Caricatures of Turkish and German generals read a poster announcing an offering by the German Bank of 5 Billion guaranteed by organized looting of museums, cathedrals, and castles in Belgium and France, the looting conducted by Kaiser Wilhelm's 'army of thieves.' Looting by armies on both sides was common, but a charge more readily leveled at Germany, in part because it occupied large swaths of land on both fronts. Turkey entered the war at the end of October, 1914, the date of the card, the artist implying the opportunity to loot was instrumental in its decision. Postcard by O'Gèug(?).
Image text: Deutsch BanqueEmprunt 5 MilliardsGarantis par les pillages organisés en Belgique et en France dans les musees, cathédrales et châteaux par m[on] armee de brigandsGuillaume IIA ton emprunt - c'est moi qui te le dis, il n'y viendra pas un chat!. .Oct. 1914O'GèugLogo: ELDThe German BankLoan of 5 BillionGuaranteed by looting organized in Belgium and France in museums, cathedrals, and castles by my army of thievesWilliam IIAs to your loan - it is I who say it to you, there will not even be a cat left!. .October 1914O'GèugReverse:Postcard to M. Ch. Dorléans, a bicyclist with the 23rd Dragoons at the Babylon Barracks, Paris, from his brother who did not attend their uncle's funeral because he had missed his train.
An advertising card of the Greek Army from the series Armées des États Balcaniques, published in 1910.The card shows, from left to right: an artillery detachment, a soldier in battle dress and another in parade dress, a cavalry man, an infantry officer, two hunters of a battalion of evzones, and a mountain artillery officer.
Image text: Armées des États Balcaniques. Greece.Véritable Extrait de Viande Liebig.Voir L’Explication au verso.Reverse:Grèce. - Le service militaire obligatoire est en vigueur en Grèce. L'effectif total, en temps de paix, est d'environ 23,000 hommes; en cas de mobilisation, on compte disposer de 80,000 troupiers, sans compter l'armée territoriale et ses réserves. Sur le recto de cette carte, nous voyons, de gauche à droite: un détachement d'artillerie, un fantassin en tenue de campagne et un autre en grande tenue, un cavalier, un officier d'infanterie, deux chasseurs d'un batallion d'evzones, un officier d'artillerie de montagne.Greece. - Greece has Compulsory military service. The total force, in times of peace, is about 23,000 men; in case of mobilization, one can expect 80,000 soldiers, plus the Territorial Army and its reserves. On the front of this card, we see, from left to right: an artillery detachment, a soldier in battle dress and another in parade dress, a cavalry man, an infantry officer, two hunters of a battalion of evzones, and a mountain artillery officer.
Uncle Sam weighs the lives lost in the German sinking of the Lusitania (and other ships, as seen on the horizon) to his cash flow from selling weapons and other supplies to the combatants, particularly the allies. The moneybags have tipped the scales. A 1916 postcard by Em. Dupuis.
Image text: A l'ombre, de la LibertéIn the Shadow of LivertyOn the coffin and the ship in the distance, 'Lusitania'
Panorama of Jerusalem from Palestine and Syria with Routes through Mesopotamia and Babylonia and with the Island of Cyprus by Karl Baedeker, a 1912 guide book.
