Zweibund — the Dual Alliance — Germany and Austria-Hungary united, were the core of the Central Powers, and here join hands. The bars of Germany's flag border the top left, and those of the Habsburg Austrian Empire and ruling house the bottom right.
Schulter an SchulterUntrennbar vereintin Freud und in Leid!'Shoulder to shoulderInseparably united in joy and in sorrow!
"I suppose we must now recognize that the French army cannot make a sufficient break through the German lines of defence to bring about the retreat of the German forces from northern France. If that is so, then the German lines in France may be looked upon as a fortress that cannot be carried by assault, and also cannot be completely invested."
Secretary of State for War Herbert Lord Kitchener writing to Sir John French, commander of the British Expeditionary Force on January 2, 1915. From the very beginning of the war, Kitchener had predicted it would be long, and began to raise a volunteer army of a million men. Future Prime Minister David Lloyd George compared Kitchener's mind to a lighthouse, emitting an illuminating beam before moving on and leaving all in darkness.
The First World War, an Illustrated History by A.J.P. Taylor, p. 67 (and Lloyd George p. 53), copyright © George Rainbird Ltd., 1963, publisher: Berkley Publishing Group, publication date: Perigee edition: 1972 (or
Kitchener, fortress, seige, 1915, January, 1915-01-02, Herbert Lord Kitchener
