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Allied Commanders Henri Philippe Pétain, Douglas Haig, Ferdinand Foch, and John J. Pershing. Foch was Allied Commander in Chief, the other men commanders of the French Army, the British Expeditionary Force, and the American Expeditionary Force respectively. From The Memoirs of Marshall Foch by Marshall Foch.
Headstone of an unknown officer of a Canadian regiment at High Wood Cemetery, Longueval, France. © 2013 by John M. Shea
British infantry, artillery, cavalry, and a tank, likely on the Arras front, 1917. From The Nations at War by Willis J. Abbot 1918 Edition.
I've killed many Germans, but never women or children. Original French watercolor by John on blank field postcard. In the background are indolent Russian soldiers and Vladimir Lenin, in the foreground stands what may be a Romanian soldier who is telling the Russians, 'You call me savage. I killed a lot of Boches [Germans], but never women or children!'
German soldier operating and anti-aircraft gun.
"What do you think of the news? Peace seems impossible before Autumn 1919 at any rate; but it is best to hope that Fritz will see reason.An officer-friend turned up here and took me to London where we had a little music and chocolate together and lemonade at St Albans — spirit and matter mixed. But it was delightful to see him; with talk of the Old Batt: and the changes in the Staff; gossip of the Front etc. He says his Brigadier has a great admiration for the French Staff and a contempt for ours — All daily orders are issued from Foch, and he believes that a vast improvement in all ways has come since the General took command. It was good to hear intelligent shop-talk again, and words like Merville, Lestrem etc floating on the air." ((1), more)
"But the defence of even the strongest positions relies upon the men behind the guns, and during the days immediately following the arrival of the Canadians on the northern hinge of the Line, opposite Arras, it became increasingly evident that morale was not very high amongst the Germans holding it. Artillery bombardments from the guns still in position 'to guard the coalfields behind Béthune' caused a certain amount of damage to the wire belts, but even more to the fighting spirit of the defenders, for during August 28th the Canadians broke through the belts and into the line, and by the 29th they had killed or captured the majority of the occupants and driven the survivors either south into the main Siegfried Position or straight back into the Drocourt—Quéant Switch." ((2), more)
"The battle during the latter part of the week was really a preparation for a coming greater blow. We were clearing up ugly corners and securing good 'jumping-off' places. The Canadians were working in the closest coöperation with the British. The famous British division on our left flank, under the direction of the Canadian command, was pushing forward. British artillery coöperated. One never knew, moving behind our lines, whether one were coming on a Canadian or an Imperial battery. A degree of unity was attained between Imperials and Canadians such as had never been reached in any previous operation of the war.Every one knew at the week-end that a fresh blow was coming." ((3), more)
"It was nearly 10 p.m. by the time Lenin emerged from the Mikhelson factory; sundown in Moscow at that time of year is around 9 p.m. and Fanny could not see in the dark. When Kaplan was arrested, she was not even wearing glasses. Not one of the eighteen witnesses who were interviewed actually saw her firing. And the bullet removed from Lenin's neck, almost four years later, was found not to have come from the Browning pistol alleged to have been held by Kaplan." ((4), more)
"On August 31, between two patrols, I flew over to Bray-Dunes to take lunch with the new 5th Squadron. On the same aerodrome, there was a British Squadron whose officers invited me to go hunting with them. . . .When one comes down close to the ground and sees German troops, one experiences at first a certain amount of apprehension, but after this has passed off there is very little in it, because gun-fire ceases, it being impossible to fire at aeroplanes flying at a height of 15–30 feet. Even the enemy's machine-guns have few opportunities of coming into action—and then only for a very brief spell—the aeroplane being generally hidden by trees, and the speed at which it passes across the machine-guns' sights making it impossible to take steady aim." ((5), more)
(1) Ivor Gurney, English poet, composer, and private in the Gloucestershire Regiment, writing to the composer Marion Margaret Scott, on August 28, 1918 from Middlesex War Hospital, Napsbury. He had been sent back to the United Kingdom after being gassed in September, 1917, then suffered a mental collapse in March, 1918.
War Letters, Ivor Gurney, a selection edited by R.K.R. Thornton by Ivor Gurney, page 257, copyright © J. R. Haines, the Trustee of the Ivor Gurney Estate 1983, publisher: The Hogarth Press, publication date: 1984
(2) The Third Battle of the Scarpe was fought from August 26 to 30, 1918. The town of Monchy-le-Preux was taken on the first day. The Scarpe River flows by Arras. Drocourt is north of the river, and northeast of Arras, Quéant is south and southeast.
1918, the Last Act by Barrie Pitt, page 220, copyright © 1962 by Barrie Pitt, publisher: Ballantine Books, Inc., publication date: 1963
(3) Excerpt from a piece by Frederick Arthur McKenzie on the Canadian role in the Batle of Amiens and subsequent offensives. Our quotation is from the description of the Third Battle of the Scarpe, fought from Monday, August 26 (during which the town of Monchy-le-Preux was taken) to Friday the 30th, 1918. Some Canadians, like others in the colonial troops of the British Empire, believed the British commanders were incompetent and less sparing of the lives of Empire soldiers than of those of Great Britain.
The Great Events of the Great War in Seven Volumes by Charles F. Horne, Vol. VI, 1918, pp. 285–286, copyright © 1920 by The National Alumnia, publisher: The National Alumni, publication date: 1920
(4) In 'Fanny Kaplan's Attempt to Kill Lenin', Martin Sixsmith contests the standard version of the attempted assassination of Vladimir Lenin. Kaplan, a Socialist Revolutionary, has been seriously injured in 1906 while building a bomb to kill the Governor of Kiev. She was nearly blinded in the incident, suffered injuries to her face and hands, and was condemned to life imprisonment. Like other political prisoners, she was freed after the 1917 February Revolution and returned to Moscow. In the election for the Constituent Assembly that was held after the Bolshevik Revolution, the Socialist Revolutionaries earned a majority of the seats, but Lenin had no intention of giving up power. Laying blame on Kaplan, and by extension her party, gave him an excuse and primary target for the Terror that followed the attempt on his life.
Was Revolution Inevitable? Turning Points of the Russian Revolution by Tony Brenton, page 184, copyright © Tony Brenton 2017, publisher: Oxford University Press, publication date: 2017
(5) Excerpt from Flying in Flanders, a memoir by Willy Coppens, Belgium's greatest ace in World War I with 37 victories, all but two of the victims observation balloons. Coppens flew a Hanriot HD.1, a French plane used by the Belgian and Italian air services. He was clearly an adroit pilot.
Flying in Flanders by Willy Coppens, page 295, publisher: Ace Books, publication date: 1971
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