German postcard of some of the battlefield of Artois, site of the First, Second, and Third Battles of Artois (1914 and 1915), the Battle of Loos (1915), and the Battle of Vimy Ridge (1917). Loos is in the upper right, the road to Vimy on the center right. The world's largest French military cemetery is on the heights of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette.
Image text: Nr. 52. Vogelschaupostkarte von der LorettohöheKriegspostkarte aus 'Der Krieg'Bird's eye view postcard of the Loretto HeightsWar postcard from 'The War'
The white Russian bear, dyed red with Austro-Hungarian blood, triumphs over the Habsburg Eagle. Russian was victorious in Galicia in 1914 and early 1915. A postcard by Bianchi.
Image text: l'orso biancothe white bearReverse:Proprieta artistica riservata - N. 88Artistic ownership reserved - No. 88
Greetings from the aviator city of Gotha! Postcard with a view of the city of Gotha, Germany, of a pilot in a bi-plane, and an Albatros bi-plane (evidently the same plane and pilot) at the Gotha airfield. Field postmarked December 12, 1916 by the Ersatz Flieger Abteilung, the Reserve Flying Section, Gotha.
Image text: Gruß aus der Fliegerstadt Gotha.Doppeldecker vor dem Start.Albatros-Doppeldecker auf dem Flugplatz Gotha.Greetings from the aviator city Gotha.Biplane before starting.Albatros biplane at the airfield of Gotha.
King Constantine of Greece in military uniform.
Image text: König Konstantin von Griechenland(König der Hellenen).King Constantine of Greece(King of the Hellenes).4710Logo: NPGOrig.-Augn. von E. BieberHofphot., Berlin V.Original photo by E. BieberHofphot., Berlin W.
On May 23, 1915 Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary, its former ally as a member of the Triple Alliance. Clasping the hands of the German and Austro-Hungarian emperors Wilhelm II and Franz Josef, Italy's king Victor Emmanuel III conceals the tattered document behind his back.
Image text: Ihr Völker merkt für jetzt und späterSo schwor zum Dreibund der VerräterYour people note both now and later,Thus swore to the Triple Alliance the traitor.Reverse:Militäramtlich genehmigt (Officially approved by the military)Logo: EMM No. 9
"'I am a buffoon.''I will be the death of my parents.''I am as vapid as a thrice-peeled turnip.''I do not deserve the air I breathe.''I am as intelligent as the back end of a goods train.'" ((1), more)
"If there remain any Germans still hopeful for their cause, let them realize to-day, when the Central Powers have lost the initiative and are finding a difficulty in refilling their ranks, Russia has not yet reached the zenith of her power, which will only be approached next year, when she will have the largest and best army since the beginning of the War. Next year we shall have material on an equality with the enemy and a superiority in human resources, which should steadily increase as long as the War endures. Our new levies which come in next year equal our best troops, and, as I believe, they are far superior to anything which the enemy can still find to send against us for next year's campaign." ((2), more)
"A squadron of German planes bombed London on June 14th, killing 97 persons and injuring 437, including 120 women and children." ((3), more)
"On June 9 [1917] Jonnart arrived off Salamis; on the following evening French troops landed near the Corinth Canal and a mixed division entered Thessaly, encountering some resistance. Late on June 11 Constantine announced his intention of abdicating in favor of his second son, Alexander. On June 14, with Athens in French hands, Constantine left the country, and on June 27 Venizelos was received by King Alexander and became constitutionally Prime Minister of united Greece, committed to the Allied cause. It was Sarrail's one victory that summer." ((4), more)
"Soldiers! For months and months, resisting victoriously amidst the glaciers and the snows, accomplishing faithfully your duty in the tempests of Winter, you have looked down upon the sunny plain of Italy. The time to go down into it has come. Like a whirlwind, you will overthrow the false and perjured ally of the past, as well as the friends she has called to her help. You will prove to the world that nobody can resist your heroism.Your fathers, your grandfathers, and your ancestors, have fought and conquered the same enemy with the same spirit.I am sure you will not fall below them, and even that you will rise above them. Heart and soul with you, I shall follow your movements, which will be an irresistible rush towards victory. Confiding firmly in you, I cry to you: 'Overthrow everything before you.'" ((5), more)
(1) Some of the lines students are made to repeat multiple times by their rigid and abusive teacher in the novel Léon Chatry, Instituteur (Léon Chatry, Schoolteacher) by French novelist, poet, and soldier Jules Leroux. Leroux volunteered at the beginning of the war, and was lost in action at Neuville-Saint-Vaast on June 14, 1915 in the Second Battle of Artois.
The Lost Voices of World War I, An International Anthology of Writers, Poets and Playwrights by Tim Cross, page 294, copyright © 1989 by The University of Iowa, publisher: University of Iowa Press, publication date: 1989
(2) Extract by Russian General Alexsei Brusilov writing after the success of his offensive against the Central Powers, particularly Austria-Hungary. Within little more than a week of launching his attack, Brusilov had taken nearly 200,000 Austro-Hungarian prisoners, one in three of the men opposing him.
The Great Events of the Great War in Seven Volumes by Charles F. Horne, Vol. IV, 1916, p. 200, copyright © 1920 by The National Alumnia, publisher: The National Alumni, publication date: 1920
(3) LondonGothaThis quotation is suspect. The Sky on Fire (Fredette) has airplane bombing beginning in 1917. Gilbert has no mention of this significant loss of life.
King's Complete History of the World War by W.C. King, page 262, copyright © 1922, by W.C. King, publisher: The History Associates, publication date: 1922
(4) The French government sent diplomat Charles Jonnart to Athens, capitol of Greece, as the Allied High Commissioner tasked with informing Greek King Constantine he was violating the Greek Constitution in assuming absolute authority in the absence of a Prime Minister. The King was pro-German, the Prime Minister he had dismissed twenty months earlier, Eleftherios Venizelos, pro-Entente. Venizelos had helped create the Salonica Front across northern Greece when he supported the landing of French and British troops in October, 1915, a move opposed by Constantine. French General Maurice Sarrail commanded Allied forces in Greece, and had launched his spring offensive at the beginning of May. A costly failure, it was halted by the end of the month.
The Gardeners of Salonika by Alan Palmer, page 140, copyright © 1965 by A. W. Palmer, publisher: Simon and Schuster, publication date: 1965
(5) Austro-Hungarian General Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf's Official Address of June 14, 1918 on the eve of the Second Battle of the Piave. Prior to the war, Italy had been a member of the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary, but had determined that the latter's war on Serbia was not a defensive action requiring support. Less than a later Italy turned on her former ally, declaring war on Austria-Hungary on May , 1915. Hence 'false and perjured ally of the past.' Conrad may have followed their movements on a map, but little more.
The Great Events of the Great War in Seven Volumes by Charles F. Horne, Vol. VI, 1918, pp. 214–215, copyright © 1920 by The National Alumnia, publisher: The National Alumni, publication date: 1920
