A Swiss postcard of 'The European War' in 1914. The Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary face enemies to the east, west, and south. Germany is fighting the war it tried to avoid, battling Russia to the east and France to the west. Germany had also hoped to avoid fighting England which came to the aid of neutral (and prostrate) Belgium, and straddles the Channel. Austria-Hungary also fights on two fronts, against Russia to the east and Serbia and Montenegro to the south. Italy, the third member of the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary, declared neutrality, and looks on. Other neutral nations include Spain, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania. Japan enters from the east to battle Germany. The German Fleet stays close to port in the North and Baltic Seas while a German Zeppelin targets England. The Austro-Hungarian Fleet keeps watch in the Adriatic. Turkey is not represented, and entered the war at the end of October, 1914; Italy in late May, 1915.
Image text: Der Europäische KriegThe European WarReverse:Kriegskarte No. 61. Verlag K. Essig, BaselKunstanstalt (Art Institute) Frobenius A.G. Basel
A German Fokker Eindecker flying over the front in the Meuse/Verdun sector.
Image text: No. 104. Westlichen Kriegschauplatz: Schwere Niederlage der Franzosen auif den Maashöhen bei Combres.Western theater of war: Heavy French defeat on the heights of the Meuse at Combres.Serie 63/4Towns include: Les Éparges, St. Remy, and Combres.Reverse:Kriegshilfe München N.-W. 11.Zum Gloria-Viktoria AlbumSammel. u. Nachschlagewerk des VölkerkriegesWar Fund Munich 11, N. W. 11For Gloria Viktoria AlbumCollection. and reference work of international war
Registration Certificate — draft card — for John Edward Barlow of Columbus, Ohio. Both houses of Congress passed the Selective Service bill on May 16, 1917, and President Wilson signed it into law two days later. All men then eligible — that is, between the ages of 21 and 30, both inclusive — were required to register on June 5, 1917, as Barlow and ten million others did.
Image text: Registration CertificateNo. 119 (This number must correspond with that on the Registration Card.)To whom it may concern, Greetings:These presents attests, That in accordance with the Proclamation of the President of the United States, and in compliance with law John Edward Barlow Col O, Precinct A County of Franklin, State of Ohio has submitted himself to registration and has by me been duly registered this 5 day of June, 1917.Jesse Riggs Registrar.
Ink drawing of the German battleship SMS Westfalen off Helsingfors (Helsinki), Russia, April 1918. From Paul to his brother.
Image text: S.M.S. Westfalen vor Helsingfors April 1918.Reverse:Zum Erinnerung Helsingfors, am(?) 28 April 1918.dein Bruder (?)Paul.Memento of Helsinki, April 28, 1918.Your brother,Paul
"A second assault was delivered on May 16th [1915] at Festubert. Here the German trenches were protected by special wire cables, nearly two inches in diameter with parapets in front of these entanglements. The British, lacking high explosives, could not sweep these obstructions aside with their artillery fire.After showering the German trenches with shrapnel, the infantry charged against the barrier. Unable to cut the thick wire, the Britishers laid their overcoats upon the entanglements and crawled over the top in the face of a murderous machine-gun fire. Though thousands perished at this barrier, the British troops did not waver." ((1), more)
". . . on the morning of May 16 a cool breeze swept the sky clean of clouds, and a bright sun rose.It didn't take long for several enemy airplanes to make their bothersome droning heard, and they circled over Cote 304 and the Mort Homme all day long, like birds of ill fortune foretelling a great storm. . . .In the afternoon, the German batteries—well briefed, no doubt, by their aviators—opened a rolling fire on Cote 304, lasting at least two hours.How many tons of projectiles fell on this hill?Our brains were shaken by the nearby explosions. Stunned, we expected to be pulverised at any minute. It was just a matter of being caught in a salvo." ((2), more)
". . . all male persons between the ages of 21 and 30 inclusive shall be subject to registration in accordance with regulations established by the President: And upon proclamation by the President and other public notice given by him or by his direction stating the time and place of such registration it shall be the duty of all persons of the designated ages, except officers and enlisted men of the army, the navy and the National Guard and Naval Militia while in the service of the United States, to present themselves for and submit to registration under the provisions of this act." ((3), more)
"Both in Vienna and Berlin, the authorities had to keep alert to any danger of revolution, and were responsive to any calls for help against Bolshevism. In southern Russia, the new leader of the Don Cossacks, General Krasnov, appeal to the Germans on May 16 for financial and military help against the Red Army. This was given readily, and included fifteen million roubles and 12,000 rifles. German influence extended across a thousand miles of southern Russia. That day, in Finland, the Finnish national leader, General Mannerheim, entered Helsinki at the head of 16,000 men. More than a century of Tsarist rule, six months of Bolshevik control, and most recently German military occupation, were over." ((4), more)
(1) The Allies major spring offensive of 1915 was launched on May 9. The French Second Battle of Artois had limited success on the first day. The British launched a simultaneous attack in the Battle of Festubert and Aubers Ridge. The French continued their offensive into June, the British through late May.
King's Complete History of the World War by W.C. King, page 157, copyright © 1922, by W.C. King, publisher: The History Associates, publication date: 1922
(2) Excerpt from the Notebooks of French Infantry Corporal Louis Barthas who had rotated into the Verdun sector on May 6, 1916, and moved to the front line on May 11. Cloud cover on the 15th prevented German planes from observing the French positions. Barthas and commanding officer wait in vain for French planes to come and drive the Germans from the sky.
Poilu: The World War I Notebooks of Corporal Louis Barthas, Barrelmaker, 1914-1918 by Louis Barthas, pp. 197, 198, copyright © 2014 by Yale University, publisher: Yale University Press, publication date: 2014
(3) Excerpt from Section 5 of the Selective Service Act, which was passed by both houses of the United States Congress on May 16, 1917 and signed into law by Woodrow Wilson on the 18th. Registration was required between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on June 5th for all those then subject to registration. President Wilson included Sections 5 and 6 of the Act in his Proclamation Establishing Conscription. In his April 2, 1917 address to the joint session of Congress requesting a declaration of war on Germany, the President had stated his opinion that American males should be universally liable to service, and that 500,000 men should be immediately added to the military with 'subsequent additional increments of equal force' depending on need and the resources to train the men. There are slight discrepancies (e.g., 'the ages of 21 and 30, both inclusive') between the text Dos Passos provides and other sources.
Mr. Wilson's War by John Dos Passos, page 215, copyright © 1962, 2013 by John Dos Passos, publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
(4) Finland was a region of Russia with significant autonomy, so much that Czarist police, and their revolutionary successors, had limited ability to pursue persons of interest, such as Vladimir Lenin who entered Russia from Finland after the 1918 February Revolution, and fled there after the July Days that summer. After the October Revolution that brought Lenin and the Bolsheviks to power, the Russian government quickly agreed an armistice with the Central Powers, but, in negotiations at Brest-Litovsk, could not reach agreement on a peace treaty. Finland declared its independence from Russia in December, 1917, with Soviet Russia finalizing recognition on January 4, 1918 (December 22, 1917 Old Style).
The First World War, a Complete History by Martin Gilbert, page 422, copyright © 1994 by Martin Gilbert, publisher: Henry Holt and Company, publication date: 1994
