WW1 - Early war(1914) color pictures, tactics and battle accounts

[Sheva]

During the first world war there were taken a limited number of Autochrome photograps. An early color photography process patented in 1903 by the Lumière brothers in France and first marketed in 1907. Autochrome was an additive color "mosaic screen plate" process. I've collected a lot of such images and want to share them here for those interested in a rare glimpse into the past. They were taken by war photographers hired by the various armies to follow the troops and document the events.

I have particularly been fascinated by images and accounts from the first Year of the war, before trench warfare started. At the outbreak of war all sides expected a short, conclusive war conducted in a war of movement. Cavalry was still being deployed, but in a much less prominent role than before. I will post some battle accounts as well from soldiers perspectives and insight into the tactical doctrine of the time. It was a period of transition in both uniforms and how warfare was conducted.

The pictures will span from the outbreak of hostilities in July 28 - December 1914. Majority of images are of French soldiers, but British and Germans are included.



French soldier taking a photo while departing from his family. Wearing the ceremonial epaulettes that were not worn in battle.
The red stripes on his greatcoat indicates that he is a NCO ( Non-Commissioned Officer).


Chief Sergeant of the French Chasseur a Pied(Light infantry) reading the news.


Chief Sergeant of the French Chasseur a Pied.


French Officers studying map.


French Cuirassier cavalrymen departing from family upon mobilization.



Algerian Tiralleurs.



Moroccan Spahi, North African light cavalry of the French army.



Chasseur Alpins (Mountain troops) posing upon mobilization and departure.


French aviation team.



French infantry officer and men posing before departure to the frontlines. Wearing the blue kepi cover to reduce visibility.



French soldiers departing to war cheered on by civilians


French Chasseur e Cheval (light cavalry) officers in camp.



French infantry camp, lunch time.


Indian cavalrymen of the British army.


French Cuirassiers (heavy cavalry) on patrol.



French Dragoons and Chasseurs (light cavalry) on patrol.


French soldiers in Monthyon during the first Battle of the Marne east of Paris.


British Red Cross truck during the Battle of Marne.


French Dragoons doing reconnaissance.



Soldiers from Highlander regiments


A French soldier cleaning up in the town of Barcy near Meaux during the Battle of the Marne


Zouave infantry troops of the French army at Barcy. The Zouaves were an elite unit compromised of French settlers in North African colonies.


Five infantrymen from Scottish regiment with rifles at the ready during the Battle of the Marne 1914


Senegalaise Tiralleurs in camp before the battle of Marne. Upon arrival in France they were issued greatcoats and iron-blue covers for the red fez. The iconic red sash was not worn in combat.


British Cavalryman at the Battle of Marne.


German Cuirassier cavalry in camp.


French infantry squad waiting for the command to advance.



Chasseur d' Afrique, light cavalry of mostly French settlers living in North African colonies.


French Zouaves on the move. At the beginning of the war buglers were used by both sides to give command signals.

They wore white pants during summer and red during winter. Though, by the time they were issued in autumn 1914 replacement trousers were issued to troops to reduce visibility. This was a gradual process and as the year went on the French Army had a mixed uniform look. As late as early 1915 units were still wearing the uniform items such as the old greatcoat with golden button and red trousers.


French Dragoons with German prisoners after the battle.


And more escorted by French Cuirassiers.


French army slaughterhouse


French officers in transitional uniforms. Officers and the men alike were issued trousers in shades of brown, blue and grey to reduce visibility already by September. Greatcoats in Horizon Bleu was given first priority and gradually started to appear in the frontlines by fall and winter of 1914. In the meantime simplified tunics and greatcoats were also issued to whatever extent possible.




Zouaves. Many have had their conspicious red and white trousers replaced. Only one is wearing the old white trousers.


French army camp autumn 1914, only one still wearing the old red while others are outfitted in various replacement clothing.


French veterans lined up to receive medals for bravery by General Galopin.



December 1914 in the trenches.

