Leaders of the first six Allies: King Peter of Serbia, King George V of Great Britain, President Poincaré of France, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, King Albert of Belgium, and Nicholas of Montenegro.
Image text: 1914 Conflit Europeen 1914S. M. Pierre I, Roi de Serbie; S. M. George V, Roi d'Angleterre; M. Poincaré, President de la République Français; S. M. Nicolas, Roi de Montenegro; S. M. Nicholas II, Empereur de Russie, S. M. Albert I, Roi des BelgesE. LE Delev, Imp. Edit. 127, Boul. de Sebastopol, ParisLogo: ELDHis Majesty Peter I, King of Serbia; His Majesty George V, King of England; Monsieur Poincaré, President of the French Republic; His Majesty Nicolas, King of Montenegro; His Majesty Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia, His Majesty Albert I, King of the Belgians
A medal suspended on a green triangular ribbon with red stripes, bleeds. The medal reads 'Laeso Militibi' (or 'Militiri') MDCCCCXVIII (1918). Beneath the medal is written 'M?gegy', Another, or One More.The image is based on the Austro-Hungarian wound medal which was instituted under Kaiser Karl whose profile is on the obverse. The red stripes indicate the number of wounds, three in this case. The actual medal reads 'Laeso Militi', To the Wounded Soldier (Latin), and shows the year as MCMXVIII.The card was sent to Franz Moritos, and is postmarked Budapest, Hungary, November 16, 1918.
Image text: A medal suspended on a green triangular ribbon with red stripes, bleeds. The medal reads 'Laeso Militibi' (or 'Militiri') MDCCCCXVIII (1918). Beneath the medal is written 'M?gegy', Another, or One More.The image is based on the Austro-Hungarian wound medal which was instituted under Kaiser Karl whose profile is on the obverse. The red stripes indicate the number of wounds, three in this case. The actual medal reads 'Laeso Militi', To the Wounded Soldier (Latin), and shows the year as MCMXVIII.The card was sent to Franz Moritos, and is postmarked Budapest, Hungary, November 16, 1918.
French soldier standing next to an unexploded 420mm shell that fell on Verdun. March, 1916. It weighed 2,100 pounds empty.
Image text: Musée de L'ArméeObus de 420 tombé dans un coin des fossés de VerdunVerdun, Mars 1916Pois: 956 kilogr. vide420 shell fallen into a corner of the Verdun trenchesVerdun, March 1916Weight: 2,107 pounds emptyLogo: ELD
Embossed postcard of the flag and coins of Persia, with both nominal exchange rates and approximate trade values for major currencies including those of Germany, France, Great Britain, Austria Hungary, the Scandinavian Monetary Union, Russia, the Netherlands, and the United States.
Image text: Münzenkarte mit NationalflaggePersia1 Toman à 10 Kran à 20 Schahi à 50 Deinars.Der Deinar ist Rechnungseinheit.Kurswert der Goldmünzen in Kran Silber1 Toman to 10 Kran to 20 Schahi to 50 Deinars.Coin card with national flagThe Deinar is the unit of account.Market value of gold coins in silver KranKurswert der Goldmünzen - Market value of gold coinsAndere Wertbezeichnungen - Other value designationsReverse:Postkarte. Carte postale. Correspondenzkarte. Cartolina postale. Postcard. Levelazö-lap. Briefkaart. Weltpostverein. Union postale universelle. (Universal Postal Union)
The salute of General Black Jack Pershing, Commander in Chief of the American Expeditionary Force, landing in France, June, 1917. Pershing landed in Boulogne on June 13.
Image text: Le Salut du Général Pershing, Commandant en Chef des Troupes Américanines, à la terre de France. (Juin 1917).Message dated September 18, 1917R et E[nvoyée?] le 20-9-1917Reverse:Postmarked September 18, 1917
Map of Alsace and the Franco-German border from Switzerland north along the Vosges Mountains to Strasbourg. The postcard celebrates the German victory at Mulhouse on August 11, 1914, retaking the city from the French.
