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Socialists Karl Liebknecht and Lededur(?) struggle to restrain Imperial Germany from getting its slice of the world — Togo, Cameroon, East Africa, Southwest Africa — that other world powers carve up. France, Italy, the United States and Britain dig in.
John Bull, symbol of Great Britain and here a bird-catcher, tries to entice the kingdom of Romania, in 1915 a neutral nation, into his trap. He already has Russia by the nose, and the plucked cock of France and an Italian fowl close at hand. Neutral (and wise) Greece rests out of reach, while Bulgaria sings to the Islamic crescent moon of Turkey. In the background Turkish, German, and Austro-Hungarian soldiers meet at a crossroads. Carved into the tree is a heart dated 1915, and the initials 'F A R', perhaps for 'France aime Russie:' France loves Russia.
British infantry, artillery, cavalry, and a tank, likely on the Arras front, 1917. From The Nations at War by Willis J. Abbot 1918 Edition.
The Newfoundland Memorial in the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Park pays tribute to the Newfoundland Regiment and its part on the opening day of the Battle of the Somme, July 1, 1916. © 2013, John M. Shea
Chosen Boy, a 1918 watercolor by Paul Klee. From Paul Klee: Early and Late Years: 1894-1940. © 2013 Moeller Fine Art
"In Germany, anti-war feeling was growing. Deaths from starvation as a result of the Allied blockade was becoming a daily occurrence. In 1915 some 88,232 deaths had been attributed to the blockade. In 1916 the number rose to 121,114. There were food riots in more than 30 German cities. On June 28 a three-day protest strike began, in which 55,000 German workers took part. The one anti-war member of the Reichstag, Karl Liebknecht, was expelled from the Reichstag and sentenced to two years' hard labour for continuing to urge soldiers not to fight. Two months later his sentence was increased to four years." ((1), more)
"The Russian Galicia army has now reached out to Kolomea, fifty kilometres south of the Dniester; its north-westerly sweep is becoming more marked as it advances on Stanislau.During the month of June it has made 217,000 prisoners, including 4,500 officers; it has also captured two hundred and thirty guns and seven hundred machine-guns.General Alexeïev has just sent a note to General Joffre pointing out the desirablility at the present moment of the Salonica army taking the offensive against the Bulgars: he thinks this offensive would undoubtedly compel Rumania once and for all to throw in her lot with the Entente. . . ." ((2), more)
"30th June [1916]Visit to the sector of the British 9th Division (General Hunter-Weston) at Ypres.The British Army, from its leaders down to the ranks themselves, gives the impression of being a power of the first order. They are excellent troops from the point of view of courage and discipline. They are perhaps a little inexperienced, but that is quickly remedied in wartime. Particularly striking are the order, the ready obedience and the outward gaiety of the men, and the fine physique and the bold and resolute attitude of the officers." ((3), more)
"The Newfoundlanders had to go 300 yards before reaching the British front line and then a similar distance across No Man's Land. In view of the urgency of their orders they went straight over the top from a reserve trench, instead of going to the front line by way of congested communication trenches. As soon as they appeared in the open, German machine-gunners spotted them and opened fire. No artillery bombardment kept the Germans' heads down; no other targets distracted them, for the Essex had not appeared. They concentrated their fire on the 752 Newfoundlanders advancing over the open ground less than half a mile away." ((4), more)
"2nd July [1916]Yesterday, at last, the great offensive was launched, the offensive which was announced months ago, later postponed and heralded by the statesmen as the signal for liberation by total victory.French and English together announce 11,000 prisoners. The first German line was captured, but we were halted by the second. We are assured that the attackers' losses are negligible, naturally! Now we are marking time and bringing up artillery; then the attack will continue, and in this way the Germans will have time to bring up their reserves. In any case no surprise effect has been sought. This is a 'sledge-hammer' attack, not a penetration. Penetration is antiquated!In any case, this offensive, by wearing down the armies taking part, is leading us towards the end of the war. When this battle has lasted two or three months weariness may set in and ideas of peace will at last find favourable soil." ((5), more)
(1) Karl Liebknecht was a leader of the German Social Democratic Party, assassinated, along with Rosa Luxembourg, by right-wing thugs in 1919.
The First World War, a Complete History by Martin Gilbert, page 256, copyright © 1994 by Martin Gilbert, publisher: Henry Holt and Company, publication date: 1994
(2) Maurice Paléologue, French Ambassador to Russia, writing on June 29, 1916 on the success of Russia's Brusilov Offensive, begun June 4, 1916, into Galicia in Austria-Hungary's northeast, one of the most successful of the war. Both the Triple Entente and the Central Powers had encouraged Romania to join the war. As Romania's chief ambition was to seize the Austro-Hungarian territory of Transylvania with its large ethnically-Romanian population, the Entente was the more obvious partner, and Brusilov's success made the timing opportune, but Romania would continue to dawdle until the Russians had been stopped and the Central Powers could turn their full attention on Romania. The French and British had landed troops in Salonica, Greece, in 1915, in hopes of preventing the overrunning of Serbia. They had failed in their mission, but had over 300,000 troops in Greece, joined by Serbian and Russian troops. General Mikhail Vasiliyevich Alekseyev was Chief of Staff of Stavka, the Russian High Command, from 1915 to 1917.
An Ambassador's Memoirs Vol. II by Maurice Paléologue, page 286, publisher: George H. Doran Company
(3) Entry for June 30, 1916, from the war diary of Albert, King of the Belgians. South of Ypres, the British were preparing to attack the next day, July 1, in their Somme Offensive.
The War Diaries of Albert I King of the Belgians by Albert I, page 111, copyright © 1954, publisher: William Kimber
(4) Most of the British troops fighting on July 1, 1916, the first day of Battle of the Somme, were from the United Kingdom, and many of them were part of the British New Army. The Newfoundland Regiment was among the few Dominion troops fighting on what would be the worst day in British Army history, thrown into the battle with little notice after the troops before them had failed to advance. The 1st Essex Regiment was supposed to be advancing simultaneously to the Newfoundlanders right. Of the 752 Newfoundlanders who crossed the ground at Beaumont-Hamel, 26 officers and 658 men were casualties. On that day, July 1, 1916, the British army suffered nearly 60,000 casualties on the Somme, 19,240 of them killed. In 1916, Newfoundland was a British colony, not yet part of Canada.
First Day on the Somme by Martin Middlebrook, pp. 189-190, copyright © 1972 by Martin Middlebrook, publisher: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., publication date: 1972
(5) Entry from the war diary of Albert, King of the Belgians, July 2, 1916, after the first day of the Anglo-French Battle of the Somme. The first German line was captured at some points. The King's cynicism is understandable, having heard or been told of 'negligible losses' before. Penetration, the breakthrough, had been the aim of previous Allied attacks, but now it's the 'sledge-hammer' attack, like that of the German's at Verdun. The Battle would go on. Peace was over two years away.
The War Diaries of Albert I King of the Belgians by Albert I, page 113, copyright © 1954, publisher: William Kimber
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