Children dressed as Allied soldiers run to bring the New Year, 1916. France carries the 1, the United Kingdom (in a kilt) and Belgium — his national roundel on his hat — the 9, Serbia and Russia the 1 of the decade, and Italy the 6. Japan, bearing a flag, hurries to catch up. A folding calendar card for 1916 by G. Bertrand.Reverse: the calendar for 1916Inside:With best wishes for a happy Christmas with love from Wallis
Image text: 1916Modèle DéposéP. Racine, Éditeur, ParisFrom . . .Registered DesignP. Racine, Publisher, Paris
German and Austro-Hungarian forces under the command of generals von Hindenburg and Archduke Friedrich besieged Warsaw, and took it during the Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive. Austrians von Hötzendorf, Friedrich, and Pflanzer-Baltin form the bottom of the ring; the others are German. The flag and shield of Germany are on the bottom left; those of Austria and Hungary the bottom right.
Image text: Der Ring um Warschau, The Ring Encircling Warsaw.Bottom right: 5258; illegible logo bottom leftReverse: registration lines only.
Headstone of Sapper E.M. Des Brisay, 2nd Canadian Signal Company, Attd. Royal Flying Corps, died August 3, 1916, age 23, at Cabaret Rouge British Cemetery, Souchez, France. © 2013 John M. Shea
Image text: 98 SapperE.M. Des Brisay2nd Canadian Signal Coy.Attd. Royal Flying Corps, 3rd August 1916 Age 23Thou hast made him exceeding glad with Thy Countenance
1917 original pen and ink drawing of a sentry in the dunes of the Belgian coast viewing a ship on the horizon. Possibly by W Wenber, Leading Seaman.
Image text: Gescreiben den . . . 1917 (Written the . . . 1917; printed text, the '7' handwritten)Küstenwacht an der belgischen Küste Gaz. A. Wenber ObermatroseCoastguard on the Belgian Coast, by? W Wenber, Leading Seaman
Panorama of the Western theater of war 1914/15 from Compiègne to Arras, with the North Sea coast in the distance.
Image text: Reverse:Panorama des westlichen Kriegschauplatzes 1914/15 von Compiegne bis Arras.Die Panorama-Postkartenreihe umfaßt mit ihren 9 Abschnitten Nr. 400 bis 408 den gesamten westlichen Kriegschauplatz von der Schewizer Grenze bis zur Nordseeküste.Panorama of the Western theater of war 1914/15 from Compiègne to Arras.The panoramic postcard series includes with their 9 sections No. 400 to 408 the entire western front from the Schewizer border to the North Sea coast.Nr. 407Wenau-Postkarte Patentamtl. gesch.Logo: W&N AGL
"I am instructed to inform the Belgian Government that his Britannic Majesty's Government consider joint action with a view to resisting Germany to be in force and to be justified by the treaty of 1839. — British Minister at Brussels to Belgian Minister for Foreign AffairsGreat Britain agrees to take joint action in her capacity of Guaranteeing Power for the defence of Belgian territory. The British fleet will ensure the free passage of the Scheldt for the provisioning of Antwerp. — Belgian Minister at London to Belgian Minister for Foreign AffairsI have the honour to inform you that the French and Russian Ministers made a communication to me this morning informing me of the willingness of their Governments to respond to our appeal, and to co-operate with Great Britain in the defence of Belgian territory — Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs to the Belgian Ministers at Paris, London, and St. Petersburg" ((1), more)
"This was the summer of 1915, a time of great tribulation for the Russian Army, as every student of the World War is aware. Grand Duke Nicholai Nicholaievitch was pursuing a policy which rightly disturbed the Emperor, who constantly complained that the commander in chief of his armies sent the men forward without proper ammunition, without artillery support, and with no adequate preparations for safe retreat. Disaster after disaster confirmed the Emperor's fears. Fortress after fortress fell to the Germans. Kovno fell. Novogeorgiesk fell, and finally Warsaw itself fell. It was a terrible day when the Emperor, white and trembling, brought this news to the Empress as we sat at tea on her balcony in the warm autumn air." ((2), more)
