Category Archives: World War 1

More WW1 Mobile Wireless

WW1RadioCar

French or Belgian army wireless car, 1914.

A hundred years ago today, the October 1, 1914, issue of the Burlington (Vt.) Weekly Free Press carried a feature explaining how the automobile and aeroplane were revolutionizing warfare in the European war. And the article explains how the wireless telegraph was being used in connection with both. It notes that the most advanced practice was found in the use of automobile wireless outfits, which are in wide use by both the Begian and French armies. Those powerful stations had a transmitting radius of 225-250 miles, and were of infinitely more value than pack sets and cart sets, since the conflicting armies were clashing along such far-flung battle lines.

The article notes that the electricity was generated by the motor of the car, and these portable stations “with all the paraphenalia of electrical communication without wires may be speedily whisked from place to place, and as soon as the telescopic mast which is part of the outfit can be extended and erected the operators can go to work sending and receiving messages.”


Bombing of Paris, 1914

ParisBombs

A hundred years ago today, German zeppelins bombed Paris, Warsaw, and other cities.  The map above, from the September 28, 1914 issue of the New York Sun, shows the locations of the Paris bombs, near the Eiffel Tower.  In Paris, three were killed by bombs, one of which landed at a spot the American ambassador had passed only minutes earlier.

In Calais, bombs were dropped but failed to explode.  And the Poles managed to shoot down the zeppelin bombing Warsaw, taking the crew prisoners.

See also:  Fall of Paris, 1940

 


Belgian Carrier Pigeons, 1914

CarrierPigeons

Radio was coming to the fore as a method of communication during the great war, but the tried and true methods of the past were still being used. A hundred years ago today, the Philadelphia Evening Public Ledger for September 23, 1914, shows a carrier pigeon, which the paper notes were being used with great success by the Belgian Signal Corps. This bird is shown before its release containing a coded message. The french words bois (woods), pont (bridge) and cole (mine) are included in plain text.

In other war news, the paper reports that 31,200 Canadian troops, along with 7500 horses would be sent to Europe within the week, to be sent to the front immediately. In addition, the Canadians planned to recruit 19,000 more men who would be sent to the front before November.


Army Signal Corps Field Buzzer, 1916

U.S. Army Signal Corps Field Buzzer. Technical Equipment of the Signal Corps: 1916.

U.S. Army Signal Corps Field Buzzer. Technical Equipment of the Signal Corps: 1916.

A hundred years ago today (September 21, 1914), the Calumet (Mich.) News carried an article entitled, “Communication Big Factor in Modern War Machinery,” which explained the technological developments in communications in use in modern warfare. The article runs down the developments in telegraph, telephone, and wireless in use in the war.

One that caught my attention was a rather ingenious telephone-telegraph that was used in situations where the lines were in poor shape. As the article points out, lines near the battlefield “are often laid at high speed, are of high resistance and are frequently leaky.” In those cases, it described a “special instrument known as the buzzer.”

It describes the instrument as a metal-lined leather case with a dry battery, induction coil and interrupter, key, telephone transmitter, and telephone receiver. It could be used as a field telephone, or by use of the buzzer, the key could send out an intermittent current which would traverse the line where the distant receiver would give out a sharp note. Thus, the telephone could be used to send Morse code via audio.

It notes that these “Morse signals are audible over an incredibly bad line.” It cites one case where a signal was successfully sent over bare wires lying on wet ground.

The schematic of the instrument is shown here:

The field buzzer itself is shown above as it would be carried, and it is shown dismantled here:

This diagram of a typical hookup of the buzzer shows its use with a line of dubious quality:

 

References

Camp Telephone for the Army, Telegraph and Telephone Age, July 1, 1917, page 302.


 

Battle of Mons, 1914

BattleOfMons

This dramatic illustration, apparently a photograph, appeared in the Washington Times a hundred years ago today, September 20, 1914.

The picture was probably taken on August 23 at the Battle of Mons, Belgium. While the Germans ultimately forced a British retreat, the suffered heavy losses as they attempted to cross the Mons-Conde canal on pontoon bridges.  The ultimately successful Germans suffered over 5000 casualties, while the British defenders suffered 1638.


