The QR (quick response) code on Olveston's stone cross can be used to read personal stories about those named on the memorial.
The digital memorial, paid for by the Heritage Lottery Fund, is the first one operating in South Gloucestershire.
Les Harper, from Olveston Historical Society, said it would enable people to "put a human face and story to a name".
Dedicated in 1920, Olveston's war memorial includes the names of 33 men from the parish who died in World War One.
Among those commemorated is farm labourer Charles Hughes who was involved in action in March 1918 near Herbecourt when the Germans began their huge Kaiserschlacht offensive.
During the fighting his unit was surrounded and the soldiers were ordered to fight their way back to their base in Harbonniers.
But on 28 March they were heavily attacked and the 32-year-old was killed, along with 157 other men.
Mr Harper said the lives of the "ordinary men" from the village who gave their lives could now be revealed as a result of the research by the Olveston Parish History Society,
"Being able to bring the research we have done to a wider audience through new technology will ensure we never forget the sacrifice of these people," he said.
A barcode has been installed at a war memorial in South Gloucestershire so smartphone users can tap into the past.