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Russian soldiers resting in the field. Card postmarked November 28, 1916.
With Bulgaria joining the Central Powers in October 1915 assuring the defeat of Serbia by the end of November, the Balkanzug — the Balkan Railway, shown in red — connected Berlin and Constantinople. By the second week of November, Turkey received ammunition and weapons from its allies.
Hanging on the wire: dead Russian soldiers entangled in barbed wire. Attacking infantry found it nearly impossible to overcome the combination of barbed wire and machine guns. Many died trying, some left hanging in the grip of the wire.
The Allies welcome Italy to the victory banquet, serving her Trento and Trieste. Turkey, Austria-Hungary, and Germany (the Central Powers) look in on the feast. The artwork is from the period between Italy's entry into the war on May 23, 1915, and Bulgaria's joining the Central Powers on October 14. It was a difficult year for the celebrants. Postcard by Aurelio Bertiglia.
A woman munitions worker carrying a shell apparently drops another one on the foot of a frightened man who clearly does not realize, as she does, that they are not in danger. No doubt his foot hurt.
"3rd January [Old Style]At any moment first aid work might be awaiting us in the trenches. The New Year has brought renewed hope. We trust implicitly in the loyalty and patriotism of our soldiers; we know that they are longing for an opportunity to win back all the fertile territory which the enemy has succeeded in wrenching from Russia. They are now rested and their ranks reinforced; the future seems reassuringly bright. 'Wait!' we tell each other. 'Wait! a little more patience and we shall see the victories which 1916 has in store for us.'" ((1), more)
"January 17, 1916, stands out as one of the big dates of the war. There was great rejoicing in Constantinople, for the first Balkan express — or, as the Germans called it, the Balkanzug — was due to arrive that afternoon! The railroad station was decorated with flags and flowers, and the whole German and Austrian population of Constantinople, including the Embassy staffs, assembled to welcome the incoming train. As it finally rolled into the station, thousands of 'hochs' went up from as many raucous throats.Since that January 17, 1916, the Balkanzug has run regularly from Berlin to Constantinople." ((2), more)
"— Over the last eighteen months the war has cost Europe 3,000 human lives every day, and an average of 350,000,000 francs. Nobody worries any longer about these astounding figures.— Despite the savage expectations of our patriotic madmen, soldiers still exchange friendly conversation between the trenches. Thus, one night, a German outpost asked a French sentry : 'Tell me, now, how does one go about it to establish a republic?'" ((3), more)
"As the result of strong pressure by General Alexeïey, the provision of rifles for the Russian army has materially improved.Present supplies are as follows :(1) Rifles in use at the front : 1,200,000.(2) Rifles landed at Archangel : 155,700.(3) Rifles landed at Alexandrovsk : 530,000.(4) Rifles ready for dispatch from England : 113,000. . . .Between now and the end of April the authorities are anticipating the arrival of a further 850,000 rifles.Unfortunately, the losses the Russian army has just suffered in Galicia are terrible—60,000 men ! At one point alone, Czartorysk, 11,500 men were blinded by a snowstorm and cut down to a man in a few minutes by the German artillery." ((4), more)
"'The Russians,' he declared, 'are behindhand. Their munitions factories are not working badly but their guns are below standard. The Russian Army consumes an incredible number of them. The port of Archangel is icebound; Murmansk is free, but the railway-line is not completed; a stretch of 200 kilometres remains to be built. The rifles and guns we sent to the Russians have to make an immense détour by Port Arthur which makes the journey at least three months. In short, the Russians, according to their own words, will not be ready before June, and in my opinion not before July.'We shall then launch a general offensive simultaneously on all fronts.'Until then we must wear down the enemy.'" ((5), more)
(1) Florence Farmborough, an English nurse serving with the Russian Red Cross, writing on January 16, 1916 (January 3 Old Style). On the same day, Maurice Paléologue, French Ambassador to Russia, recorded that in the capital of Petrograd, and with the failure of the Allied Gallipoli Campaign, people had given up hope of capturing Constantinople,and with that possibility foreclosed, saw little point in continuing the war.
Nurse at the Russian Front, a Diary 1914-18 by Florence Farmborough, page 167, copyright © 1974 by Florence Farmborough, publisher: Constable and Company Limited, publication date: 1974
(2) Excerpt from the memoir of Henry Morgenthau, American Ambassador to Turkey from 1913 to 1916. With the defeat of Serbia, trains could run from Berlin to Constantinople. In his memoir, Morgenthau writes that the Turkish government's 'destruction of the Armenians had made Turkey for me a place of horror,' and he soon took the train to Berlin.
Ambassador Morgenthau's Story by Henry Morgenthau, page 273, copyright © 1918, by Doubleday, Page & Company, publisher: Doubleday, Page & Company, publication date: 1918
(3) January 18, 1916 entries from the diary of Michel Corday, a senior civil servant in the French government who was repeatedly appalled by the savage attitudes of his fellow citizens, particularly those on the home front.
The Paris Front: an Unpublished Diary: 1914-1918 by Michel Corday, page 134, copyright © 1934, by E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., publisher: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., publication date: 1934
(4) In the course of 1915, Russian industry had finally begun to meet the demands in weapons and shells of the war. The Russians had launched an offensive in eastern Galicia on December 27, 1915 expecting significant success, but improved weaponry could not overcome poor planning and preparation.
An Ambassador's Memoirs Vol. II by Maurice Paléologue, page 151, publisher: George H. Doran Company
(5) French Commander Joseph Joffre speaking to Albert, King of the Belgians, in a visit by the general on January 20, 1916. Albert suggested that the British 'hold the whole line defensively,' allowing the French to take the offensive. Joffre did not trust the British to take this on, but was preparing for a joint summer offensive with them on the Somme River. Murmansk and Archangel are on the Barents and White Seas, Port Arthur on the Pacific Ocean.
The War Diaries of Albert I King of the Belgians by Albert I, page 81, copyright © 1954, publisher: William Kimber
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