Kaisers Wilhelm of Germany and Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary dance to the tune of King George V of Great Britain, President Poincaré of France, Tsar Nicholas of Russia, and King Albert of Belgium.
Image text: Concert Européen - European ConcertLe Dernier Tango . _! - The Last Tango ._!Modele Déposé - R. Dalvy, Editeur, 34, R. Chabrol, ParisReverse:Postmarked December 18, 1914
Lithograph postcard of the uniforms of the Belgian military including infantry, cavalry, and bicycle corps beneath a portrait of King Albert I.
Image text: Reverse:Litho - L. Clement & Cie. Rue Ste Anne 23, Bruxelles
French General Maurice Sarrail decorating officers near the frame of German Zeppelin shot down on May 5, 1916 by naval gunners in view of the citizens of Salonica, Greece. General Sarrail commanded the Allied troops at the front that included French, British, Serbian, Russian, and Italian troops, as well as a battalion of Montenegrin soldiers. The Zeppelin's frame is in the background, and civilians are among the observers of the ceremony.
Image text: Reverse:Salonicco — Il Gen. Sarrail distribuisce decorazioni nei pressi della carcassa dello ZeppelinSalonique — Remise de décorations à des officiers devant la carcasse du Zeppelin par le Gen. SarrailSalonica — Gen. Sarrail decorating officers before the Carcass of a ZeppelinEditeur Hananel Naar — SaloniqueProprieté réservéeHandwritten:Orient — Vive la (?) VictorEast — Long live the Victor!
German postcard map of the Western Front in Flanders, looking south and including Lille, Arras, Calais, and Ostend. In the Battle of the Yser in October, 1914, the Belgian Army held the territory south of the Yser Canal, visible between Nieuport, Dixmude, and Ypres (Ypern). Further north is Passchendaele, which British forces took at great cost in 1917.
Image text: Der KanalStraße von CalaisThe English Channel and the Strait of CalaisReverse:Panorama des westlichen Kriegsschauplatzes 1914/15 Von Arras bis Ostende.Die Panorama-Postkartenreihe umfaßt mit ihren 9 Abschnitten Nr. 400 bis 408 den gesamten westlichen Kriegsschauplatz von der Schweizer Grenze bis zur Nordseeküste.Panorama of the western theater of operations 1914/15 from Arras to Ostend. The panoramic postcard series includes nine sections, with their No. 400-408 the entire western battlefield from the Swiss border to the North Sea coast.Nr. 408Wenau-Postkarte Patentamtl. gesch.
Lieutenant General Erich Ludendorff, chief of staff to General Paul von Hindenburg. Together they commanded German forces on the Russian Front until Hindenburg replaced Erich von Falkenhayn as Commander of the German Army in 1916. Through the rest of the war Hindenburg and Ludendorff commanded the German Army.
Image text: Generalleutnant LudendorffSigned:Ludendorff
"1 The warlike operations against Serbia must continue.2 We cannot negotiate concerning the English offer as long as the Russian mobilisation has not been stopped.3 Our demands must be accepted integrally and we cannot negotiate about them in any way." ((1), more)
"The country is resplendent with green. In the distance, through the mist on the horizon, lie outlined the houses and ruins of Dixmude, Caeskerke, the Troost Farm, the houses of Burg and Tanks. We could hear the gunfire; two aeroplanes were having a dog fight and using their machine-guns.. . .We left the line at Milestone 19 of the Yser, where the 2nd Division starts. Following a communication trench to begin with, we crossed the fields and reached Milestone 2, on the Dixmude-Alveringem road. It was a quiet day—an exchange of rifle shots and the drone of a few 210-cm. shells, which we heard pass overhead, destined for Caeskerke halt." ((2), more)
"Around 127,000 Serb soldiers were concentrated at the end of June in camps prepared by the French on the Halkidiki peninsula. In July their numbers grew to 152,000. They received additional armaments and a certain period of extra training, after which they returned to the battlefield during June and July, mainly taking up positions in the area from Mount Kozuf to Lerin (Florina) in the central section of the Allied front north of Salonika. French and British troops formed the bulk of the Allied forces on the Salonika front, but there were also strong Russian and Italian units for a short time, compared to one Montenegrin battalion under French command." ((3), more)
"Everywhere the story was the same: the pillboxes were far more numerous than Fifth Army headquarters had anticipated, German artillery dominated the field from both flanks, the tanks were valueless except in a few isolated instances, British light guns were firing blindly at nothing that mattered, losses were high, the ground gained was far short of expectations. One brigade got lost altogether and reported it had captured Glencorse Wood (it was, in fact, occupying Chateau Wood), and such confusion developed along the Menin road that after a few hours eight separate battalions were milling around in the same splatter of shell holes just east of Sanctuary Wood." ((4), more)
