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Soldiers of the Great War Known Unto God, Cabaret Rouge Cemetery, Souchez, France. © 2013 by John M. Shea
The American cruiser Brooklyn in Vladivostok harbor, Russia in a 1919 Czech Legion photograph. The Legion consisted of Austro-Hungarian Czechs taken prisoner by the Russians, then organized to fight for Czech independence. With peace on the Russian front, they went east to leave Russia from Vladivostok, sometimes fighting their way through the Red Guard defending the Revolution. The Americans, British, and Japanese had forces in the city.
Chosen Boy, a 1918 watercolor by Paul Klee. From Paul Klee: Early and Late Years: 1894-1940. © 2013 Moeller Fine Art
French (and one British) soldiers in what appears to be a hastily-improvised line. An official photograph on the British Front in France taken May 3, 1918. French reserves came to the aid of the British during the German Offensives of 1918. Operation Michael on the Somme had been fought from March 21 to April 5, and Operation Georgette on the Lys River from April 9 to 29.
US troops digging in pause to watch a Whippet tank.
"From FranceThe spirit drank the Café lights;All the hot life that glittered there,And heard men say to women gay,'Life is just so in France'.The spirit dreams of Café lights,And golden faces and soft tones,And hears men groan to broken men,'This is not Life in France'.Heaped stones and a charred signboard showsWith grass between and dead folk under,And some birds sing, while the spirit takes wing.And this is life in France.— Isaac Rosenberg" ((1), more)
"We are in Vladivostok! We arrived early this morning. It is 2nd April 1918, and exactly 27 days since we boarded our goods-train in Moscow. It is wonderful that we are really here — at last! But what makes it all the more wonderful is that when we steamed slowly into the station, Vladivostok's magnificent harbour was spread before our eyes. In that harbour four large cruisers were anchored, and one of them was flying the UNION JACK! Oh! The joy! The relief! The comfort! The security! Who will ever know all that this glorious flag symbolised for us travel-stained, weary refugees? It was as though we had heard a dear, familiar voice bidding us 'Welcome home!'" ((2), more)
"General Foch is charged by the British, French and American Governments with the co-ordination of the action of the Allied Armies on the Western Front. To this end all powers necessary to secure effective realization are conferred on him. The British, French and American Governments for this purpose entrust to General Foch the strategic direction of military operations. The Commanders-in-Chief of the British, French and American Armies have full control of the tactical employment of their forces. Each Commander-in-Chief will have the right of appeal to his Government if in his opinion the safety of his Army is compromised by any order received from General Foch." ((3), more)
"The last spasm of the first German offensive occurred on April 4, when the enemy struck between the Somme and Montdidier. Though the Germans had sixteen divisions in their front line and the French only seven, the French had eight divisions in reserve, and they intervened rapidly. The French also had ample artillery, 588 75-mm and 378 heavy pieces. Showing little interest in infiltration tactics, the Germans attacked in dense formations and suffered heavy casualties. The following day First Army counterattacked. Instead of a tightly coordinated offensive, its individual corps launched separate attacks after brief artillery preparations, but the corps advanced as much as one and a half kilometers." ((4), more)
"April 5th.—The Brigade has been on an hour's notice to move since midnight, but no one slept less soundly. Our other Brigades have gone to meet a German attack between Albert and Aveluy ('Aveloy') Wood, made at 7 this morning. Early reports understated the German success; the counter-attack failed. Our Brigade has been transferred to Army Reserve. Companies are on the range at last. Officers are reconnoitring again. The day is gloomy, there's more rain. The new 'Cavalry' Tanks, 'whippets,' are armed with machine guns only, are easy to manœuvre and do fifteen miles an hour instead of three, like the old heavily-armed pattern." ((5), more)
(1) 'From France', by Isaac Rosenberg, killed in action during a night patrol on April 1, 1918 in Fampoux, 8 km east of Arras. Rosenberg was in the King's Own Royal Regiment, sent as reinforcements near the end of the German Somme Offensive, Operation Michael.
Poetry of the First World War, an Anthology by Tim Kendall, page 139, publisher: Oxford University Press, publication date: 2013
(2) Florence Farmborough, an English nurse serving with the Russian Red Cross, on her arrival in Vladivostok, on Russia's Pacific coast, after a 27-day journey by train from Moscow. It would be over three weeks before Farmborough and other refugees would board the Sheridan, a United States transport. Among her fellow passengers was Yasha Bachkarova, former leader of the Russian Women's Death Battalion. Farmborough's unit had been with the Russian Army in Romania when the Bolshevik Revolution brought Vladimir Lenin to power. He had consistently called for an immediate end to the war, and Russia had agreed an armistice on December 15 with the Central Powers. On December 26, Farmborough's unit received orders to make their way to Moscow as best they could. She traveled first to Odessa on the Black Sea before going on to Moscow, finally reaching it after a journey of 13 days.
Nurse at the Russian Front, a Diary 1914-18 by Florence Farmborough, page 402, copyright © 1974 by Florence Farmborough, publisher: Constable and Company Limited, publication date: 1974
(3) Statement of the Beauvais conference on April 3, 1918, superseding the previous agreement reached at Doullens. On March 26, in response to the success of Germany's Somme Offensive, Operation Michael, a Franco-British agreement charged Foch with 'coördinating the action of the Allied armies on the western front', subordinating their commanders, Henri Philippe Pétain and Douglas Haig, to the coordination of Ferdinand Foch. On March 28, American commander John Pershing had offered Foch, 'all that I have I put at your disposal.' Neither British Prime Minister Lloyd George nor Haig trusted the other, and the Prime Minister was happy to see Haig subordinate to Foch. Foch had for months pressed for a unified command and reserve force that could seize the offensive when the opportunity presented itself.
1918, the Last Act by Barrie Pitt, pp. 111–111, copyright © 1962 by Barrie Pitt, publisher: Ballantine Books, Inc., publication date: 1963
(4) Germany's Somme Offensive, Operation Michael, was launched on March 21, 1918 against the British Third and Fifth Armies in fog that obscured the attackers. The Germans used Hutier infiltration tactics that focused on breaking through weak points, leaving strong defensive points to be taken by following forces. The British, particularly the Third Army, were overwhelmed and driven back. With no reserves, they called for assistance from the French. Newly-appointed Commander-in-Chief Ferdinand Foch had been calling for a unified command and general reserve for months, and now had both. Commanding the French Army, Henri Philippe Pétain and the French First Army used his new tactics of well-prepared attacks with limited, but achievable goals. The French 75-mm field gun had been used successfully through the entire war, but the French in 1918 had more heavy guns they could bring to bear.
Pyrrhic Victory; French Strategy and Operations in the Great War by Robert A. Doughty, page 440, copyright © 2005 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College, publisher: Harvard University Press, publication date: 2005
(5) Entry for April 5, 1918 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, and fellow soldiers who served with him. Dunn had reached Hédauville, France, 20 km northeast of Amiens on the night of April 2nd, to reinforce the British line against the German Somme Offensive, Operation Michael, which was suspended on the 5th.
The War the Infantry Knew 1914-1919 by Captain J.C. Dunn, page 464, copyright © The Royal Welch Fusiliers 1987, publisher: Abacus (Little, Brown and Company, UK), publication date: 1994
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