Offered here are 30 original German cigarette cards of World War
I, issued in 1937 by a number of German cigarette companies for the album Der
Weltkrieg (The World War). Pictured here are: No.
181: Advancing German
Infantry at Armentieres. In April 1918 the German army went on the attack
against the English in Flanders. Once again, the German offensive won much
territory but did not achieve its ultimate goal of pushing the English out of
Flanders. No. 186:
Constructing a Train Track in the Field (1918, Western Front). During the great
offensive in early 1918 train-track laying squads followed closely on the
advancing front lines in order to repair destroyed tracks. For just the
so-called "Battle of Michael" some 36,000 men were assigned to this
task. Their work was very hard and dangerous, due to constant artillery
barrages and attacks from the air. No.
187: A Camouflaged Street During the May Offensive (1918). Before resuming
the great offensive against the English in early 1918 German commanders wanted
to keep French reserves out of the fight and therefore decided to attack Laon.
By an efficient use of camouflage, particularly of artillery pieces, we were able
to completely surprise the French. No. 190:
Battery Troops Advancing. The German 7th Army reached Chateau-Thierry on May
30, 1918. However, both wings did not move forward as quickly as the center,
which prompted the enemy to attack the 7th Army's flanks at Villiers-Cotterets
on July 18th. No. 192: Captured
Train-Gun (1918). Over the course of the war both sides started mounting larger
artillery pieces on the flatbeds of railroad cars. This provided the advantage
of quickly changing location. The disadvantage is that the shot could only be
sent in the direction of the train, or only slightly to the side. This picture
shows a French train-gun that was captured in our May-Offensive of 1918. No.
193: Advancing Against the
Bolsheviks (1918). To assure that Russia would follow up on its request for
peace with Germany, German troops moved on February 18, 1918, after the
temporary armistice had run out, against Latvia and Estonia. Volhynia and the
Ukraine. On March 3rd the Russians agreed to the Peace Treaty of Brest-Litowsk. No. 195: German Cavalry in the Ukraine (1918,
Eastern Front). Although there were few active cavalry units fighting in 1918,
most of those saw action in the Ukraine because of the wide expanses on that
front. Some cavalry units made it to Lake Azov and a few even reached the Don
River. No. 201: Protection against
Gas for Horses (1918). The problem of protecting horses against a gas attack
was never entirely solved during the war. Attempts were made to place feeding
bags or wet hay over their nostrils and mouths, as seen in this picture.
However, most horses could bear up under a light whiff of gas without adverse
effect. No. 204: A German
Tank (1918). The first German tanks were actually those captured from the
British. Eventually, German models were produced, but too slowly to have an
effect on the war, resulting in our not being able to be victorious. No. 207: An Explosion in the Artillery
Piece (1918). Because of the defensive fighting in the Fall of 1918 our
artillery was pushed to its limits defending our infantry and fighting off tank
attacks. In the rush to keep up steady fire, sometimes mistakes were made in
loading the gun or if the powder charge was faulty which could lead to a
"Barrel Burst", destroying the gun. Nevertheless, up to the very end of
the war, any artillery piece that was lost was quickly replaced. No.
208: Heated Pilot's Suit.
Our pilots carried out their duty with great courage, even though the number of
enemy planes grew from day to day. Advances in materials and technology came to
their aid and many pilots could climb to a height of over 6,000 meters (c.
19,000 feet). Naturally, at that height they required protection from the cold
and reduction in oxygen. No.
215: Collection Spot (1914-1918). Our lack of natural
resources meant we had to be very careful with our goods during the war. Any
materials that could be reused in the war effort were recycled. Even among the
troops there were officers and groups in charge of collecting recyclables.
Premiums made it even more attractive. No.
216: Checking Papers in the Occupied Areas (1914-1918). In order to protect
the army against spies and sabotage or even smuggling, it was important to keep
strict controls on the movement of civilians in occupied areas. And in order to
prevent the use of falsified papers the army also used finger prints for
identification. No. 220: The
Daily Report (1914-18). Almost from the very outset of the war, the German High
Command gave regular short reports on how the war effort was going. For many
soldiers who endured the boredom of the trenches these reports were one of the
only breaks in the boredom. the reports were eventually expanded into magazine
form with pictures. No. 224: First aid is
given to a wounded soldier at the front line. Farther to the rear are the main
medical facilities, where the lightly wounded can be treated. The more severely
wounded are treated farther away from the fighting or in hospitals in the
homeland. No. 225: Training
Youth at Home. Even before the war began young men were being prepared to serve
in the military. This was put into effect by Field Marshal von der Goltz.
