Offered here are 15 original German cigarette cards of World War I action, issued in 1937 by a number of German cigarette companies, including Eckstein-Halpaus of Dresden, for the album Der Weltkrieg(The World War). Pictured here are: No. 20: Civilians Being Led from the Fighting (1914). With the retreat of the Western Powers in August 1914 many civilians went with them, primarily the better-off civilians. Those who remained behind soon realized that there was no reason to flee the advancing German troops. No. 22: The Belgian Army Fleeing Antwerp (1914). The strongly fortified city of Antwerp, situated behind the right wing of the German advance in 1914, was finally taken on October 9^th. Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible to stop parts of the Belgian Army from escaping the city. These units would later regroup and face us again on the Yser River. No. 28: Our Allies: The Austrians (1914). Our attack into Southern Poland relieved the beleaguered Austrian troops on that front. But then, faced with a Russian offensive, our troops had to withdraw to Silesia. The withdrawal was so masterfully done that the Russians could not follow very quickly, giving us enough time to plan a successful counterattack. No. 34: King Peter of Serbia (`1914). In August 1914 the Austrians attacked Serbia, but after back-and-forth fighting they were able to take Belgrade on December 2^nd. Shortly thereafter, the Serbs counterattacked and drove the Austrians out of Belgrade with heavy casualties. Until the Austrians’ second attack in October 1915, there was peace along the Drina, Save and Danube Rivers. No. 35: The List of the Fallen (1914) At the beginning of the war the names of those killed in action were made public. Soon, however, this was stopped, since enemy spies could draw conclusions from the lists about how our army units are composed and where things stood in general. No. 38: Fighting in the Deep Forest (1914-15). In the Vosges Mountains, in the Priester Forest and in the Argonne region the front lines often ran through thick forests, so that the two sides were often as little as 5 meters from one another. No. 42: A Work Elephant (1914/1915). The great need to build all sorts of facilities required much manpower and often resulted in unusual measures. Here we see an elephant from the Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg providing help in moving  and loading the heavy building materials. No. 44: Field Marshal von Mackensen (1915). In early 1915 there was the danger of a Russian breakthrough into Hungary, so it was decided to stage an offensive in the area of Gorlice-Tarnow, spearheaded by the new 11th Army which was led by Major General von Mackensen. The offensive was a success and moved quickly through Galicia. No. 50: Czar Nicholas Blesses Departing Russian Troops (1915). In July 1915 the Russian front in Poland became precarious. For the reinforcements going to aid those at the front, a blessing from the Czar was something special, for "Vater Czar" was not only the head of the country, but also of the Russian Orthodox Church. No. 53: Giving Inoculations in the Field (1915). In the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) the losses through sickness were greater than those caused by the fighting. In the World War, however, this could be prevented through a comprehensive program of inoculations of the troops before leaving for the war or during the fighting, but behind the front. No. 58: English Attack on the Dardanelles (1915). In order to neutralize Turkey and to establish direct contact with Russia, England and France attacked Turkey by sea and land along the Dardanelles between March 1915 and January 1916 The Turks, under German leadership, held fast and forced the enemy to withdraw. No. 59: A British Guard at Gallipoli (1915). The Western Powers suffered great losses in their attempt by land and by water to capture the Dardenelles. The victory of the Turks and their German advisers was all the greater, since they were short of munitions throughout the fighting. In January 1916 the enemy then completely withdrew from the Gallipoli peninsula. No. 61: Serbian Infantry (1915). The attack on Serbia was decided upon in order to cut a path to Germany’s ally Turkey. This was accomplished only when Bulgaria joined the fight. Among the greatest difficulties in this campaign was crossing the broad rivers, the Danube and the Save, with the Serbian army keeping watch on the opposite shore. No. 62: A Serbian Officer Scouting a Road (1915). Despite bitter resistance the Serbs were eventually pushed back into the Balkan mountains. However, their army was not totally destroyed because the bad weather, difficult terrain and the winter in the mountains made it difficult to supply our troops there. No. 65: German Husar Squadron Crossing a River in the Balkans (1915). The offensive of the Central Powers (Germany, Austria, etc.) against the Serbs stopped at the Greek border. Even our later offensive to counter the Allied army that moved out of Saloniki stopped at the Greek border because we did not want to violate a neutral nation's borders. But the way to Constantinople was now free of the enemy and Turkey was saved.

Each card measures 2 and 3/8 inches by 1 and 7/8 inches.

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