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English schoolboys being trained for officers. From 'The Nations at War, a Current History' by Willis John Abbot, 1917 Edition.
Turkish Cavalry, from a German postcard.
The rulers of the Central Powers stumped by Verdun. Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary, Mohammed V of Turkey, Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, and Czar Ferdinand of Bulgaria puzzle over a map labeled "Verdun." The ink and watercolor drawing is dated March 4, 1916. By R. DLC?The German assault on Verdun began on February 21, 1916 and continued through August.
French folding postcard map of Verdun and the Meuse River, number 9 from the series Les Cartes du Front. Montfaucon is in the upper left and St. Mihiel at the bottom.
Map of the battlefield of Verdun, showing the line on February 21, 1916, when the initial bombardment began, the line reached in the first days of the offensive, and the line reached by June. From 'The German General Staff and its Decisions, 1914-1916' by General Erich von Falkenhayn, Chief of the German General Staff, who staked his position on the Battle for Verdun. He was replaced in August, 1916.
". . . Your remark about collecting royalties happens merely to be ironic; and so does not give me anything like the pleasure the other offer does — that offer to provide a responsible deputy for my position. My position is at present that of a private in the 2/5 battallion of the Gloucesters, who are about to move to huts on Salisbury plain. Any deputy, trustworthy or otherwise, would be most gratefully welcomed, and fulsomely flattered, receive all my military decorations, and a valuable insight into the best methods of mud-cleaning with vocal accompaniment:Yours trulyIvor Gurney" ((1), more)
"At the approach of the Russian Army, the Turks had moved out from Erzerum to block their path. They proved no match for the Russians. The Northern Turkish Corps was quickly flanked and put to flight. Two divisions of the Southern Turkish Corps were similarly disposed of. The Central Corps of the Russian and Turkish Armies fought a three days' battle at Koprikeui, January 16-18th, which resulted in a Russian victory. The line of the Araxes was forced and the Turks fled in wild disorder, constantly harassed by pursuing Cossacks. All the roads leading to Erzerum were blocked by discarded equipment, abandoned guns, and half-frozen stragglers." ((2), more)
"February 18th. [1916]—. . . A party from the Fleet went in with us as guests. The weather was dirty all the time of their stay. The sailors entered boisterously into the life and activity of the trenches, bar the fatigues, but they went away saying they would much rather have the North Sea in spite of its submerged mines and submarines.February 19th.—Bright moonlight: five bombs were dropped in the back area ; there is much dispute if signal lights were thrown out by the bombers or thrown up for them.February 20th.—One of our Air-observers was brought down behind the support line : fired on and shelled, he escaped unhurt." ((3), more)
"We have moved altogether in the last two months over 200,000 people including Servians, Austrian prisoners & Italian troops with hardly a casualty. I do not think that with the scratch pack we have had to deal with, ships & material being supplied by 3 different nations, anyone but the Duke could have done it. In addition to being able & energetic, his position enables him to do more than any ordinary Admiral could do. From a naval point of view it has been a much more difficult operation than the evacuation of Gallipoli." ((4), more)
"Imagine, if you can, a storm, a tempest, growing steadily worse, in which the rain consists entirely of cobblestones, in which the hail is made up entirely of masonry blocks. Remember that a mere 120, at the point of impact, has gathered the same energy and releases, just as instantaneously, the same destructive force as an express train hitting the buffers at 90 kilometers an hour. . . . And we're underneath it, you follow? UNDERNEATH IT, as quiet as Baptists, smoking our pipes, waiting from moment to moment for the inevitable, fatal moment when our wretched carcasses are going to be squashed, flattened, ground instantly into dust." ((5), more)
(1) End of the response by Ivor Gurney, composer, poet, and soldier of the 2nd 5th Gloucesters, to a February 17, 1916 circular of the Royal College of Music Union soliciting the views of its membership on an RCMU proposal to assist members in maintaining their professional interests and duties while on active service. The Union thought these members 'may be glad to know where to apply in the event of their wanting a temporary teacher for their pupils, a reliable deputy to take over a position, or a responsible representative to gather any royalties from publishers which may accrue.'
War Letters, Ivor Gurney, a selection edited by R.K.R. Thornton by Ivor Gurney, page 55, copyright © J. R. Haines, the Trustee of the Ivor Gurney Estate 1983, publisher: The Hogarth Press, publication date: 1984
(2) German General Liman von Sanders wrote that Erzerum fell on the February 15, King (source for the above), that the Turks evacuated the city on the 16th after Siberian troops had taken all nine of the outer forts. The Russians captured a 'great quantity of military stores,' and 5,000 to 12,000 prisoners.
King's Complete History of the World War by W.C. King, page 211, copyright © 1922, by W.C. King, publisher: The History Associates, publication date: 1922
(3) Entries 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 dozens of his comrades. The Fusiliers were in the line at Cambrin, France, west of La Bassée. Around February 13, the troops had 'returned to Cambrin Left in a downpour,' to find 'the Germans had narrowed Nomansland by connecting-up their saps,' their trenches running toward the British line.
The War the Infantry Knew 1914-1919 by Captain J.C. Dunn, page 181, copyright © The Royal Welch Fusiliers 1987, publisher: Abacus (Little, Brown and Company, UK), publication date: 1994
(4) Letter from Rear Admiral Cecil F. Thursby, the commander of the British Adriatic Squadron to the First Sea Lord on February 20, 1916.
A Naval History of World War I by Paul G. Halpern, page 158, copyright © 1994 by the United States Naval Institute, publisher: UCL Press, publication date: 1994
(5) Description of the bombardment that opened the Battle of Verdun on February 21, 1916 by Marc Stéphane, a French Corporal of the chasseurs à pied (light infantry), who had returned from sick leave on the 18th. His battalion was stationed in the Bois des Caures, in the northern tip of the Verdun salient. Along with the 120 mm guns Stéphane refers to, the German arsenal of over 1,000 guns included 150, 210, 305, 380, and 420 mm guns.
The Road to Verdun by Ian Ousby, pp. 82, 83, copyright © 2002 by The Estate of Ian Ousby, publisher: Anchor Books, publication date: 2003
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