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Postcard map of the Chemin des Dames between Soissons and Rheims. The view is facing north towards the heights of the 'Ladies Road,' the Aisne River to its south. The Germans held the high ground after the retreat from the Marne in 1914. The French suffered heavy casualties taking the Chemin des Dames in the Second Battle of the Aisne in 1917, an offensive that led to widespread mutinies in the French Army. The Third German Drive of 1918, the Third Battle of the Aisne, drove the French, and supporting British troops, from the heights, and again threatened Paris.
Personifications of Alsace and Lorraine in a German postcard. Lorraine looks to France, but Alsace to Germany, a point made by the poem.
Metal grave markers at the Laventie German Military Cemetery, Laventie, France. A plowed field and village is in the background. © 2013 by John M. Shea
Five British S.E. 5a biplanes in flight.
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
"On September 3, Marshal Foch's 'Directive' prescribed that while (1) the British armies supported by the left of the French armies continue to attack in the general direction Cambrai—St. Quentin, and (2) the centre of the French armies continues its action to drive the enemy beyond the Aisne and the Ailette, (3) the American Army after delivering at the latest by September 10 their attack on the St. Mihiel salient should prepare 'as strong and violent an offensive as possible in the general direction of Mezières, covered on the East by the Meuse and supported on the left by the attack of the Fourth French Army (Gouraud).'" ((1), more)
"The enemy assault will continue for some time, but our enemies must themselves see that they will not be able to attain their aim. Our troops are fighting splendidly and I attribute to their courage that such colossal superiority in strength does not crush us.The French fight brilliantly and are bleeding to death. They do not hesitate at any sacrifice. With the English, the individual man is very good and tenacious, but the leadership is deficient. Among the Americans I have found that the majority do not know what they are fighting for. I asked an American prisoner what they were fighting for and he answered, 'For Alsace.' Then to the question, 'Where is Alsace?' he replied, 'It's a big lake,'" ((2), more)
"South of Peronne, the armies of Debeney and Rawlinson crossed the Somme on September 5th. Mangin's French Army was now north of the Ailette River, its right wing moving eastward along the Chemin-des-Dames. The Franco-American troops had driven the foe from the Vesle River and occupied the heights between that river and the Aisne.In Flanders the British had recovered Neuve Chapelle and Fanquissart, while Lens had been evacuated but not yet occupied by Gen. Horne's army.The Germans were now in bad plight. Since their great offensive began in March, they had lost more than 1,500,000 men in dead, wounded, and captured. Their reserves were scanty and the morale of the troops was declining." ((3), more)
"The enemy also endeavors to sow dissension in our ranks by means of leaflets dropped from aëroplanes above our lines. Ten thousand of these are sometimes gathered up in a day. The enemy knows what strength resides in our State and Empire; hence he seeks by his leaflets and false rumors to arouse distrust among us. There have always been some traitors to the Fatherland, a few deliberately false, others unintentionally so. Most of these now reside in neutral countries, having deserted us to escape sharing in our battles and privations, and to escape being executed as traitors.Be on your guard, German soldiers." ((4), more)
"September 7th.—Surplus rejoined, bringing with them strong reinforcements of officers and men. They had been waiting close to Delville Wood. For one of them at least, the remains of Ale Alley, Beer and Stout Trenches, and the Sugar refinery at Ginchy held memories of the rough times our 1st Battalion had there in 1916." ((5), more)
(1) Excerpt from Winston Churchill's history of the war summarizing Allied Commander-in-Chief Ferdinand Foch's September 3, 1918 directive. Point 3, concerning the actions of the newly created American First Army, would require a reduction of the St. Mihiel salient, then a rapid redeployment westward for an assault in the heavily fortified heights of the Argonne. American Commander-in-Chief John J. Pershing had at last, and would command, the independent American Army he had argued for since his arrival in France more than a year before.
The World Crisis 1911-1918 by Winston Churchill, page 828, copyright © by Charles Scribner's Sons 1931, renewed by Winston S. Churchill 1959, publisher: Penguin Books, publication date: 1931, 2007
(2) September 4, 1918 statement given to newspapers by German Crown Prince Frederick William who already knew from German commander Erich Ludendorff that the war was lost.
The Great Events of the Great War in Seven Volumes by Charles F. Horne, Vol. VI, 1918, p. 303, copyright © 1920 by The National Alumnia, publisher: The National Alumni, publication date: 1920
(3) Germany's five offensives of 1918 began on March 21 and continued through July 17. After that final, failed offensive and the Allied victory in the Second Battle of the Marne, the Allies took back nearly all the ground that German forces had captured. Although both sides suffered heavily, the allies had advantages in armaments including tanks and airplanes, and in the arrival of 250,000 American troops in France each month. On September 5, the Americans, who had been fighting under French and British command (as some would continue to do), were about to launch their first offensive as the new American First Army.
King's Complete History of the World War by W.C. King, page 455, copyright © 1922, by W.C. King, publisher: The History Associates, publication date: 1922
(4) Excerpt from address issued September 6, 1918 by Marshal Paul von Hindenburg. Clearly indicating their concern, authorities would pay for propaganda leaflets that were turned in.
The Great Events of the Great War in Seven Volumes by Charles F. Horne, Vol. VI, 1918, p. 278, copyright © 1920 by The National Alumnia, publisher: The National Alumni, publication date: 1920
(5) Beginning of the entry for September 7, 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 War the Infantry Knew 1914-1919 by Captain J.C. Dunn, page 537, copyright © The Royal Welch Fusiliers 1987, publisher: Abacus (Little, Brown and Company, UK), publication date: 1994
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