Is Battlefield 1‘s First World War 1 Depiction Historically Accurate? A Close Look at Its Impressive Campaign

The Battlefield franchise took a bold leap into the past with 2016‘s Battlefield 1 by portraying the seldom covered setting of World War 1. But how historically accurate are Battlefield 1‘s War Stories? In this in-depth guide, we‘ll examine each of BF1‘s single player vignettes, analyze their inspirations from the actual Great War, and see how developer DICE walked the line between historical fidelity and engaging gameplay. Strap in!

As someone who‘s always had an interest in military history, I was immediately drawn to Battlefield 1‘s World War 1 setting when it was first teased. The early 20th century saw rapid advances in devastating new weapons like machine guns, artillery, tanks, and aircraft change the face of warfare forever. Experiencing this transitional period first-hand through a AAA first-person shooter seemed like an irresistible proposition.

Upon finally getting my hands on Battlefield 1, I was amazed by just how immersive and evocative its War Stories proved to be. Each tale of the unexpected men and women swept up in the Great War, based on real events but enhanced for entertainment, gave me newfound respect for the courage and horror of one of history‘s pivotal conflicts. Now, let‘s break down each story in detail and see how DICE managed to both honor history and craft a thrilling single player campaign.

Overview of Battlefield 1‘s War Stories Mode

Battlefield 1‘s single player experience is delivered across 6 distinct War Stories – each a self-contained vignette focusing on different personalities and combat theatres of World War 1:

• Storm of Steel
• Through Mud and Blood
• Friends in High Places
• Avanti Savoia!
• The Runner
• Nothing is Written

DICE made a conscious choice with this episodic structure – rather than force one continuous narrative, each story could shift tone, gameplay style, and setting to shed light on lesser known aspects of the Great War. The stories interweave actual events and battles from 1914-1918 with fictionalized tales of courage and tragedy. Let‘s explore each War Story‘s inspirations and analyze their historical accuracy:

Storm of Steel Hurls You Into Hellish Trench Warfare

Our journey begins with Storm of Steel, which serves as the game‘s tutorial and prologue. Here you play as a member of Germany‘s Fallschirmjäger, elite shock troops who conducted the first military parachute drops in history during World War 1.

The year is 1918, and the Allies have launched a massive offensive along the Western Front you‘re entrenched at. As artillery shells crash overhead and mud plumes from machine gun fire, you charge across the devastated battlefield to capture key positions from French resistance.

This trial by fire plunges you right into the apocalyptic conditions along the Western Front, likely shocking to those unfamiliar with World War 1. By 1918, opposing armies were mired innetworks of zig-zagging trenches stretching for 25,000 miles from Belgium to Switzerland.

exchanges of massive artillery barrages and suicidal infantry charges against entrenched machine guns caused average daily casualty rates up to 60,000 per day at the height of fighting. Soldiers lived and died in expansive trenches surrounded by barbed wire, burnt out landscapes, and the incessant threat of high explosive shelling.

Storm of Steel captures the sheer chaos and danger of this industrialized warfare brilliantly. Through gameplay alone, the level drives home World War 1‘s shocking brutality and the tactical stalemate caused by new weaponry. While not based on a single battle, the chaotic push portrayed is emblematic of the later campaigns along the Western Front.

Through Mud and Blood Brings Tank Warfare to Life

Our next stop in Battlefield 1‘s historical tour is Through Mud and Blood, which puts you in the tracks of the British Mk V heavy tank. This break from the trenches has you pushing through no man‘s land alongside the British Empire‘s Expeditionary Force in France during 1917.

Your tank, nicknamed "Black Bess," is under the command of the by-the-books Officer Townsend. Together with your crew, you drive Black Bess against German defenses while overcoming breakdowns, artillery strikes, and streams of deadly bullets.