[Sheva]

Early ww1 tactics :
" The main essential to success in battle is to close with the enemy, cost what it may. A determined and steady advance lowers the fighting spirit of the enemy and lessens the accuracy of his fire. Hesitation and delay in the attack have the opposite effect. The object of the infantry in attack is therefore to get to close quarters as quickly as possibe, and the leading lines must not delay the advance by halting to fire until compelled by the enemy to do so.
The object of fire in the attack, whether of artillery, machine guns, or infantry, is to bring such a superiority of fire to bear on the enemy as to make the advance to close quarters possible.

The action of infantry in attack must therefore be considered as a constant pressing forward to close with the enemy. Owing to the effect of the enemy's fire, however, this onward movement can rarely be continuous, and when effective ranges are reached there must usually be a fire-fight, more or less prolonged according to cirumstances, in order to beat down the fire of the defenders.

During this fire-fight the leading lines will be reinforced; and as the enemy's fire is gradually subdued, further progress will be made by bounds from place to place, the movement gathering renewed force at each pause until the enemy can be assaulted with the bayonet.
The length of rushes must depend upon the ground, the enemy's fire, and the physical condition of the troops. The paramound duty of all leaders in the firing line is to get their troops foward, and if every leader is imbued with a determination to close with the enemy he will be unconsciously assisting his neighbor also, for as a rule the best method of supporting a neighbouring unit is to advance.

If the assault is successful, and the enemy is driven from his position, immediate steps must be taken to get the attacking infantry in hand for the futher work that lies before them. The victory is yet but half won, decisive success will be achieved only by the annihilation of the enemy. A portion of the troops must at once be pushed forward to harry the retreating forces while the remainder are being re-formed, under their own officers if possible, in preperation of a relentless pursuit.

As soon as re-formed, units must be ready to carry on the pursuit by day and night without regard to their exhaustion. To sustain a relentless pursuit the outmost energies of every commander must be exerted; only indomitable will can overcome fatigue and carry the men forward. A commander must demand the impossible and not think of sparing his men. Those who fall out must be left behind and must no more stop the pursuit than casualties stopped the assault.
Infantry in pursuit should act with the greatest boldness and be prepared to accept risks. Delay for the purpose of detailed reconnaissance or for turning movement is not warranted, and the enemy must be attacked directly as he is seen."

Source: An Officer's Manual of the Western Front 1914-1918

[Sheva]

German account of the Battle of Mons (23.08.1914):
"As we left the buildings and were extending out again, another shower of bullets came across the meadow and rattled against the walls and all about us. More cries, more men fell. In front a farm track on a slightly raised embankment crossed our direction.

Line the bank in front,' I ordered, and in a few short rushes we were there, lying flat against the grass bank and looking cautiously over the top. Where was the enemy? I searched through my glasses. Yes, there among the buildings away at the far end of the meadow was a faint haze of smoke. Then... let us get closer.
'Forward again - at the double!' We crossed the track, jumped the broad dyke full of stagnant water on the far side, and then on across the squelching meadow. Tack, tack, tack... - cries - more lads falling. 'Down! Open fire - far end of the meadow - range 1000 yards!'" "And so we went on, gradually working forwards by rushes of a hundred, later fifty and then about thirty yards towards the invisible enemy..."Where was the rest of the battalion? Nothing to be seen of them. Yes, there... a hundred yards to our left a section [of Grenadiers] was working forwards like us by short rushes.

Its leader, in front at every rush, taking giant strides... Now they were down again, this time along another broad water-drain with a barbed wire fence along the enemy's side of it. And what was [the NCO] doing? Sure enough, he was running along the whole front of his section cutting the wire fence himself, in the middle of a burst of rifle and machine-gun fire. I looked again all round. The enemy was still invisible. [The NCO] was off again with his section, another long rush. He was now level with us, if anything slightly ahead.

'Lads!' I called out, 'Did you see that? A Company is getting ahead of us. Can we allow it? 'No 1 Section - rush!' And so another thirty yards nearer the enemy, and about twelve in front of Graeser's section. I shouted down the line: 'Advance by groups from the right, in short rushes.' And then I heard Holder-Egger's voice as he led on forward. From our new line I again searched the front through my glasses. Still no sign of the enemy. To the right and left, a cry there: 'I'm hit, sir!' Behind us the whole meadow was dotted with little gray heaps. The hundred and sixty men that left the wood with me had shrunk to less than a hundred. But Grabert's section at my signal had now worked forward and prolonged our line.'

