The exploding shell of a French 75 mm. field gun blasts the crown from the tree of the Central Powers as the axe of Justice strikes its trunk. A background map shows British towns on the English Channel and Belgian and French cities shelled by German forces burning. A 1915 French postcard.

75, Turquie, Allemagne, Autriche, Turkey, Austria, Germany, Yarmouth, Hartlepool, Whitby, Scarborough, Ypres, Arras, Reims, Louvain

Malheur aux ennemis

To the D...with the Enemy

1914 1915

Déposé. . . Tous Droits Réservés

Artist Logo



Reverse:

Edition Globe Trotter

Paris

Marque Déposée Trade Mark

Carte Postale

F. Bouchet, Éditeur-Imprimeur, 5bis, Rue Béranger, Paris (IIIe)

Visé - Paris No. 1

Other views: Larger

Wednesday, December 16, 1914

"Admiralty, December 16, 9:30 p.m.

This morning a German cruiser force made a demonstration upon the Yorkshire coast, in the course of which they shelled Hartlepool, Whitby, and Scarborough. . . .

The Admiralty take the opportunity of pointing out that demonstrations of this character against unfortified towns or commercial ports, though not difficult to accomplish provided that a certain amount of risk is accepted, are devoid of military significance.

They may cause some loss of life among the civil population and some damage to private property, which is much to be regretted; but they must not in any circumstances be allowed to modify the general naval policy which is being pursued."

Quotation Context

Excerpt from the British Admiralty communique that appeared in British newspapers the morning of December 17, 1914. First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill heard of the bombardment of Hartlepool about 8:30 the morning of the 16th. British battleships pursued the German cruisers, but were instructed not to sail too far east as the Admiralty thought the German High Seas Fleet was moving into the North Sea. It was, in fact, returning to port. The British could not find the German cruisers as poor weather and visibility worsened through the day. A subsequent report stated 'They came out in one rainstorm and disappeared in another.'

Source

The World Crisis 1911-1918 by Winston Churchill, page 263, copyright © by Charles Scribner's Sons 1931, renewed by Winston S. Churchill 1959, publisher: Penguin Books, publication date: 1931, 2007

Tags

1914-12-16, 1914, December, Hartlepool, Whitby, Scarborough, Scarborough bombarded, Hartlepool bombarded, Whitby bombarded