The Mark V represented the first mass-produced tank ever built by the British, with nearly 400 of the rhomboid shaped vehicles deployed starting in 1917. Weighing up to 29 tons, the Mk V could sustain significant damage thanks to its all-around armor plating while dispensing fire from 6 pounder cannons and machine guns.

Through Mud and Blood accurately depicts the shape, firepower, and plodding movement of early tanks. Their ability to overcome trenches, shell craters, and barbed wire helped break the battlefield stalemate when deployed en masse. As your crew frantically repairs breakdowns mid-battle, the mission captures the coordinated teamwork required between driver, gunner, and engineer to operate an early tank.

While the characters are fictional, Through Mud and Blood authentically simulates maneuvering a Mk V heavy tank through the morass of the Western Front. The War Story puts you right there during the debut of tank warfare in 1917.

Friends in High Places: A Lighthearted Dogfighting Romp

After extensive time in the trenches and the mud-churned battlefields of France, Battlefield 1 shakes things up with the aerial focused Friends in High Places. Here, you take control of American pilot and ostensible scoundrel Clyde Blackburn in a tale of romance, redemption, and dogfighting duels over the Western Front in 1917.

The level itself is highly fictionalized, as Blackburn recounts his misadventures including crashing behind enemy lines, stealing a plane disguised as a German, and an attempted romance with a French woman. It captures the swaggering bravado of early fighter pilots itching to prove themselves in the new realm of air warfare.

Friends in High Places shifts to a faster tempo both narratively and in terms of gameplay. You get to pilot painstakingly modeled period-accurate aircraft like the Sopwith Camel and handle smooth mid-air dogfighting. The increased maneuverability and freedom of reconnaissance missions across the front lines delivers a change of pace.

Beyond the fictional escapades, the portrayal of World War 1 aerial combat has an authentic feel. The lumbering bombers, nimble scouting aircraft, airship hums, and pitched battles high above the front accurately depicted state of the art aviation in 1917. Friends in High Places delivers an exhilarating dose of aerial action.

Avanti Savoia! Captures the Ferocity of Italian Shock Troops

This War Story casts you as Luca Vincenzo Cocchiola, a member of Italy‘s Arditi or "daring ones". These elite shock troops were formed in 1917 to help break the bloody stalemate against Austria-Hungary along Italy‘s northern border.

Equipped with dagger and spiked club, you storm an enemy mountain stronghold at night while chanting the iconic Italian battlecry "Avanti Savoia!" or "Forward Savoy!" Your mission depicts the Arditi‘s daring raids which helped finally shatter Austrian defenses amidst the unforgiving backdrop of the Alps.

The Arditi represented Italy‘s counterparts to German Stormtroopers and acted as masters of infiltration and rapid attacks. Armed with hand grenades, flamethrowers, and melee weapons, they focused on speed and disruption rather than holding ground.

Your nighttime assault in Avanti Savoia! captures their boldness in the face of long odds and reliance on shock attacks. Approaching by cover of darkness, the Arditi would penetrate enemy lines before unleashing mayhem at close quarters. As Austria‘s lines collapsed from within, the Arditi led Italy to hard-fought victory.

The Runner Offers Brief Snapshot of Occupied Arabia

Moving to the Middle Eastern theatre, The Runner provides a glimpse into life under Ottoman rule through the eyes of a young messenger named Luca. Set in 1917, you dodge rooftop patrols and wield pistols and daggers while carrying critical intelligence through the embattled city of Mudros.

As a young Ottoman raised in Italy, Luca‘s language skills are highly sought after by British intelligence operatives looking to turn the tide by enlisting local rebels. We experience the tension ripped through Arabia as British and Ottoman powers vie for control.

While Luca is fictional, The Runner highlights how the local population often bore the toll of being caught between empires during World War 1. Though brief, the story offers perspective on the unrest triggered across the Middle East as European powers jousted for influence. The vibe of the city, interactions with rebels, and distrust between factions feel authentic.

