Memorial to the French Moroccan Division at Vimy Ridge. The face commemorates the Division's victory at the Second Battle of Artois, in which the Moroccan Division broke the German front for the first time and took Hill 140, their objective.Listed on the sides of the memorial are the sectors and battles where the Division fought:1914The ArdennesAugust 28 — La Fosse a l'EeauAugust 30 — BertoncourtSeptember 1 — AlincourtThe MarneSeptember 6 to 9 — Coizard, MondementDecember 30 — Ferme d'Alger1915BelgiumJanuary 28 — Nieuport, la Grande DuneArtoisMay 9 — la Cote 140June 16 — Ravin de SouchezChampagneSeptember 25 — Butte de Souain, Bois Sabot1916the SommeJuly 4 — Assevillers, Bellov en Santerre, Barleux1917ChampagneApril 17 — Moronvilliers, Mont sans Nom, AuberiveVerdunAugust 20 — Cumieres, Bois des Corbeaux, Forges Regnieville1918LorraineJanuary 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 — Entered Chateau-Salins © 2013, John M. Shea
Image text: Aux Morts de la Division MarocaineSans Peur Sans PitiéA la mémoiredu Colonel Pein, Ct. de la 1re Brigade. du Colonel Cros, Ct. de la 2me Brigadedes Officiers, S/Officiers et Soldats de la Don MarocaineTombé ici glorieusement les 9, 10, & 11 Mai 1915Le 9 Mai 1915 les Régiments de la Don Morocaine s'elancant a 10 Hres des tranchées de Berthonval et brisant de haute lutte la résistance des Allemands atteignirent d'un bond la cote 140, leur objectif, rompant pour la premiere fois le front ennemiTo the Dead of the Moroccan DivisionFearless PitilessTo the Memoryof Colonel Pein, Commandant of the 1st Brigade, of Colonel Cros, Commandant of the 2nd Brigade,of the Officers, Non-commissioned Officers, and Soldiers of the Moroccan DivisionGloriously fell here May 9, 10, & 11 1915On May 9 1915 the Regiments of the Moroccan Division, darting at 10:00 hours from the Berthonval trenches, and breaking the resistance of the Germans in a hard-fought struggle, reached Hill 140, their object, breaking the enemy's front for the first time.
A Russian artillery crew at work. More than its adversaries, Russia suffered from munitions shortages. A card from Der Weltkrieg 1914-1918, a 1930s German history of the war illustrated (or not) with pasted-in cigarette cards.
Image text: Russische Artillerie. Die russische Artillerie war vortrefflich ausgerüstet. Es fehlte ihr aber, namentlich später, sehr häusig an Munition. Das erbeutete russische Geschützmaterial wurde von uns schnellmöglichst wieder verwertet, vor allem durch Umbau zu Flugabwehrkanonen. Übrigens verwendeten wir auch in großer Zahl russische Gewehre.Russian artillery. The Russian artillery was admirably equipped. It frequently lacked ammunition, however, especially later. We recycled captured Russian artillery material as quickly as possible, mainly by conversion to anti-aircraft guns. Incidentally, we also used large numbers of Russian guns.
The fruits of military leave: a French woman wearing the kepi of 1914-15 hold an infant twins, a boy and a girl, one in each arm.
Image text: Les suites d'une PermissionThe consequences of leavePatriotic 1105GMorigetzReverse:ISQ. Plantine: A Noyer, Paris - visé No. (au verso)Fabrication Française
'Warmest regards from the Somme . . . ' from Robert Künger, September 21, 1916, presumably pictured with his machine gun crew. Translation couresy of Thomas Faust, ebay's Urfaust.
Image text: 'Warmest regards from the Somme . . . ' from Robert Künger, September 21, 1916. Translation couresy of Thomas Faust, ebay's Urfaust.
