Part Three:
    Conducting the war

    © N° inv. : 2 AFF 7.3. Coll. Historial de la Grande Guerre – Péronne(Somme). Photo Yazid Medmoun – British recruiting posters, “It’s our flag…” and “Enlist to-day.” The United Kingdom had a professional standing army at the outbreak of the war, but Lord Kitchener, appointed Minister of War in Asquith’s government on 3rd August, was convinced that the war would be long and destructive. He immediately set about recruiting volunteers on a vast scale: one million men signed up in 1914 alone, followed by more than a million-and-a-half in 1915, and the inevitable recourse to conscription after January 1916. The Union Jack poster simply reminds the viewer of his patriotic duties in a general sense: to fight for it, and to work for it (for those not directly involved in the combat). The image of the smiling soldier (“happy & satisfied”), on the other hand, aims to inspire guilt in those staying out of the fray while others risk their lives. Posters of this kind, published with parliamentary backing to further the recruitment drive, made use of the very latest in contemporary advertising techniques. Nevertheless, recent research has suggested that the use of advertising may actually have been counter-productive: the idea that voluntary enrolment was something to be marketed and “sold” could be perceived as tarnishing the high moral value of this patriotic act. The propaganda machine duly changed tack, returning to more traditional and discreet methods to encourage young men to sign up.
    © N° inv. : 17 AVE 14.3 et 18 DEC 1.2. Coll. Historial de la Grande Guerre – Péronne(Somme). Photo Yazid Medmoun – Kerchief featuring the national anthems of the Allies, and embroidered portraits of the four heads of state of the Central Powers. This British kerchief features the national standards of the Allies – Great Britain, France, Russia and Belgium – along with their national anthems. Symbols of patriotism were thus proudly displayed on one’s clothing, and about one’s person. On the other side, patriotism was more concentrated on the person of the head of state (here the leaders of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire), watched over in this example by a Virgin with Child which reflects the Catholic origins of this embroidery, produced during the war.
    © N° inv. : 3 AFF 34.2. Coll. Historial de la Grande Guerre – Péronne(Somme). Photo Yazid Medmoun – German poster, drawing by Fritz Erler. The soldier in his steel helmet rapidly became an iconic figure. This poster is an advertisement for the 5th round of German war bonds (1917). Until 1917, German propaganda for war bonds had avoided showy iconography and typography, regarded as being undignified for such official proclamations. But the response to the 4th bond issue had been mediocre, and the authorities were obliged to make concessions. Lucian Bernhard’s poster for the 5th bond issue makes successful use of simple, striking graphic design inspired by the latest advances in advertising. Under the title “Help us to win! Sign up for war bonds,” this image of a soldier painted by Fritz Erler (1868-1940) marked a real turning point. The image was subsequently used on posters and postcards, and contributed to the financial success of the operation (which raised 13.1 billion Marks, a record). Above all, it became an iconographic archetype both during and after the war. The muted colour palette of greys and greens, the distinctive attributes of the industrial-era warrior (steel helmet, gas mask, shears), and the minimalist backdrop, which features nothing but barbed wire, all contribute to sense of realism consistent with the new aesthetics of war. The hieratic expression of the soldier, however, adds a sense of transcendence. His eyes are fixed firmly on the horizon, but what does he see there? Is it victory ? Or death? Perhaps it is this sense of ambiguity which explains the enduring fascination of this image of the soldier in his steel helmet, which had rapidly become the abiding symbol of these new men, forged in the flames of warfare on an industrial scale.
    © N° inv. : 20 FI 1. Coll. Historial de la Grande Guerre – Péronne(Somme). Photo Yazid Medmoun – Eagle of nails from a German school, with the slogan “Our future lies on the water.” In the early days of the war, a trend had spread across Germany which involved driving nails into wooden boards or statues to symbolise donations made to the war effort, or one of the country’s many charitable organisations. In Berlin, nails could be driven into the greatcoat of a monumental statue of Hindenburg erected on Königsplatz: nails of steel, silver and gold were available to buy for this purpose. In other towns, statues of heroic figures such as Roland were erected for the same end. Designed to inspire spontaneous generosity in civilians, many of these devotional objects were more modest in form. This panel was hung on the wall of a school, and measures 83cm by 58cm. The pupils have created an image of a black eagle, official symbol of the German Empire. Picked out against the blue backdrop is a slogan pertaining to Germany’s foreign policy – “Our future lies on the water” – a quotation taken from Wilhelm II’s address at the inauguration of the port of Stettin. Created in 1917, with submarine warfare once again raging since 1st February, this item is testimony to the popular support for government policy, and the persuasive power of the argument that Germany had a right to her own “place in the sun.” (von Bülow).
    © N° inv. : 9 MED 8.1 et 8 MTC 2.1. Coll. Historial de la Grande Guerre – Péronne(Somme). Photo Yazid Medmoun – Insignia of the colonial army (France) and donation box commemorating Serbia Day on 25 June 1916. Within all of the warring countries, national days of celebration were an important means of rallying public support, financially as well as in terms of general morale. The themes of these days of celebration varied widely: these twelve French insignia commemorating days dear to colonial troops and the Armée d’Afrique are fairly homogenous, whereas the British equivalents were more diverse. The most common themes, however, involved calls for solidarity with the hospitals, the wounded, the invalids and the nurses who cared for them. This donation box in the national colours of Serbia, marking Serbia Day (25 June) 1916, highlights the symbolic importance which the Allies attached to this relatively small country. On this particular Serbia Day, the country had been entirely occupied by the Austro-Hungarians since late 1915. Nevertheless, the surviving remnants of the Serbian army and government, accompanied by thousands of civilian refugees, had crossed Albania to be picked up by the Allies and evacuated to Corfu, where the Serbians established a government in exile and oversaw the redeployment of their army to the Eastern Front, at Salonica.
    © N° inv. : 16 AFF 25.1. Coll. Historial de la Grande Guerre – Péronne(Somme). Photo Yazid Medmoun – Poster: “We’ll do without.” This propaganda poster was the fruit of a competition organised in Parisian schools in 1916, encouraging people to scrimp and make do, particularly where food supplies were concerned. The submissions generally involved children encouraging adults to restrict their own consumption (“Save the wine for our boys” etc.). But this example speaks directly to children, urging them to do without sweets, and in doing so making the nation’s youth both a target and a vector of the social and cultural mobilisation of wartime.
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