Postcard from a series on the Armies of the European War of 1914. The French Army included units from its African colonies including Morocco and Senegal, and the Départment of Algeria.
Guerre Européenne 1914Armée Française[Mounted]Dragon, Cuirassier, Spahi (petite tenue), Chasseur d'Afrique, Chasseur a cheval, Hussard, Gendarme[Foot]Artilleur morté, Train des Equipages, Garde Républicaine (grande tenue), Tirailleur Senégalais, Tirailleur Algerien, Zouave, Infanterie de ligne, Chasseur à pied, Matelot, Génie, Infanterie de marine, Chasseur AlpinDéposé J.C 8-9European War 1914 French Army[Mounted] Dragoon, Cuirassier , Spahi (field dress), African Chasseur, Mounted Chasseur, Hussar, Policeman[Foot] Gunner, Train Crew, Republican Guard (full dress), Senegalese infantryman, Algerian infantryman, Zouave, Line Infantry, Chasseur, Sailor, Engineer, Marine, Alpine ChasseurFiled J.C 8-9Reverse, handwritten:Un bon gros baiser pour le cher bijou de 11 mois.A great big kiss for the dear jewel of 11 months.
"There was very considerable activity on the French front [from June to September 1915], with a number of encounters in which the French, like the British, were handicapped, though in a less degree, by lack of munitions and heavy guns.On the 7th June parts of the French XI. Corps attacked and captured the German salient of Touvent farm between Hébuterne and Serre on a front of a mile, and in fighting which continued up to the 13th June held it against counter-attacks. Further east, 6th–16th June, the salient south of Quennevières, between the Oise and the Aisne, was the scene of an attack on a front of four brigades, which brought a small gain of ground."
French Commander Joseph Joffre maintained an offensive posture through 1915, a strategy he called 'nibbling' at the enemy, and one that resulted time and again in heavy casualties. Although the French shell shortage was not as critical as that of Great Britain or Russia, it still left the French with inadequate ammunition and guns to counteract the artillery of the Germans and their defensive posture. Joffre conducted major offensives in the first half of 1915 in Artois and Champagne, but also smaller attacks along the entire front. In the attack at Quennevières, French losses were 134 officers and 7,771 men.
Military Operations France and Belgium, 1915, Vol. II, Battles of Aubers Ridge, Festubert, and Loos by J. E. Edmonds, page 109, copyright © asserted, publisher: Macmillan and Co., Limited, publication date: 1928
1915-06-09, 1915, June, French Army, shell shortage, Second Battle of Artois, Touvent, Hébuterne, Serre, Quennevières, Oise, Aisne