"A remark by one of our artillery subalterns explains some erratic shooting: 'If we fire over you, God help you; we've only one trained gunner per gun left.' Of one group in Caterpillar Wood 75 per cent. became casualties. In our recent operations the 9th Brigade had heavier losses than the 98th or 100th. (The 51st Division came out of High Wood with only two-fifths of the 33rd Division's losses.)" ((3), more)
"August 5th, our first fine day. The weather broke just after we entrained to come north. Until yesterday it has rained almost continuously, at time very heavily, but with a blessed absence of mud, the soil being pure sand.—A great strafe has started Ypres way: it did not quieten down for 48 hours." ((4), more)
"With the coming of darkness each day the front awoke. Some very heavy showers during five otherwise fine days made a lot of extra work. Patrolling was never so active. Long stretches of the railway line were examined in moonlight without any enemy being met. The track was surprisingly little knocked about. One patrol came in greatly excited after touching off one of several booby-traps that were found. Patrols penetrated farther each night. The river, its approaches and possible crossing-places were searched." ((5), more)
(1) Communication from the British Minister at Brussels to the Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs on August 5, 1914. After Germany's invasion, Belgium appealed to Britain, France, and Russia — with Germany, signatories to treaties guaranteeing Belgian neutrality — for aid in its resistance. Britain first delivered an ultimatum to Germany demanding that it leave Belgium. Britain declared war when Germany did not respond.
Collected Diplomatic Documents Relating to the Outbreak of the European War, 324, 325, publisher: His Majesty's Stationery Office by Harrison and Sons, publication date: 1915
(2) Extract from the memoir of Anna Viroubova, confidant to the Empress Alexandra, and one of the few people, other than Rasputin, the Empress associated with. Of German birth, the Empress was suspected of German sympathies, as were those about her. Warsaw was one of the largest cities of the Russian Empire, and the principle city of Polish Russia. After the German-Austro-Hungarian breakthrough of the Gorlice-Tarnow Campaign, it was one of the greatest losses of the long Russian retreat through the summer and into the fall of 1915. Viroubova writes that the fall of Warsaw made it clear to Tsar Nicholas that he needed to take command of the Russian Army himself, relieving Grand Duke Nicholas.
Memories of the Russian Court by Anna Viroubova, page 123, copyright © 1923 by The MacMillan Company, publisher: The MacMillan Company, publication date: 1923
(3) Extract from the entry for August 5, 1916 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. On the same day, Dunn recorded that 'Corps has been strafed for the High Wood mess. . . . The Division is returning to the line with every Brigadier and O.C. on tenterhooks lest he be made the scapegoat for the man above him.' Part of the Battle of the Somme, the English attack on High Wood began July 14, but the Wood was not entirely taken until mid-September.
The Big Push, A Portrait of the Battle of the Somme by Brian Gardner, page 248, copyright © 1961 by Brian Gardner, publisher: William Morrow and Company, publication date: 1963
(4) Entry for August 5, 1917 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, and fellow soldiers who served with him. Dunn arrived in Dunkirk on the English Channel coast on August 1, the second day of the Third Battle of Ypres, a day of which Dunn wrote, 'Never in Europe have I seen a heavier downpour of rain than fell on us.' The rain stifled British hopes, already disappointed in the failure to reach the goals of July 31. On arrival in Dunkirk, Dunn moved up the coast to Bray-Dunes, on the Belgian border, roughly 40 km. from Ypres.
The War the Infantry Knew 1914-1919 by Captain J.C. Dunn, page 371, copyright © The Royal Welch Fusiliers 1987, publisher: Abacus (Little, Brown and Company, UK), publication date: 1994
(5) Excerpt from an entry for August 5, 6, or 7, 1918 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, and fellow soldiers who served with him. The British were preparing for the Battle of Amiens which would open on August 8. 'The river' was the Ancre.
The War the Infantry Knew 1914-1919 by Captain J.C. Dunn, page 505, copyright © The Royal Welch Fusiliers 1987, publisher: Abacus (Little, Brown and Company, UK), publication date: 1994