Image text: Der Sieg bei Mülhausen 11.8.1914Der Große Generalstab veröffentlicht folgende Meldung: Von Belfort in das Oberelsass nach Mülhausen vor gedrungener Feind, anscheinend das VII, französische Armeekorps und eine Infanterie-Division der Besatzung von Belfort, sind heute von unseren Truppen aus einer verstärkten Stellung westlich Mülhausen in südlicher Richtung zurückgeworfen worden. Verluste unserer Truppen nicht erheblich, die der Franzosen groß.The victory at Mulhouse 08/11/1914The Great General Staff issued the following message: From Belfort in Upper Alsace to Mulhouse, our troops have thrown back strong enemy forces – apparently the VII French army corps and one infantry division of the garrison of Belfort – from their reinforced position west of Mulhouse to the south. Losses to our troops are not significant, and comparable to those of the French.W.I.B. (4)Reverse:B.Z. KriegskarteVerlag der B.Z. am Mittag, Berlin (Publishing the B.Z. at noon, Berlin)
"As Vienna has so far inaugurated no action of any sort against Belgrade, the omission of the customary telegram would be too noticeable and might be the cause of premature uneasiness." ((1), more)
"All is for peace, in the press. But the general public here believes in war and fears it. Moreover, persons in whom I have every reason to have confidence have assured me that they knew that every day cannon and ammunition were being sent in large quantities towards the frontier. Whether true or not this rumour has been brought to me from various quarters with details which agree with one another; at least it indicates what are the thoughts with which people are generally occupied. The Government, whether it is sincerely desirous of peace, or whether it is preparing a coup, is now doing all that it can to allay these anxieties." ((2), more)
"July 8th.—There was a harmless shelling of the billets in the afternoon.July 9th.—Back in the line. Tampering with the fuse of an July 11th—unexploded shell caused the death of 3 men and the wounding of 2. A salient in the German line opposite was July 12th—apparently a tender spot, because shelling it was generally followed by a cessation of German activity." ((3), more)
"Intelligent leadership seems to be lacking in the [Turkish] Sixth Army in Irak. Halil Pasha is anything but an army leader. After the success of Kut-el-Amara, instead of attacking the British at Fellalieh and compelling them to evacuate at least a part of Irak, Halil Pasha ordered the very influential and shrewd, but tricky and German hating Ichsan Pasha, to advance to Kannikin and Kermanshah to reap cheap and exaggerated laurels against a few Russian cavalry regiments (about five) with a few battalions (two or three). The whole movement to Persia is a mere blow in the air, for success there cannot be durable and in the second place the pressure intended to be brought to bear on Persia, with its unreliable and unmilitary population, has not the slightest effect on the decision of the World War." ((4), more)
"It is evident that a force of about 1,000,000 is the smallest unit which in modern war will be a complete well-balanced and independent fighting organization. However, it must be equally clear that the adoption of this size force as a basis of study should not be construed as the maximum force which will be needed in France. It is taken as the force which may be expected to reach France in time for an offensive in 1918, and as a unit and basis for organization. Plans for the future should be based, especially in reference to the manufacture etc. of artillery, aviation, and other material, on three times this force—i.e. at least 3,000,000 men." ((5), more)
"This month of waiting, from June 15 to July 15, marked some of the greatest troop movements in the war. The British and French regrouped their reserves, and the American divisions were moved about in conformity as they formed part of these armies. The seasoned divisions were assembled back of the line between the two German salients, while the newly arrived divisions were rushed down to the quiet sectors in the Vosges mountains to relieve more experienced divisions for service on the Marne." ((6), more)
(1) Response of the German Auswärtiges Amt — the Foreign Office — on July 11, 1914 replying to Kaiser Wilhelm's inquiry whether his customary birthday greetings to King Peter of Serbia should be sent as the two countries might soon be at war. The Foreign Office did not want to make it appear that war was in the offing or that anything out of the ordinary was underway. The customary good wishes were sent on the King's birthday, July 11 (June 29, Old Style).
July, 1914; the Outbreak of the First World War; Selected Documents by Imanuel Geiss (Editor), page 91, copyright © 1967 Imanuel Geiss, publisher: Charles Scribner's Sons, publication date: 1967
(2) M. d'Apchier le Maugin, French Consul-General at Budapest, to M. René Viviani, President of the Council, Minister for Foreign Affairs, writing from Budapest on July 11, 1914.Having already decided on war with Serbia, the Austro-Hungarian government was feigning an air of normalcy in the period before it delivered its ultimatum to Serbia with senior officials taking their usual summer vacations.
Collected Diplomatic Documents Relating to the Outbreak of the European War, page 146, publisher: His Majesty's Stationery Office by Harrison and Sons, publication date: 1915
(3) Entry covering July 8 through 12, 1915 from the writings — diaries, letters, and memoirs — of Captain J.C. Dunn, Medical Officer of the Second Battalion His Majesty's Twenty-Third Foot, The Royal Welch Fusiliers. Troops rotated in and out of the front-line trenches, and Dunn was back in the frontline trenches on July 9. Approximately 70% of soldiers killed in World War I were killed by artillery fire, including shrapnel shells, high-explosive shells, and gas shells.
The War the Infantry Knew 1914-1919 by Captain J.C. Dunn, page 136, copyright © The Royal Welch Fusiliers 1987, publisher: Abacus (Little, Brown and Company, UK), publication date: 1994
(4) Official report of German General Liman von Sanders on the incursion of Turkish troops into Persia. The Turks had besieged a British army at Kut-el-Amara at end of November, 1915, compelling its surrender on April 9, 1916. Rather than consolidating their position, or following up their success with an attack as Sanders suggests, the Turks indulged their expansionist fantasies with an incursion into Persia. The Russians had done the same previously, in part to assist the British in relieving the siege at Kut. Leader of a German military mission to Turkey in 1913, Liman von Sanders subsequently commanded Turkish forces on the Gallipoli Peninsula, in Syria, and in Palestine.
Five Years in Turkey by Liman von Sanders, page 134, publisher: The Battery Press with War and Peace Books, publication date: 1928 (originally)
(5) Preliminary statement by United States commander General John Pershing to the 'General Organization Project' prepared by his staff and War Department board to define the structure of the United States Army for the war effort. In his April 2, 1917 address to Congress asking it to declare war on Germany, President Woodrow Wilson had stated his opinion that American males should be universally liable to service, and that 500,000 men should be immediately added to the military with 'subsequent additional increments of equal force' depending on need and the resources to train the men. The United States armies would be twice as large as the European ones, but would play little part in the fighting of 1917.
Mr. Wilson's War by John Dos Passos, page 254, copyright © 1962, 2013 by John Dos Passos, publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
(6) By July Germany had already mounted four offensives on the Western Front in 1918, the last ending on June 14. Through the following month, the Allies expected the fifth offensive at any time. American Commander-in-Chief John J. Pershing had long resisted placing American units under foreign command, but had relented in the face of the success of Germany's offensives. The Vosges Mountains are in eastern France, in what had been a quiet sector after the Battle of the Frontiers in the beginning of the war.
The History of The A.E.F. by Shipley Thomas, pp. 102–103, copyright © 1920, by George H. Doran Company, publisher: George H. Doran Company, publication date: 1920
