Serbian and Montenegrin uniforms, from a 1910 advertising card. From left to right: a soldier of the guard, an infantryman, a cavalryman, an artilleryman, and a general, all of the Serbian army, and three Montenegrin soldiers.
Image text: Véritable Extrait de Viande Liebig.Serbie et Monténégro. – En Serbie, tout citoyen valide de 20 à 50 ans fait partie successivement, pendant une période de dix ans, de l’armée active, de la première et de la seconde reserve de la milice nationale. Le pays est divisé en 5 districts militaires. L’effectif, en temps de paix s’élève à environ 600 officiers et 12,000 hommes; en temps de guerre, il est de 130.000 hommes de l’armée régulière auxquels s’ajoutent 124,000 de première levée de la milice nationale et 62,000 de seconde levée. Les uniformes, en particulier ceux de la cavalerie, se rapprochent des uniformes autrichiens. – Dans la principauté de Monténégro, il n’existe pas de loi réglant le service militaire; tout Monténégrin se considère dès l’age de 12 ans comme apte à défendre sa patrie. En fait de troupes, il n’existe qu’un peloton de gardes du corps montés et deux companies de la même arme à pied, plus trois bataillons d’infanterie. Le costume national, rehaussé pour les officiers d’un manteau vert richement brodé d’or, sert d’uniforme. – Notre gravure représente, de gauche à droite: un soldat de la garde, un fantassin, un cavalier, un artilleur, un général et trois soldats monténégrins.Serbia and Montenegro. - In Serbia, every citizen from 20 to 50 years old is, for successive periods of ten years, a member of the standing army, then of the first reserve, and finally of the second reserve of the national militia. The country is divided into five military districts. In peacetime the army is about 600 officers and 12,000 men; in wartime, it consists of130,000 men of the regular army, supplemented by 124,000 of the first round of the national militia and by 62,000 of the second. Uniforms, particularly those of the cavalry, are similar to Austrian uniforms. – In the principality of Montenegro, there is no law governing military service. From the age of 12, each Montenegrin considers h
A pencil sketch of a barn from Eberhard, an Austrian soldier in Gleisdorf, July 20, 1915, to 'L. Frl. Olga!' — liebe Fräulein Olga, dear Miss Olga. In the left foreground is a field kitchen, labeled 'Küche'. It is addressed to 'Sehrgeehrtes Fräulein Olga Pichler' — Dear Miss Olga Pichler, in Graz, and was postmarked on the 21st. Gleisdorf is about 170 km south of Vienna, and 28 km east of Graz.
Image text: L. Frl. Olga!KücheDear Miss Olgakitchen
The Cobbers memorial, Fromelles, France. In the aftermath of the July 19-20, 1916 Battle of Fromelles, hundreds of wounded Australian soldiers lay in No Man's Land. For three days and nights these wounded were carried to their trenches. Among the soldiers bringing in the wounded was Sergeant Simon Fraser of the 57th Battalion, who heard a soldier call, 'Don't forget me, cobber.' With others, Fraser brought back this and another wounded man. © 2013 John M. Shea
Image text: Cobbers
View from the Observation Tower on Californie Plateau, Chemin des Dames, France.
Image text:
Detail from the Memorial to the French Moroccan Division at Vimy Ridge. The theaters and battles in which the division played a role are recorded on the sides of the monument. © 2013, John M. Shea
Image text: 1918La LorraineJanuary 8 - Flireythe SommeApril 26 - Villers-Bretonneux, Bois de Hangardthe AisneMay 30 - Vauxbuin, ChazelleJune 12 - AmblenyJuly 18 to 20 - Dommiers ChaudumSeptember 2 to 8 - Terny-Sorny, Moulin de Laffaux, AllemantNovember 11 - VictoryNovember 17 - Entree a Chateau-Salins
"What is chiefly to be feared, and is highly probable, is, that Austria is preparing for war against Serbia. The general conviction that prevails here is that it would be nothing short of suicide for Austria-Hungary once more to fail to take advantage of the opportunity to act against Serbia. It is believed that the two opportunities previously missed — the annexation of Bosnia and the Balkan war — have been extremely injurious to Austria-Hungary. In addition, the conviction is steadily growing that Serbia, after her two wars, is completely exhausted, and that a war against Serbia would in fact merely mean a military expedition to be concluded by a speedy occupation. It is also believed that such a war could be brought to an end before Europe could intervene." ((1), more)
"You know all about the dearth of munitions. We are not producing more than 24,000 shells a day. It's a pittance for so vast a front! But our shortage of rifles alarms me even more. Just think! In several infantry regiments which have taken part in the recent battles at least one third of the men had no rifles. These poor devils had to wait patiently, under a shower of shrapnel, until their comrades fell before their eyes and they could pick up their arms." ((2), more)
