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Children at war: An Italian Bersaglieri kicks an Austro-Hungarian soldier as the cities of Trieste and Trento — Italia Irredenta — Unredeemed Italy, and Italy's demands ('Rivendicazioni') of the title — stand by. Illustration by Aurelio Bertiglia.
England's Distress: Postcard map of England and Ireland with the restricted zone Germany proclaimed around the islands, showing the ships destroyed by submarine in the 12 months beginning February 1, 1917.
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.
"August 21, 1915Yesterday was the most thrilling day of my life. I passed it right in the very midst of the war zone, having been fortunate enough to be allowed as the only woman correspondent to join the other representatives of the Italian and foreign papers who are up here in the Trentino. Being an Italian by birth, this experience is doubly wonderful to me as it enables me to see at close quarters the splendid work which my countrymen have done and are doing, and also to have had the privilege of being the first Italian woman to cross the new boundary line between Italy and Austria." ((1), more)
". . . 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." ((2), 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." ((3), 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." ((4), 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." ((5), more)
(1) Magdeleine ver Mehr, writing on August 21, 1915 from Trentino on the Italian Front for the American general interest magazine Littell's Living Age or simply Living Age.
Lines of Fire: Women Writers of World War I by Margaret R. Higonnet, page 140, copyright © Margaret Higonnet, 1999, publisher: Plume/Penguin Group, publication date: 1999
(2) 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
(3) 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
(4) 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
(5) 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
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