During the war, such training continued to the extent possible by available
manpower. No. 227: The War Economy
(1914-18). Providing for the needs of the German Army was an impressive
organizational and technical accomplishment. By early 1918 our factories were
producing some 2,000 artillery guns a month, whereas it was only 15 per month
at the beginning of the war. In 1918, they were also producing some 10,000
machine guns a month, whereas it was only 508 a month in 1915. Much of the work
in the factories was done by women and teenagers. No. 228: Tram Conductor in the War (1914-18).
When Generals Hindenburg and Ludendorff took over the German High Command on
Aug. 29, 1916 they proposed a plan to double the production of war materials by
early 1917. This required the mobilization of all aspects of society for the
war effort. As a result it became commonplace to see women assuming jobs
previously only held by men, such as that of the tram conductor or brakeman
with commercial railroads. No.
229: At Imperial
Headquarters (1914-18). In 1914 the Army's headquarters were in Koblenz,
Luxemburg and Charleville. In 1915 and 1916 they were in Pless, in 1917 in
Kreuznach and in 1918 in Spa and Avesnes. This picture shows the Emperor with
Chief of Staff Hindenburg and the First General Quartermaster Ludendorff. No. 230: Major General von Seekt (1914-18). Von
Seekt achieved quite a reputation in the war, first, as Chief of Staff of the
11th Army that fought in the Battle of Gorlice-Tarnow and in the campaigns in
Galicia and Poland. After that he was head of the Army Group Mackensen that
conquered Serbia. He also led the successful campaign in Romania. At
the end of 1917 he became Chief of Staff of the Turkish Army. No. 231: The Polish Legion (1914-18). This
legion was formed by Pilsudski shortly after the war began and fought on
the side of Austria. On Nov. 5, 1916 the Central Powers declared the
establishment of the independent Kingdom of Poland and hoped that this
would cause millions of Poles to join the cause of the Central Powers, but this
did not happen. No. 232: Field
Marshal von Hindenburg Greets and Old Friend (1914-18). On August 8, 1918 von
Hindenburg visited the Third Guard Regiment of Foot, where he had served many
years earlier. Here, he happened to see his old company commander, Major von
Seel with whom he went into battle in 1866 and 1870-71. No. 233: Russian Commissars Arrive in Brest-Litowsk to Sign
the Treaty (1914-18). The new Soviet government proposed a peace treaty with
Germany on November 18, 1917. Talks began in Brest-Litowsk, headquarters of the
German Eastern Command, but dragged on and were finally signed by the Russians
after our offensive in the East on March 3, 1918. No.
235: With the High Seas Fleet. Only once in the war did our battleships
engage in an outright battle with the enemy's fleet: in the Battle of Skagerrak
on May 31, 1916. Subsequent attempts to draw the English into battle were
unsuccessful. The last fight of the battleships was against our own Revolution
of 1918. Cruisers and torpedo boats, however, saw quite a bit of action during
the war. No.
237: A U-Boat Approaches
Cattaro. In 1914 our U-Boats were active only against warships. In 1915, we
sent our first U-Boats into tMediterranean Sea which marked the beginning of
the "Trade War" which lasted until February 1917. Only some time
later did we decide to wage unlimited U-Boat warfare, by which we hoped to
bring England to its knees. No.
238 [2x]: A U-Boat Takes on Torpedoes (1914-18). At the
start of the war we had only 21 submarines, but another 370 were put into
service during the war; another 400 were being built or in the planning stage
when the armistice was signed. The weapons of the U-Boat were torpedoes, a
cannon (up to 15 cm caliber) and mines; all were equally important for the job
of the submariners. No. 240:
Inspection of a Coastal Gun Battery (1914-18). The German coast was protected
by fortresses and gun batteries at the entrances to all important military and
commercial harbors. They were manned in part by the navy and in part by the
army. The weapons included cannons, howitzers and Flak-guns. No. 242: A Coastal Battery in Flanders
(1914-18). To protect the flank of our Western army as well as our U-Boat
bases, a number of heavily fortified coastal battery positions were erected
between the Dutch coast and Westende to protect against attack from the sea. No.
244: A Sinking Mine
Sweeper. The job of locating sea mines and removing them fell to various types
of ships: older torpedo boats, armed fishing vessels and mine sweepers that
were specifically built for this task. The task was a dangerous one and many
mine sweepers were lost from running into a mine, or from enemy shelling that
sought to prevent the mine sweeping activity.
The cards measure 2 and 3/8 inches by 1 and 7/8 inches.
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