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Headstone of Corporal P. Cotter of the Royal Irish Regiment, died September 3, 1916 at the age of 32, and buried in Delville Wood Cemetery, France. © 2013 John M. Shea
England's Distress: Postcard map of England and Ireland with the restricted zone Germany proclaimed around the islands, showing the ships destroyed by submarine in the 12 months beginning February 1, 1917.
Beneath high clouds, a crane suspends a capstone advising Italians to direct their savings to the war effort over the Italian peninsula. The crane stands on the Adriatic Sea's northeast coast, site of Trieste, an Austro-Hungarian Mediterranean port with a large ethnic Italian population, and one of Italy's principle objectives in the war.
Battle on the Somme, by Oskar Martin Amorbach, showing the blue Hessen (Infantry Regiment Lieb, 'Grand Duchess') in combat against British troops.
Grave and marker for an unknown French soldier at Le Trou Aid Post Cemetery, Fleurbaix, France, a primarily British cemetery. © 2014 John M. Shea
"October 1st.—The officers assembled in the school to meet the new G.O.C. 'Seems a pleasant, human man: not too old.' After compliments, he told us that we will be 'for it' in a week. Another wood awaits attack. The subalterns adapted the refrain of a popular music-hall song, and sang, 'And another little wood October 3rd.—won't do us any harm.' A guest night, the Drums playing: this was the only event of the kind in my time. And October 4th.—they played Welsh airs in Doullens Grande Place. The French audience increased at each subsequent performance." ((1), more)
"In the distant Mediterranean, the war of torpedo against liner continued. On October 4 a German submarine struck twice, each time with success, sinking first the Cunard liner Franconia, on which twelve died, and then the French troop transport Gallia, on which six hundred men were drowned." ((2), more)
"— The second Loan, opened on the 5th October, has been supported by much more forcible and insidious methods than the first. A stronger campaign is directed against the masses. The newspapers harp on the theme that to invest gold is to shorten the war. For the first time they are mentioning the losses of life, assuring the public that they will diminish them by subscribing to the Loan. I notice the bold argument: 'Nearly six per cent! Just think what a high rate of interest that would be in normal times!'" ((3), more)
"Every evening we could witness the tragic show which the front lines of the Battle of the Somme put on for us. The sky was crisscrossed with flashes, illuminated, lit up with meteoric bolts, sudden bursts of light, all accompanied by a deafening, continuous rumbling. We felt like we were watching a gigantic volcano, seeing the sinister reflections of hell itself.'It's just like Verdun,' said the veterans, worried, 'but there will also be cold, rain, and mud!' The young ones were terrified before this frightful tableau, just right for inspiring horror of war and filling the soul with terror." ((4), more)
"With diminished expectations, Joffre insisted that the offensive on the Western Front should continue as long as weather permitted, and Robertson and Haig agreed. During the remainder of September and October [1916] the French attacked frequently but in the same fragmented fashion as the British. Sixth Army, after being increased to five corps, drove forward on September 25–27 and October 7, 12–13, 15, and 18. Tenth Army, still with three corps, attacked on October 10–11, 14, and 21–22. Despite several attempts, the French made only small gains, and the fighting gradually diminished." ((5), more)
(1) Entries for October 1 through 4, 1916 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 Battalion was then serving in the Somme sector. Doullens is 36 kilometers west of Arras, which was on the front line. Composed by American Nat D. Ayer with lyrics by Britisher Glifford Grey, 'Another Little Drink Wouldn't Do Us any Harm' was included in The Bing Boys Are Here, a revue that opened in London's West End in April, 1916.
The War the Infantry Knew 1914-1919 by Captain J.C. Dunn, page 263, copyright © The Royal Welch Fusiliers 1987, publisher: Abacus (Little, Brown and Company, UK), publication date: 1994
(2) Declared after Great Britain imposed a blockade of Germany, and suspended after the May 7, 1915 sinking of the passenger liner Lusitania in which 1,195 civilians, 128 of them Americans, Germany decided in September, 1916 to resume unrestricted submarine warfare in January. German U-boats continued their campaign, and were particularly successful in the Mediterranean Sea.
A Naval History of World War I by Paul G. Halpern, pp. 291–292, copyright © 1994 by the United States Naval Institute, publisher: UCL Press, publication date: 1994
(3) Entry from October, 1916 from the diary of Michel Corday, French senior civil servant.
The Paris Front: an Unpublished Diary: 1914-1918 by Michel Corday, page 204, copyright © 1934, by E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., publisher: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., publication date: 1934
(4) Excerpt from the notebooks of French Infantry Corporal Louis Barthas, writing on October 6, 1916, when his unit moved toward the front lines in the Battle of the Somme.
Poilu: The World War I Notebooks of Corporal Louis Barthas, Barrelmaker, 1914-1918 by Louis Barthas, page 256, copyright © 2014 by Yale University, publisher: Yale University Press, publication date: 2014
(5) The Anglo-French Somme Offensive began on July 1, 1916, and the attacks continued through the summer and autumn. French Commander in Chief Joseph Joffre coordinated plans and attacks with his British counterpart and commander of British forces on the continent Douglas Haig, but imperfectly. General William Robertson was Chief of the Imperial General Staff.
Pyrrhic Victory; French Strategy and Operations in the Great War by Robert A. Doughty, page 304, copyright © 2005 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College, publisher: Harvard University Press, publication date: 2005
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