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
Retouched and marked-up photograph of Austrian Warships, June 9, 1915. A penciled note on the back says, 'Photo by amateur'. The Austro-Hungarian Empire's primary port was Pola on the Adriatic Sea.
Image text: Reverse:Pencil: Austrian warships. Photo by amateur, reproduced by permission.Stamped: Jun-9 1915
Zeppelin Kommt! Children play a Zeppelin raid on London. Holding his bomb in the gondola is a doll of the airship's inventor, Count Zeppelin. The other children, playing the English, cower, and the British fleet — folded paper boats — remains in port. Prewar postcards celebrated the imposing airships and the excitement they generated with the same expression, 'Zeppelin Kommt!'. Postcard by P.O. Engelhard (P.O.E.). The message on the reverse is dated May 28, 1915.
Image text: P.O.E.? EnglandLondonZeppelin Kommt!Reverse:Message dated May 28, 1915Stamped: Geprüft und zu befördern (Approved and forwarded) 9 Komp. Bay. L.I.N. 5
Austro-Hungarian trench art pencil drawing on pink paper of a soldier in a ragged, many-times-patched uniform, labeled 'Bilder ohne Worte' (No Comment, or Picture without Words). Kaiser Karl who succeeded Emperor Franz Joseph is on reverse. The printed text on the reverse is in Hungarian and German.
Image text: Bilder ohne WorteNo Comment
"Princess R_______ said to me when I was discussing the imperial court with her recently :'Isn't it grievous to think that the masters of Russia live in such an atmosphere? It's as if they lived in rooms which are never aired. Just think, no one — I mean it, no one — ever sees them alone or lunches with them or goes for a walk with them or dines with them or spends an evening with them . . . not a soul except Anna Vyrubova! . . . [The courts of Alexander II and Alexander III had] some life about them. The monarchs were approachable; you could talk quite freely with them so that they learned a good deal. In turn you got to know — and like them. But now . . . what a contrast, what a lapse!'" ((1), more)
"The afternoon of 29 December saw a high-speed chase with most of the gunnery exchanges taking place at extreme range and with the Helgoland frequently outranged. The Austrians had the advantage of speed, even through the Allies were between them and safety. Seitz steamed westward and southwestward almost up to the Italian coast all the while trying to work around his pursuers. Darkness permitted him to make his escape." ((2), more)
". . .the threat of the Zeppelins compelled the British to set up a formidable Home Defence organization that diverted men, guns, and aircraft from other military fronts. For instance, by the end of 1916 no less than 17,341 officers and men were retained in Great Britain for antiaircraft defence. There were twelve Royal Flying Corps squadrons, comprising some 200 officers, 2000 men, and 110 aeroplanes. The antiaircraft guns were manned by 12,000 officers and men who might have been more profitably employed in France." ((3), more)
"The Austro-Hungarians had never really recovered from the devastating losses in Galicia and Serbia in the first year of the war. Since the beginning of the war, of the 8,420,000 men enrolled in the services, more than 4,000,000 had been lost, of whom 780,000 were dead, 500,000 were wounded and disabled, and over 1,600,000 were prisoners. In addition, industrial development within the empire had been limited and the economy was still predominantly agrarian. To make matters worse, the blockade enforced by the Western Allies was creating desperate shortages of raw materials and food." ((4), more)
(1) Entry from the memoirs of Maurice Paléologue, French Ambassador to Russia, for Tuesday, December 29, 1914. The Russian Empress was German, and on October 14, the Ambassador had written that, 'the Empress and those about her are suspected of carrying on a secret correspondence with Germany.' Anna Vyrubova was lady-in-waiting, confidant, and friend to Empress Alexandra, and spent many evenings alone with the royal family. She was imprisoned during the first Russian Revolution in 1917.
An Ambassador's Memoirs Vol. I by Maurice Paléologue, page 230, publisher: George H. Doran Company, publication date: 1925
(2) The Allies attempted to transport the remnants of Serbia's defeated army from Albania's ports of Durazzo and Valona to safety, and on December 28, 1915, the Austro-Hungarian light cruiser Helgoland and five destroyers (Balaton, Lika, Triglav, Csepel, and Tátra) set out to stop them. Balaton sank the French submarine Monge and, in the harbor of Durazzo, the Austro-Hungarian destroyers sank a Greek steamer and two schooners. Turning in the harbor, Lika and Triglav hit mines, with Lika sinking and Triglav heavily damaged. Trying to tow Triglav, Csepel damaged its screw. The Allies soon had two Italian light cruisers Quarto and Nino Bixio with four destroyers, and the British light cruisers Dartmouth and Weymouth steaming to catch the Austro-Hungarians. Captain Heinrich Seitz commanded Helgoland and the Austro-Hungarian squadron.
A Naval History of World War I by Paul G. Halpern, page 157, copyright © 1994 by the United States Naval Institute, publisher: UCL Press, publication date: 1994
(3) Germany lost six Zeppelins in raids on England from September to December, 1916, with limited serious damage to London or other major cities, and a relatively low number of civilian casualties. The German Naval Airship Service argued to keep the attacks going, but only one more airship would bomb London. Attacks in 1917 and 1918 would be by bomber airplanes.
The Zeppelin Fighters by Arch Whitehouse, pp. 162–163, copyright © 1966 by Arch Whitehouse, publisher: New English Library, publication date: 1978
(4) Summary of Austria-Hungary's situation at the end of 1917. Austria-Hungary's three 1914 invasions of Serbia failed at great cost. In four battles against Russia the same year, Austria-Hungary lost its northeastern province of Galicia, much of the Empire's rolling stock, and 350,000 men.
Caporetto and the Isonzo Campaign: The Italian Front 1915–1918 by John MacDonald with Željko Cimprić, page 176, copyright © John MacDonald, 2011, 2015, publisher: Pen and Sword Books, publication date: 2011
