Postcard of Kaiser Wilhelm II and Kaiser Franz Joseph, in the Secessionist style. Kaiser Wilhelm is wearing the uniform and shako of the Death's Head Hussars.
Völkerkrieg (people's war)1914; In Treue FestPeople's WarFirm in Loyalty
"My corps has been fighting now for five out of the past six days, and for the last three days without a break. I have lost my best officers, and several thousand men. The corps is weakening and is no longer fit for offensive action. I have no cavalry, so I cannot reconnoiter and must operate in the dark. Artillery ammunition is running low and no new supplies are being brought up. Our incessant attacks are not helping the army as a whole to win the battle but are in fact only making its situation more difficult. We must withdraw, and at once."
Russian General Martos to his commanding officer, General Samsanov on August 27 (14 Old Style), 1914 during the Battle of Tannenberg in Alexander Solzhenitsyn's novel of the battle August 1914. The right wing of Samsanov's Second Army had been driven back. Martos had been holding off the German attack on the left wing, but was increasingly unable to against a ferocious artillery bombardment by German General von François's troops. François would soon begin his encirclement of the Russian army.
August 1914 by Alexander Solzhenitzyn, page 354, copyright © 1971 by Alexandre Soljénitsyne; English translation 1972 by Michael Glenny, publisher: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, publication date: 1972
1914, August, 1914-08-27, Battle of Tannenberg, Tannenberg