"Daybreak. The sun rises, indifferent to the field of horror. Everywhere we see nothing but cadavers and shapeless human remains, pasturage for the rats which were more courageous than the crows, whose fear kept them away. . . .But what is this? Has Hell opened up under our feet? Are we right at the rim of a furious volcano? The trench is filled with flames, with sparks, with bitter smoke, the air is unbreathable. I hear hissing, crackling, and alas, yes, the cries of pain. Sargeant Vergès has scorched eyes. At my feet two miserable creatures are rolling on the ground, their clothes, their hands, their faces on fire, like human torches. And in the trench everything is on fire — blankets, tent cloths, sandbags. The Germans had just fired some sort of incendiary liquid on us." ((1), more)
"On the 5th and 6th of June [1916], Brusiloff's offensive really began to develop in the most remarkable manner. On his extreme left flank his troops forced the Austrians to retire for three miles from their first lines of trenches near Okna on the former day, and gave General Lechitsky his opportunity in Bukovina. Also on that day and on the next, the Russian's, on Brusiloff's right wing, having crumpled up the enemy's strongly fortified positions around Olyka, marched on rapidly towards Lutsk (Luck), and energetically beating down all opposition threw the Austro-Germans into such a panic that, abandoning their guns, they surrendered in thousands, whole regiments laying down their arms." ((2), more)
"The causes of mutinies appear to be:1. Too protracted periods in the front line without relief, after the great offensive—for want (in many cases) of reserves to replace them.2. Leave periods delayed for over four months, contrary to all regulations.3. The moral effect of the set-back of the 16th April, and the troops' determination not to make further attacks.4. Disappointment at the rejection of the peace offers of the 12th December, 1916.5. The veto on passports for Stockholm.6. The general war-weariness." ((3), more)
"In the black recesses of Belleau Wood the Germans had established nest after nest of machine guns. There in the jungle of matted underbrush, of vines, of heavy foliage, they had placed themselves in positions they believed impregnable. And this meant that unless they could be routed, unless they could be thrown back, the breaking of the attack of June 2nd would mean nothing. There would come another drive and another. The battle of Château-Thierry was therefore not won and could not be won until Belleau Wood had been cleared of the enemy.It was June 6th that the attack of the American troops began against that wood and its adjacent surroundings, with the wood itself and the towns of Torcy and Bouresches forming the objectives. At 5 o'clock the attack came, and there began the tremendous sacrifices which the Marines Corps gladly suffered that the German fighters might be thrown back." ((4), more)
(1) French infantry Corporal Louis Barthas documented his war experiences in a series of notebooks. On June 6, 1915 he was fighting in the Second Battle of Artois when he turned into a trench that had just been subjected to a flamethrower attack, a weapon first used in February, 1915 by the Germans. Barthas remained in the same trench as two man burned in the attack, he and his men expecting the two to die shortly. One died the same night, the other lingered, sometimes delirious, before being taken to a first-aid station the next day.
Poilu: The World War I Notebooks of Corporal Louis Barthas, Barrelmaker, 1914-1918 by Louis Barthas, pp. 77 & 80, copyright © 2014 by Yale University, publisher: Yale University Press, publication date: 2014
(2) Excerpt from an account by Robert Machray of Russian General Alexsei Brusilov's great offensive of 1916. Brusilov had planned well. Although the Russians had only a slight numerical advantage over the Austro-Hungarians, they had dug jumping-off points close to the enemy trenches, had concealed reserves in new dugouts, had opened the offensive with a short bombardment, and attacked at four points along a broad, 20-mile front. Since 1914, German troops had reinforced their Austro-Hungarian ally, and would continue to do so for the remainder of the war. General Lechitsky commanded the Russian IX Army in Bukovina, Austria-Hungary, a region on the Russian border northeast of the Carpathian Mountains.
The Great Events of the Great War in Seven Volumes by Charles F. Horne, Vol. IV, 1916, pp. 190-191, copyright © 1920 by The National Alumnia, publisher: The National Alumni, publication date: 1920
(3) Excerpt from the entry for June 6, 1917 from the diary of Michel Corday, French senior civil servant, writing about the causes of the French army mutinies that followed the failure of the French offensive begun on April 16, the Second Battle of the Aisne. Germany had made peace overtures in December, 1916, and Socialists would hold a conference in Stockholm in neutral Sweden.
The Paris Front: an Unpublished Diary: 1914-1918 by Michel Corday, pp. 257–258, copyright © 1934, by E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., publisher: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., publication date: 1934
(4) Excerpt from an account on the Battle of Belleau Wood by Josephus Daniels, U.S. Secretary of the Navy. American machine gunners and French colonials held the town of Château-Thierry on May 31, 1918 during the German Aisne Offensive, the third German offensive of 1918. The defenders prevented German forces from crossing the Marne River, blowing the bridge over it and holding against German attacks that continued through June 2. The battle for Belleau Wood continued into July.
The Great Events of the Great War in Seven Volumes by Charles F. Horne, Vol. VI, 1918, pp. 200–201, copyright © 1920 by The National Alumnia, publisher: The National Alumni, publication date: 1920
