The Battle of the Marne: Generals Galiénni and French drive the invading Germans back from their approach to Paris, first to the Petit Morin, then the Grand Morin, then the Marne. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) under Sir John French crossed the Grand Morin on September 7 and 8, 1914 arriving on the Petit Morin on the 8th. Galiénni commanded the garrison of Paris, and had launched the initial French attack northeast of the capital on September 5.
Image text: Un Magistral Coup de Balai!ParisG[rand]e MorinP[e]t[ite] MorinA Magisterial Clean Sweep!MarneReverse:Message dated March 25, 1915
Postcard map of East Prussia and Polish Russia with a message and postmark, Vienna, August 20, 1915. From a series that asks, 'Do you know the high times?'
Image text: Kennen Sie schon 'Die grosse Zeit'die neue vom Verlag Ullstein & Co. herausgegebene illustrierte Kriegsgeschichte? Wenn nicht, lassen Sie sich die bereits erschienenen Hefte von Ihren Buchhändler vorlegen. Das Werk gibt in zeitlicher Reihenfolge eine packende reich illustrierte Darstellung der Kriegsereignisse; jedes Heft ist erzeln erhältlich und kostet 30 Pfennig.Do you know 'The big time' new from publisher Ullstein & Co., a published illustrated history of the war? If not, you can acquire the already published issues from your bookseller. In chronological order, the book gives a gripping and richly illustrated presentation of the war; each issue is available and costs 30 cents.Reverse:B.Z. KriegskarteVerlag der B.Z. am Mittag, BerlinB.Z. War Card Publisher of B.Z. at Noon, BerlinMessage and postmark, Vienna, August 20, 1915
Battle on the Somme, by Oskar Martin Amorbach, showing the blue Hessen (Infantry Regiment Lieb, 'Grand Duchess') in combat against British troops.
Image text: Signed: Oskar Martin AmorbachMünchenReverse:Regiments-Gedenktag des ehem. Infanterie Liebregiments, 'Großherzogin' (3. Großherzoglich Hessisches) Nr. 117 1697–1922Die blauen Hessen im Kampfe mit Engländern im Sommegebiet September 1916Kunstdruck Gerling & Erbes, Darmstadt. Nr. 27008Regimental memorial of the former. Infantry Regiment Lieb, 'Grand Duchess' (3 Großherzoglich Hessian) No. 117 1697-1922The blue Hessen at war with British in Somme area September 1916Art Print Gerling & heritage, Darmstadt. No. 27008
1898 map of St. Petersburg, the Russian capital, from a German atlas. Central St Petersburg, or Petrograd, is on the Neva River. Key landmarks include the Peter and Paul Fortress, which served as a prison, Nevski Prospect, a primary boulevard south of the Fortress, the Finland Train Station, east of the Fortress, where Lenin made his triumphal return, the Tauride (Taurisches) Palace, which housed the Duma and later the Petrograd Soviet.
Image text: St Petersburg (Petrograd); Neva River, Peter and Paul Fortress; Nevski Prospect, Finland Bahnhof (Train Station); Taurisches (Tauride) Palace
British postcard of a British pilot and observer with their mascot, a small dog, in their plane and ready for their flight over the German lines.
