British soldiers on the Western Front in an official photograph dated March 5, 1917.
British soldiers in full winter equipment discuss the war. British official photograph taken on the Western front showing two fully equipped British Tommies discussing the war and the trend of events at a spot behind the lines. They are carrying considerable equipment for one man. One could almost start at the left and go around in a circle naming the various articles that constitute his outfit. Helmet, pack, bags, bundles, canteen, rifle, not forgetting the long bristle brush. Despite their cumbersome packs, the men are cheerfully happy. 3/5/17
"The equilibrium of opposing forces on the Franco-British and Italian fronts is clearly in favor of the enemy on the first of these fronts and [in favor] of the allies on the Italian front. Thus it appears essential to bring back without delay from Italy part of the allied forces that are there. Since English reserves are actually less numerous than French reserves and the English front appears menaced more immediately, two English divisions should be brought back at once from Italy. French troops will follow."
French General Ferdinand Foch writing to the British government on February 13, 1918. Both Britain and France had sent troops and materiel to Italy when it seemed on the verge of collapse during the Battle of Caporetto. But, after losing its Second Army, the Italians held on the Piave River with a shorter, more defensible line, facing an exhausted Austria-Hungary and a Germany focused on a spring offensive on the Western Front.
Pyrrhic Victory; French Strategy and Operations in the Great War by Robert A. Doughty, page 419, copyright © 2005 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College, publisher: Harvard University Press, publication date: 2005
1918-02-13, 1918, February, Foch, Ferdinand Foch, Italy, Foch and Pershing, British soldiers in snow