"Looking down the line I shouted; "Advance by short rushes from the right!" and the order was passed along. From now on the English fire gradually weakened, almost ceased. No hail of bullets greeted each rush forward, and we were able to get within 150 yds of the canal bank. I said to Graeser: 'Now we'll do one more 30-yard rush, all together, then fix bayonets and charge the houses and the canal banks.'"
The enemy must have been waiting for this moment to get us all together at close range, for immediately the line rose it was as if the hounds of hell had been loosed at us, yelling, barking, hammering, as the mass of lead swept in among us. 'Down!' I shouted... Voluntarily and in many cases involuntarily, we all collapsed flat on the grass as if swept by a scythe.
Sources:
-The advance from Mons 1914 by Walter Blöem,
A reservist Captain in the Grenadier Regiment Prinz Carl von Preussen.


British infantry making a stand:

Much of the fighting at Mons took place in built up areas from which many of the inhabitants had been unable to flee in time. (Coloured by Jon Wilkinson)


German casualties at Mons: Having initially employed massed attacks the British soldiers had inflicted high casualties on the German attackers. As a result the Germans started attacking in smaller, scattered groups with more success.

The Battle of Longlier (German vs French Forces) 20.08.1914:

Longlier: site of the fighting.

The leading German infantrymen could hear the incessant soft chirping sound of enemy bullets but they couldn't see their opponents. Captain Zickendraht, the commander of 8th Company was seriously wounded by small arms fire. His company pushed ahead undeterred, with the 5th Company continuing to be further forward. Suddenly the air was filled with a shrill then eerily hollow whistling noise followed by a loud, metallic cracking sound. The battalion was under hostile artillery fire but this only accelerated the attack. When Major Schmidt detected an enemy position south of Longlier, he pushed the 6th Company to the left of the 8th. Near the entrance to Longlier, a German cavalry patrol was rescued. They had been bravely defending a farmstead against an enemy cyclist detachment after their horses had been shot down.

The enemy appeared to have machine guns because the automatic rapid rate of fire, which the German machine guns could not achieve, was clearly heard from certain directions above the din of the battle. Having deployed, the companies now commenced the firefight. The air was rent with the loud German musketry. As the enemy's fire diminished, Oberleutnant Eger strained to get his 6th Company's skirmish line forward. The men at the front refused to get up. The "Fix bayonets!" signal rang out.


(German infantry advancing in rushes)

Then the village was stormed! The lieutenants rushed ahead of their platoons with swords drawn. The assault parties cheered as they entered the village. Savage house-to-house fighting broke out wherever the enemy resisted stubbornly. Individual fanatical civilians joined in, to whom no quarter was given. The French cyclist battalion, which had defended Longlier, fell back.
Enfilade fire then struck our left flank. From the edge of the village, one-year volunteer Unteroffizier Otterbein spotted the dark line of firing enemy skirmishers on a small hill beyond an intervening hollow. He raced over to Oberleutnant Eger in order to gather together part of his 6th Company. The rangefinder enabled the new enemy to be brought under fire at 700 meters.
From the new position we opened fire at a range of 700 m on the top of the hill ahead, where there seemed to be movement from time to time. It still wasn't possible to make out the enemy. The company came under heavier enemy fire after our advance.

Almost with a sigh of relief, we suddenly realised where the fire was coming from. It was possible to make out individual French soldiers breaking cover from behind haystacks and from a large wheat field on the hill about 700 yards ahead then running down the slope. They ran towards and then took cover behind the railway embankment halfway down the hill. At the same moment they were blanketed by our rifle fire.
The enemy ran across dry stubble in a field. This was perfect as we could see the small puffs of dust thrown up by the impact our bullets. Our beaten zone was excellent. Every Frenchman who got up and tried to push on through the cloud of dust was struck down immediately.


