On August 15, 1914, Japan, partner with Great Britain in an Anglo-Japanese Alliance, delivered an ultimatum to Germany demanding that German warships withdraw from the waters of Japan and China or disarm, and that Germany turn over to Japan the concession of Kiaochow and its port of Tsingtao. Japan declared war on Germany on August 23 after Germany failed to respond within Japan's one-week time limit.
Image text: Das japanische Ultimatum.'Gib her dein Papier . . . Den unangenehmen Eindruck werden wir gleich verwischen!'Kriegs-Karte der 'Lustigen Blätter' Nr. 15.The Japanese Ultimatum.'Give me your paper . . .We will wipe away the offensive impression!'Reverse:Verlag der Lustigen Blätter (Dr. Eysler & Co.) G.m.b.H. Berlin SW 68Druck von Hermann Bergmann, Berlin S.W. 48.Publisher of the Lustigen Blätter (Dr. Eysler & Co.) G.m.b.H. Berlin SW 68Printing by Hermann Bergmann, Berlin S.W. 48.
To the Dardanelles! The Entente Allies successfully capture their objective and plant their flags in this boy's 1915 war game, as they did not in life, neither in the naval campaign, nor in the invasion of the Gallipoli peninsula.
Image text: Aux Dardanelles; Victoire; Vive les AlliésLogo and number: ACA 2131Reverse:Artige - Fabricant 16, Faub. St. Denis Paris Visé Paris N. au verso. Fabrication Française - Marque A.C.A
Embossed postcard of the flag and coins of Finnland, a region of Russia with substantial autonomy, with fixed exchange rates for major currencies including the German Mark, Austro-Hungarian Krone, British Shilling, the Latin Monetary Union Franc, Dutch Guilder, Russia Ruble, Scandinavian Monetary Union Krone/Krona, and United States Dollar. Includes images for 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 Penniä coins, and 1, 2, 10, and 20 Markaa coins. The flag is that of Russia.
Image text: Finnland1 Markka = 100 Penniä
Map of the plan for the Allied Offensive in France showing the situation on September 24, the eve of the infantry assault. An Anglo-French would attack eastward in Artois (with the British at Loos) as the French attacked northwards in Champagne. From 'Military Operations France and Belgium, 1915, Vol. II, Battles of Aubers Ridge, Festubert, and Loos' by Brigadier-General J.E. Edmonds.
Image text: Situation, 24th September 1915Showing direction of the Allied offensive
British pilots and ground crew with three S.E.5-A fighters in front of their hangars. The plane in the foreground has its engine running.
Image text: Reverse:Pencil: S.E.5A; stamped: 29
"(1) All German warships must be withdrawn at once from the waters in the neighbourhood of Japan and China. The ships that cannot be withdrawn must be disarmed.(2) The German Government must unconditionally and without compensation hand over to the Japanese authorities the whole of the leased territory of Kiao-chau before the 16th September, 1914, for the purpose of handing this territory back to China." ((1), more)
"The English and Indian troops, operating from Suvla Bay, meanwhile, had advanced on the flank of Sari Bahr. The Irish troops stormed and captured Chocolate Hill on the night of August 8th, but failed to make connections with the Australians who were being pressed on the opposite slopes.Three days passed before the Suvla Bay forces succeeded in coming to the aid of the Australians. The delay was fatal, for the Turks had rallied in great force and driven back the Australians from all the positions they had gained on Sari Bahr. Had the Suvla Bay troops been moved more quickly, the Turkish stronghold might have been taken and the way opened to the forts on the Dardanelles.On August 15th, the same Irish troops that had taken Chocolate Hill succeeded in rushing Dublin Hill in a hand-to-hand fight with the Turks." ((2), more)
"We are to remain at Khutanova for the time being. The enemy has called a halt and is resisting the Russian pressure. After dark, some 140 men were gathered in and around our first aid hut; by midnight, we had despatched the majority of them and found ourselves free to rest for an hour or so. But soon after 3 a.m. we were called to the Emergency Shed to another contingent of wounded, and our work continued until well into the morning. The news-sheet informed us that the 3rd Sharpshooters' Regiment of the Turkestanski Division, together with the Finlandski, would be obliged to advance before our Division would be called upon to move. So, for a week or so, we should be stationary." ((3), more)
