Jake Barrett's Blog, page 2
May 19, 2025
The Tsar Tank — A Monster That Never Roared, But Never Died
In the vast catalog of World War I machinery, few armored vehicles are as bizarre, ambitious, and unforgettable as the Tsar Tank — also known as the Lebedenko Tank, named after its chief designer, Nikolai Lebedenko. A true mechanical anomaly, it was both a marvel of imagination and a monument to what happens when engineering dreams outrun battlefield reality.
🔍 What Was the Tsar Tank?
Designed in 1914 by Russian engineer Nikolai Lebedenko, the Tsar Tank was conceived as a breakthrough weapon that would roll over trenches, barbed wire, and even small trees with ease. Its defining feature? Two massive front wheels nearly 30 feet high — taller than a two-story building — and a small tailwheel to stabilize the rear. It looked more like a war-time tricycle from a fever dream than a combat vehicle.
It was powered by two 240 hp Maybach engines, with plans to arm it with multiple machine guns and light cannons, spread across the chassis and side sponsons for maximum coverage.
But what truly defined it was its fate.
The Tsar Tank was built, tested — and failed. Its rear wheel constantly bogged down in soft terrain, rendering the massive structure completely useless in combat. It was abandoned in a field and left to rust, a relic of ambition that never got the chance to fight.
📝 What It Meant to Me as a Writer
Back in the early days — before Trench 1915 became the historical fiction series it is today — I wrote a short story where Maxis and Lothar were sent behind enemy lines to destroy a prototype Russian war machine. That machine? The Tsar Tank.
The mission was simple. The implications were not.
As I developed the world of Trench, the idea never left me. Instead, it evolved. The Tsar Tank became more than a failed footnote in military history — it became a recurring symbol in the series. In my fictional world, the Imperisky Tayna Brigada, Russia’s elite experimental warfare unit, repurposed and revived the vehicle for their own covert operations.
It wasn’t about rewriting history — it was about blending it with possibility. The Tsar Tank becomes a perfect example of how speculative fiction can enhance historical fiction without tipping into full alternate history. After all, speculation isn’t fantasy — it’s curiosity.
📚 A Dream on the Cover
To see that same Tsar Tank grace the cover of Trench 1915: The Dawn of Modern Warfare was surreal. That absurd, towering tricycle of war — once a joke to some historians — now had a place at the front of a story where it belonged. Not because of what it did, but because of what it could have done.
I’ll continue to give life to many other armored oddities from the Great War in future volumes, but the Tsar Tank will always hold a special place. Not just as a machine, but as a creative spark — a reminder that sometimes the weirdest inventions are the ones that stay with us the longest.
Special thanks to Tank Encyclopedia, which helped fuel the fire with research and visuals that make these strange war machines feel alive again.
So here’s to the Tsar Tank — the beast that never charged into battle, but still left tracks through imagination.
🔍 What Was the Tsar Tank?
Designed in 1914 by Russian engineer Nikolai Lebedenko, the Tsar Tank was conceived as a breakthrough weapon that would roll over trenches, barbed wire, and even small trees with ease. Its defining feature? Two massive front wheels nearly 30 feet high — taller than a two-story building — and a small tailwheel to stabilize the rear. It looked more like a war-time tricycle from a fever dream than a combat vehicle.
It was powered by two 240 hp Maybach engines, with plans to arm it with multiple machine guns and light cannons, spread across the chassis and side sponsons for maximum coverage.
But what truly defined it was its fate.
The Tsar Tank was built, tested — and failed. Its rear wheel constantly bogged down in soft terrain, rendering the massive structure completely useless in combat. It was abandoned in a field and left to rust, a relic of ambition that never got the chance to fight.
📝 What It Meant to Me as a Writer
Back in the early days — before Trench 1915 became the historical fiction series it is today — I wrote a short story where Maxis and Lothar were sent behind enemy lines to destroy a prototype Russian war machine. That machine? The Tsar Tank.