(French infantry firing line)

We were under heavy enemy fire though. The company didn't have any cover and its losses were increasing. I spotted that the railway line also ran through cuttings as well as on an embankment. These were likely to provide excellent cover. We had to get forward quickly! I gave the order to advance. The company bounded forward by platoons and sections. The process was repeated over and over, in between the bursts of enemy fire. The distance came down. Four hundred meters from the railway line. Then 200 meters away. Suddenly we were there, just at the point where the railway ran through a cutting.


The opposing French forces received reinforcements, however, beginning with an enemy machine gun coming into action on the flank. The thin German firing line came under heavy enemy fire. Oberleutnant Eger received an arm wound but he continued to lie next to his men throughout the tough struggle. The brave Reserve Unteroffizier Guth was shot in the head and fell dead with a hoarse cry. Immediately afterwards, the skillful and courageous one-year volunteer Unteroffizier Otterbein was shot through the eye. He lay unconscious in the firing line.
The one-year volunteer Unteroffizier Bernsmuller received multiple wounds but stayed with his section. The enemy seemed to be setting up a sweeping counterattack.

[Sheva]

German artillery crew:


French Artillery crew with the 75mm gun in firing position at the first Battle of Marne(Sep 6, 1914 – Sep 10, 1914):


German Uhlan cavalrymen:


French soldiers off-duty on a cafe in Paris:


British soldiers on the march:


French soldiers receiving refreshments by civilian:


German infantry ready to advance:


Wounded French Cuirassier at St. Quentin:


Wounded Germans:

[Sheva]

The First Battle of the Marne ( 6–12 September 1914 )

Letter written by a German soldier from the 74th Regiment (10th Corps) to his wife, describing his experiences.

"My dear wife,
I have just been living through days that defy imagination. I should never have thought that men could stand it. Not a second has passed but my life has not been in danger, and yet not a hair of my head has been hurt. It was horrible, it was ghastly. But i have been saved for You and our happiness and I take heart again, although I am terribly unnerved. God grant that I may see you again soon and that this horror may soon be over. None of us can do any more, strength is at an end. I will try to tell you about it:

On the 5th september the enemy were reported to be taking up a position near St. Prix (N.E. of Paris). The 10th corps, which had made an astonishingly rapid advance, of course attacked on the Sunday. Steep slopes led up to heights which were held in considerable force. With our weak detachments of the 74th and 91st regiments we reached the crest and came under a terrible enemy fire that mowed us down. However, we entered St. Prix. Hardly had we done so when we were met with shell fire and and a violent fusilade from the enemy's infantry. Our colonel was badly wounded- he is the third we had. Fourteen men were killed around me.... We got away in a lull of being hit.

The 7th, 8th and 9th September we were constantly under shell and shrapnel fire and suffered terrible losses. I was in a house which was hit several times. The fear of a death of agony which is in every mans' heart, and naturally so, is a terrible feeling. How often I thought of You , My darling, and what I suffered in that terrifying battle which was extended along a front of many miles near Montmirail, You cannot possibly imagine.
Our heavy artillery was being used for the siege of Maubege; we wanted it badly, as the enemy had theirs in force and kept up a furious bombardement. For four days I was under artillery fire. It is like hell, but a thousand times worse. On the night of the 9th the order was given to retreat, as it would have been madness to attempt to hold our position with our few men, and we should have risked a terrible defeat the next day. The first and third armies had not been able to attack with us, as we had advanced too rapidly.

Our moral was absolutely broken. In spite of unheard-of sacrifices we had achieved nothing. I cannot understand how our Army, after fighting three great battles and being terribly weakened, was sent against a position which the enemy had prepared for three weeks; but naturally I know nothing of the intentions of our Chiefs.... They say nothing has been lost. In a word, we retired towards Cornmontreuil and Reims by forced marches day and night. We hear that the three armies are going to get into line, entrench, rest and then start afresh our victorious march on Paris. It was not a defeat, but only a strategic retreat. I have confidence in our Chiefs that everything will be succesful. Our first battalion, which has fought with unparalleled bravery, is reduced from 1,200 to 194 men. The numbers speak for themselves...."

(British artillery at the First battle of Marne)


(Destruction of buildings in a small town during the Battle of Marne)