Lithograph postcard of the uniforms of the Belgian military including infantry, cavalry, and bicycle corps beneath a portrait of King Albert I.
Reverse:Litho - L. Clement & Cie. Rue Ste Anne 23, Bruxelles
"The country is resplendent with green. In the distance, through the mist on the horizon, lie outlined the houses and ruins of Dixmude, Caeskerke, the Troost Farm, the houses of Burg and Tanks. We could hear the gunfire; two aeroplanes were having a dog fight and using their machine-guns.. . .We left the line at Milestone 19 of the Yser, where the 2nd Division starts. Following a communication trench to begin with, we crossed the fields and reached Milestone 2, on the Dixmude-Alveringem road. It was a quiet day—an exchange of rifle shots and the drone of a few 210-cm. shells, which we heard pass overhead, destined for Caeskerke halt."
Two paragraphs from Belgian King Albert's diary entry for July 31, 1915, a day on which he visited the sector held by the 5th Belgian Division, setting out about 4:30 in the morning. In a visit lasting 'exactly 1 hour and 25 minutes,' he met with the 2nd and 3rd Chausseurs, and the 1st Regiment of the Line, recording the names of officers he met. He was satisfied with the condition of the trenches and dugouts.
The War Diaries of Albert I King of the Belgians by Albert I, pp. 51-53, copyright © 1954, publisher: William Kimber
1915-07-31, 1915, July, Albert, King Albert, Belgian Army, Belgium
