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Postcard of a cross-section of the German mine-laying submarine UC5, captured by the British.
A German postcard claiming that dum-dum bullets were found in the pockets of French prisoners of war.
Soldiers of the Great War Known Unto God, Cabaret Rouge Cemetery, Souchez, France. © 2013 by John M. Shea
Squadron of French Blériot two-seater planes including BL217, 221, and 222. Blériots continued to be used as training planes into at least 1916.
Photograph of a village on Lake Van, an area of Turkey populated largely by ethnic Armenians. The area was one of the first targeted on a large scale when Turkey turned on its Armenian citizens. Photo from Ambassador Morgenthau's Story by Henry Morgenthau, American Ambassador to Turkey from 1913 to 1916.
". . . UB14 left for the Dardanelles at 8 a.m. on 18 August. At 9 p.m. on 22 August, within 4 nautical miles from Gaba Tepe, the submarine got caught in a steel net at a depth of 18 metres. After trying to go through the net, the submarine reversed without success, with the net still remaining fastened to the stern. Von Heimburg took the submarine down to 35 metres and then to 45 metres, to ensure that any marker buoys would be dragged underwater and would not give away his position. Several explosions were then heard, indicating that the enemy was aware of his presence. Using full emergency power and risking burning out the motors, he succeeded in tearing the net and the submarine was able to proceed, although she remained at 50 metres depth till dark." ((1), more)
"Among the severely wounded, head injuries were the most numerous. At one time I had thought it a most terrible thing to have a man's brains bespattering my hands and white overall; but, as the Retreat continued, I grew accustomed to it. No fewer than three instances of wounds caused by a razryvnaya pulya [dumdum bullet] came to our notice that day — for the first time in our Front-Line work. In two of three cases, several small particles of metal were extracted from the wounds; they proved without doubt that they had belonged to those barbaric explosive bullets. We had heard that other Red Cross Units had found similar cases among their wounded." ((2), more)
"August 24th.—The Battalion went into the line at Cuinchy at 3 p.m. in relief of the 1st Berks. Life in the trenches on the La Bassée front was quite different from what it had been at Bois Grenier and Laventie. The sense of war was always present. The visible difference was the slightly elevated site on a ridge. Deep trenches could be dug because there was natural drainage in its medium loam or clay, sand, and chalk. In the absence of rock it was easy to mine and counter-mine. Mining was the primary activity, and the only novelty in trench warfare the Battalion found in its new area." ((3), more)
". . . After lunch we went to the aerodrome of Matzeville, by-passing the town of Nancy. It dominates the latter, as well as the valley of the Meurthe. Here a magnificent display had been arranged for us: a simultaneous take-off of sixty planes. The whole sky was full of them. It was an intense and general buzzing which reminded me of a swarm of bees. Major Roisin showed us the ground installations and the machines themselves, with their bombs and rockets. He is a bold pilot and a fine leader." ((4), more)
"This is a night for feast and triumph, Pour oil into the lamp, O Bride,My boy returns a victor from war — Trim well, trim well the wick, O Bride.A waggon stops before the door, beside the well, Light up, light up the lamp, O Bride,My boy returns, bay leaves on his brow — Bring up, bring up the lamp, O Bride.Lo — with grief and blood the waggon's laden — Hold up, hold up the lamp, O Bride.Here lies my valiant son shot through the heart — O . . . snuff out, snuff out the lamp, O Bride." ((5), more)
(1) UB14 was commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Heino von Heimburg. Nine days before getting entangled in the nets at Gaba Tepe — a point on the coast south of Anzac Cove — on the Gallipoli Peninsula, Heimburg had sunk the British transport ship Royal Edward with the loss of 900 men. On November 5, Heimburg sank the English submarine E20 in the Sea of Mamora.
Gallipoli — Attack from the Sea by Victor Rudenno, page 128, copyright © 2008 Victor Rudenno, publisher: Yale University Press, publication date: 2008
(2) The great Russian Retreat of 1915 continued, taking Frances Farmborough, an English teacher turned Red Cross nurse serving in a unit of the Russian Army, with it. By August 23, 1915, the joint German-Austro-Hungarian Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive, which had begun on May 2, had removed the Russian threat to Austria-Hungary, overrun the great but antiquated fortresses defending Warsaw, and had captured, on August 5, that greatest city of Polish Russia. Dum-dum bullets were prohibited under the Hague Convention. The prohibited ammunition included elephant bullets with a secondary charge that fired on impact and bullets with soft, typically lead, points, both of which could enter the body with a relatively small entry hole, then expand or explode within the body to leave a large exit wound. The bracketed translation is in the original.
Nurse at the Russian Front, a Diary 1914-18 by Florence Farmborough, page 119, copyright © 1974 by Florence Farmborough, publisher: Constable and Company Limited, publication date: 1974
(3) Entry for August 24, 1915 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. Cuinchy, France, was in mining country, near towns such as Auchy-les-Mines and Noeux-les-Mines. Dunn writes further of the 'tactical advantages of a mine successfully blown', which could deal a staggering blow to even a well-entrenched enemy, leaving many dead, and survivors stunned.
The War the Infantry Knew 1914-1919 by Captain J.C. Dunn, page 145, copyright © The Royal Welch Fusiliers 1987, publisher: Abacus (Little, Brown and Company, UK), publication date: 1994
(4) On August 25, 1915, King Albert of Belgium finished a four-day journey to the French front. From the aerodrome, the King went to Mont. St. Jean, the Grand Couronné of Nancy surmounted with artillery batteries. Throughout his journey, King Albert was struck by 'the good order of everything; the fine behavior of the troops and their discipline, their manner of saluting and their excellent morale.'
The War Diaries of Albert I King of the Belgians by Albert I, pp. 59, 60, copyright © 1954, publisher: William Kimber
(5) 'The Flickering Lamp' by the Armenian Turkish poet Daniel Varoužan or Varujan, translation by Aram Tolegian. Varoužan was tortured, mutilated, and killed on August 26, 1915, victim of the Armenian Genocide.
The Lost Voices of World War I, An International Anthology of Writers, Poets and Playwrights by Tim Cross, page 376, copyright © 1989 by The University of Iowa, publisher: University of Iowa Press, publication date: 1989
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