". . . Lossberg was now convinced that Ludendorff was no longer master of the situation, and had made a serious strategic mistake in refusing to withdraw.He was not alone in his assessment of Ludendorff. On 30 July Ludendorff discussed the military situation with Hintze and painted a ridiculously optimistic picture of the German position. On the following day Bartenwerffer complained to Merz about what he called 'this shocking state of affairs' and both men agreed that it was Ludendorff's overwhelming vanity which stopped him from putting the state secretary fully in the picture.Other officers at the OHL, although they were not yet openly critical of Ludendorff, were becoming highly alarmed about the military situation and could not share his nervous optimism or Hindenburg's confidence." ((5), more)
(1) The three 'fundamental principles' laid down by Emperor Franz Joseph to Berchtold, his Minister for Foreign Affairs, principles supported by the Austro-Hungarian Council for Common Affairs. The English offer, proposed by British Foreign Minister Edward Grey, was for a conference of the Great Powers. Excerpt from the protocol of the morning session of the July 31, 1914 meeting of the Austro-Hungarian Cabinet Council for Common Affairs, chaired by Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Berchtold. Two items are on the agenda: the English proposal for mediation, and compensation to be granted to Italy. The protocol was kept by the Councillor of the Legation Count Hoyos. Also participating were Imperial and Royal President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) Count Stürgkh, the Royal Hungarian Premier Count Tisza, the Imperial and Royal Joint Minister for Finances Ritter von Biliňski, the Imperial and Royal Minister of War Feldzeugmeister (Master of Ordnance) Ritter von Krobatin, the Imperial and Royal Minister a latere Baron Burián, the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff, Rear-Admiral von Kailer.
July, 1914; the Outbreak of the First World War; Selected Documents by Imanuel Geiss (Editor), page 320, copyright © 1967 Imanuel Geiss, publisher: Charles Scribner's Sons, publication date: 1967
(2) Two paragraphs from Belgian King Albert's diary entry for July 31, 1915, a day on which he visited the sector held by the 5th Belgian Division, setting out about 4:30 in the morning. In a visit lasting 'exactly 1 hour and 25 minutes,' he met with the 2nd and 3rd Chausseurs, and the 1st Regiment of the Line, recording the names of officers he met. He was satisfied with the condition of the trenches and dugouts.
The War Diaries of Albert I King of the Belgians by Albert I, pp. 51-53, copyright © 1954, publisher: William Kimber
(3) From their base in the port of Salonica, Allied forces had expanded their footprint in Greece to the frontier where they skirmished with Bulgarian and German troops. The French and British were joined by Russian troops that had sailed from Archangel on the White Sea, by Serbia's army, recovered from its defeat and forced retreat to the Adriatic coast, and by the Italian troops. The French had supplied and aided Montenegro in 1914 and –15, before its surrender on January 17, 1916.
Serbia's Great War 1914-1918 by Andrej Mitrovic, page 164, copyright © Andrej Mitrovic, 2007, publisher: Purdue University Press, publication date: 2007
(4) The situation at late morning, July 31, 1917, the first day of the Third Battle of Ypres, or the Battle of Passchendaele. Despite a horrific artillery bombardment by the British, German defenses remained, and stopped the British advance. Elsewhere, the French gained their first-day objects. British commander Douglas Haig would keep grinding his men on until November.
In Flanders Fields, the 1917 Campaign by Leon Wolff, pp. 144–145, copyright © 1958 by Leon Wolff, publisher: The Viking Press, publication date: 1958
(5) With Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, General, Erich Ludendorff commanded the German army. The last of their five 1918 offensives ended on July 17. The Allies counter-attacked in the Second Battle of the Marne, the Aisne-Marne Offensive. OHL, Oberste Heeresleitung, was German Supreme Army Command. Lossberg, Bartenwerffer, and Merz were German generals, Hintze an admiral.
The Silent Dictatorship by Martin Kitchen, pp. 247–248, copyright © 1976 by Martin Kitchen, publisher: Croom Helm, publication date: 1976