Image text: Ready for a flight over the German lines; a British pilot and observer with their mascot
"With the support of British forces, the [French] Fifth and Sixth Armies have continued to progress. In the centre and on the right our troops though sharply attacked have maintained their positions. Today the Third and Fourth Armies have resumed the offensive with the support of the reinforcements sent them.In general the situation is very satisfactory on the whole front." ((1), more)
". . . the line had been so shortened—from 1,700 kilometres to 1,000—that Russian reserves could now be freed for the northern sector. Moreover, the Russian output of shell was increasing: 100,000 rounds per week in July, 220,000 in September, while reserve-troops began to come in greater numbers. X Army around Vilna had 105,000 men, most of them with rifles, and 600 guns, with up to 200 shells to use.. . . The German offensive took the form of a frontal attack on Vilna, which failed, and a flank-attack to the north, which succeeded. On 8th September [1915] three German infantry divisions and three cavalry divisions came round the northern flank of the Vilna defenders." ((2), more)
"The offensive on the Somme began again on the 3rd September. Henceforth that part of me which is 'sensitive to victory' will scarcely find any satisfaction in such progress. At every fresh capture of a village, what dominates me is the crushing consciousness of loss, death, and sorrow." ((3), more)
"General Kornilov proposed (1) the declaration of martial law in the city of Petrograd; (2) the transfer of all military and civil power to the Supreme Commander; (3) the resignation of all ministers, including the prime minister, and the temporary transfer of all ministerial business to deputy ministers, pending the formation of a cabinet by the Supreme Commander. Petrograd. August 26, 1917. V. Lvov." ((4), more)
"On the following day [the enemy] commenced to withdraw also from the east bank of the Somme, south of Péronne, and by the night of September 8 was holding the general line Vermand—Epehy—Havrincourt, and thence along the east bank of the Canal du Nord.The withdrawal was continued on the front of the French forces to our right.Throughout this hasty retreat our troops followed up the enemy closely. Many of his rearguards were cut off and taken prisoner; on numerous occasions our forward guns did great execution among his retiring columns, while our airmen took full advantage of the remarkable targets offered them. Great quantities of material and many guns fell into our hands." ((5), more)
(1) Extract from a telephone message by French Commander Joseph Joffre to the Chief of the French Mission at British Headquarters. On September 8, 1914, the British forced their way across the Petit Morin River and advanced halfway to the Marne. They had been opposed by cavalry under von Richthofen, father of the then not-yet-famous fighter pilot. During the afternoon the British Flying Corps reported the German forces were retreating quickly to the north. German planes reported the British and French advances that threatened to outflank the German Second Army. After a sultry day, a violent thunderstorm struck at 6:00 PM.
The Campaign of the Marne by Sewell Tyng, pp. 389, 390, copyright © 2007 Westholme Publishing, LLC, publisher: Westholme Publishing, LLC, publication date: 2007 (1935)
(2) By late August, 1915, the German-Austro-Hungarian Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive, which had driven the Russian Army from the Carpathian mountains and Russian Poland, was coming to an end. Defending a shorter line, able to arm its soldiers and provide more shells for its artillery, the Russians faced invaders who had marched hundreds of miles, extended their supply line, and were reaching their limit. German Commander Erich von Falkenhayn had instructed his generals to stop in August and again on September 2, but General Erich Ludendorff proceeded with his plan for a continued offensive, one Falkenhayn had rejected in June.
The Eastern Front, 1914-1917 by Norman Stone, pp. 188, 189, copyright © 1975 Norman Stone, publisher: Charles Scribner's Sons, publication date: 1975
(3) Entry from September 8, 9, or 10, 1916 from the diary of Michel Corday, a French senior civil servant who frequently wrote against those who pressed for peace only through victory. The Battle of the Somme was over two months old when he wrote. Eight British and four French divisions fought in the September 3 attack.
The Paris Front: an Unpublished Diary: 1914-1918 by Michel Corday, page 196, copyright © 1934, by E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., publisher: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., publication date: 1934
(4) Russian General Lavr Kornilov had been made Supreme Commander of the Russian Army on July 31, 1917. Although claiming to support the Russian Revolution, he opposed many of its reforms, and wanted to bring back the death penalty for deserters from the army, many of whom had simply left the front. He had begun planning a coup with conservative officers, financiers, and industrialists in the first days of the revolution. Vladimir Lvov was Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod in the first cabinet of the Provisional Government, and served as an intermediary between Kornilov and Russian Prime Minister Alexander Kerensky. Shocked by what Lvov proposed when the two men met on September 8, 1917 (August 26, Old Style), Kerensky asked him for a written summary of Kornilov's proposal for the Prime Minister to cede dictatorial powers to the General. They met in Petrograd, seat of the Russian government and center of revolutionary activity.
Russia and History's Turning Point by Alexander Kerensky, page 345, copyright © 1965 by Alexander Kerensky, publisher: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, publication date: 1965
(5) The ongoing attacks by the Allies did not allow the Germans time to consolidate their positions, forcing them to fall back repeatedly in attempts to hold a defensive position. The Allies increasingly commanded the air, and bombed and strafed ground forces, in some cases turning a retreat into a rout.
The Tank Corps by Clough Williams-Ellis & A. Williams-Ellis, page 238, publisher: The Offices of "Country Life," Ltd. and George Newnes, Ltd., publication date: 1919
