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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