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Uncle Sam weighs the lives lost in the German sinking of the Lusitania (and other ships, as seen on the horizon) to his cash flow from selling weapons and other supplies to the combatants, particularly the allies. The moneybags have tipped the scales. A 1916 postcard by Em. Dupuis.
A color map of Germany before and during the war from a French postcard, including the German states, views of the Reichstag in Berlin and the Rhine. Alsace and Lorraine are in the southwest.
Chosen Boy, a 1918 watercolor by Paul Klee. From Paul Klee: Early and Late Years: 1894-1940. © 2013 Moeller Fine Art
Re-elect President Woodrow Wilson! An October 18, 1916 cartoon from the British magazine Punch. The German sinking of ships that killed American citizens and sabotage such as the July 30, 1916 attack that destroyed the Black Tom munitions plant in Jersey City, New Jersey, were not enough to make Wilson call for a declaration of war on Germany, much to the distress of Great Britain and the other Entente allies. The date on Wilson's desk calendar is October 8, 1916, a day on which German submarine U-53 sank five vessels — three British, one Dutch, and one Norwegian — off Nantucket, Massachusetts. One of the British ships was a passenger liner traveling between New York and Newfoundland.
A Russian soldier standing guard on a moonlit winter night reflects on his youthful fun and friendships. A Russian postcard with a message from a German soldier to his sister dated March 28, 1915.
"From February 1, 1917, sea traffic will be stopped with every available weapon and without further notice in the following blockade zones around Great Britain, France, Italy and in the Eastern Mediterranean:[Footnote:] Briefly summarized, the following paragraphs describe a complete enclosure or blockade of Britain and adjacent isles, France, Belgium, Italy and their North African possessions, except for one small space on the French Mediterranean coast near the Spanish border." ((1), more)
"On February 1 [1917], defending the U-boat decision before the Reichstag, [Zimmermann] urged all the reasons—the Western states, the anti-war feeling, the menace of Japan—why the United States would not go to war. . . .In London expectancy was equally tense; in Washington it was highest of all. The long-awaited challenge, fended off so often, had suddenly been flung in America's face. Freedom of the seas, commented one American paper, would henceforth be enjoyed 'by icebergs and fish.'" ((2), more)
"— The long spell of bitter cold, the lack of coal, are compelling many people in the country to use wood for heating purposes. Thus the war is destroying our trees as well as our people. It is an irreparable loss both for the earth and for the human race.— The 2nd. The cold spell has lasted a fortnight. But not one word appears in the papers about the terrible hardship in the trenches, with twenty degrees of frost. Such hardships are passed over in silence by the more patriotic papers. Very convenient! They conceal their sufferings from the enemy so carefully that they even conceal them from themselves." ((3), more)
"Saturday, February third, the President announced to Congress the breaking of diplomatic relations with Germany. The news of this, of course, did not reach Berlin until the next day; and on this Saturday afternoon Mrs. Gerard and I had an engagement to go to the theatre with Zimmermann and Mrs. Friedlaender-Fuld-Mitford, a young lady whose father is considered the richest man in Berlin . . ." ((4), more)
"It has not been this cold since '93. We leave at night, everyone slipping on the frozen earth. On the plateau, the snow is powdery, like sugar. It crunches under our shoes without melting. When we get to Lavoye in the moonlight, there are no fresh supplies.At eight we move off again and the men's faces are contorted by the cold and exhaustion. Red-rimmed eyes, red noses, pail skin, blue ears, beards hung with icicles. Sweat freezes right away and looks like snow on the horses' backs and on the men's overcoats. Our shoes cannot grip on the frozen earth as we march. Finally, we arrive in Charmontois. The men have to sleep in barns with broken windows! The conditions are criminal. They drink in order to keep warm. I am surprised no one gets a cold." ((5), more)
(1) Beginning of a memorandum included with a letter delivered to the United States Secretary of State by German Ambassador von Bernstorff, Washington, D.C., January 31, 1917 announcing the commencing of unrestricted submarine warfare effective in a few hours, on February 1. The policy was opposed by German Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg who argued that it would bring the United States into the war. The campaign was supported by Kaiser Wilhelm, German Generals Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff, and Admiral Henning von Holtzendorff, Chief of Germany's Naval General Staff, all of whom argued that America would not react, or if it did, it would be too late to prevent the starving of Britain or its intervention would prove ineffectual.
The Great Events of the Great War in Seven Volumes by Charles F. Horne, Vol. V, 1917, p. 6, copyright © 1920 by The National Alumnia, publisher: The National Alumni, publication date: 1920
(2) Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare on February 1, 1917, having delivered notice to American Secretary of State Robert Lansing at 4:00 p.m. the previous day. The policy was opposed by German Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg who argued that it would bring the United States into the war. Alfred Zimmerman was Germany's Secretary of Foreign Affairs. The western states backed American president Woodrow Wilson in his successful bid for re-election, in part because 'he kept us out of war.' Zimmerman had authored 'the Zimmerman Telegram' in January, inviting Mexico to ally with Germany and Japan, then allied with the Entente powers, against the United States. Mexico's lost territories in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico were to be its reward.
The Zimmermann Telegram by Barbara W. Tuchman, page 145, copyright © 1958, 1966 by Barbara W. Tuchman, publisher: Ballantine Books, publication date: 1979
(3) Entries for February 1 and 2, 1917 from the diary of Michel Corday, French senior civil servant. On January 24, Corday recorded that a coal crisis had broken out, that women were queuing outside stores, and that shops had no fuel for central heating. The winter of 1916–17 was Germany's 'turnip winter', but the cold bit across the continent. Russia's railway network fell victim to it, preventing deliveries of food to the cities and supplies to the army.
The Paris Front: an Unpublished Diary: 1914-1918 by Michel Corday, page 229, copyright © 1934, by E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., publisher: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., publication date: 1934
(4) Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare on February 1, 1917, having delivered notice to American Secretary of State Robert Lansing at 4:00 p.m. the previous day. President Woodrow Wilson broke relations with the German Empire on February 3, prompted by the sinking of the American steamer Housatonic 20 miles southwest of Bishop's Rock in the Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom, with no loss of life. Alfred Zimmerman was Germany's Secretary of Foreign Affairs, and had authored 'the Zimmerman Telegram' in January, inviting Mexico to ally with Germany and Japan, then allied with the Entente powers, against the United States. Mexico's lost territories in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico were to be its reward.
My Four Years in Germany by James W. Gerard, page 375, copyright © 1917, by George H. Doran Company, publisher: George H. Doran Company, publication date: 1917
(5) French Captain Paul Tuffrau returning to the trenches on February 4, 1917. Tuffrau had fought since the Battle of the Marne in 1914, and had been wounded twice. He was deployed to Verdun in September, 1916, and, on February 4, had just returned from two weeks leave.
Intimate Voices from the First World War by Svetlana Palmer and Sarah Wallis, page 206, copyright © 2003 by Svetlana Palmer and Sarah Wallis, publisher: Harper Collins Publishers, publication date: 2003
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