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A Zeppelin over the battleship Nassau. At 136 meters, the Zeppelin is less than one meter shorter than the Nassau. Lengths and other comparisons are given on the reverse.
The destruction of the Italian airship, City of Ferrara by an Austro-Hungarian seaplane on June 8, 1915.
Postcard from a series on the Armies of the European War of 1914. The French Army included units from its African colonies including Morocco and Senegal, and the Départment of Algeria.
Embossed postcard of the flag and coins of Russia, with fixed exchange rates for major currencies including Germany, Austria-Hungary, England, the Latin Monetary Union, Netherlands, and the United States of America. The Russian Ruble equaled 100 Kopeks. Tsar Nicholas II is on the obverse of most of the gold and silver coins; Tsar Alexander III is on the 7 1/2 ruble gold piece.
Russian troops fleeing a solitary German soldier. The Russian First Army invaded Germany in August 1914, and defeated the Germans in the Battle of Gumbinnen on the 20th. In September the Germans drove them out of Russia in the First Battle of the Masurian Lakes. In September and October, a joint German, Austro-Hungarian offensive drove the Russians back almost to Warsaw. Illustration by E. H. Nunes.
"On arriving at Dixmude at 1:05 A.M. I observed a Zeppelin apparently over Ostend and proceeded in chase of the same. I arrived at close quarters a few miles past Bruges at 1:50 A.M. and the Airship opened heavy maxim fire, so I retreated to gain height and the Airship turned and followed me.At 2:15 he seemed to stop firing and at 2:25 A.M. I came behind, but well above the Zeppelin; height then 11,000 feet, and switched off my engine to descend on top of him. When close above him, at 7000 feet I dropped my bombs, and, whilst releasing the last, there was an explosion which lifted my machine and turned it over. The aeroplane was out of control for a short period, but went into a nose dive, and the control was gained." ((1), more)
"Italy struck first, along a five-hundred-mile front. Her armies quickly spread over the Trentino and, on the [east], crossed the Isonzo River, and reached Montfalcone within four days of the declaration of war. It seemed for the time as though there were to be no effective resistance by the Austrians, who had indeed been forced by a Russian menace to send to their eastern front an army of 700,000 men . . ." ((2), more)
"There was very considerable activity on the French front [from June to September 1915], with a number of encounters in which the French, like the British, were handicapped, though in a less degree, by lack of munitions and heavy guns.On the 7th June parts of the French XI. Corps attacked and captured the German salient of Touvent farm between Hébuterne and Serre on a front of a mile, and in fighting which continued up to the 13th June held it against counter-attacks. Further east, 6th–16th June, the salient south of Quennevières, between the Oise and the Aisne, was the scene of an attack on a front of four brigades, which brought a small gain of ground." ((3), more)
"On June 7, 1915, at the end of my convalescent leave, I rejoined the depot of the 72nd and 272nd infantry regiments at Morlaix. I stayed only a few days. I was not at all comfortable there. At the time I wrote a friend, 'I am leaving the depot for fear of losing my morale, which I value above all.' In these depots, one meets a group of soldiers and even officers who cling desperately to the dreary but safe existence characteristic of a small garrison town in the rear. In order to remain there as long as possible, they are capable, if not of evil actions, at least of a host of mean little maneuvers." ((4), more)
"Friday, June 11, 1915There has been unrest in Moscow for several days. Rumours of treason were circulating among the crowd and accusations have been made openly against the Emperor and Empress, Rasputin and all the influential persons at Court.Yesterday grave disorder broke out and it is continuing today. A large number of shops belonging to Germans, or with signs with German terminations, have been looted." ((5), more)
