On May 23, 1915 Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary, its former ally as a member of the Triple Alliance. Clasping the hands of the German and Austro-Hungarian emperors Wilhelm II and Franz Josef, Italy's king Victor Emmanuel III conceals the tattered document behind his back.
Image text: Ihr Völker merkt für jetzt und späterSo schwor zum Dreibund der VerräterYour people note both now and later,Thus swore to the Triple Alliance the traitor.Reverse:Militäramtlich genehmigt (Officially approved by the military)Logo: EMM No. 9
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
British troops drawing water. A Susini tobacco / cigarette card.
Image text: Tropas Inglesas sacando aguaBritish troops drawing waterReverse:No. 1264La Guerra EuropeaPostal para la colección Del NuevoAlbum UniversalObsequio de SusiniNo. 1264The European WarPostcard for the new collectionUniversal AlbumGift from Susini
Photograph of four First World War Italian soldiers. The one on the far right wears a monocle.
Image text:
The disparity in the number of nations arrayed against the Central Powers was a common motif, and was updated as the numbers on each side increased. Italy's entry into the war on May 23, 1915 changed the numbers again.Central Powers (top) Sultan Mohammed V of Turkey, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, Kaiser Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary. Allies (center and bottom rows) Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, King George V of the United Kingdom, President Raymond Poincaré of France, King Nikola of Montenegro, King Peter of Serbia, King Victor Emmanuel of Italy, King Albert I of Belgium, Emperor Taishō of Japan.In the center, a poem: Drei gegen Acht, Three against Eight.
Image text: Drei gegen Acht.Gebt Acht, Ihr “Acht”, es blitzt und krachtund schlägt manch’ schwere Lücke.Jung-Siegfrieds Schwert schlug unversehrtDen Ambosz einst in Stücke.Und Treue, Mut und EinigkeitGeb’ uns zum Siege das Geleit.- Richard OttThree against eightTake heed, your "night" flashes and crashesAnd suggests some serious gap.Young Siegfried's sword split the anvilYet stayed intact.And loyalty, courage and unityWill lead us to victory.Reverse:Postmarked Frankfurt, July 21, 1915
"After lunch, when I again called attention to the seriousness of the situation, the Kaiser authorised me to inform our gracious Majesty that we might in this case, as in all others, rely upon Germany's full support. He must, as he said before, first hear what the Imperial Chancellor has to say, but he did not doubt in the least that Herr von Bethmann Hollweg would agree with him. Especially as far as our action against Serbia was concerned. But it was his (Kaiser Wilhelm's) opinion that this action must not be delayed. Russia's attitude will no doubt be hostile, but to this he had been for years prepared, and should a war between Austria-Hungary and Russia be unavoidable, we might be convinced that Germany, our old faithful ally, would stand at our side. Russia at the present time was in no way prepared for war, and would think twice before it appealed to arms. But it will certainly set other powers on to the Triple Alliance and add fuel to the fire in the Balkans. He understand perfectly well that His Apostolic Majesty in his well-known love of peace would be reluctant to march into Serbia; but if we had really recognised the necessity of warlike action against Serbia, he (Kaiser Wilhelm) would regret if we did not make use of the present moment, which is all in our favor." ((1), more)
"Monday, July 5, 1915.Between the Bug and the Vistula the Austro-Germans are continuing their march on Lublin.The Russian army is retiring, by swift and successive stages, on positions it has to abandon practically at once, owing to lack of arms and ammunition." ((2), more)
"Dear Miss Scott: The parcel has arrived, and is being put to its proper use with the proper speed. The cake is excellent. Tray bong. J'en suis tres oblige. If you have not sent the other parcel by the time you get this do not trouble till you receive another F.P.C. The fact is, that in this last 6 days in the trenches, we had such a devil of a time that I felt that if parcels were to come at all — if tis to be done, then twere well it were done quickly. We were made a cock-shy of for the artillery, and so have really been a part of the advance. (One strafe lasted 2½ hours, and gave me a permanent distaste for such. We were under fire every day, and nowhere was safe. In the post where I was for half my time, there were twelve dugouts. Four have been smashed, the cookhouse a mere melancholy ruin of its former greatness, and the bombstore not what it was. Souvenirs are plentiful round there. . ." ((3), more)
