Russian troops fleeing a solitary German soldier. The Russian First Army invaded Germany in August 1914, and defeated the Germans in the Battle of Gumbinnen on the 20th. In September the Germans drove them out of Russia in the First Battle of the Masurian Lakes. In September and October, a joint German, Austro-Hungarian offensive drove the Russians back almost to Warsaw. Illustration by E. H. Nunes.
Image text: Die Russen haben große Hoffnungen auf den Krieg gesetzt, - es ist aber auch eine Kehrseite dabei.The Russians have set high hopes for the war - but there is also a downside to that.Reverse:Kriegs-Postkarte der Meggendorfer-Blätter, München. Nr. 25War postcard of the Meggendorfer Blätter, Munich. # 25
Beneath the crown of England, Britannia with her shield and Neptune's trident sits, flanked by the flag of the United Kingdom, and the Royal Standard. Behind her, illuminated by the British crown, is a map of the world with the British Empire in pink: Canada and Newfoundland, the United Kingdom, the Union of South Africa and British East Africa, India, Australia, and New Zealand.
Image text: Land of Hope and Glory (1)Dear Land of Hope, thy hope is crowned,God make thee mightier yet;On Sov'ran brows, beloved, renowned,Once more thy crown is set.Thine equal laws, by Freedom gained,Have ruled thee well and long;By Freedom gained, by Truth maintained,Thine Empire shall be stong.Words by Permission of Boosey & Co.Bamforth (Copyright).Reverse:HolmfirthBamforth & Co., Ltd, Publishers (Holmfirth England) and New York, Series No. 4707/1Printed in England
'December snow.' Hand-painted watercolor calendar for December 1917 by Schima Martos. Particulates from a smoking kerosene lamp overspread the days of December, and are labeled 'December höra,' 'December snow.' The first five days or nights of the month show a couple at, sitting down to, or rising from a lamp-lit table. The rest of the month the nights are dark, other than four in which the quarter of the moon shows through a window, or Christmas, when the couple stands in the light of a Christmas tree.
Image text: December höraDecember snow2½ liter petroleum.
Peoples of Austria-Hungary in 1914 from Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd. The empire's population included Germans, Magyars, Romanians, Italians, and Slavs including Croats, Serbians, Ruthenians, Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, and Slovenes.
Image text: Peoples of Austria-Hungary in 1914Legend:Germans, Magyars, Romanians, Italians, and Slavs including Croats, Serbians, Ruthenians, Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, and Slovenes.
"History shows that Russia is never so strong as at the beginning of a war. We haven't that wonderful faculty for adaptation and improvisation which enables you French and English to make good all your omissions in peace in the very middle of a war. With us war only aggravates the evils of our political system because it sets our bureaucrats a task they are utterly incapable of performing. Would that I were mistaken! But I expect that things will go from bad to worse. Look what a tragic position we are in! We cannot make peace without dishonouring ourselves, and yet if we continue the war we are inevitably heading straight for a catastrophe!" ((1), more)
"Monday, May 1, 1916.On April 29 the English suffered a severe reverse in Mesopotamia. General Townshend, who had occupied an entrenched position at Kut-el-Amara, on the Tigris, has been compelled to capitulate by lack of food and ammunition, after a siege of one hundred and forty-eight days; the garrison was reduced to 9,000 men.Simultaneously, a grave insurrection, fomented by German agents, has broken out in Ireland. A regular battle between the rebels and English troops has made Dublin a scene of blood and fire. Order appears to have been restored now." ((2), more)
"On 26 April Sir William Robertson wrote to Haig: 'It seems to me the right thing to do is to keep on fighting.' And Haig agreed; but he was in a dilemma. He wanted to launch his new offensive in the north, but he couldn't neglect the Arras front while the French were in their present disarray. As he informed the War Cabinet on 1 May: 'We cannot rely on adequate French offensive co-operation. The fact is deeply to be regretted, but it must be recognized. We must maintain the offensive for at least two or three weeks more.'" ((3), more)
"On May 1, 1918, an estimated throng of 70,000 parading in Prague set up chants to 'Hang the Kaiser,' demanded more food, independence, and peace, and a fortnight later, Czech patriots converted the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the Bohemian National Theater into a gala patriotic demonstration. Representatives of other Hapsburg national communities attended the Prague celebration, which took on the quality of a version of the Congress of Oppressed Nationalities recently held in Rome; spokesmen of Slav nationalities impressively demonstrated their solidarity with the Czechs." ((4), more)
(1) Russian General Stackelberg speaking to Maurice Paléologue, French Ambassador in Russia at a dinner at the French Embassy on Saturday, May 1, 1915. Before this statement, the general had said that Russia was headed for defeat and revolution because it could 'never beat the Germans.' The Ambassador responded that Russians were fighting splendidly, but lacked 'heavy artillery, aeroplanes, and munitions of war,' which it would have 'in a few months.' The General would prove to be right; the Ambassador wrong.
An Ambassador's Memoirs Vol. I by Maurice Paléologue, page 335, publisher: George H. Doran Company, publication date: 1925
(2) Attempting to seize Baghdad in Mesopotamia, the British had been defeated at Ctesiphon on November 21, 1915, 22 miles short of their goal, and forced back to Kut-al-Amara where they were surrounded by increasingly strong Turkish forces. All attempts by the relieving force to break the siege failed, and the British had surrendered on April 29, 1916. The Easter Rising in Dublin, Ireland, begun on Easter Monday, April 24, 1916, a quiet bank holiday, was suppressed by British forces with destruction to Dublin that observers compared to cities on the Western Front. Although anticipating German arms that had been intercepted by the British, the Rising was the work of Irish men and Irish women, and Irish groups seeking independence: the Irish Volunteers, the Irish Republican Brotherhood, and the Irish Citizens Army.
An Ambassador's Memoirs Vol. II by Maurice Paléologue, page 243, publisher: George H. Doran Company
(3) Britain's Arras Offensive, part of the Franco-British Nivelle Offensive, commenced on Easter Monday, April 9, 1917. After a first day that saw the taking of Vimy Ridge by the Canadian Corps and a British advance in other parts of the line, the British suffer heavy losses while achieving little more. French delays in launching their offensive — Second Battle the Aisne — led British Commander Douglas Haig to continue attacking to keep the Germans off balance. When the French attacked on April 16, their high hopes quickly came to little. They too suffered heavy losses, and a roundhouse blow to French morale that soon led soldiers to refuse to attack. Haig would get to execute his offensive 'in the north' in July. It would become the disastrous Battle of Passchendaele. William Robertson was Chief of Britain's Imperial General Staff.
Cheerful Sacrifice: The Battle of Arras, 1917 by Jonathan Nicholls, page 192, copyright © Jonathan Nicholls [1990 repeatedly renewed through] 2011, publisher: Pen and Sword, publication date: 2010
(4) The fault lines in the Austro-Hungarian Empire deepened and widened at the war progressed, as casualties mounted, as shortages of food and fuel bit. Hungarians asked why they were being sent across the Empire to fight on the Italian Front, and refused shipments of food to Austria. Czech prisoners of war held in Russia formed a Czech Legion fighting alongside Imperial Russian troops against Austria-Hungary. After the Bolshevik Revolution and peace between Russia and the Central Powers, these Legionnaires would make their way eastward to the Pacific port of Vladivostok in the next stage of a journey to circle the globe to return them home to fight for an independent Czech state.
The Passing of the Hapsburg Monarchy, 1914-1918 2 Volumes by Arthur James May, Vol. 2, p. 676, copyright © 1966 by the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press, publication date: 1966
