A Swiss postcard of 'The European War' in 1914. The Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary face enemies to the east, west, and south. Germany is fighting the war it tried to avoid, battling Russia to the east and France to the west. Germany had also hoped to avoid fighting England which came to the aid of neutral (and prostrate) Belgium, and straddles the Channel. Austria-Hungary also fights on two fronts, against Russia to the east and Serbia and Montenegro to the south. Italy, the third member of the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary, declared neutrality, and looks on. Other neutral nations include Spain, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania. Japan enters from the east to battle Germany. The German Fleet stays close to port in the North and Baltic Seas while a German Zeppelin targets England. The Austro-Hungarian Fleet keeps watch in the Adriatic. Turkey is not represented, and entered the war at the end of October, 1914; Italy in late May, 1915.
Image text: Der Europäische KriegThe European WarReverse:Kriegskarte No. 61. Verlag K. Essig, BaselKunstanstalt (Art Institute) Frobenius A.G. Basel
A Russian Cossack riding among refugees fleeing before a Central Power advance. The Russians adopted a scorched-earth policy in the months-long retreat before the German-Austro-Hungarian Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive of the spring, summer, and fall 1915, with Cossacks accused of burning homes and crops to deny them to the advancing enemy, and to prevent civilians from remaining behind and providing intelligence to the invader.
Image text: Il Cammino della CiviltàThe Path of Civilization
A child soldier, the train station behind him, comes home with his gear and presents, through a city street decorated with German, Austrian, Hungarian, Turkish, and Bulgarian flags. Illustration by Carl Diehl.
Image text: Signed: Carl Diehl, BerlinGrad' aus dem Schützengrab'n komm' ich heraus,Strasse wie wunderschön siehst du mir aus!Gerade?Straight from the trenches I've come to my street,And how wonderful a sight does me greet.Reverse:Herzlichen Gruss aus der Heimat von deiner ? Gretchen? 29th [19]17Heartfelt greetings from the homeland, your ? Gretchen
German Peace Angel pencil sketch from November, 1917, insisting Peace Will Come Soon. In fact, she would not come for another year, on November 11, 1918.
Image text: Friede wird es baldFriedens-EngelPeace will come soonPeace Angel
"I suppose we must now recognize that the French army cannot make a sufficient break through the German lines of defence to bring about the retreat of the German forces from northern France. If that is so, then the German lines in France may be looked upon as a fortress that cannot be carried by assault, and also cannot be completely invested." ((1), more)
"Just north of the La Bassée road, while a relief was taking place, the Germans had blown what was then their largest mine. One man was blown onto the top of a near-by brickstack. The total casualties were put at three-score or more. A few civilian casualties included the Mayor of Cambrin, who was visiting his Commune: he lost a leg. He and his wife had opened a wine parlour in Beuvry, which was frequented by many of us because of its homely, sociable atmosphere. Madame was a motherly soul who delighted to bake a cake for someone's birthday, or do any kindly service for a customer." ((2), more)
"The Somme Despatch is enlightening as an expression of the views of G.H.Q., which differ from those of the infantry—notably on the fighting quality and morale of our and the enemy's formations. The German is not what he was, but his falling off seems, on contact, to be no greater than ours. Without our superiority in guns where would we be? The French seem to be far ahead of us in recent attack technique, formation, and the co-ordination of rifle-grenade and automatic rifle-fire." ((3), more)
". . . Decorations in the New Year's dish-out are counted by hundreds and thousands; nearly every General has something. Is peace coming? We had Giraud for lunch at H.Q. He is for ending the War now, being very doubtful of the French people sticking it much longer: he says the bulk of their rank and file, and their Labour officials want peace, the old people want revenge, trade wants annexations and privileges: France distrusts Ll. George—says he is all for personal kudos." ((4), more)
(1) Secretary of State for War Herbert Lord Kitchener writing to Sir John French, commander of the British Expeditionary Force on January 2, 1915. From the very beginning of the war, Kitchener had predicted it would be long, and began to raise a volunteer army of a million men. Future Prime Minister David Lloyd George compared Kitchener's mind to a lighthouse, emitting an illuminating beam before moving on and leaving all in darkness.
The First World War, an Illustrated History by A.J.P. Taylor, p. 67 (and Lloyd George p. 53), copyright © George Rainbird Ltd., 1963, publisher: Berkley Publishing Group, publication date: Perigee edition: 1972 (or
(2) Excerpt from the entry for January 2, 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.
The War the Infantry Knew 1914-1919 by Captain J.C. Dunn, page 175, copyright © The Royal Welch Fusiliers 1987, publisher: Abacus (Little, Brown and Company, UK), publication date: 1994
(3) Extract from the entry for January 2, 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. The Battalion was then serving in the Somme sector, in Vauchelles-les-Quesnoy where Dunn spent 'three dull weeks.' Dunn's assessment of the quality of the German and British soldier is consistent with that of others, as is his take on the French soldier, whom some German writers found more flexible than the British. All three armies had lost their professional soldiers in the two and a half years the war had in progress.
The War the Infantry Knew 1914-1919 by Captain J.C. Dunn, page 288, copyright © The Royal Welch Fusiliers 1987, publisher: Abacus (Little, Brown and Company, UK), publication date: 1994
(4) Excerpt from the entry for January 2, 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. Giraud was the Corps intepreter; David Lloyd George the British Prime Minister. Peace initiatives — by the Pope and Germany — and the treaty negotiations in Brest-Litovsk between Russia and the Central Powers, raised hopes by many on both sides that peace would come soon.
The War the Infantry Knew 1914-1919 by Captain J.C. Dunn, page 430, copyright © The Royal Welch Fusiliers 1987, publisher: Abacus (Little, Brown and Company, UK), publication date: 1994
