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
"The new Commander-in-Chief of the German forces in the East [Paul von Hindenburg] resolved at the beginning of November to take advantage of this change in the situation to make a surprise flanking movement with the assistance of the efficient German railways . . . He, therefore, arranged for the transference of considerable portions of the 8th Army from Lithuania and for the transport of the mass of the 9th Army, which was retreating from the Vistula above Warsaw, into the area of Thorn and Gnesen. . . .During these happenings in the East until November 12, on which day the offensive of the 9th Army, under the leadership of General von Mackensen, began from Thorn and Gnesen, the offensive which was begun in Flanders in the middle of October, and is popularly styled the Ypres Battle, was carried out."
Summary by General Erich von Falkenhayn Chief of the German General Staff of events on the Eastern and Western fronts in early November 1914. In the East, a German-Austro-Hungarian advance in September and October, almost to the gates of Warsaw, was reversed by the Russians. Von Hindenburg's plan required Falkanhayn to send available men and supplies to the Eastern Front, weakening the German position in the Battles of Yser and Ypres, the major engagements in the Battle of Flanders on the Western Front.
General Headquarters and its Critical Decisions, 1914-1916 by Erich von Falkenhayn, pp. 33, 34, copyright © 1920 by Dodd, Mead and Company, Inc., publisher: Dodd, Mead and Company, Inc., publication date: 1920
General Headquarters and its Critical Decisions, 1914-1916, General Headquarters and its Critical Decisions, Erich von Falkenhayn, von Falkenhayn, Falkenhayn, November, 1914, 1914-11-12
