A brother is missing. 1914 French Chasseurs à Pied, military note send October 3, 1914 by Emile Loridant of the 56th Chasseurs à Pied Battalion. The missing Loridant was wounded in the Battle of Vienne-le-Chateau on September 15 or 16, and was sent to hospital, but the Captain responding does not know where he is.
Image text: Oradour le 3.10.14Mon CommandantJ’ai l’honneur de vous demander des nouvelles de mon frère le chasseur Loridant de la 5me compagnie, batallion actif, ma famille étant sans nouvelles de lui depuis un certain temps, vous me feriez grand plaisir de pouvoir me renseigner sur son sort, afin de transmettre chez moiAgréez Mon Commandant mes sinceres remerciements.Emile Loridant 56me Bon chasseurs à pied14me CompagnieOradour Haute VienneOradour, October, 3, 1914My Commander,I have the honor of asking you for news about my brother, the light infantryman Loridant of the 5th company, active battalion. My family has not heard from him for some time, you would give me great pleasure to inform me of his fate to send home.Accept my sincere thanks, my Commander.Emile Loridant56th Light Infantry Battalion14th CompanyOradour Haute VienneReverse:Blessé au Combat de Vienne-le-Chateau les 15-16 Septembre 1914, nous ne connaissons pas sur quelle formation sanitaire il a été éjacuéRochechouart, le 22 octobre 1914Le Capitaine Comm’t de DépôtSeal:Le Commandant du Dépôt 9e Baton de Chasseurs a Pied2328
Two Zouaves man an anti-aircraft gun, scanning the sky, in a 1915 advertising card for the aperitif Dubonnet. Title, Pigeon Shoot.
Image text: Tir au pigeonAdvertising sign:DubonnetVin Tonique au Quin[quina]Pigeon ShootTonic Wine with QuinineReverse:DubonnetVin Tonique au QuinquinaDubonnetTonic Wine with Quinine
Headstone of Corporal P. Cotter of the Royal Irish Regiment, died September 3, 1916 at the age of 32, and buried in Delville Wood Cemetery, France. © 2013 John M. Shea
Image text: 10545 CorporalP. CotterRoyal Irish Regiment3rd September 1916 Age 32Jesus MercyAll I ask of youIs that you will remember meAt the altar of the Lord
Map of Romania and the Allied and Central Power campaign plans for 1917. 'Romanian Territories under Foreign Rule' include Transylvania, Austria-Hungary, northwest of the Carpathian Mountains, and Bessarabia, Russia, to the east between the Prut and Nistru Rivers, regions with large ethnic Romanian populations. From Romania in World War I, a Synopsis of Military History by Colonel Dr. Vasile Alexandrescu.
Image text: The Romanian Army in the 1917 CampaignRomanian territories under foreign ruleThe Romanian territory invaded by troops of the Central Powers in the 1916 campaignThe Romanian-Russian campaign plan for the summer of 1917The German-Austro-Hungarian campaign plan for the summer of 1917Romanian troopsRussian troopsTroops of the Central Powers
Propaganda postcard of General Paul von Hindenburg as Colossus astride East Prussia and Russian Poland. Hindenburg commanded German forces in East Prussia.
Image text: Nur über meine Leiche geht Dein Weg 'Koloss'Your way goes only over my corpse — 'Colossus'Reverse:Künstler-Karte; logo: CAES DresdenCarl A. E. Schmidt, Künstverlags-Anstalt, DresdenUnser Hindenburg
"Oradour, October, 3, 1914My Commander,I have the honor of asking you for news about my brother, the light infantryman Loridant of the 5th company, active battalion. My family has not heard from him for some time, you would give me great pleasure to inform me of his fate to send home.Accept my sincere thanks, my Commander.Emile Loridant56th Light Infantry BattalionCompany 14Oradour Haute Vienne" ((1), more)
"Our exit from Minsk was made to the deep, reverberating booming of our guns. An enemy plane was encircling Minsk and the anti-aircraft guns were giving it a warm reception. The aeroplanes had been troublesome of late, dropping incendiary bombs on many of the towns; Molodechno was said to have come off badly on more than one occasion. . . . When our guns started a vigorous attack on the winged intruder, [our neighbors] took leave of our party and retired in haste to their homes. The tiny speck in the sky still wheeled above the town, but the persistent challenge of the guns forced it to remain too high to gain any useful information about the town below. . . .We were all in rollicking mood; off to work and off to our beloved Division again and — most important of all — away from the irritating influence of Minsk. We felt like new beings! The Retreat was ended!" ((2), more)
"October 1st.—The officers assembled in the school to meet the new G.O.C. 'Seems a pleasant, human man: not too old.' After compliments, he told us that we will be 'for it' in a week. Another wood awaits attack. The subalterns adapted the refrain of a popular music-hall song, and sang, 'And another little wood October 3rd.—won't do us any harm.' A guest night, the Drums playing: this was the only event of the kind in my time. And October 4th.—they played Welsh airs in Doullens Grande Place. The French audience increased at each subsequent performance." ((3), more)