"Amid the hundreds of cemeteries on the Western Front, one, a mile north of Fromelles, contains the graves of 410 Australians, and the names of 1,298 more 'missing' amid the mud and detritus of the battlefield. The battle at Fromelles was a brief interlude, far from the Somme, during that vaster battle. Yet its casualties were high: 1,708 Australian dead and nearly 4,000 wounded. The British dead were at least four hundred. The German dead and wounded were less than 1,500 in all." ((3), more)
"The entire French front, from Verdun to St. Quentin, was violently bombarded during the night of July 19th in preparation for the German attack on the Craonne and 'Winterburg' Plateaux. Since Verdun, there had been no artillery attack comparable to this in intensity.Early on the morning of the 20th, the German troops moved out from the Ailette Valley in the direction of the eastern slopes of Craonne, expecting easily to reach the Chemin-des-Dames objective on the crest. At a fearful cost—so appalling in fact that the Germans have never cared to reveal the actual figures—they made a slight advance along a front of half a mile on the lower slopes of Craonne. But never a German soldier could attain the French lines on the summit." ((4), more)
"On July 20th the enemy's resistance hardened. That day the Tenth Army remained pinned on the high ground west and southwest of Soissons. Its right alone gained some ground in the direction of Oulchy-le-Château. The Sixth Army, likewise, encountered serious difficulties between the Ourcq and the Marne and only effected a trifling advance. The Fifth Army, passing in its turn to the offensive, managed, with the support of two British divisions, to get slightly forward between Marvaux and Belval." ((5), more)
(1) Yov. M. Yovanovitch, Serbian Minister at Vienna writing to N. Pashitch, Serbian Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs on July 7/20 (New Style), 1914. Representatives of the French government in Vienna had heard from a well informed source that Austria-Hungary would soon make harsh demands of Serbia and require a response within a short period of time. The source expected that, given the tenor and tone of the note, Serbia would refuse to comply. 'Then military operations will begin.'
Collected Diplomatic Documents Relating to the Outbreak of the European War, page 387, publisher: His Majesty's Stationery Office by Harrison and Sons, publication date: 1915
(2) Entry for July 20, 1915 from the memoirs of Maurice Paléologue, French Ambassador to Russia. He met with General Bielaïev, Chief of Staff of the Army, who reviewed with the Ambassador the position of the Russian Armies, and the strong positions they had retreated to. After this optimistic summary, the General turns to the shortage of weapons of all kinds that the Russians suffered from, not only the shell shortage that all the combatants had faced, but a shortage of small arms as well.
An Ambassador's Memoirs Vol. II by Maurice Paléologue, page 34, publisher: George H. Doran Company
(3) Fought on July 19 and 20, 1916, the Battle of Fromelles, France, was a relatively small engagement fought 30 miles north of the ongoing Battle of the Somme, but one in which the Australians suffered heavily. The Australians attacked on the left flank, the British on the right, with the plan calling for the two to meet at the Sugar Loaf salient in the center. The British failed to make it to Sugar Loaf, leaving the Australians with no support on their right. A later, second advance, was cancelled, but orders only made it to the British, again leaving the Australians to their fate.
The First World War, a Complete History by Martin Gilbert, page 268, copyright © 1994 by Martin Gilbert, publisher: Henry Holt and Company, publication date: 1994
(4) The Californie Plateau — called the 'Winterburg' by the German forces — is at the eastern end of the Chemin des Dames in Craonne, France. It was retaken by the French between May 4 to 6, 1917 in one of the last actions of the Second Battle of the Aisne, the Battle of Chemin des Dames.
King's Complete History of the World War by W.C. King, page 332, copyright © 1922, by W.C. King, publisher: The History Associates, publication date: 1922
(5) German commander Erich Ludendorff's Friedensturm, Peace Assault, the Champagne-Marne Offensive, left his forces occupying an enormous salient from Soissons and Reims to the Marne River. Commanding the French 10th Army, that included the 1st and 2nd American Divisions and the Moroccan Division, General Charles Mangin struck on the western side of the salient on July 18, advancing as much as 8 km on the first day. By the next day, German reinforcements slowed the Allied advance. The Sixth Army was commanded by General Jean Degoutte; the Fifth, which included the 2nd Italian Corps, by General Henri Berthelot, former head of the French military mission to Romania. Soissons was an important communications center.
The Memoirs of Marshal Foch, translated by Col. T. Bentley Mott by Ferdinand Foch, page 365, copyright © 1931 by Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., publisher: Doubleday, Doran & Co., publication date: 1931
