England's Distress: Postcard map of England and Ireland with the restricted zone Germany proclaimed around the islands, showing the ships destroyed by submarine in the 12 months beginning February 1, 1917.
Image text: Englands Not12 Monate uneingeschränktenU-Bootskrieges auf dem nördlichen See kriegsschauplatzAlle durch Minen und vor dem 1. Februar 1917 vernichteten Schiffe sind in dieser Karte nicht enthalten.SperrgebietsgrenzenBedeutet ein durch die Tätigkeit unserer U-Boote versenktes Schiffe ohne Berücksichtigung seine GrosseDie Eintragungen der Schiffe entsprechen dem Versunkungsort.England's distressUnqualified 12 monthsSubmarine warfare in the North Sea theaterAll ships destroyed by mines of before February 1, 1917 are not included in this map.restricted zone boundaries[Sunken ship symbol] indicates a ship sunk by the actions of our submarines without taking into account the size of the vessel. The records correspond to the ships' place of operations.Reverse:Auf Anregung Sr. Majestät des Kaisersi. Auftr. des Admiralstabes d. Rais. Marine zu Gunsten der Sinterbliebenen der Besatzungen von U-Booten, Minensuch- und Vorpostenbooten herausgegeben vom Verein für das Deutschtum im AuslandFaber'sche Buchdruckerei, Magdeburg.At the suggestion of His Majesty the Emperorhis commission of Naval Staff Rais d. Navy issued in favor of the sintering relatives of the crews of submarines, minesweepers and outpost boats by the Association for Germans abroadFaber'sche book printing, Magdeburg.
From The Great War magazine, Part 34: Map of the Turkish invasion of Russia in the Caucasus at the end of 1914, ending in defeat at the Battle of Sarikamish.
Image text: The Turkish invasion of the CaucasusKey map of the passes by which the Turkish forces invaded Russian territory. They suffered utter rout at Sarykamysch (or Sarykamish), and at Ardahan.
The Russian Duma: priest deputies and officers. From White Nights and Other Russian Impressions by Arthur Ruhl. Ruhl reported from Russia in 1917 after the February Revolution.
Image text: Priest deputies to the Duma strolling beside the lake adjoining Taurida Palace.A group of 'Pristavs,' who acted as ushers, vote collectors, etc. in the national Duma.
German and Russian soldiers fraternizing during the 1917 Armistice. Handwritten notes on the back include 'Deutsche Russische Verbrüderung' — 'Rus — Waffenstillstand 1917' — 'German Russian brotherhood' and 'Russian Armistice 1917.'
Image text: Handwritten notes on the back include 'Deutsche Russische Verbrüderung' — 'Rus — Waffenstillstand 1917' — 'German Russian brotherhood' and 'Russian Armistice 1917.'
"On January 22, 1915, the steamship Durward was stopped by a U-boat about thirteen miles from the lightship Maas. The crew was ordered to take to the boats, no time being allowed for the removal of their private belongings. The submarine then towed the boats to a safe distance, ordered them to wait there while it sank the ship, and them towed them onwards in the direction of the lightship. A week later (January 30) two ships, the Ben Cruachan and the Linda Blanche, were sunk, in both cases with reasonable consideration for the safety of the crews. . . . the Kölnische Zeitung, about the middle of the month, had published an article declaring that 'in future German submarines and aircraft would wage war against British mercantile vessels without troubling themselves in any way about the fate of the crews.'" ((1), more)
"Sunday, January 30, 1916The army of the Grand Duke Nicholas Nicolaïevitch is doing wonders in Northern Armenia. Across a chaos of rugged and icebound mountains it is driving the Turks before it, and swiftly approaching Erzerum." ((2), more)
"During January at least three separate centers of agitation against the Czar began to take shape in Petrograd. There was the Union of Nobles, an organization of the aristocracy which was plotting for a palace revolution. There were the political parties of the extreme left, chiefly the Social Democrats, forever eating away underground, like white ants, inside the factories and the armed services. And there was the Duma itself. Through all three groups the Okhrana coiled itself like some parasitical creeper that flourishes best where it can generate rottenness and decay." ((3), more)
"There is no doubt that the revolutionary happenings in Austria and in Germany have enormously raised the hopes of the Petersburgers for a general convulsion, and it seems to me altogether out of the question now to come to any peace terms with the Russians. It is evident among the Russians themselves that they positively expect the outbreak of a world-revolution within the next few weeks, and their tactics now are simply to gain time and wait for this to happen. The conference was not marked by any particular event, only pin-pricks between Kühlmann and Trotzky." ((4), more)
(1) Capturing enemy mercantile ships was legitimate according to international war. The captured vessel was then to be taken to a neutral port for adjudication by a Prize Court. If that was dangerous or not practical, the prize ship could be sunk after 'due provision for the safety of passengers and crew, and for the preservation of the ship's papers.'
The Great Events of the Great War in Seven Volumes by Charles F. Horne, Vol. III, 1915, p. 54, copyright © 1920 by The National Alumnia, publisher: The National Alumni, publication date: 1920
(2) Entry for January 30, 1916 from the memoirs of Maurice Paléologue, French Ambassador to Russia. Grand Duke Nicholas had been commander in chief of the Russian Army until its 1915 collapse and Great Retreat before the German-Austro-Hungarian Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive. Tsar Nicholas had taken command command of the army in the summer and dispatched the Grand Duke to the Caucusus Front, where General Nikolai Yudenich led the fight against the Turks. Throughout the day on January 31, the Russians bombarded the outer forts that protected Erzerum. The Turkish defenders poured water down the slopes to turn their strongholds into mountains of ice.
An Ambassador's Memoirs Vol. II by Maurice Paléologue, page 162, publisher: George H. Doran Company
(3) A somewhat overwrought description of the groups plotting against Russian Tsar Nicholas II in the capital of Petrograd in January, 1917. Members of the aristocracy and the Russian Duma had killed the monk Rasputin at the end of December, a blow that struck at the heart of the royal family.
The Russian Revolution by Alan Moorehead, page 134, copyright © 1958 by Time, Inc., publisher: Carroll and Graf, publication date: 1989
(4) Excerpt from the entry for January 30, 1918 by Count Ottokar Czernin in his In the World War. As Minister of Foreign Affairs, Czernin headed the Austro-Hungarian delegation to the Brest-Litovsk peace conference between Russia and the Central Powers. Hundreds of thousands of workers in Austria-Hungary and then Germany went on strike in January, 1918 as hunger and war-weariness bit. Hopes for an end to the war that arose from the December, 1917 armistice were dashed on January 12 when German military representative General Max Hoffman made it clear Germany would not evacuate occupied territory on the Eastern Front. Anticipating revolutionary activity across war-weary Europe, Russian representative Leon Trotsky played for time. Richard von Kühlmann was Germany's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and civilian head of a German delegation that was controlled by the military. He seems to have enjoyed sparring with Trotsky, to the dismay of Czernin, who recognized his country was on the verge of collapse. Petersburg is the Russian capital of Petrograd.
In the World War by Count Ottokar Czernin, page 273, copyright © 1920, by Harper & Brothers, publisher: Harper and Brothers, publication date: 1920
