William Langford - The Great War Illustrated 1914: Archive and Colour Photographs of WWI

First published in Great Britain in 2013 by
PEN & SWORD MILITARY
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S70 2AS Copyright William Langford 2013 ISBN 9781781593462
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Website: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk Dedicated to the One True Sovereign who was disregarded by the nations when, in 1914, they elected to fight among themselves on behalf of their own sovereignties Co01 German infantry being transported to the newly formed trench lines stretching across France and Belgium from the Channel to the borders of Switzerland.

Coloured by Jon Wilkinson Co02 Nikolay II, Nikolay Alexandrovich Romanov, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias. Co04 George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India. Co05 Kaiser Frederick William Victor Albert of Prussia. Co05 Emperor Franz Joseph Emperor of Austria; Apostolic King of Hungary; King of Bohemia; King of Croatia; King of Galicia and Lodomeria; Grand Duke of Cracow. Great Britain does not want a single nation dominating europe (just across the Channel) and makes friendship deal with Russia and France The Triple Entente Russia eyes Germany and Austro Hungary with suspicion and befriends France and Great Britain thus isolating and surrounding her enemys borders The Triple Entente Meanwhile she keeps her eye on Japan Germany feels threatened with likely foes on both her frontiers. Co08 Raymond Poincar, President of France. Co09 Peter I King of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Co10 Albert I reigned as King of the Belgians. Co11 Sultan Mehmed V Reshad, Turkey. Co11 Sultan Mehmed V Reshad, Turkey.

Faced with the possibility of having to wage war on two fronts because of the Triple Entente entered into by France, Britain and Russia the German Army Chief of Staff, Alfred von Schlieffen, was asked to plan a way of preventing this. His initial plan was produced in 1905: he believed that it was a priority to defeat France first and quickly, force that nation to surrender before Russia had a chance to mobilize. Then, using the German railway system, move the bulk of the army to the east to defeat the Russians. The plan required the Germans to pass through Belgium on the way to engage the French army. Co13 The entire plan was based upon the following assumptions: Russia would take at least six weeks to mobilize; France would be defeated in six weeks; Belgium would not resist the German army passing through its territory and that Britain would remain neutral. These assumptions were seriously mistaken.

Also note from the plan above, the right wing of the sweeping movement was intended to pass the west of Paris. That did not happen as the commanders on the German right flank felt isolated and tended to draw in, passing to the east of Paris and so failing to encircle the French capital and bring about its fall. The european kings and emperors were itching for a fight and an excuse was needed to justify their beligerent intent. It came on the 28 June when the heir of the Austria-Hungarian throne and his wife were shot dead on the streets of Sarajevo. Co14 Alfred von Schlieffen. He died on 4 January, 1913, just 19 months before the outbreak of The Great War.

His last words are said to have been, Remember: keep the right wing very strong. Nonconformance to this directive in August 1914 was one cause of the Plans failure. Co15 Nedjelko Cabrinovi threw a bomb at the Archdukes car but it was warded off by the Archduke himself. The bomb fell in the road near a following vehicle in the motorcade wounding the occupants. Co16 Gavrillo Princip was suddenly confronted by the open-topped car when it took a wrong turn. While reversing the driver stalled the engine.

Princip fired on the royal couple killing them both. Co17 Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his consort Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, about to set off for the fatal drive through the streets of Serajevo, the capitol of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Coloured by Jon Wilkinson