". . . the regime did not crush all disobedience. Violent misbehavior by troops going to and from the front became so widespread in summer 1917 — firing on carabinieri in the railway stations, shooting out of the windows, hurling stones and bottles — that the men's rifles had to be taken away for the duration of the journeys. And this was at the apex of Cadorna's terror." ((4), more)
"At the beginning of July [1918] a new assault was expected in Champagne. But the situation had lost its critical aspect. The British Army was able to fill its gaps, the American Army totalled more than twenty divisions and its effectives were increasing rapidly. The Franco-British disposed of an incontestable superiority in tanks and aviation. In fact, for the first time under the far-sighted impulse of General Pétain the French Army was to practise a reasonable defence tactic similar to that adopted by the Belgians on the day of Merckem.No serious danger seemed to threaten the Belgian sector, and the King and Queen could accept an invitation which both gladdened and flattered them: a visit to the British Fleet which was cruising in Scottish waters.On the 5th July Their Majesties flew over the Pas de Calais in a Belgian military seaplane." ((5), more)
(1) The "blank cheque" that Kaiser Wilhelm provided Austria-Hungary. Excerpt from the July 5, 1914 report of Count Szögyény, Austro-Hungarian Ambassador to Germany, to Austro-Hungarian Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Berchtold on his meeting with Kaiser Wilhelm earlier in the day.
July, 1914; the Outbreak of the First World War; Selected Documents by Imanuel Geiss (Editor), pp. 76, 77, copyright © 1967 Imanuel Geiss, publisher: Charles Scribner's Sons, publication date: 1967
(2) Entry for July 5, 1915 from the memoirs of Maurice Paléologue, French Ambassador to Russia. The great retreat of the Russian army in the face of the combined German and Austro-Hungarian Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive continued on a broadening front. The retreat was not a rout, as the Russians regularly halted, entrenched (if poorly), and briefly held their ground before continuing the retreat. Lublin, Poland is southeast of Warsaw, which the Russians continued to hold.
An Ambassador's Memoirs Vol. II by Maurice Paléologue, page 25, publisher: George H. Doran Company
(3) Ivor Gurney, English poet and composer, writing to the composer Marion Margaret Scott, President of the Society of Women Musicians from 1915 to 1916, on July 5, 1916. Gurney was a private in the Gloucestershire Regiment in the Fauquissart-Laventie sector.
War Letters, Ivor Gurney, a selection edited by R.K.R. Thornton by Ivor Gurney, page 80, copyright © J. R. Haines, the Trustee of the Ivor Gurney Estate 1983, publisher: The Hogarth Press, publication date: 1984
(4) Mutinous behavior and incidents were not confined to the French and post-revolutionary Russian armies in the spring and summer of 1917, but affected the Italian army as well. The proportions of disciplined and executed soldiers was much higher in the Italian than the British and French armies, and summary execution after random selection of representatives of a rebellious unit was more common. Nor could Italian soldiers appeal to civilian authorities. It is hard not to conclude that Italian commander in chief Luigi Cadorna was both brutal and incompetent, as were many of his generals.
The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front, 1915-1919 by Mark Thompson, page 275, copyright © 2008 Mark Thompson, publisher: Basic Books, publication date: 2009
(5) The War Diaries of Albert, King of the Belgians were assembled by General R. Van Overstraeten from the monarch's diary and other sources. This selection is from what Van Overstraeten refers to as his 'general succinct framework' for Albert's entries. Germany had already mounted four offensives on the Western Front in 1918, the last ending on June 14. French General Henri Philippe Pétain had rebuilt the French Army after the mutinies of 1917, both men and materiel. In April 1917, the Belgians repulsed a German attack at Merckem.
The War Diaries of Albert I King of the Belgians by Albert I, page 216, copyright © 1954, publisher: William Kimber
