German postcard map of the Western Front in Flanders, looking south and including Lille, Arras, Calais, and Ostend. In the Battle of the Yser in October, 1914, the Belgian Army held the territory south of the Yser Canal, visible between Nieuport, Dixmude, and Ypres (Ypern). Further north is Passchendaele, which British forces took at great cost in 1917.
Image text: Der KanalStraße von CalaisThe English Channel and the Strait of CalaisReverse:Panorama des westlichen Kriegsschauplatzes 1914/15 Von Arras bis Ostende.Die Panorama-Postkartenreihe umfaßt mit ihren 9 Abschnitten Nr. 400 bis 408 den gesamten westlichen Kriegsschauplatz von der Schweizer Grenze bis zur Nordseeküste.Panorama of the western theater of operations 1914/15 from Arras to Ostend. The panoramic postcard series includes nine sections, with their No. 400-408 the entire western battlefield from the Swiss border to the North Sea coast.Nr. 408Wenau-Postkarte Patentamtl. gesch.
Hand-painted miniatures of Mecca and the Ka'abah from the Islamic prayer book 'Prayers to Muhammed,' composed by Muhammed b. Suleyman al-Jazuli.
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A large German bomber, capable of bombing England. The plane is powered by two engines, and holds a crew of three with a pilot and front and rear gunners. The plane is likely a Gotha bomber, originally built by Gothaer Waggonfabrik, then built under license by Siemens-Schukert Werke and Luft-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (LVG). Note the ground crew pushing on the lower wing and the men holding the tail up as the plane is moved backwards. Sanke postcard number 1040.
Image text: Deutsches Riesen-Flugzeug(Englandflieger)1040Postkartenvertrieb W. SankeBerlin No. 37Nachdruck wird gerichtlich verfolgtGerman giant aircraft(England flyer)1040Postcard distributor W. SankeBerlin No. 37Reproduction will be prosecuted
Map of the Trentino, part of "Italia Irredenta," unredeemed Italy: Venezia Tridentina (Trentino and Alto Adige)
Image text: Venezia Tridentina (Trentino and Alto Adige)Confine del Regno d'ItaliaConf.[ine] Geografico d'ItaliaConfine fra Trentino e Alto AdigeFerrovieTramvieIst. Geogr. De Agostini-Novara - Riproduzione InterdettaVenezia Tridentina (Trentino and South Tyrol)Border of the Kingdom of ItalyGeographic boundary of ItalyBorder between Trentino and Alto AdigeRailwaysTramwaysGeographic Institute of Agostini-Novara - Reproduction prohibitedReverse:Message dated December 14, 1917
"Sunday June 13th [1915] 10 p.m. Our orders are definite now and we know what we are in for, though not in detail. I think we are all very glad now the suspense is over. It had to come sooner or later, and very much better that it has come as an honour, namely, to be among the chosen few to do a special job, than to be among a crush. Strange to think, will I see next Wednesday, at 10 p.m.?" ((1), more)
"While the British troops were engaged with the Turks in Mesopotamia and Palestine, the Arabs seized the opportunity to throw off the hated Turkish yoke. Simultaneous uprisings took place in the Hedjaz district of Arabia. The leader of this revolt was Hussein-ibn-Ali, Grand Sherif of Mecca, and the most powerful prince of Western and Central Arabia. As hereditary keeper of the Holy Places and head of the tribe of the Prophet, he was regarded with reverence by the Arabs.Hussein, on June 5th [1916], proclaimed the independence of Arabia at Mecca. The population greeted the announcement with cheers, but the Turkish garrison rejected his summons to surrender, opening fire on the Great Mosque with heavy artillery. Rallying the loyal Arabs to his standard, Hussein overcame the resistance of the Turkish garrison, compelling their surrender on June 13th, and taking 1100 prisoners." ((2), more)
"Brandenburg and his crews were awed at the breath-taking expanse of London stretching out in all directions below them like a vast sea. The airmen could see Tower Bridge casting its shadow on the Thames, the gray-walled Tower, the majestic dome of St. Paul's—all 'sharply outlined in the flaring sunlight'. And on the Thames there were ships 'that looked like toys'. . . .Within a two-minute period, beginning at 11.40 A.M., seventy-two bombs fell within one mile of [Liverpool Street Station]." ((3), more)
"Conrad had received information from a deserter that the Italians knew the exact time and date of the planned attack on the Asiago, so he launched his attack on 13 June, two days earlier than scheduled. The opening bombardment of mixed poison gas and high-explosive shells caught the Italians by surprise, and the accuracy of the barrage heavily damaged the defensive fortifications. There were heavy casualties among troops caught in the open.At 7.30am the attacking Sturmtruppen swarmed across the Piave and made deep in-roads across the high pastures of the Asiago Plateau until they were brought to a halt by British artillery hidden along the edge of a wood. Attack after attack was thwarted by resolute defence from Italian, British and French machine-guns and artillery. Conrad committed his remaining reserves, but his troops were suffering terrible casualties and they were running out of ammunition. As on the lower Piave, the Habsburg Army was forced to retreat to the east bank of the river." ((4), more)
(1) Captain Bryden McKinnell writing on June 13, 1915. He was on the line in the Ypres sector, where a diversionary attack was planned for June 16, the main attack to take place further south at Givenchy. McKinnell did not survive the attack.
1915, The Death of Innocence by Lyn Macdonald, page 388, copyright © 1993 by Lyn Macdonald, publisher: Henry Holt and Company, publication date: 1993 (Great Britain); 199
(2) The Ottoman Empire included Turkey and a great arc of territory stretching from the Suez Canal through Palestine and Syria to Mesopotamia and the Gulf of Persia. In early 1915, Turkish forces had attacked the Suez Canal but been driven off by British forces who soon began preparing advance on Palestine. In Mesopotamia, a British, primarily Indian, army at Kut-al-Amara had surrendered to Turkish besiegers on April 29, 1916 after a siege of nearly five months. The British encouraged the nascent Arab revolt and provided some arms and military expertise.
King's Complete History of the World War by W.C. King, page 262, copyright © 1922, by W.C. King, publisher: The History Associates, publication date: 1922
(3) On June 13, 1916, twenty Gotha G IV bombers of the England Geschwader, the England Squadron, under the command of Captain Ernst Brandenburg, took off from Belgium to bomb London. Unlike the Zeppelin raiders who attacked at night, the bombers flew during the day. Fourteen Gothas reached London, flying at an altitude of three miles. After the attack on Liverpool St. Station, six bombed Southwark, then Poplar in the East End, where a bomb hit the Upper North Street Schools killing sixteen children, only two of them over five years old. The raiders killed 162 and wounded 432, the most casualties of any raid on Britain during the war, and far deadlier than any Zeppelin raid.
The Sky on Fire by Raymond H. Fredette by Raymond H. Fredette, pp. 55–56, copyright © 1966, 1976, 1991 by Raymond H. Fredette, publisher: Smithsonian Institution Press, publication date: 1991
(4) The Austro-Hungarian Piave Offensive Piave Offensive was fought across Trentino and the Asiago Plateau, and along the Piave River to the floodplain and mouth of the Piave River on the Adriatic Sea. Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf commanded the northern armies in the mountains. After the Italian disaster of the Battle of Caporetto the French and British sent troops to Italy to help prevent another collapse. Other sources make no mention of the early start to the offensive on June 13, but reference only June 15 as the first day.
Caporetto and the Isonzo Campaign: The Italian Front 1915–1918 by John MacDonald with Željko Cimprić, pp. 181–182, copyright © John MacDonald, 2011, 2015, publisher: Pen and Sword Books, publication date: 2011