Brothers Melvin and Peter Myhre, Casualties of WW1

Melvin and Peter Myhre

Melvin and Peter Myhre

Periodically, I use this page to remember some of the forgotten young American men who gave their lives in the First World War.  Private Melvin Myhre of Fosston, Minnesota, was killed in action on October 10, 1918, about a month before the armistice. He is buried in France with over 14,000 of his comarades at the at Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery.  He served in the U.S. Army, 327th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Division.

The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, in which Private Myhre gave his life, was the largest battle in U.S. history, and involved 1.2 million American soldiers. Over 26,000, including Private Myhre, were killed. In addition, some 70,000 French soldiers were killed, as were between 90,000 and 120,000 Germans.

His brother, Private Peter Myhre, also died in France on November 1, 1918, only ten days before the Armistice. He is buried at the St. Mihiel American Cemetery, along with over 4000 American soldiers.

According to Polk County Minnesota in the World War, Melvin and Peter were sons of Mr. and Mrs. Mikkel Myhre.  Melvin entered service on March 2, 1918. Peter entered the service on July 26 and was taken sick about October 15 behind the front near Clermont Woods. He died at the Mesves hospital.

Their pictures shown here, are from the three-volume Soldiers of the Great War (Vol. 2, p. 99).

Nurses at U.S. Army Hospital, Mesves, France. (Nat'l Institutes of Health photo).

Nurses at U.S. Army Hospital, Mesves, France. (Nat’l Institutes of Health photo).


Belgian War Dead, 1914

090214Belgium

A hundred years ago today, the Seattle Star carried this photograph of the bodies of these men, among the 42,000 Belgian soldiers who died in the war.


Will U. S. Boy Scouts Be Used As Soldiers? A 1914 View

It’s not infrequent that some misguided person believes that Scouting has some sort of military connection, and that Boy Scouts are being trained to be soldiers. Of course, Boy Scouts are being trained to be soldiers. But they’re also being trained to be engineers or doctors or lawyers.

There are a handful of superficial similarities between Boy Scouts and soldiers. Boy Scouts salute, and soldiers salute. Unlike soldiers, Boy Scouts don’t salute one another. All the time I was a Boy Scout, the only thing I ever saluted was the flag.

And just like soldiers, Boy Scouts wear uniforms. Of course, never mind that postal workers, janitors, mechanics, and those of countless other occupations also wear uniforms. In some people’s minds, Boy Scouts look just like young soldiers, even though more of them probably go on to work for the Post Office or other uniformed services.

This misconception is apparently not new. The following editorial, originally from the Tacoma Labor Advocate, appeared in the Tacoma Times a hundred years ago, on August 31, 1914:

BOY SCOUTS ARE SOLDIERS

The Boy Scout movement has been opposed by members of union labor in almost all countries where it has been organized. Labor has claimed that this was simply being done to augment the army and navy and that in time of industrial strife the boy scouts would be used as soldiers wherever and whenever boys could be used. This has been denied, directly and directly, by many who were and are working for the boy scout movement. Now come dispatches to the effect that the boy scouts of some of the foreign countries are being used as soldiers in the war. Is it not plain that the same course will be taken here in the United States, that these boys will be used as soldiers whenever they can be to the advantage of those who profit by the use of the army or navy? Do not be fooled any longer, Mr. Working Man and Woman. The boy scout is merely one branch of the military forces of the country. They are simply being trained as soldiers by those who profit by the soldiery.


French WW1 Airship

FrenchBlimpThis photo, from the August 30, 1914 issue of the New York Sun, shows a French airship and British warships guarding shipping in the English channel. The paper also reports that German troops are now only 87 miles from Paris.

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The Destruction of Louvain, 1914

LouvainUnivThis week a hundred years ago, much of the Belgian city of Louvain (also spelled Leuven) was in flames. In part of what was to become known as the Rape of Belgium,

The University of Louvain, founded in 1426, is depicted here in ruins in the September 19, 1914, issue of the New York Sun.  The action in the first days of the war had focused around the town of Liege, and Louvain lay between it and Brussels. After the Belgian army made a sharp attack, the Germans retreated to Louvain, where they later claimed that they had been fired upon by civilians. The Germans embassy in Washington later proclaimed that the German army had destroyed the city to “punish” it.

Before the war ended, the Germans killed some 5521 Belgian civilians. About 300 of those, including the entire police force, were killed in the destruction of Leuven. The destruction of the university library, shown here, resulted in the loss of about 230,000 volumes.

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