Postcard of Kaiser Wilhelm II and Kaiser Franz Joseph, in the Secessionist style. Kaiser Wilhelm is wearing the uniform and shako of the Death's Head Hussars.
Völkerkrieg (people's war)1914; In Treue FestPeople's WarFirm in Loyalty
"'St George for merry England!''Harow! Harow! Monseigneur St George, succour us.''Ha! St George! Ha! St George! a long bow and a strong bow.''Heaven's Knight, aid us!'And as the soldier heard these voices he saw before him, beyond the trench, a long line of shapes, with a shining about them. They were like men who drew the bow, and with another shout their cloud of arrows flew singing and tingling through the air towards the German hosts."
From 'The Bowmen' by Arthur Machen. On August 23, 1914, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), moving north, collided with the advancing German First Army, the Entente Allies' left wing clashing with the German right in Mons, Belgium in the BEF's first battle of the war. Although heavily outnumbered, the BEF stopped the German advance for the day, before retreating the next. Outnumbered as it was, the BEF's success in holding their position was attributed to divine intervention — St. George's spirit bowmen in Machen's story, or the Angel of Mons who defended the British soldiers in other tellings.
The Penguin Book of First World War Stories by Korte, Barbara and Ann-Marie Einhaus, page 5, copyright © 2007 Barbara Korte and Ann-Marie Einhaus Introduction and editorial material , publisher: Penguin Books, publication date: 2007
Battle of Mons, Mons, 1914, 1914-08-23, August, BEF
