Chosen Boy, a 1918 watercolor by Paul Klee. From Paul Klee: Early and Late Years: 1894-1940. © 2013 Moeller Fine Art
Image text:
A heavyset English sailor flies a panoply of flags of neutral nations including Sweden (civil ensign), Norway, Spanish Merchant Marine, the United States, Netherlands, Italy, and the Red Cross. Germany accused Great Britain of flying false flags on merchant and passenger ships, and of arming them. A postcard by P.O.Engelhard (P.O.E.), dated and postmarked January 15, 1916.
Image text: Die englische KriegsflaggeThe English Battle Flag
Italy's armed forces at the ready in a 1915 postcard. In the foreground the artillery, infantry, an Alpine soldier (in feathered hat), and a Bersaglieri (in plumed headgear). Behind them are a bugler and lancer; in the distance marines and colonial troops. The Italian navy is off shore, an airship and planes overhead. On the reverse are the lyrics of a patriotic Italian March by Angelo Balladori, lyrics by Enrico Mercatali. It ends with a call to the brothers of Trento and Trieste, Austro-Hungarian territory with large ethnic Italian populations.
Image text: Reverse:Marcia ItalicaD'Italia flammeggin le sante bandiereBaciate dal sole, baciate dal vento,Su l'aspro sentier di Bezzecca e di TrentoDe l'alma Trieste, sul cerulo mar.. . . Fratelli di Trento, Triestini fratelli,La patria s'è desta alla grande riscossa!Dell'aquila ingorda la barbara possaDai liberi petti domata sarà!Parole di Enrico MercataliMusica di Angelo Balladori.Casa Editrice Sonzogno - Milano. 1915.
The Newfoundland Memorial in the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Park pays tribute to the Newfoundland Regiment and its part on the opening day of the Battle of the Somme, July 1, 1916. © 2013, John M. Shea
A Russian Maxim machine gun squad on the front in a 1917 photograph. In the middle of the line one soldier wears a French Adrian helmet.
Map of the Marne front line on May 31, 1918 from Belleau Wood to Dormans, where the French and Americans stopped the German advance of 1918. From The History of The A.E.F. by Shipley Thomas.
Image text: Château-ThierryShowing Belleau Wood to the left and position of 3rd Division to the right.
"The Austrian and Hungarian press are blaming Serbia more and more for the Serajevo outrage. Their aim is transparent, viz., to destroy that high moral reputation which Serbia now enjoys in Europe, and to take the fullest advantage politically against Serbia of the act of a young and ill balanced fanatic. . . . both assassins are Austrian subjects. . . . But Serbia can on no account permit the Vienna and Hungarian press to mislead European public opinion, and lay the heavy responsibility for a crime committed by an Austrian subject at the door of the whole Serbian nation and on Serbia, who can only suffer harm from such acts and can derive no benefit whatever." ((1), more)
"There were demonstrations last night in front of the Legation. I may say the police showed considerable energy. Order and peace were maintained. As soon as I obtain positive information that the Serbian flag has been burned, I will lodge a complaint in the proper quarters. I will report to you the result. Hatred against Serbians and Serbia is being spread among the people, especially to the lower Catholic circles, the Vienna press, and military circles." ((2), more)
"The regimental colours flutter freely. Silence. Then a trumpet sounds, the men bellow 'Savoy!' as from one throat, the band strikes up the Royal March. Carrying knapsacks that weigh 35 kilograms, the men attack up the steep slope, in the teeth of accurate fire from positions that the Italians cannot see. An officer brandishing his sabre in his right hand has to use his left hand to stop the scabbard from tripping him up. The men are too heavily laden to move quickly. Renato remembered the scene as a vision of the end of an era: 'In a whirl of death and glory, within a few moments, the epic Garibaldian style of warfare is crushed and consigned to the shadows of history!' The regimental music turns discordant, then fades. The officers are bowled down by machine-gun fire while the men crawl for cover on hands and knees. The battle is lost before it begins." ((3), more)
"The Newfoundlanders had to go 300 yards before reaching the British front line and then a similar distance across No Man's Land. In view of the urgency of their orders they went straight over the top from a reserve trench, instead of going to the front line by way of congested communication trenches. As soon as they appeared in the open, German machine-gunners spotted them and opened fire. No artillery bombardment kept the Germans' heads down; no other targets distracted them, for the Essex had not appeared. They concentrated their fire on the 752 Newfoundlanders advancing over the open ground less than half a mile away." ((4), more)
