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Initially labeled the “war to end all war” by figures like H.G. Wells and Woodrow Wilson, WWI instead brought unprecedented modern warfare, resulting in an estimated 9 million military and 13 million civilian casualties. The war profoundly reshaped the global political, cultural, economic, and social landscape, triggering revolutions, uprisings, and the downfall of the German, Ottoman, Austrian, and Russian Empires. It also marked the beginning of the decline for the British and French empires, and crucially, laid the groundwork for WWII. Together, the two world wars dismantled Europe’s old imperial systems, leaving a legacy of ongoing territorial disputes and haunting memories of wartime atrocities.

The immersive WWI Trench Experience is situated in the battle-ravaged terrain of Saint-Mihiel, France. This location was the site of a major engagement on the Western Front from September 12th to 15th, 1918. Notably, this was the first offensive predominantly led by the United States Army and the first battle involving the American Expeditionary Force, under the command of General John J. Pershing, whose objective was to breach German lines and capture Metz.

The central narrative is presented through the viewpoint of nurse Helen Dore Boylston, originally from New Bedford, Massachusetts. A 1915 graduate of Massachusetts General Hospital, she served in France with the Harvard Medical Unit as part of the British Expeditionary Force. In this role, she worked as a nurse anesthetist at a front-line field hospital, treating the wounded and achieving the rank of captain. Gripping dialogue is drawn from excerpts of her 1927 publication, Sister: The War Diary of a Nurse.