First World War postcards

[Eduardo]

Finally a view of the place where the village and pond of Vaux were before the intense German atack of the town and forts.

Eduardo

[Kev in Deva]

After several days of fighting from the 2 to the 6 of June 1916 and no more water to drink, the brave Commandat Reynal had to raise the white flag and surrender the fort of Vaux, near Verdun.. His sword was given back to him by the Crown Prince and he received postumous high honors for his heroic defence.

Here I post 3 views fo Vaux the first one is the fortifications, the second a detail of the forts after the war and the third a view of the village and pond of Vaux totally destroyed.

Hallo Eduardo, you might be interested to see this picture, FORT VAUX in 1999 when I was on a visit.

Kevin in Deva

[Eduardo]

Hello Kevin in Deva,

Thanks for the picture. Besides the cars I can see there have not been many changes in the place. I hope next time in Europe I can go and visit many of the sites-

Eduardo

PS. What do you make up of Williams last drink? One of the previous cards(post 123)

[Kev in Deva]

[attachmentid=63461]

Hello Kevin in Deva,

Thanks for the picture. Besides the cars I can see there have not been many changes in the place. I hope next time in Europe I can go and visit many of the sites-

Eduardo

PS. What do you make up of Williams last drink? One of the previous cards(post 123)

Hallo Eduardo,

thanks for your comment about my picture with regards the other Postcard does it actually mention Kaiser Wilhelm II, by name to the rear of the card??

Tthe front loosely translates by online translator to: "In front of Arras. The last blow of the L'etrier (?) of Guillaume before making half turn."

Hopefully one of our French or Belgian members can offer a better translation

I attach your card after playing with the colours on the computer.

Kevin in Deva

[Eduardo]

Hello Kevin in Deva, Good job with the colors of the postcards. Thanks. The expresion in french means "The last drink on the stirrup" before turning back. There is a similar expresion in Spanish which means "just a last drink before you leave". The Guillaume (William) mentioned could be a generic one meaning his troops and not the Kaiser himself. In any case I wonder who could those officers be.

Eduardo

[Eduardo]

The fort of La Pompelle was built after the 1870 war to protect the city of Reims. Non the less at the beguiing of the freat war the fort was unarmed. La Pompelle was capture by the Germans without fighting en the 4th september 1914 but was reconquest twenty days later by the 138e Regiment d'infanterie.

The F?d?ration Nationale Andr? Maginot, purchased the fort and gave it to the city of Reims in 1968. The fort of La Pompelle is now a musseum. This postcard shows how was it left anter years of combat.

Eduardo

[Eduardo]

The next four postcards are of the city of Verdun after the long battle that lasted almost the whole year 1916. These cards were printed by Phototypie Baudiner of Paris.

[Eduardo]

Another view.

Eduardo

Edited December 6, 2006 by Eduardo

[Eduardo]

Another view.

Eduardo

[Eduardo]

My last one of Verdun.

[Eduardo]

Some more cards of the Victory Parade held in Paris on the 14th July 1919. This first one, a beautifull view of the Arc de Triomphe was issued by "Anciens Etab. Neurdein et Cie." of Paris.

[Eduardo]

The next four were issued by: Les Grands Magazines "A La Belle Jardiniere" from Verdun. This card shows the people waiting for the parade at the Place de la Concorde.

[Eduardo]

In this second one, a view of La Madeleine during the parade, with the steps occupied by the mutilated soldiers.

Edited December 8, 2006 by Eduardo

[Eduardo]

The third postcard issued by "La Belle Jardiniere" shows the mutilated soldiers parading.

[Eduardo]

In the last one I have of this serie, Marechals Foch and Joffre parade in front of presient Poincar?.

[Eduardo]

The next four postacards, two from Chateau Thierry (Aisne) and two of Courteaux were printed by "Marcel Delboy. Phtotypie, Bordeaux. None is written in the back.

The first one is a view of the bridge after the bombing of the city.

[Eduardo]

A brief and clear description of the battle arround the area of Chateau-Thierry can be found in:

http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/belleau.htm

I have copied the core of it here. That page has good and clear descriptions of the battles

.

"Chateau-Thierry formed the tip of the German advance towards Paris, some 50 miles south-west. Defended by U.S. Second and Third Divisions dispatched at the behest of the French by AEF Commander-in-Chief Jack Pershing, the Americans launched a counter-attack on 3-4 June with the assistance of the French Tenth Colonial Division; in a spirited action together they succeeded in pushing the Germans back across the Marne to Jaulgonne."

The second postcard shows the entrance of the cementery.

[Eduardo]

The third postcard is of Courteaux, near Chateau-Thierry and shows the the road with the broken trees.

Edited December 9, 2006 by Eduardo

[Eduardo]

And the fourth poscard from Marcel Delboy shows the town of Courteaux destroyed after the battle.

Eduardo

[Eduardo]

This postcard of a painting of the Armistice was printed by L'Hoste, 139 Lafayette, Paris and has a blue seal with the inscription "Monument de l'armistice. 11 Novembre 1918. Ville de Compegne. It is a ouvenir made for the visitors of the munument. I cannot figure out when was it printed.

The inscription on the back gives the names of all the persons in the paintingfrom left to right as follows:

General Weygand; Marechal Foch, Sir Rosslyn-Wemis; Admiral George Hope; Cap. Laperche; Cap de Cavalerie Von Helldorf; Comte von Oberndorf; Mathias Erzberger; General Mayor von Winterfeld; Cap de Vaisseau Vanselow.

[Eduardo]

This postcard, a real photograph used as a postcard, shows a group of four German soldiers. All but one is smoking pretty pipes. The name of the four lads are written al the left and the reverse has a long text dated 3.3.15.

Edited December 17, 2006 by Eduardo

[Eduardo]

Albert I King of the Belgians. The inscription on this card issued by DIX, Paris. is:

Albert 1er Roi de la glorieuse Belgique.

[Eduardo]

This last postcard of today presents a group of German soldiers receiving instruction inside the church of Hattonville. The card was issued by Verlag Willy Koehler, Metz. and is numbered 38.

[ksg]

A couple of photo postcards, showing IC?s newly awarded.

Kjell

[ksg]