"On the morning of June 18, an air of tense excitement reigned all along the front. It was the kind of atmosphere you find in Russian villages just before the midnight service at Easter. We climbed up to an observation point at the top of a chain of hills running the length of our forward positions. There was a constant rumble of heavy artillery, and the shells whining overhead made a plaintive sound.From the Seventh Army's observation point, the battlefield lay before us like a huge, deserted chessboard. The shelling continued. We all kept looking at our watches. The strain was unbearable.Suddenly there was a deathly hush: It was zero hour. For a second we were gripped by a terrible fear that the soldiers might refuse to fight. Then we saw the first lines of infantry, with their rifles at the ready, charging toward the front lines of German trenches." ((5), more)
"The 3rd Brigade (9th and 23rd Infantry Regiments) during these twenty days, held the sectors assigned to it, and co-operated in various attacks, until the morning of July 1, when a battalion from each regiment, supported by the 12th, 15th and 17th Artillery Regiments, in conjunction with the French who were attacking to their right, captured the village of Vaux and the Bois-de-la-Roche.This put the Allied lines on the dominant ground from Château-Thierry westward, including Hill 204, Vaux, Bouresches, and Belleau Wood." ((6), more)
(1) M. N. Pashitch, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, writing to all the Royal Serbian Legations abroad, Belgrade, June 18/July 1, 1914
Collected Diplomatic Documents Relating to the Outbreak of the European War, 372, 373, publisher: His Majesty's Stationery Office by Harrison and Sons, publication date: 1915
(2) Telegram from Yov. M. Yovanovitch, Serbian Minister at Vienna, to N. Pashitch, Serbian Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Vienna, June 18/July 1 (New Style), 1914.
Collected Diplomatic Documents Relating to the Outbreak of the European War, page 373, publisher: His Majesty's Stationery Office by Harrison and Sons, publication date: 1915
(3) On July 1, 1915, the Italians failed in their attempt to seize Mount San Michele on the western side of the Carso plateau from the Austro-Hungarians. Renato di Stolfo was a junior officer in the initial attack. King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy was of the House of Savoy. General Giuseppe Garibaldi was one of the leaders in the fight for Italian independence.
The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front, 1915-1919 by Mark Thompson, page 90, copyright © 2008 Mark Thompson, publisher: Basic Books, publication date: 2009
(4) Most of the British troops fighting on July 1, 1916, the first day of Battle of the Somme, were from the United Kingdom, and many of them were part of the British New Army. The Newfoundland Regiment was among the few Dominion troops fighting on what would be the worst day in British Army history, thrown into the battle with little notice after the troops before them had failed to advance. The 1st Essex Regiment was supposed to be advancing simultaneously to the Newfoundlanders right. Of the 752 Newfoundlanders who crossed the ground at Beaumont-Hamel, 26 officers and 658 men were casualties. On that day, July 1, 1916, the British army suffered nearly 60,000 casualties on the Somme, 19,240 of them killed. In 1916, Newfoundland was a British colony, not yet part of Canada.
First Day on the Somme by Martin Middlebrook, pp. 189-190, copyright © 1972 by Martin Middlebrook, publisher: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., publication date: 1972
(5) Russian Minister of War Alexander Kerensky's description of the moments before and beginning of Russia's last offensive of World War I, the Kerensky Offensive, launched on July 1, 1917 (June 18, Old Style). The Russian Revolution of March had removed the Tsar and seized power for a provisional government and soviets, councils of workers, soldiers, cities, and towns. Whether soldiers would obey orders to attack was a real question. The comparison to Easter, the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, is curious, but Kerensky hoped for a resurrection of a new, revolutionary Russian army to carry on the war.
Russia and History's Turning Point by Alexander Kerensky, page 285, copyright © 1965 by Alexander Kerensky, publisher: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, publication date: 1965
(6) The American assault by U.S Marines and Army infantry to take Belleau Wood began on June 6, 1918 against well-entrenched German defenders. The battle continued for three weeks.
The History of The A.E.F. by Shipley Thomas, page 95, copyright © 1920, by George H. Doran Company, publisher: George H. Doran Company, publication date: 1920
