolsheviks Unleash Red Terror

The attempted assassination of the Bolshevik leader set off a campaign of extreme violence.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Germany Must End War, Generals Admit

Even German children knew the end of the war was near.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: “The Black Day of the German Army”

The final German offensive finally peters out.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: The French and Americans Advance On a Broad Front

Erik Sass is covering the events of the war exactly 100 years after they happened.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: The Tide Turns; the Romanovs are Executed

By splitting the French and British near Amiens and pushing the latter into the sea, there was still a chance Germany could win the war... READ ON

WWI Centennial: July 4 in France

French civilians celebrated July 4 almost as enthusiastically as the American troops.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Americans Victorious at Belleau Wood

Allies take control of the strategic forest northeast of Paris.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Austria-Hungary’s Last Gasp

WWI Centennial: America’s Fighting Debut

U.S. troops began to turn the tide of war as soon as they arrived in Europe.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: The Spanish Flu Emerges

WWI Centennial: Czech Legion Revolts, Sedition Act Passed

The Czech Legion developed a remarkable phase of railroad-based warfare.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: “With Our Backs To The Wall”

The second blow of the final German offensive on the Western Front was designed to conquer the British before American reinforcements arrived.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Operation Mars Fails

Erik Sass is covering the events of the war exactly 100 years after they happened. This is the 305th installment in the series.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Avenging Angel—Operation Michael

The Germans hoped for one final, crushing blow to the Allied forces.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Russia surrendered huge amounts of territory in one of the most punitive peace agreements in history.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Germans Reopen Eastern Offensive, Americans Support Unified Command

America’s vast new influence over European affairs made itself felt in military matters early on.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Wilson’s “Four Principles,” Broadway Closes

Wilson sought to reshape the world according to democratic principles.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Britain Grants Women’s Suffrage

There were no huge public celebrations following Parliament’s historic vote.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Wilson Presents ‘Fourteen Points,’ House Approves Suffrage Amendment

What vision would President Wilson present for the post-war world?... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Last Christmas At War

The Christmas of 1917 was the fourth during the war—and would also be the last.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: An Overview

Catch up with the major turning points of World War I as the final climactic year gets underway.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Armistice on the Eastern Front

The Bolsheviks had to move swiftly to appease rank-and-file Russian soldiers, and that meant meeting their main demand: peace.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: The British Capture Jerusalem

WWI Centennial: Horror in Halifax

The massive explosion on December 6, 1917 was one of the worst accidents of the entire war.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Surprise Attack At Cambrai

Could the British forces' new tactics, with massed tanks and no preparatory bombardment, deliver a breakthrough and end the stasis of trench warfare?... READ ON

WWI Centennial: The Second Bolshevik Coup Attempt Succeeds

"To destroy the old government and to establish the new required only a bare 24 hours."... READ ON

WWI Centennial: British Victory at Gaza and the Balfour Declaration

The victory in Palestine would give Great Britain a central role in the formation of a Jewish homeland in the modern era.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Disaster At Caporetto

In the spring and summer of 1917, the momentum of events in the First World War seemed to favor the Allies. Then, on October 24-27, 1917, the other shoe dropped.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: First Passchendaele, Rainbow Division Crosses the Atlantic

Erik Sass is covering the events of the war exactly 100 years after they happened. This is the 290th installment in the series.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Broodseinde and Poelcapelle

Erik Sass is covering the events of the war exactly 100 years after they happened. This is the 289th installment in the series.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Menin Road Ridge and Polygon Wood

Erik Sass is covering the events of the war exactly 100 years after they happened. This is the 288th installment in the series.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Germans Capture Riga, Kornilov Revolt

Erik Sass is covering the events of the war exactly 100 years after they happened. This is the 287th installment in the series.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Race Riot In Houston

Erik Sass is covering the events of the war exactly 100 years after they happened. This is the 286th installment in the series.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Salonika In Flames

Erik Sass is covering the events of the war exactly 100 years after they happened. This is the 285th installment in the series.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Nightmare – Passchendaele

Erik Sass is covering the events of the war exactly 100 years after they happened. This is the 284th installment in the series.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Battle of Mărăști

Erik Sass is covering the events of the war exactly 100 years after they happened. This is the 283rd installment in the series.... READ ON

5 Surprising Facts About the Battle of Dunkirk

With Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dunkirk’ winning critical acclaim, the world’s attention is once again focused on the historic events recounted in the film.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Bolshevik Coup Attempt Fails

Erik Sass is covering the events of the war exactly 100 years after they happened. This is the 282nd installment in the series.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Arabs Take Aqaba, Kerensky Offensive Fails

Erik Sass is covering the events of the war exactly 100 years after they happened. This is the 281st installment in the series.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Russian Black Sea Fleet Mutinies

Erik Sass is covering the events of the war exactly 100 years after they happened. This is the 280th installment in the series.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: The Colossus Begins To Move

Erik Sass is covering the events of the war exactly 100 years after they happened. This is the 279th installment in the series.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Battle of Messines

Erik Sass is covering the events of the war exactly 100 years after they happened. This is the 278th installment in the series.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: German Planes Bomb Britain

Erik Sass is covering the events of the war exactly 100 years after they happened. This is the 277th installment in the series.... READ ON

The Confederacy's Plan to Conquer Latin America

The Confederates might have lost the Civil War, but they still held onto their dream of expanding south of the border.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: U.S. Adopts Draft

Erik Sass is covering the events of the war exactly 100 years after they happened. This is the 276th installment in the series.... READ ON

WWI Centennial: Mutinies Rock French Army, U-Boats Wreak Havoc

Erik Sass is covering the events of the war exactly 100 years after they happened. This is the 275th installment in the series.... READ ON

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