"Our Caucasian Sister has returned from holiday. She said that even there, among the fertile valleys of Caucasia, crops were bad and food was scarce. Tea and sugar were obtainable only by ticket. . . . A letter from a former Sister of our Letuchka says there is famine in Moscow and shops are being raided. Clothes were at excessively high prices; an ordinary fur coat, formerly sold at 80 roubles, would now fetch 500 roubles, or more. Shoes, too, cost from 90 to over 100 roubles per pair. There are no fashionably-dressed people now; everyone wears old clothes. Fuel, too, is scarce. What will it be like when winter descends?" ((4), more)
"The High Command insists on the immediate issue of a peace offer to our enemies in accordance with the decision of Monday, September 29, 1918.In consequence of the collapse of the Macedonian front, and the inevitable resultant weakening of our reserves in the West, and also the impossibility of making good the heavy losses which have occurred during the battles of the last few days, there is no prospect, humanly speaking, of forcing our enemies to sue for peace. The enemy, on the other hand, is continuing to throw fresh reserves into the battle." ((5), more)
(1) One brother is looking for news of another to tell those at home. The response is written nearly three weeks after the request. The missing brother was wounded in combat at Vienne-le-Chateau, east of Reims, with the German line solidifying after the Battle of the Marne.Blessé au Combat de Vienne-le-Chateau les 15-16 Septembre 1914, nous ne connaissons pas sur quelle formation sanitaire il a été evacuéRochechouart, le 22 octobre 1914Le Capitaine Commt, le DépôtWounded at the Battle of Vienne-le-Chateau on September 15-16, 1914, we do not know to what clinic he was evacuatedRochechouart, October 22, 1914 Captain Commandant, the DepotAccording to the website www.memoiredeshommes.sga.defense.gouv.fr, Louis Auguste Joseph Loridant, born January 8, 1893, died on September 15, 1914 at Vienne-le-Château, 'tué à l'ennemi' ('killed by the enemy'). He was born at Hem, France and is inscribed as Louis Loridant on the war memorial in Hem (monumentsmorts.univ-lille.fr/monument/356/hem-cimetierecommunal/).
A brother is missing by Emile Loridant, n/a, publisher: n/a
(2) Florence Farmborough, an English nurse serving with the Russian Red Cross, writing on October 3, 1915 (September 20 Old Style) at the end of the great Russian Retreat begun in May in the face of the Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive. The 'irritating influence of Minsk' included prostitutes dressed as Red Cross nurses, and the assumption that many of the nurses went to the front for that purpose.
Nurse at the Russian Front, a Diary 1914-18 by Florence Farmborough, pp. 152, 153, copyright © 1974 by Florence Farmborough, publisher: Constable and Company Limited, publication date: 1974
(3) Entries for October 1 through 4, 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, and fellow soldiers who served with him. The Battalion was then serving in the Somme sector. Doullens is 36 kilometers west of Arras, which was on the front line. Composed by American Nat D. Ayer with lyrics by Britisher Glifford Grey, 'Another Little Drink Wouldn't Do Us any Harm' was included in The Bing Boys Are Here, a revue that opened in London's West End in April, 1916.
The War the Infantry Knew 1914-1919 by Captain J.C. Dunn, page 263, copyright © The Royal Welch Fusiliers 1987, publisher: Abacus (Little, Brown and Company, UK), publication date: 1994
(4) Excerpt from the entry for September 20, (October 3, New Style), 1917 from the diary of Florence Farmborough, an English nurse serving with the Russian Red Cross. Farmborough's unit was then in Romania where the Russians had joined in a Romanian offensive until being ordered on July 25 by Prime Minister Alexander Kerensky to stop any offensive action.
Nurse at the Russian Front, a Diary 1914-18 by Florence Farmborough, page 319, copyright © 1974 by Florence Farmborough, publisher: Constable and Company Limited, publication date: 1974
(5) Beginning of a statement by German Commander Paul von Hindenburg to the Imperial Chancellor on October 3, 1918. Hindenburg goes on to say that, 'The German army still stands firm', but that it is 'imperative to stop the fighting in order to spare the German people and their allies unnecessary sacrifices.' Germany's ally Bulgaria, which had held the Macedonian Front for over two years, had agreed to an armistice that took effect on September 30th. This isolated Turkey (which was in retreat in Syria, Mesopotamia, the Caucusus Mountains, and Persia), at the same time the Austro-Hungarian Empire was breaking apart.
The Great Events of the Great War in Seven Volumes by Charles F. Horne, Vol. VI, 1918, p. 351, copyright © 1920 by The National Alumnia, publisher: The National Alumni, publication date: 1920