Image text: Panorama di Jérusalem
"Brussels, December 11, 1914. — This afternoon late B——— brought an uncle to see me, to talk about conditions in France between the Belgian frontier and the German lines. Those poor people cannot, of course, get anything from the heart of France, and as the Belgian frontier is closed tight by the Germans, they are already starving. It looks very much as though we should have to extend the scope of our work, so as to look after them, too. We hear very little news from that part of the country, but from what we do hear, conditions must be frightful. In one little town Mr. K——— came through, only twenty out of five hundred houses are said to be standing. He says that the people are not permitted to leave the place and are living in the cellars and ruins in great misery and practically without food.Out of a clear sky comes a new trouble for the country. The German Government has come down with a demand for money on a scale that leaves them speechless. The Belgians are ordered to make a forced payment each month of forty millions of francs, for twelve months." ((1), more)
"At this time there was also some concern over the neutrality of Greece and the potential threat to the Allied troops at Salonika. So on 20 November [1915] a special squad was constituted in Malta, under admiral Le Bris, comprising three French battleships, three British battleships and an Italian and Russian cruiser. The squadron then headed for the island of Milos, some 90 miles away from Athens, arriving there on 25 November, in a show of force to the Greeks. This proved to be effective, so that by 11 December the Greeks agreed to remove all but one of their divisions from Salonika." ((2), more)
"At the end of 1916 two undertows were sucking America toward war—economic involvement with the Allies and the submarine controversy with the Germans—were exerting such pull as to be almost impossible to resist. Wilson was bent on resisting; no man ever lived who was less willing to be the victim of events. He had made up his mind that if the November election confirmed him in office he would focus all his influence upon one last effort to substitute settlement for slaughter. He sensed, as Bernstorff knew, that little time, little room to maneuver was left." ((3), more)
"I entered [Jerusalem] officially at noon, December 11th [1917], with a few of my staff, the commanders of the French and Italian detachments, the heads of the political missions, and the Military Attachés of France, Italy, and America.The procession was all afoot, and at Jaffa gate I was received by the guards representing England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Australia, New Zealand, India, France, and Italy. The population received me well.Guards have been placed over the holy places. My Military Governor is in contact with the acting custodians and the Latin and Greek representatives. The Governor has detailed an officer to supervise the holy places. The Mosque of Omar and the area around it have been placed under Moslem control, and a military cordon of Mohammedan officers and soldiers has been established around the mosque. Orders have been issued that no non-Moslem is to pass within the cordon without permission of the Military Governor and the Moslem in charge." ((4), more)
(1) Beginning of the entry for December 11, 1914 from the journal of Hugh Gibson, Secretary to the American Legation in Brussels, Belgium. By September, 1914, serious food shortages had developed in Belgium. Gibson worked with the Spanish ambassador, the German authorities in Belgium, the British Government, and the American Relief Committee to deliver food for Belgium's civilian population. Gibson has just been made aware of the situation facing the civilian population in occupied France, and a new demand of the German authorities in Belgium.
A Journal from our Legation in Belgium by Hugh Gibson, pp. 335, 336, copyright © Copyright, 1917, by Doubleday, Page & Company, publisher: Doubleday, Page & Company, publication date: 1917
(2) As neutral Bulgaria mobilized for war, signalling its intention to join the Central Powers, Eleftherios Venizelos, Prime Minister of neutral Greece, discussed inviting forces of the Entente Allies to land at Salonika with the French and British ambassadors, and with his King, Constantine. Venizelos favored the Allies; Constantine the Central Powers. On October 3, 1915, Venizelos received the backing of the Greek Parliament, but on the 5th, as an Allied fleet entered the Gulf of Salonika, the King refused to back the Prime Minister who resigned. In the coming weeks, Constantine threatened to intern the British troops in Greece, and the French, retreating from the Bulgarians, feared they would need to fight their way through a Greek army to return to Salonika.
Gallipoli — Attack from the Sea by Victor Rudenno, page 212, copyright © 2008 Victor Rudenno, publisher: Yale University Press, publication date: 2008
(3) Germany's submarine warfare targeted enemy ships and those of neutral countries that traded with its enemies. The United States was the largest of the neutrals, and loss of its extensive trade with the Allies would have led to a recession. Americans working and sailing on Allied ships had been killed or captured by submarines, and the United States had repeatedly threatened to break relations with Germany. President Woodrow Wilson's successful re-election campaign had used the slogan, 'He kept us out of war,' but Wilson was finding it increasingly difficult to do so. Count Johann von Bernstorff was Germany's ambassador to the United States from 1908 to 1917.
The Zimmermann Telegram by Barbara W. Tuchman, page 116, copyright © 1958, 1966 by Barbara W. Tuchman, publisher: Ballantine Books, publication date: 1979
(4) Excerpt from the account by British General Edmund Allenby of his entry into Jerusalem on December 11, 1917. Turkish forces had evacuated the city during the night of December 8–9.
The Great Events of the Great War in Seven Volumes by Charles F. Horne, Vol. V, 1917, pp. 408–409, copyright © 1920 by The National Alumnia, publisher: The National Alumni, publication date: 1920
