World War 1 and the M1897 “French 75”

Developed in Unreal Engine 5, Ghosts of the Argonne is an educational VR recreation of the WW1-era M1897 “French 75” artillery gun used by French and U.S. forces during WW1. This artillery piece is famous! It is the world’s first modern artillery gun, an incredible source of pride for the French military (it even has a cocktail named after it). In addition, future U.S. President Harry S. Truman served as Captain of a battery of French 75’s during World War 1, leading over 200 men through several engagements, including the war-ending Meuse-Argonne offensive of 1918.

To help us develop this project, we consulted with a historical domain expert, Matthew Switlik, who brought his meticulously restored and fully-functional M1897 French 75 to Winchester, VA. We were able to learn about its operation, capture photos and video, record measurements, take 3D scans, and actually fire the gun. Our design research process also included a visit to the U.S. Army Training Support Center (TSC) at Fort Lee, VA, where we were able to collect valuable measurements and data from an inert French 75 in their collection.

Ghosts of the Argonne: Multi-Player

Currently, we’re hard at work building a new multi-player version of Ghosts of the Argonne, which will focus on future president Harry S. Truman and the men he commanded in “Battery D” of the 129th U.S. Field Artillery. Users will learn about Truman and his men while operating the virtual version of the M1897 French 75 field gun together as a crew. Our multi-player version of the experience will be part of a research study and paper, targeted for publication in the 2026-2027 academic year.

Design Team

The art, code, and design of Ghosts of the Argonne are by a team of faculty, staff, and students at Shenandoah University, Winchester, VA.

Director/Producer: Nathan Prestopnik, PhD

Lead Developer: Wes Brown

Project Management: Mariah Arant

3D Models: Luke Yager ’25, Ann Fink ’25, Tyler Dossat ’25, Michael Harrington ’26, Ryan Casey ’26, Wes Brown, Nathan Prestopnik

3D Characters and Rigging: Ryan Casey ’26

Interaction Design: Wes Brown, Tyler Dossat ’25, Ann Fink ’25, Johnny Bernard ’23, Nathan Prestopnik

Sound Design: Johnny Bernard ’23, Jaden Galloway ’26, Matthias Williams ’27

Reference Data Collection: Madison Harris ’24, Luke Yager ’25, Malakhi Basquez ’26, Wes Brown, Nathan Prestopnik

Domain Experts: Matt Switlik, Eury Cantillo

Privacy Policy and End User License Agreement

See the Shenandoah University and Shenandoah Center for Immersive Learning (SCiL) VR/AR/XR Privacy Policy and End User License Agreement (EULA).