Nothing is Written Brings Iconic Lawrence of Arabia to Life

Rounding out our journey through the Great War is Nothing is Written, DICE‘s take on British officer T.E. Lawrence‘s legendary exploits during the Arab Revolt starting in 1916. Assuming Lawrence‘s role, you ally with Prince Faisal to unite Arab fighters against their Ottoman occupiers.

You employ hit and run guerilla tactics across the desert, sabotage key infrastructure like the Hejaz railway, and rally disparate Bedouin tribes into an effective fighting force. This builds towards a final assault against superior Ottoman defenders in a fortified ancient city.

Lawrence‘s tireless efforts and near mythical status did help inspire the revolt that removed Ottoman control across the Arabian peninsula. His integration with and respect for local forces allowed the British to achieve victory with minimal manpower compared to the Western Front.

DICE takes creative license in amplifying Lawrence into a commanding frontline leader rather than strategic orchestrator. But Nothing is Written captures the era well – the tension between nationalities, the harsh desert environment, and unconventional nature of guerilla warfare far from the trenches.

Additional Details Ground Battlefield 1 in The Period

Beyond the War Stories themselves, Battlefield 1 incorporates other accurate historical details into its multiplayer sandbox:

• Harlem Hellfighters – The 369th Infantry Division, an all African American regiment who spent more time in combat than any other American unit. Their reputation earns them a codex entry.

• Weapons – Much equipment from bolt action rifles to artillery, tanks, biplanes, and zeppelins are modeled on their actual World War 1 counterparts used on both sides.

• Poison Gas – Matches can end with poison gas rolling across the battlefield, just as both sides used chemical weapons extensively to try to break the stalemate.

• Char 2C Super Heavy Tank – This massive French tank with a crew of 12 appears as a behemoth players can deploy, inspired by the real prototype built in 1921.

While multiplayer naturally prioritizes fun over simulation, DICE‘s reverence for World War 1 technology, units, and battlefields shines through. The overall presentation across Battlefield 1 authentically transports players back over 100 years.

How Does Battlefield 1 Stack Up to Other World War 1 Games?

Given its nature as a large-scale AAA first-person shooter, Battlefield 1 unsurprisingly takes some creative license and diverges from pure simulation. But how does its historical fidelity compare to other World War 1 games?

Verdun – This indie shooter is ruthlessly committed to realism from precise recreations of French forts to period weapon handling and tactics. However, the uncompromising approach also makes for deliberate, slower paced gameplay.

Valiant Hearts – The cartoonish adventure game goes to great lengths in documenting major battles and unsung stories. But conveys them through narrative and puzzles rather than gunplay.

Battlefield 1 – Aiming for mainstream appeal and large combat sandbox necessitates some inaccuracies. But the game strives to capture the atmosphere and evolving nature of combat during the Great War.

Overall, I found Battlefield 1 does an admirable job exposing players to different sides and under known aspects of World War 1. The shifting stories prevent combat from growing repetitive while offering educational breadcrumbs along the way rather than a lecture. It brings history alive.

Conclusion – Compelling Blend of Fact and Fiction

As a major AAA release, Battlefield 1 marked a bold foray into World War 1 for DICE and the shooter genre. The anthology format of War Stories successfully jumps between little known fronts and perspectives of the Great War beyond the stereotypical trenches.

Players experience the shock tactics of elite units, glimpse life under occupation, take to the skies in biplanes, and peer into the unintended consequences on civilian populations. The horrors of industrialized combat are viscerally realized while shedding light on less explored theaters like the Alps and Middle East.

A few embellishments are made to amplify drama and sell the glory alongside the tragedy. But DICE‘s passion for the era is evident. By remastering a conflict too often reserved to grainy black and white footage, Battlefield 1 brings the courage and sacrifice of those lost generations back into living memory. It reawakens the Great War for a new generation and makes the stories told by each bullet hole real again. Who‘s ready to enlist for another tour of duty? Avanti Savoia!