The mission was simple. The implications were not.
As I developed the world of Trench, the idea never left me. Instead, it evolved. The Tsar Tank became more than a failed footnote in military history — it became a recurring symbol in the series. In my fictional world, the Imperisky Tayna Brigada, Russia’s elite experimental warfare unit, repurposed and revived the vehicle for their own covert operations.
It wasn’t about rewriting history — it was about blending it with possibility. The Tsar Tank becomes a perfect example of how speculative fiction can enhance historical fiction without tipping into full alternate history. After all, speculation isn’t fantasy — it’s curiosity.
📚 A Dream on the Cover
To see that same Tsar Tank grace the cover of Trench 1915: The Dawn of Modern Warfare was surreal. That absurd, towering tricycle of war — once a joke to some historians — now had a place at the front of a story where it belonged. Not because of what it did, but because of what it could have done.
I’ll continue to give life to many other armored oddities from the Great War in future volumes, but the Tsar Tank will always hold a special place. Not just as a machine, but as a creative spark — a reminder that sometimes the weirdest inventions are the ones that stay with us the longest.
Special thanks to Tank Encyclopedia, which helped fuel the fire with research and visuals that make these strange war machines feel alive again.
So here’s to the Tsar Tank — the beast that never charged into battle, but still left tracks through imagination.
May 15, 2025
: German & Austro-Hungarian Self-Loading Rifles of WWI
One of the most overlooked facets of the First World War was the early surge of innovation in firearms — long before automatic rifles became standard in later conflicts. While bolt-action rifles dominated the trenches, both the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire pursued cutting-edge designs in semi-automatic technology. Many of these rifles never reached mass production, but in Trench 1915, they’re given a second chance — not as fantasy, but as a historically grounded tribute to overlooked ingenuity.
This isn’t a WW2 reskin or some alternate retelling disguised in WWI aesthetics. That’s a claim only an uneducated fool would make. This is a deep dive into real history, real weapons, and the overlooked path not taken.
German Empire – Military Trials & Experimental Rifles
Mauser C98 Selbstlader – Smooth cycling, but sensitive to mud and trench debris.
Mauser M98 Self-Loading Variant – A reinforced version of the standard-issue M98.
Mauser M1902 Selbstlader – A balance of precision and modern design.
Mauser M1913 “Ladera” Rifle – A semi-auto anti-fortification weapon.
Mauser M1906/08 Selbstlader – Pre-war semi-auto platform in limited trials.
Mauser Selbstlader M1916 Rifle & Carbine – Magazine-fed, closer to deployment than most think.
Luger M1906 Rifle – A refined semi-auto system with high accuracy, but high cost.
Borchardt Rifle – Precise, ahead of its time, but mechanically too ambitious for the trenches.
Austro-Hungarian Empire – Mannlicher’s Ambitious Lineup
Mannlicher M1885, M1891, and M1893 – Early semi-automatic rifle experiments, ahead of their time.
Mannlicher M1895 & M1900 – Showed mechanical promise but weren’t adopted.
Mannlicher M1905 Rifle – Finalized by German Hellfeld after Mannlicher's death.
Mannlicher-Styr M1911 carbine Rifle – Civilian prototypes with military applications.
Semi-Automatic Modified M1888/90 – Rarely discussed conversion rifle.
Frommer M1908 Automatic Rifle (Hungarian) – A bridge between automatic rifles and LMGs.
And this is just the beginning.
There are far more weapons still to explore — not only from the Central Powers but also from the Triple Entente and even neutral nations experimenting with cutting-edge technology. Trench 1915 is built on this foundation — not just battles and brotherhood, but the machinery and vision that drove early 20th-century warfare.
Some of these rifles see action in the series — as they deserve to. In the Trench universe, they’re not forgotten relics but frontline tools in a global conflict fought in the shadows and trenches alike.
