Hello chaps
Once again, I’m going to go through the trailer and, those of you that read my previous ones, you’ll know that I don’t bother speculating on gameplay (I leave that to the you tubers). I just use my knowledge of the First World War and where to read about it to see what I can pick out.
I’ve been looking forward to this trailer, as it has a LOT more things to talk about in terms of story and history! So let’s get started!
0:10 - Some speculated that this guy is the messenger. I personally think he’s Edwards, the tank crewman
0:20 - Based on the helmet and uniform, this is a French soldier beating up the German soldier
0:24 - Based on the Vickers MGs on the side, I think this is a Mk. IV Female tank.
0:29 - I think this aircraft is a Bristol B2.
0:31 - Our bedouin rebel fighter, I’m sure, and a playable character.
0:32 - Very likely an ANZAC soldier, based on the slouch hat. Looking at his age and clothes, I’d speculate that he’s been recruited into a specialist division for his professional skills, such as the famous tunnel diggers (who were largely made up of miners and prospectors). They could also be the ‘messenger’ characters confirmed before
0:34 - ANZACs and British infantry working together. I hope this game combats the myths of Gallipoli and the relationships between the British and the ANZACs in the conflict.
0:38 - So the narrating chap with the North American accent is the pilot. What we do know is that he is flying for the RFC/RAF and that his gunner/photographer is British. Historically, the pilot would more likely be Canadian but, as this is the plot for a video game, he could just as easily be American. (Historically, American volunteers largely fought with the French, and after the US joined the war, Pershing was adamant that Americans would not be mixed in with British units. Canadians, on the other hand, were very common in the British Air Force in WW1).
0:44 - British officer wearing a shemagh. Almost certainly Captain T.E. Lawrence, who would go on to be the famous Lawrence of Arabia.
0:45 - An ahistorical train. The front is from Zaamurets, a famous Russian train, but at the back you can see a railway gun. I don’t recognise it, but it’s probably a smaller version of the Krupp guns.
0:44 - If you freeze right there, before the train hit the cars, you can see a roundel on the left hand car. That’s a Tzarist Russian roundel. Russians may have just been confirmed to appear in the single player. HOWEVER, one must not ignore the possibility that it is an American WW1 roundel (which was identical to the Tzarist one) which was put into this scene by mistake.
0:46 - I have no idea who these people are. I don’t recognise the black uniforms. Based on the next scene, I’d guess they’re Ottomans. The guy on the left could either be a pro-Ottoman bedouin or a Rashid soldier (The Rashids fought with the Ottomans).
0:48 - Ottoman soldiers firing the railway gun.
0:54 - Sopwith Camels escorting a Bristol B2. Looks like the Camels have rockets.
1:01 - London, with what looks like HMS Iron Duke in the Thames River. (In real life, no ship that size would have been able to go that far into the Thames. The bridges are just too small.)
1:03 - While the elder chap is wearing a slouch hat, the younger man is not. I wonder if the young man is a New Zealander, while the elder one is Australian. Both nationalities were amalgamated for the ANZACs (Australian and New Zealand Army Corp).
1:05 - Some sort of WW1 makeshift armour. Almost no armour was standard issue, so I couldn’t possibly identify this one.
1:09 - This black character (same as in the MP) looks like he’s wearing British clothes but also a French Adrian helmet. I don’t know what to make of that. The American 93rd Infantry, a black regiment, were known for wearing French helmets.
1:12 - Two dreadnoughts. Probably both Iron Duke-Class.
1:24 - Arial Reconnaissance photography was one of the most important things of the war. Almost every offensive ever made on the Western Front was preceded by operations like this.
1:25 - Some sort of defensive wall. Either a city wall, or a French fortress. Forts like this were a huge part of the Battle of Verdun.
1:28 - That is the same evening sun that was over London. I think this mission is set in the capital, against a Zeppelin raid.
1:39 - Ok, back to the man with the French helmet. There must be a story reason for this (gifted by a Frenchman perhaps?) because he’s definitely wearing a British uniform, but the badge on the helmet is unmistakably the ‘grenade’ symbol used by the French to signify infantry regiments. I think I saw him fighting alongside the French soldiers at 0:17. I might also speculate that perhaps his appearance is placeholder and he will be wearing an American uniform in the full game?
I hope this helps, guys. Let me know if you want anything else explored or if you have questions.