"At 4.25 a.m. on the 15th of August [1917] the Canadian Corps attacked on a front of 4,000 yards southeast and east of Loos. The objectives consisted of a strongly fortified hill known as Hill 70, which had been reached, but not held, in the battle of Loos on September 25, 1915, and also the mining suburbs of Cité Ste. Elizabeth, Cité St. Emile, and Cité St. Laurent, together with the whole of Bois Rase and the western half of Bois Hugo. The observation from Hill 70 had been very useful to the enemy, and in our possession materially increased our command over the defenses of Lens.Practically the whole of these objectives were gained rapidly at light cost, and in exact accordance with plan." ((4), more)
"We had entered on a tremendously busy time. The impulse eastwards which the Western Front had been given was gathering mass and momentum. Since the line immediately south of Albert was being straightened preparations for a big advance on the Divisional front were being improved. Company Commanders had frequent summonses to H.Q. for conference, and to be given instructions about likely developments. . . . There was considerable aerial activity on both sides, day and night. . . . The Germans did nothing untoward beyond subjecting the whole area to periodic shelling. . . . Our night operations were interfered with a good deal by the dropping of brilliant parachute lights of greatly improved pattern, which were effective over a wide area and burned for a long time, compelling us to stand still . . ." ((5), more)
(1) A 'friendly request to the German Government, which was communicated to them on the 15th August, 1914' as reported by the Japanese Ambassador at Vienna to Count Berchtold, Austro-Hungarian Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs on August 20. Under the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, the Japanese government had proposed to Britain seizing the German territory of Kiaochow including the city of Tsingtao.
Collected Diplomatic Documents Relating to the Outbreak of the European War, page 533, publisher: His Majesty's Stationery Office by Harrison and Sons, publication date: 1915
(2) The last major Allied offensive to bring the Gallipoli campaign to a victorious conclusion had failed. The opening of a new front at Suvla Bay, the bolstering of the force at Anzac Cove, all in an attempt to drive across the Gallipoli Peninsula to the Dardanelles, the gateway to Constantinople, had come to more death on both sides.
King's Complete History of the World War by W.C. King, page 184, copyright © 1922, by W.C. King, publisher: The History Associates, publication date: 1922
(3) Florence Farmborough, an English nurse serving with the Russian Red Cross, advancing through Austria-Hungary in the Brusilov Offensive, and writing on August 15 (August 2 Old Style), 1916. The previous day, a non-commissioned officer with a broken arm had rejoiced about the Austro-Hungarian retreat, but reported that 'the Germans had taken their place.' He assured the medical team that this was no cause for alarm because, the Russian troops being in high spirits, nothing could 'halt their advance.' He was mistaken, and the Russians would suffer heavy losses trying to break the German line and resume their advance.
Nurse at the Russian Front, a Diary 1914-18 by Florence Farmborough, pp. 224-225, copyright © 1974 by Florence Farmborough, publisher: Constable and Company Limited, publication date: 1974
(4) Excerpt from General Sir Douglas Haig's account of the Third Battle of Ypres, begun on July 31, 1917. The attack at Loos was subsidiary to his main assault at Ypres. The Battle of Loos in September, 1915 had been intended as a 'big push' to victory. The 1914 and 1915 First, Second, and Third Battles of Artois, and the Battle of Vimy Ridge in April, 1917, were all fought over the same high ground of Artois.
The Great Events of the Great War in Seven Volumes by Charles F. Horne, Vol. V, 1917, p. 277, copyright © 1920 by The National Alumnia, publisher: The National Alumni, publication date: 1920
(5) Edited excerpt from an entry for August 15 to 18, 1918 from the writings — diaries, letters, and memoirs — of Captain J. C. Dunn, Medical Officer of the Second Battalion His Majesty's Twenty-Third Foot, the Royal Welch Fusiliers, and fellow soldiers who served with him. The 'impulse eastwards' had begun on August 8 with the Anglo-French Battle of Amiens.
The War the Infantry Knew 1914-1919 by Captain J.C. Dunn, page 507, copyright © The Royal Welch Fusiliers 1987, publisher: Abacus (Little, Brown and Company, UK), publication date: 1994
