The rulers of the Central Powers — Kaisers Wilhelm and Franz Joseph, Tsar Ferdinand, and Mohammed V — surrounded by the Allies: Belgium, Britain, France, Italy to the west, the Balkan states of Montenegro, Serbia, and Greece, where Britain and France ensure Greek participation in the war, and Russia its strength bolstered by Japan's munitions supplies. Out to sea, the British, French, and Italian navies stand guard, with that of Russia in the distance. Portugal likely stands at the lower left. By 1916, Serbia was already occupied by the Central Powers.

L'Actualite par la carte postale (1916)

Troisième Année de Guerre

L'Offensive Générale Enserre les Empires Centraux



The News in Postcards (1916)

Third Year of the War

The General Offensive Encircles the Central Powers

Other views: Larger

Saturday, May 15, 1915

"Colonel FitzGerald and Captain Guest reported that on May 12 and 14 [1915] they had carried out my instructions and laid the facts before Mr. Lloyd George, Mr. Balfour, and Mr. Bonar Law. On May 15, Colonel Repington's article appeared in the 'Times.' The world knows what then happened. The Coalition Government was formed, with Mr. Lloyd George as Minister of Munitions; and, though delays afterwards occurred, the problem was at last faced with the intelligence and energy that its gravity demanded . . ."

Quotation Context

Commanding British forces on the continent, General Sir John French had recognized the overwhelming superiority of German artillery in the sheer number of shells it could use against the allies as early as September 1914. Guns were allocated one half, one quarter, of the shells they were firing, and the high command imposed restrictions on the number of shells allowed per gun per day. The War Office did not respond with anything approaching the requirements, and British soldiers paid heavily for this shortfall in the Battles of Ypres and Neuve Chapelle. According to his memoir, it was the events of May 9, 1915, and the beginning of the Battle of Festubert, that convinced French to approach politicians and the press about the shell shortage. The scandal led to a coalition government, and brought the future Prime Minister David Lloyd George in as Minister of Munitions.

Source

1914 by John French, page 368, copyright © 1919, by Houghton Mifflin Company, publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company, publication date: 1919

Tags

1915-05-15, 1915, May, Sir John French, shell shortage