And yes, I know full well that many of these prototypes had faults. Some jammed. Others were too complex for manufacturing, expensive, or too fragile for trench life. But this is historical fiction — and I use creative freedom with respect to the era, not to replace it. A lot of people tend to forget that.
Stay tuned — future blog posts will break down more obscure weapons, prototypes, and battlefield technologies that helped give this series its identity and gave World War I the second glance it never got in popular media.
This isn’t a WW2 reskin or some alternate retelling disguised in WWI aesthetics. That’s a claim only an uneducated fool would make. This is a deep dive into real history, real weapons, and the overlooked path not taken.
German Empire – Military Trials & Experimental Rifles
Mauser C98 Selbstlader – Smooth cycling, but sensitive to mud and trench debris.
Mauser M98 Self-Loading Variant – A reinforced version of the standard-issue M98.
Mauser M1902 Selbstlader – A balance of precision and modern design.
Mauser M1913 “Ladera” Rifle – A semi-auto anti-fortification weapon.
Mauser M1906/08 Selbstlader – Pre-war semi-auto platform in limited trials.
Mauser Selbstlader M1916 Rifle & Carbine – Magazine-fed, closer to deployment than most think.
Luger M1906 Rifle – A refined semi-auto system with high accuracy, but high cost.
Borchardt Rifle – Precise, ahead of its time, but mechanically too ambitious for the trenches.
Austro-Hungarian Empire – Mannlicher’s Ambitious Lineup
Mannlicher M1885, M1891, and M1893 – Early semi-automatic rifle experiments, ahead of their time.
Mannlicher M1895 & M1900 – Showed mechanical promise but weren’t adopted.
Mannlicher M1905 Rifle – Finalized by German Hellfeld after Mannlicher's death.
Mannlicher-Styr M1911 carbine Rifle – Civilian prototypes with military applications.
Semi-Automatic Modified M1888/90 – Rarely discussed conversion rifle.
Frommer M1908 Automatic Rifle (Hungarian) – A bridge between automatic rifles and LMGs.
And this is just the beginning.
There are far more weapons still to explore — not only from the Central Powers but also from the Triple Entente and even neutral nations experimenting with cutting-edge technology. Trench 1915 is built on this foundation — not just battles and brotherhood, but the machinery and vision that drove early 20th-century warfare.
Some of these rifles see action in the series — as they deserve to. In the Trench universe, they’re not forgotten relics but frontline tools in a global conflict fought in the shadows and trenches alike.
And yes, I know full well that many of these prototypes had faults. Some jammed. Others were too complex for manufacturing, expensive, or too fragile for trench life. But this is historical fiction — and I use creative freedom with respect to the era, not to replace it. A lot of people tend to forget that.
Stay tuned — future blog posts will break down more obscure weapons, prototypes, and battlefield technologies that helped give this series its identity and gave World War I the second glance it never got in popular media.
May 12, 2025
How The Trench Series was born
I started writing the Trench series in late 2021, during the fallout of the 2020 madness — back when COVID shut the world down and took my job as a cook with it. But the truth is, this story had been brewing inside me long before that. I’d been dreaming of writing a German-perspective World War I story since 2016.
I wanted something new. Something different. A story that took the First World War seriously, not just as background noise to bigger, flashier conflicts like World War II.
And definitely not another recycled take on the same old fronts. I wanted readers to feel it — trench by trench, month by month, bullet by bullet.
So I dove into research. Real research.
Every front. Every battle. Every prototype weapon and vehicle — even those that never saw the light of day. And what started as a passion project quickly turned into something massive: Trench 1915, originally written as one enormous volume, nearly 500,000 words and over 1,400 pages long.
When my publisher saw it, they were shocked. I was 24 years old at the time, and my father — a man who taught college and served with the U.S. Military — called me “prolific” in the best way. That meant a lot coming from someone who’s read more military books than most will ever touch.