(1) Excerpt from the report of Sub-lieutenant Reggie Warneford of Royal Navy Air Squadron Number 1. At 1:00 AM the morning of June 7, 1915, Warneford took off from Dunkirk on his first night flight, flying a Morane Parasol monoplane, a two-seater modified as single-seat scout. British Intelligence had identified Zeppelin sheds at Evere, Belgium, and the British Admiralty had just notified the Squadron that three Zeppelins were returning to their base from Britain. Two Henri Farman planes took off to bomb the Zeppelin sheds, and destroyed one shed and L.38 (Luftschiff — Airship — 38). Warneford took off to intercept the returning Zeppelins, his plane armed with six 20-pound bombs. His opponent — L.37 — had a crew of 28 and was well-defended by four side-mounted machine guns that kept Warneford at a distance. The Zeppelin could fly at a higher altitude, and it was not until it started to descend for landing that Warneford could get above it to drop his bombs. The airship had no defenses on its upper surface.Warneford flew over the massive machine, and had dropped five of his six bombs when L.37 burst open in flames with a force that flipped over the plane. The pilot dove to get away from burning debris and to regain control, his engine struggling. The Zeppelin's hulk landed on convent outside of Ghent, killing a man on the ground, and all but one of its crew. Warneford's engine died, and he glided to a landing in a field well behind German lines. His fuel line had been cut, but he was able to patch it with a cigarette holder and handkerchief. He was awarded the Victoria Cross and the French Cross of the Legion of Honor. Returning from Paris on June 17 after the ceremony for the latter, he was ordered to bring a new Farman biplane back to base. Eager for Warneford's story, American reporter Henry Needham joined him. The plane, perhaps too hastily assembled, crashed immediately after takeoff, throwing the men from the plane, killing them both.
The Zeppelin Fighters by Arch Whitehouse, pp, 84, 85, copyright © 1966 by Arch Whitehouse, publisher: New English Library, publication date: 1978
(2) Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary on May 23, 1915, while the Austro-Hungarian Army was advancing against Russia in its northeast province of Galicia in the Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive. Despite the strain of opening a new battle front, Austria-Hungary benefited from natural defenses against Italy, holding the high ground along their shared border, and having the Isonzo River as a barrier in Italy's northeast.
The Nations at War, a Current History by Willis John Abbot, page 250, copyright © 1917, Doubleday, Page & Company, publisher: Leslie-Judge Co., publication date: 1917
(3) French Commander Joseph Joffre maintained an offensive posture through 1915, a strategy he called 'nibbling' at the enemy, and one that resulted time and again in heavy casualties. Although the French shell shortage was not as critical as that of Great Britain or Russia, it still left the French with inadequate ammunition and guns to counteract the artillery of the Germans and their defensive posture. Joffre conducted major offensives in the first half of 1915 in Artois and Champagne, but also smaller attacks along the entire front. In the attack at Quennevières, French losses were 134 officers and 7,771 men.
Military Operations France and Belgium, 1915, Vol. II, Battles of Aubers Ridge, Festubert, and Loos by J. E. Edmonds, page 109, copyright © asserted, publisher: Macmillan and Co., Limited, publication date: 1928
(4) Excerpt from the memoirs of French historian Marc Bloch, a sergeant, later adjutant, with the 272nd and 72nd infantry regiment in the Argonne. He was on convalescent leave from January 5 to July 13, 1915, during which he wrote the first, and most substantial part, of his Great War memoir. He began writing again while in Algeria after having fought on the Somme.
Memoirs of War 1914-15 by Marc Bloch, pp. 167, 168, copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988, publisher: Cambridge University Press, publication date: 1988
(5) Entry from the memoirs of Maurice Paléologue, French Ambassador to Russia, for Friday, June 11, 1915. The Tsaritsa, Empress Alexandra, wife of Tsar Nicholas, was German by birth. On October 14, 1914, Paléologue had recorded that, 'the Empress and those about her are suspected of carrying on a secret correspondence with Germany . . . The Emperor's weakness with the Empress, Vyrubova, and Rasputin comes in for severe criticism.' Nicholas and his family were isolated from the public and from the court. Among the few people they saw regularly were the monk Rasputin and the Tsaritsa's companion Madame Vyrubova.
An Ambassador's Memoirs Vol. I by Maurice Paléologue, page 12, publisher: George H. Doran Company, publication date: 1925
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