1919 – Page 23 – Old Magazine Articles

The Third Anniversary of Verdun
(The Stars and Stripes, 1919)

1919 marked the third anniversary of the Battle of Verdun and the grounds were still littered with the dead, surrounded by a tons of equipment, lying in open fields pock-marked by thousands of high explosive shells:

Spring will come to France next month, but Spring will not come to the field of Verdun. Already the grass is green on the broad stretches of Champagne; in the Vosges the snow patches linger only in the stubborn shelter of rocks that bar the sun,; but there is no portent of resurrection in all the stretch of churned up gravel marking the line of forts that protect the citadel of the Meuse from the Northeast…the shell holes are filled with clear water, and between them course new born brooks, sublimating in crystal pools from which no man would dare drink.

U.S. Propaganda Pamphlets Dropped on the Hun
(The Stars and Stripes, 1919)

This is a swell read, written in that patois so reminiscent of those fast talking guys in 1930s Hollywood movies. One of the many reasons I find this era so interesting has to do with the fact that the war coincided with that mass-media phenomenon called advertising – and this article pertains exactly to that coincidence. This column was printed shortly after the war in order to let the Doughboys in on the existence of a particular group within the A.E.F. that was charged with the task of dumping propaganda leaflets all over the German trench lines:

Propaganda is nothing but a fancy war name for publicity and who knows the publicity game better than the Yanks?

Puttees In–Leggings Out
(The Stars and Stripes, 1919)

Shortly after training in France began it was discovered that the leggings of the American Army were no match for the moisture of the French countryside and so puttees were issued for the whole A.E.F. – the attached notice ordered the entire U.S. Army to wear them in place of canvas leggings.

Shrapnel Shells
(Freedom’s Triumph, 1919)

Attached herein are diagrams of three World War I shrapnel artillery shells designed for use on land. The illustrator provided precise details concerning the mechanism of each – the precise operation of the percussion fuse, the time ring, the location of the acid and the essential shrapnel projectiles.

W.W. I Gas Shells of the German Army
(Almanach Hachette, 1919)

It is often believed that the Germans were the first to use chemical weapons during the Great War, but historians like to point out that they were second to the French in this matter: in August of 1914, French infantry fired tear-gas grenades and in October, the Germans one-upped them with chemical artillery shells during the battle of Neuve Chapelle. However, the Germans are properly credited for being the first of the combatants to use chemical artillery with the most devastating effect. On April 22, 1915, the German Army hurled 520 gas shells at British and Canadian units in Belgium, killing five thousand and incapacitating ten thousand more. Following this historic incident, both sides began producing large amounts of gas shells and, of course, gas masks. The following is a black and white diagram depicting five different German gas artillery shells that were manufactured to be fired from a number of different guns of varying calibers.

A German Sniper Captured
(What the Boys Did Over There, 1919)

Attached is a remembrance that was written by a Canadian infantryman who participated in the capture of a German sniper in Flanders:

We wasted no time on the return journey but hustled Fritz along at a brisk pace…Like most of his breed there was a wide ‘yellow streak’ in this baby-killer and he cried ‘Kamerad’ instantly. By the time the lieutenant had secured his prisoner’s rifle our barrage was falling and, under its protection, he began his march back with the prisoner, and met us before he had gone twenty-five yards…The prisoner expected to be killed at once and begged piteously for his life, saying ‘he had a wife and three children.’ One of the men replied that if he had his way he would make it a ‘widow and three orphans.’

A Fourth Overseas Chevron for Some
(The Stars and Stripes, 1919)

A short news item named the three American officers who served over there long enough to be granted the adornment of a fourth overseas chevron. Each gold wire chevron, worn on the lower left cuff, represented a single six month period served in theater; the vast majority of A.E.F. uniforms had anywhere between one and three sewn in place.

Another article about over-seas chevrons may be read here…

Manufacturing the Overseas Cap
(America’s Munitions, 1919)

The production of the overseas cap for the American Expeditionary Forces was likewise an extensive undertaking. When the requisition for overseas caps came from France, it was not possible to design one here because of a lack of knowledge as to what was required… As soon as [a] sample was received a meeting of cap makers was called in New York, and 100 manufacturers attended. One and all agreed to turn over their factories to the exclusive production of overseas caps until all requirements were met. It took these cap makers only two weeks to to turn out the first order. In all 4,972,000 caps were delivered.

The concluding paragraph contains more venomous comments as to what these American milliners thought of the lid.

From Amazon: America’s Munitions, 1917-1918.

Manufacturing the Overseas Cap
(America’s Munitions, 1919)

The concluding paragraph contains more venomous comments as to what these American milliners thought of the lid.

From Amazon: America’s Munitions, 1917-1918.

Art Sacandal: Aubrey Beardsley Forged
(Vanity Fair, 1919)

London’s post-World War I art world was rocked by a scandal involving a number forged drawings which were misleadingly signed with the name Aubrey Beardsley (1872 – 1898). This piece captures that moment.