We made the call to break Trench 1915 into five separate volumes. Now, with Trench 1916 nearing completion, I’m ten books into this journey, and I have no plans of stopping. The series will march forward until the historical end of the Great War — and every subplot, every scar, every unfinished story will get the resolution it deserves.
🔍 What Makes Trench Different?
This isn’t alternate history — even when I include a fictional tragedy or covert mission, I tie everything back to real historical context. I include notes so readers know exactly what was based on fact and where the fiction begins.
The war unfolds as it really did: mission by mission, from February 1915 onward. The series follows elite fictional units from both the Central Powers and the Triple Entente, and explores everything from battlefield camaraderie to classified weapons experiments. Some stories are short, others span across multiple volumes — just like war: unpredictable, brutal, and deeply human.
While most fiction tends to ignore or simplify WWI, I wanted to give it the complexity and depth it deserves. In many ways, I might be one of the only authors right now telling this kind of German-centered WWI fiction, month-by-month, with such a high level of detail and military accuracy. And I’m proud of that.
🧬 Why It Matters to Me
If you’ve read the bio on the back of my books, you know that both sides of my family have German ancestry — and both had relatives who fought in the Great War before emigrating. This isn’t just storytelling. For me, it’s personal legacy.
🛠️ What’s Next?
I’m not stopping with Trench. I’ve got much more planned — from historical side stories to alternate paths and deeper explorations of the world I’ve built. My goal is simple: to tell the kind of war stories that stick, that challenge, and that honor those who lived through one of the darkest chapters in history.
Thanks for reading — and if you're new to the series, I hope you’ll take a step into the trenches with me.
— Jake Barrett
I wanted something new. Something different. A story that took the First World War seriously, not just as background noise to bigger, flashier conflicts like World War II.
And definitely not another recycled take on the same old fronts. I wanted readers to feel it — trench by trench, month by month, bullet by bullet.
So I dove into research. Real research.
Every front. Every battle. Every prototype weapon and vehicle — even those that never saw the light of day. And what started as a passion project quickly turned into something massive: Trench 1915, originally written as one enormous volume, nearly 500,000 words and over 1,400 pages long.
When my publisher saw it, they were shocked. I was 24 years old at the time, and my father — a man who taught college and served with the U.S. Military — called me “prolific” in the best way. That meant a lot coming from someone who’s read more military books than most will ever touch.
We made the call to break Trench 1915 into five separate volumes. Now, with Trench 1916 nearing completion, I’m ten books into this journey, and I have no plans of stopping. The series will march forward until the historical end of the Great War — and every subplot, every scar, every unfinished story will get the resolution it deserves.
🔍 What Makes Trench Different?
This isn’t alternate history — even when I include a fictional tragedy or covert mission, I tie everything back to real historical context. I include notes so readers know exactly what was based on fact and where the fiction begins.
The war unfolds as it really did: mission by mission, from February 1915 onward. The series follows elite fictional units from both the Central Powers and the Triple Entente, and explores everything from battlefield camaraderie to classified weapons experiments. Some stories are short, others span across multiple volumes — just like war: unpredictable, brutal, and deeply human.
While most fiction tends to ignore or simplify WWI, I wanted to give it the complexity and depth it deserves. In many ways, I might be one of the only authors right now telling this kind of German-centered WWI fiction, month-by-month, with such a high level of detail and military accuracy. And I’m proud of that.
🧬 Why It Matters to Me
If you’ve read the bio on the back of my books, you know that both sides of my family have German ancestry — and both had relatives who fought in the Great War before emigrating. This isn’t just storytelling. For me, it’s personal legacy.
🛠️ What’s Next?
I’m not stopping with Trench. I’ve got much more planned — from historical side stories to alternate paths and deeper explorations of the world I’ve built. My goal is simple: to tell the kind of war stories that stick, that challenge, and that honor those who lived through one of the darkest chapters in history.
Thanks for reading — and if you're new to the series, I hope you’ll take a step into the trenches with me.
— Jake Barrett
