An illustrated postcard of captured Russians, led by an officer, laying down their arms under the eyes of German lancers. A Russian victory, the Battle of Gumbinnen, fought on August 20, 1914, was the second encounter between the Russian invaders and the German defenders of East Prussia.
Image text: Die Gefangennahme von 8000 Russen bei Gumbinnen.The Capture of 8,000 Russians in Gumbinnen.Curt Schultz SteglitzReverse:Message dated January 20, 1917 and postmarked the same day.Karl Voegels, Berlin O. 27, Blumenstr. 75 (11)
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
Postcard of a cross-section of the German mine-laying submarine UC5, captured by the British.
Image text: Captured German UC5, mine-laying submarine. by Authority of the Admiralty, July 1916.Areal 2 wiresJumping wiresPeriscopeTelescopic mast Height ???? feetSteering wheel fitted to ????Main vent from tankWaterlineVertical rudderAfter trimming tankSilencerEngine room; engine; electric motors and diesel Benz motorsTank; oil fuel tanksAccumulators??? 70 in number???Ballast keel; 18.3 ?? tonsHand wheelKingston valvesBallast tanks tons; safety weightAccumulatorsBallast keel. . . Reverse:Crown Copyright Reserved.-Not to be reprinted without permission of Controller of H.M. Stationary Office.
Stereo card of French Generals, Henri Philippe Pétain, Paul Henrys, and Émile Fayolle and French Raymond President Poincaré in the Verdun sector. Pétain is on the left and Poincaré behind him. Henrys is in the foreground, back to the camera, and Fayolle on the right.
Image text: No.2 Pétain, Poincaré, Henrys, Fayolle devant VerdunPages d'Histoire OculaireReverse:Stéréo Édition F Meiller - Vitry-sur-Seine
Folding postcard relief map looking north from the River Aisne to the Oise Canal, from Compiègne to Soissons, and from Noyon to St. Gobain, France. A hand drawn arrow indicates Pimprez, marked with an 'X'.
Image text: Reverse:Cards number 2101 (left/west) and 2102 (right/east). Kunst-u. Verlagsanstalt Schaar & Dathe, Komm.-Ges. a. Akt, Trier.
"The German army, which was still facing Rennenkampf near Gumbinnen, saw its communications menaced by this advance of Samsanof. It beat a precipitate retreat, and von Prittwitz believed he had no choice but to retire behind the Vistula. The population was fleeing as far as Berlin.There was a great sensation in the headquarters of the German General Staff, which had staked everything on the western front, and which at that moment (August 20th-22nd) still had some painful fighting to do at Charleroi, in the Ardennes, and on the Lorraine frontier, so that it did not feel any too sure of victory." ((1), more)
"The fortress of Novo-Georgievsk, the last Russian rampart in Poland, is in the hands of the Germans. The whole garrison, approximately 85,000 men, has been captured." ((2), more)
"From 26 July to 20 August, Arnauld de la Perière and U.35 enjoyed the most successful submarine cruise of any commander during the war; in the western Mediterranean he sank 54 steamers and sailing craft, representing more than 90,150 tons of shipping. Between July and September of 1916, Mediterranean U-boats sank directly or indirectly through submarine-laid mines 155 ships, or 321,542 tones, out of a worldwide total of 493,184 tons. The Mediterranean percentage of total sinkings by submarines had therefore risen from 49.6 percent in the second quarter of 1916 to more than 65 percent in the third quarter." ((3), more)
"At 4:30 A.M. on August 20 [1917], eight divisions of French infantry swept forward. By August 26 they had driven the Germans off the heights and had captured ten thousand prisoners and hundreds of artillery pieces and machine guns. The French bombardment had been overwhelming. More than a thousand Germans died when one tunnel in the Mort Homme defenses was sealed up by accurate gunfire. And now, his objective accomplished, Pétain stopped the attack. His troops were amazed—'it has been too easy!'—and, as their trucks drove back from the victorious assault, observers marveled that men 'were singing, bursting with enthusiasm, their faces radiant with hope!'" ((4), more)
