The sturdy soldiers of the British Empire have been accustomed for generations to fighting in every quarter of the world, for Britain with her vast dependencies has always a little war somewhere. These men were serving in a big war, in the greatest war the world has ever seen, the Great War, which ended with the signing of the armistice on November 11th, 1918.
They are typical British "Tommies", first class fighting men, and destiny called them to the Balkans, that strip of country in perpetual conflict, lying between the Carpathian Mountains and the Aegean and Black Seas. There they had dug their trenches and there they faced the Austrian and the German in the last year of the war. Under General Franchet d'Esperey, Commander in Chief of the Allied forces in that section, with French, Italians, Greeks and Serbians as companions in arms, they nad swept up from Saloniki to meet toe common foe.
They not only met him, they heat him.
The Bulgarian army was first cut in two and then forced to surrender. Then came the turn of the Austro-German forces, who were driven headlong from the country and freedom restored to Serbia.
We see these men while the conflict was still raging. One keenly observes the enemy's lines through a periscope, the other stands by his weapon, ready for instant action. Theirs is a well-built trench, dug in firm ground which does not cave in, and protected with sandbags. The heavy clothing of the men attest the rigor of the climate. Their boots show signs of rough service. The men look the good soldiers they proved themselves to be, fully equipped, alert and vigorous.
- Excerpt from: The World War through the stereoscope a visualized, vitalized history of the greatest conflict of all the ages / / edited by Major Joseph Mills Hanson.
- Published/Created by: Meadville, Pa.; New York, N.Y.; Chicago, Ill.; London, England:
- Keystone View Company, photographed between 1914 and 1918, published 1923
- Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
0 Comments