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Map of the Eastern Front in the summer of 1915 as the German-Austro-Hungarian Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive continued to advance against the retreating Russians. From 'The German General Staff and its Decisions, 1914-1916' by General von Falkenhayn.
The Dolphin Tavern, London, was destroyed by a Zeppelin bomb on September 9, 1915 that killed three people. A clock in the wreckage stopped at 10:30 PM, and and in the rebuilt tavern. © 2014 by John M. Shea
Pencil sketch of a piece of French shrapnel by a German soldier1 drawn September 12, 1915. Shrapnel was an anti-personnel weapon, designed to kill and maim.
Postcard from a painting by W. Partke of a village in the Pripet Marshes in Russia dated February 14, 1916. An Hungarian officer wrote of the Marshes, 'almost half of the territory is covered by wet, impassable, and uncultivated forest, wooded territory, most of it useless, bushy, and impenetrable. The ground itself is divided into different kinds of marshy lands, impassable muddy districts, immense weedy and grassy territories, also regions covered by some kind of more solid grassy substance, and other thousands and thousands of acres of land perpetually under water.' The card is field postmarked on April 9, 1917 by Minenwerfer (trench mortar) Company 282.
". . . the line had been so shortened—from 1,700 kilometres to 1,000—that Russian reserves could now be freed for the northern sector. Moreover, the Russian output of shell was increasing: 100,000 rounds per week in July, 220,000 in September, while reserve-troops began to come in greater numbers. X Army around Vilna had 105,000 men, most of them with rifles, and 600 guns, with up to 200 shells to use.. . . The German offensive took the form of a frontal attack on Vilna, which failed, and a flank-attack to the north, which succeeded. On 8th September [1915] three German infantry divisions and three cavalry divisions came round the northern flank of the Vilna defenders." ((1), more)
"The Dolphin TavernThe history of the Dolphin ClockA Zepplin bomb exploded on 9th September 1915 destroying these premises and killing three peopleA clock found in the wreckage stopped at 10:40 PM & hangs inside the pub" ((2), more)
"At that time the farmers were harvesting the hops. One day one of our bosses had the bright idea of issuing an order at roll call authorizing us to help harvest the hops that afternoon . . .To win the favor of the Flemish girls, the young poilus posted themselves alongside them and helped them to fill their sacks. And these young people, careless as they have always been and always will be, sang, laughed, flirted, and embraced, indifferent to the dull roar of cannon fire which sounded over toward Ypres." ((3), more)
"11th September [1915]General Joffre has just told me of the new big offensive which the French and the English are going to attempt, involving more than a million. They have plenty of ammunition and new big guns. The General is very hopeful. The main attack will take place in Champagne, with a subsidiary attack at Arras, next to that of the English.'Whether it succeeds or not,' said Joffre, 'we can do no more. The Italians will make a great effort towards the end of September; the Russians lack guns, but they have plenty of man power.'General Foch, who had come before the Generalissimo to announce the visit and tell me the latter's plans, was not very optimistic." ((4), more)
"We had 5 killed and 14 wounded during the day. Next day there were two outbursts of trench-mortar activity; and there was September 16th—a real hate by both sides the following afternoon.The wounds of this front are mostly multiple and often horrible, being nearly all caused by shell or mortar-bomb or grenade. One wonders how the Germans fare with their own bombs, so many of our wounded are the victims of our own bomb accidents." ((5), more)
(1) By late August, 1915, the German-Austro-Hungarian Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive, which had driven the Russian Army from the Carpathian mountains and Russian Poland, was coming to an end. Defending a shorter line, able to arm its soldiers and provide more shells for its artillery, the Russians faced invaders who had marched hundreds of miles, extended their supply line, and were reaching their limit. German Commander Erich von Falkenhayn had instructed his generals to stop in August and again on September 2, but General Erich Ludendorff proceeded with his plan for a continued offensive, one Falkenhayn had rejected in June.
The Eastern Front, 1914-1917 by Norman Stone, pp. 188, 189, copyright © 1975 Norman Stone, publisher: Charles Scribner's Sons, publication date: 1975
(2) The Dolphin Tavern on the corner of Red Lion Street and Lamb's Conduit Passage in London was destroyed by a bomb from Zeppelin LZ.13 commanded by Kapitänleutnant (Lieutenant Commander) Heinrich Mathy on September 9, 1915. Twenty-two people were killed in the raid, at least four of them children, most when Mathy's bombs hit two motor omnibuses. The Tavern has since been reconstructed. The 1990 song 'After the Dolphin' by Crosby, Stills and Nash mistakenly attributes the bomb to 'a plane'.
The Dolphin Tavern, London, external wall plaque of the Dolphin Tavern
(3) Excerpt from the Notebooks of French Infantry Corporal Louis Barthas from around September 10, 1915. His unit had deployed to Flanders near the village of Oost-Cappel, on the Franco-Belgian border. Barthas, 'an old papa,' helped two old people with their harvest, 'a pretty meager one even counting the few sous which my help added to their earnings.'
Poilu: The World War I Notebooks of Corporal Louis Barthas, Barrelmaker, 1914-1918 by Louis Barthas, pp. 104, 105, copyright © 2014 by Yale University, publisher: Yale University Press, publication date: 2014
(4) Excerpt from the September 11, 1915 entry from the diary of Albert, King of the Belgians. With the industrial north of their country occupied, Italy's failures in its initial battles, and Russia's continuing retreat before the month's-long German-Austro-Hungarian advance, French Commander-in-Chief Joffre and other French leaders believed they had no alternative. General Foch, who would command the French 10th Army in Artois, was not alone in his skepticism, which was shared by General Castelnau, commander of the French attack in Champagne, British General Haig, and other senior officers.
The War Diaries of Albert I King of the Belgians by Albert I, page 61, copyright © 1954, publisher: William Kimber
(5) Excerpt from the period September 14 to 16, 1915 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. Approximately 70% of soldiers killed in World War I were killed by artillery fire, including shrapnel shells, high-explosive shells, and gas shells.
The War the Infantry Knew 1914-1919 by Captain J.C. Dunn, page 148, copyright © The Royal Welch Fusiliers 1987, publisher: Abacus (Little, Brown and Company, UK), publication date: 1994
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