Historic perspective on WW1 war robots

[yourmapper]

I wanted to point out that WW1 was the first mechanized war, and because of that there was a lot of fear and speculation about mechanized war machines. War robots of different types were conceived of and even attempted on the battlefield.

Here's a remarkable example from a 1917 (!) French illustrator named Adolfe Willette, warning of the dangers of giant hideous human machines:

Can anyone find other examples of giant robots concepts/illustrations in WW1?

There were even human sized robots on the field, though they turned out to be a misunderstanding/hoax/propaganda. One famous one was Boilerplate: http://danefield.com/alpha/forums/topic/11312-excellent-boilerplate-robot-coffee-table-book/

Robots of course were gaining in popularity from the 1810s in stories then ballets, through and peaking at the Victorian era. Boilerplate was one originally constructed in 1893 (http://www.robotshop.com/blog/en/the-my ... robot-3751), and "appeared" in numerous wars since then.

There was even a german version 8-) :

Later in the 20s, more war robot speculation happened, with articles like this one from 1923:

Of course the robot Maria was used later in the german propaganda movie Metropolis.

[AlphaSnake]

Some very nice finds.

I have been looking into this area also.

I shall have to take a look at the extraordinary league of gentlemen see if there is any mention of giant metal soldiers.

Chapter one is set against a backdrop of London, 1910, with Halley's Comet passing overhead, the nation prepares for the coronation of King George V, and far away on his South Atlantic island, the scientist-pirate Captain Nemo is dying. In the bowels of the British Museum, Carnacki the ghost-finder is plagued by visions of a shadowy occult order who are attempting to create something called a Moonchild, while on London's dockside the most notorious serial murderer of the previous century has returned to carry on his grisly trade.

Moonchild is a novel written by the British occultist Aleister Crowley in 1917. Its plot involves a magical war between a group of white magicians, led by Simon Iff, and a group of black magicians over an unborn child. It was first published by Mandrake Press in 1929 and its recent edition is published by Weiser.

In this work, numerous acquaintances of Crowley appear as thinly disguised fictional characters. Crowley portrays MacGregor Mathers as the primary villain, including him as a character named SRMD, using the abbreviation of Mathers' magical name. Arthur Edward Waite appears as a villain named Arthwaite, and the unseen head of the Inner Circle of which SRMD was a member, "A.B." is theosophist Annie Besant. Among Crowley's friends and allies Allen Bennett appears as Mahatera Phang, Isadora Duncan appears as Lavinia King, and Mary D'Este as Lisa la Giuffria. Cyril Grey is Crowley himself, while Simon Iff is either an idealized version of an older and wiser Crowley or his friend Allen Bennett.

A year or so before the beginning of World War I, a young woman named Lisa la Giuffria is seduced by a white magician, Cyril Grey, and persuaded into helping him in a magical battle with a black magician and his black lodge. Grey is attempting to raise the level of his force by impregnating the girl with the soul of an ethereal being — the moonchild. To achieve this, she will have to be kept in a secluded environment, and many preparatory magical rituals will be carried out. The black magician Douglas is bent on destroying Grey's plan. However, Grey's ultimate motives may not be what they appear. The moonchild rituals are carried out in southern Italy, but the occult organizations are based in Paris and England. At the end of the book, the war breaks out, and the white magicians support the Allies, while the black magicians support the Central Powers.

Sam is the Moon child, is she not.

Regards Alpha.

[MixMasterNut]

Fantastic work yourmapper! I've been trying to find these types of historical links myself, and was coming up short. I very much appreciate you sharing your finds with us here. You've given me something new to nerd out on.

- Mix

[yourmapper]

Thanks and see if you can add to it! It took me a while to find some of these. I wish I could find more like the first image, which matches the concept, place, and time of Origins.

Thanks to the Mod for moving this to the new Origins forum.

[ThrowAmonkeyBomb]

Some very nice finds.

I have been looking into this area also.

I shall have to take a look at the extraordinary league of gentlemen see if there is any mention of giant metal soldiers.

Chapter one is set against a backdrop of London, 1910, with Halley's Comet passing overhead, the nation prepares for the coronation of King George V, and far away on his South Atlantic island, the scientist-pirate Captain Nemo is dying. In the bowels of the British Museum, Carnacki the ghost-finder is plagued by visions of a shadowy occult order who are attempting to create something called a Moonchild, while on London's dockside the most notorious serial murderer of the previous century has returned to carry on his grisly trade.

Moonchild is a novel written by the British occultist Aleister Crowley in 1917. Its plot involves a magical war between a group of white magicians, led by Simon Iff, and a group of black magicians over an unborn child. It was first published by Mandrake Press in 1929 and its recent edition is published by Weiser.

In this work, numerous acquaintances of Crowley appear as thinly disguised fictional characters. Crowley portrays MacGregor Mathers as the primary villain, including him as a character named SRMD, using the abbreviation of Mathers' magical name. Arthur Edward Waite appears as a villain named Arthwaite, and the unseen head of the Inner Circle of which SRMD was a member, "A.B." is theosophist Annie Besant. Among Crowley's friends and allies Allen Bennett appears as Mahatera Phang, Isadora Duncan appears as Lavinia King, and Mary D'Este as Lisa la Giuffria. Cyril Grey is Crowley himself, while Simon Iff is either an idealized version of an older and wiser Crowley or his friend Allen Bennett.

A year or so before the beginning of World War I, a young woman named Lisa la Giuffria is seduced by a white magician, Cyril Grey, and persuaded into helping him in a magical battle with a black magician and his black lodge. Grey is attempting to raise the level of his force by impregnating the girl with the soul of an ethereal being — the moonchild. To achieve this, she will have to be kept in a secluded environment, and many preparatory magical rituals will be carried out. The black magician Douglas is bent on destroying Grey's plan. However, Grey's ultimate motives may not be what they appear. The moonchild rituals are carried out in southern Italy, but the occult organizations are based in Paris and England. At the end of the book, the war breaks out, and the white magicians support the Allies, while the black magicians support the Central Powers.

Sam is the Moon child, is she not.

Regards Alpha.

I...I am obsessed with crowley I myself study Ceremonial Magick.Never thought id see this on codz though... :lol: