The disparity in the number of nations arrayed against the Central Powers was a common motif, and was updated as the numbers on each side increased. Italy's entry into the war on May 23, 1915 changed the numbers again.

Central Powers (top) Sultan Mohammed V of Turkey, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, Kaiser Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary. Allies (center and bottom rows) Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, King George V of the United Kingdom, President Raymond Poincaré of France, King Nikola of Montenegro, King Peter of Serbia, King Victor Emmanuel of Italy, King Albert I of Belgium, Emperor Taishō of Japan.

In the center, a poem: Drei gegen Acht, Three against Eight.

Drei gegen Acht.



Gebt Acht, Ihr “Acht”, es blitzt und kracht

und schlägt manch’ schwere Lücke.

Jung-Siegfrieds Schwert schlug unversehrt

Den Ambosz einst in Stücke.

Und Treue, Mut und Einigkeit

Geb’ uns zum Siege das Geleit.

- Richard Ott



Three against eight



Take heed, your "night" flashes and crashes

And suggests some serious gap.

Young Siegfried's sword split the anvil

Yet stayed intact.

And loyalty, courage and unity

Will lead us to victory.



Reverse:

Postmarked Frankfurt, July 21, 1915

Other views: Larger, Back

Thursday, May 9, 1918

"On the afternoon of May 9th [1918]—which was the first possible day of the next period, Keyes and Lynes were both at La Panne as luncheon guests of the King of the Belgians. After a happy and informal meal they all went for a walk among the sand dunes. They had not gone very far when the King drew Keyes to one side and rather shyly offered him the Star of a Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold. It was while thanking His Majesty for this charming gesture that Keyes first became aware of the fact that the wind was shifting offshore.

Within a quarter of an hour the wind was steady from the northeast. With brief apologies Keyes cut short the royal luncheon party, and he and Lynes tore back to Dunkirk—bearing with them the fervent good wishes of their hosts, to whom Keyes had permitted himself to drop a broad hint on the reason for their precipitate withdrawal."

Quotation Context

Under the command of Roger Keyes, the Royal Navy attempted to block the canals leading to the German submarine base at Bruges, Belgium the night of April 22–23, 1918, raiding the North Sea ports of Ostend and Zeebrugge in hopes of sinking aging warships across the canals. The operation had some success at Zeebrugge, but at Ostend it was unsuccessful, in part because the Germans had moved a buoy on which the raiders were relying. As Keyes met with Albert King of the Belgians on May 9, he had a plan awaiting favorable weather conditions to try again at Ostend.

Source

Zeebrugge by Barrie Pitt by Barrie Pitt, page 164, copyright © Barrie Pitt 1958, 1959, publisher: Ballantine Books, publication date: 1958

Tags

1918-05-09, 1918, May, Keyes, Roger Keyes, Albert and Elizabeth, King Albert I