German and Austro-Hungarian forces under the command of generals von Hindenburg and Archduke Friedrich besieged Warsaw, and took it during the Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive. Austrians von Hötzendorf, Friedrich, and Pflanzer-Baltin form the bottom of the ring; the others are German. The flag and shield of Germany are on the bottom left; those of Austria and Hungary the bottom right.
Image text: Der Ring um Warschau, The Ring Encircling Warsaw.Bottom right: 5258; illegible logo bottom leftReverse: registration lines only.
Austro-Hungarian graves in the Dolomite Mountains.
Image text: Heldengräber in den DolomitenHeroes graves in the DolomitesReverse:Verlag Kapper TrientPublisher Kapper Trent
Dive Copse British Cemetery in Sailly-le-Sec, France.
Image text:
View from Chemin des Dames looking across the valley of the Ailette River towards Laon Cathedral in the city of Laon, France and barely visible in the distance. The Chapelle St. Berthe is down the slope in the near distance. Laon was one of the first-day objectives of French commander-in-chief Robert Nivelle's offensive in the the Second Battle of the Aisne. © 2014 by John M. Shea
"Thursday, May 20, 1915The Russian General Staff estimate that the Austro-German forces employed against Russia amount to not less than 55 corps and 20 cavalry divisions. Of these 55 corps three have just arrived from France." ((1), more)
"On May 20th, the Italians lost the Borgola Pass, 3,000 men, 33 guns and three howitzers. Everywhere the Austrian advance was successful. The Laurence Plateau, Fima, Mandriole and the heights as far as the Astico Valley were captured in quick succession. Between the Astico and Brenta, the Austrian advance continued in the Valleys of Terra Astico, Doss Maggio and Campelle.. . .In less than a week the Austrians had advanced their whole line far into Italian territory, across mountains 5,000 to 9,000 feet high, and had taken 24,000 prisoners, 251 cannons and 101 machine guns." ((2), more)
"May 20 [1917]When I woke early this morning to hear the bird-voices, so rich and shrill in the grey misty dawn, piping hoarse and sweet from the quiet fragrance of the wet garden and from the green dripping woods far off—lying in my clean white bed, drowsy and contented, I suddenly remembered 'At zero the infantry will attack'—Operation Orders! Men were attacking while I lay in bed and listened to the heavenly choruses of birds. Men were blundering about in a looming twilight of hell lit by livid flashes of guns and hideous with the malignant invective of machine-gun fire. Men were dying, fifty yards from their trench—failing to reach the objective—held up.And to-night the rain is hushing the darkness, steady, whispering rain—the voice of peace among summer foliage. And men are cursing the downpour that drenches and chills them, while the guns roar out their challenge." ((3), more)
"Finally, on May 20 the Corps von Conta received orders to take over their sector of the front, and Headquarters moved up to Château Marchais. The divisions also took up their positions. The last stage of the preparations began and was considerably helped by the plentiful cover the district afforded, woods and hills to the north of the Aisne valley screening them from English observation.In the Aisne valley, on the other hand, work could only proceed by night. All possible cover was utilised for the secret concentration of troops. The movement of new divisions and supply work could only be carried out by night. Bivouac fires by night were forbidden. Horses were not allowed out of the woods." ((4), more)
(1) Entry for Thursday, May 20, 1915, from the memoirs of Maurice Paléologue, French Ambassador in Russia. Begun on May 2, the German-Austro-Hungarian Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive continued to expand and push back the Russians. The Austro-Hungarian Army, which had squandered hundreds of thousands of men in the initial battles of 1914, and in fighting in the Carpathians in the early months of 1915, required German support to have any chance against Russia. To expand on his success on the Eastern Front, German Commander-in-Chief Falkenhayn drew down his forces on the Western Front.
An Ambassador's Memoirs Vol. I by Maurice Paléologue, page 340, publisher: George H. Doran Company, publication date: 1925
(2) Despite ample warning of an impending Austro-Hungarian offensive against northern Italy from the Trentino, Italian Commander in Chief Luigi Cadorna made few preparations. Begun on May 15, 1916 with bombardment by 2,000 guns, Austro-Hungarian Chief of Staff Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf's Asiago Offensive rapidly progressed. Conrad hoped to drive through the mountains to reach and cross Italy's northern plain, continuing to reach the Adriatic Sea, isolating the Italian Army.
King's Complete History of the World War by W.C. King, page 232, copyright © 1922, by W.C. King, publisher: The History Associates, publication date: 1922
(3) Entry for May 20, 1917, from the diary of Siegfried Sassoon, British poet, author, Second Lieutenant in the Royal Welch Fusiliers, and recipient of the Military Cross for gallantry in action. Sassoon had been wounded, shot through the shoulder by a sniper, in an April 16 attack on the village of Fontaine-lès-Croisilles in the Battle of Arras.
Siegfried Sassoon Diaries 1915-1918 by Siegfried Sassoon, pp. 170–171, copyright © George Sassoon, 1983; Introduction and Notes Rupert Hart-Davis, 1983, publisher: Faber and Faber, publication date: 1983
(4) Excerpt from an account of the Aisne Offensive, the Third German Drive of 1918, and German preparations for it, by Major-General A. D. von Unruh, Chief of the General Staff, 4th Reserve Corps (the Corps von Conta he refers to). The Aisne River flows south of Chemin des Dames, held by the Allies, but its source was behind the German line, and it is that part of the Valley of the Aisne Unruh refers to. Four British divisions that had been devastated in Operations Michael and Georgette in March and April had been moved into what was expected to be a quiet sector, one held by the French.
The Last of the Ebb: the Battle of the Aisne, 1918 by Sidney Rogerson, page 129, copyright © Sidney Rogerson, 1937, publisher: Frontline Books, publication date: 2011