"For [Ludendorff] 20 August was 'another black day' with 'heavy and irreplaceable losses.' 'On August 20th a deep salient was made at Cuts,' he wrote, 'rendering the position of the troops, with the Oise in the rear, exceedingly uncomfortable. In the direction of Nouvron, also, the enemy broke into our line, but was driven back, although not completely, by counter-attacks delivered by good German Jaeger divisions.' Given the exposed position of German troops in front of the Rivers Oise and Ailette he reluctantly agreed to sanction the withdrawal of the right wing of the Ninth Army behind the Oise, while moving the centre back behind the Ailette a day later. 'The battle has again taken an uncomfortable course, in spite of all our precaution,' he added, 'the nerves of the Army had suffered. In some places the men would no longer stand the tremendous artillery barrages and tank attacks which had become still more severe.'" ((5), more)
(1) Of three German army corps going into battle against the Russian First Army, General François was the first to arrive, and suffered heavy casualties against the Russian artillery. The second corps under von Mackensen had struggled through the night against refugees fleeing the Russian advance. Going into battle, his men were met with concentrated artillery followed by a Russian counterattack. The Germans broke and fell back. A third corps of reservists arrived only in time to suffer further casualties before breaking off.
The Great Events of the Great War in Seven Volumes by Charles F. Horne, Vol. II, 1914, p. 172, copyright © 1920 by The National Alumnia, publisher: The National Alumni, publication date: 1920
(2) Entry for August 20, 1915 from the memoirs of Maurice Paléologue, French Ambassador to Russia. German forces had taken the fortress of Novo-Georgievsk the prior day. The success of the German-Austro-Hungarian Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive — begun on May 2 — had broken the Russian line, driven Russian forces from the Carpathians, and nearly driven Russia from its Polish lands. Russian supplies of shells, rifles, and ammunition were inadequate, and their retreat was not yet over.
An Ambassador's Memoirs Vol. II by Maurice Paléologue, page 53, publisher: George H. Doran Company
(3) Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière was a German submarine commander of French descent and the most successful submarine commander ever. The Mediterranean Sea was dominated by the surface fleets of the Entente Allies — Britain, France, and Italy — but offered many targets to a submarine including shipping crossing the Strait of Gibraltar and through the Suez Canal, passing to and from ports including Marseilles, those of Egypt and the Salonica Front, and the more distant ports in Mesopotamia and India.
A Naval History of World War I by Paul G. Halpern, page 388, copyright © 1994 by the United States Naval Institute, publisher: UCL Press, publication date: 1994
(4) In ending the French army mutinies, commander in chief Henri Pétain had promised his army that he would make greater use of artillery and other weapons before any infantry assault, and that his objectives would be clear and limited. His offensive at Verdun in August, 1917 met these conditions, and demonstrated how successful they could be. His soldiers responded, seeing that every battle need not be a slaughter. Pétain was recapturing territory lost in the German siege of 1916, and providing support for British commander Douglas Haig's offensive in Flanders, the Third Battle of Ypres.
Dare Call it Treason by Richard M. Watt, page 225, copyright © 1963 by Richard M. Watt, publisher: Simon and Schuster, publication date: 1963
(5) The success of the Anglo-French Battle of Amiens, particularly the seven-mile advance on a broad front in the first day, stunned German commander Erich Ludendorff who referred to a 'black day for the German Army.' Military and civilian leaders met at Spa on August 13 to review the situation, to be joined by the Emperors Wilhelm II of Germany and Karl of Austria-Hungary the next day. Some of the officers who met with him thought Ludendorff was suffering a nervous breakdown.
Hundred Days: The Campaign that Ended World War I by Nick Lloyd, page 74, copyright © 2014 by Nick Lloyd, publisher: Basic Books, publication date: 2014
