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Retouched and marked-up photograph of Austrian Warships, June 9, 1915. A penciled note on the back says, 'Photo by amateur'. The Austro-Hungarian Empire's primary port was Pola on the Adriatic Sea.
With Bulgaria joining the Central Powers in October 1915 assuring the defeat of Serbia by the end of November, the Balkanzug — the Balkan Railway, shown in red — connected Berlin and Constantinople. By the second week of November, Turkey received ammunition and weapons from its allies.
Chosen Boy, a 1918 watercolor by Paul Klee. From Paul Klee: Early and Late Years: 1894-1940. © 2013 Moeller Fine Art
The Western Front, 1914 and 15. The Imperial German eagle is a crow feeding on carrion, perched on a cross bearing scenes of the destruction of its advance and retreat through France and Belgium: the shelled and burned cathedral of Reims, the ruination of the city of Arras, a destroyed town, deaths both military and civilian in Belgium. France held its territory along the border with Germany, and turned back the German advance in the Battle of the Marne, but Belgium and northern France remained occupied through the war.Accused of war crimes, Germany, labeled on the map by "Kulturland?", defended itself by speaking of its superior culture.Spain, Holland, and Switzerland remained neutral during the war, and are show in green. Italy joined the Allies in May, 1915, possibly shortly before the card was printed, which may explain the use of red for its name and border.
A Russian Cossack riding among refugees fleeing before a Central Power advance. The Russians adopted a scorched-earth policy in the months-long retreat before the German-Austro-Hungarian Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive of the spring, summer, and fall 1915, with Cossacks accused of burning homes and crops to deny them to the advancing enemy, and to prevent civilians from remaining behind and providing intelligence to the invader.
"The afternoon of 29 December saw a high-speed chase with most of the gunnery exchanges taking place at extreme range and with the Helgoland frequently outranged. The Austrians had the advantage of speed, even through the Allies were between them and safety. Seitz steamed westward and southwestward almost up to the Italian coast all the while trying to work around his pursuers. Darkness permitted him to make his escape." ((1), more)
"The enemy was kept well informed of these preparations. Agents attached to the German, Turkish, Bulgarian, and Austrian consulates were to be seen on the quays, complete with notebooks in which to record details of units and their equipment. . . .It was not until German aircraft bombed [Salonika]—aided, so it was alleged, by signals from the consulates—that the French decided to act. The first air raid took place early in the morning of December 30, 1915, killing a Greek shepherd on the outskirts of the city but otherwise causing no casualties and doing little enough damage. But it was enough for Sarrail. At three o'clock in that afternoon French and British detachments entered the four consulates and arrested twenty Austrians, seventeen Turks, twelve Bulgarians and five Germans. Five more 'enemy aliens' were subsequently rounded up in the city. With information obtained from the archives of the consulates, the British and French military police were able to gather in many of the spies from the old quarter of the town. As the German official history says, 'An essential source of information was thus lost.'" ((2), more)
"December 31st.—At 11 p.m.—midnight in Germany—for five minutes, and again at midnight for two minutes, the German artillery fired a New Year Greeting: we had one man wounded. On our left the second shoot was preceded by a shout from a German, 'Keep down, you bastards, we're going to strafe you.' We retaliated on their front line with rifles and Lewis guns, and the artillery fired twenty-four rounds of high explosive." ((3), more)
"Here I will wish you a happy new Year, full of keen experiences, and quietly joyful times of fallowness.May the War end soon, and let us dream again, but nobly and to active ends. May England grow dearer, sweeter in herself (for we deserve better weather and more amiable smiles) and in our memories. And may the President of the Women Musicians be preserved to sanity." ((4), more)
"Just north of the La Bassée road, while a relief was taking place, the Germans had blown what was then their largest mine. One man was blown onto the top of a near-by brickstack. The total casualties were put at three-score or more. A few civilian casualties included the Mayor of Cambrin, who was visiting his Commune: he lost a leg. He and his wife had opened a wine parlour in Beuvry, which was frequented by many of us because of its homely, sociable atmosphere. Madame was a motherly soul who delighted to bake a cake for someone's birthday, or do any kindly service for a customer." ((5), more)
(1) The Allies attempted to transport the remnants of Serbia's defeated army from Albania's ports of Durazzo and Valona to safety, and on December 28, 1915, the Austro-Hungarian light cruiser Helgoland and five destroyers (Balaton, Lika, Triglav, Csepel, and Tátra) set out to stop them. Balaton sank the French submarine Monge and, in the harbor of Durazzo, the Austro-Hungarian destroyers sank a Greek steamer and two schooners. Turning in the harbor, Lika and Triglav hit mines, with Lika sinking and Triglav heavily damaged. Trying to tow Triglav, Csepel damaged its screw. The Allies soon had two Italian light cruisers Quarto and Nino Bixio with four destroyers, and the British light cruisers Dartmouth and Weymouth steaming to catch the Austro-Hungarians. Captain Heinrich Seitz commanded Helgoland and the Austro-Hungarian squadron.
A Naval History of World War I by Paul G. Halpern, page 157, copyright © 1994 by the United States Naval Institute, publisher: UCL Press, publication date: 1994
(2) In October 1915, as neutral Bulgaria signaled its intention to join the Central Powers by mobilizing for war, Eleftherios Venizelos, Prime Minister of neutral Greece, discussed inviting Entente Allies forces to land at Salonika with the French and British ambassadors and with Greek King Constantine. Venizelos favored the Allies; Constantine the Central Powers. Venizelos received the backing of the Greek Parliament, but the King refused to back his Prime Minister even as an Allied fleet entered the Gulf of Salonika. Venizelos resigned. The King threatened to intern British troops in Greece (consistent with Greece's neutral stand), and the Allies replied with threats of their own. This tense and dangerous situation was the background to the arrest and deportation of the Central Power consular staffs. General Sarrail commanded the Allied forces in Greece.
The Gardeners of Salonika by Alan Palmer, pp. 53, 54, copyright © 1965 by A. W. Palmer, publisher: Simon and Schuster, publication date: 1965
(3) Entry for December 31, 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.
The War the Infantry Knew 1914-1919 by Captain J.C. Dunn, pp. 174, 175, copyright © The Royal Welch Fusiliers 1987, publisher: Abacus (Little, Brown and Company, UK), publication date: 1994
(4) Ivor Gurney, English poet and composer, writing to the composer Marion Margaret Scott, President of the Society of Women Musicians from 1915 to 1916, on January 1, 1916. Gurney was a private in the Gloucestershire Regiment. His letters to Scott in previous months wish her improved health, and refer to overwork and 'weak nerves.'
War Letters, Ivor Gurney, a selection edited by R.K.R. Thornton by Ivor Gurney, page 54, copyright © J. R. Haines, the Trustee of the Ivor Gurney Estate 1983, publisher: The Hogarth Press, publication date: 1984
(5) Excerpt from the entry for January 2, 1916 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.
The War the Infantry Knew 1914-1919 by Captain J.C. Dunn, page 175, copyright © The Royal Welch Fusiliers 1987, publisher: Abacus (Little, Brown and Company, UK), publication date: 1994
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