Nchsman - Untitled

That look, it says, someone is gonna get cut before this is over

First Use of “OMG”

September 9 1917, London–Although their relationship had become highly strained over the course of the Dardanelles campaign, Churchill and Lord Fisher remained close friends afterwards.  Churchill even subjected himself to some political humiliation by making an appeal in Parliament to return Fisher to the Admiralty.  The two maintained a regular correspondence, and on September 9, Fisher sent Churchill a short letter.  Most of it discussed German naval preparations in the Baltic.  With the fall of Riga, the Germans wanted to push north, putting further pressure towards Petrograd.  To do so by land seemed relatively infeasible at the time, and Riga’s usefulness as a port was limited by Russian control of the large islands in the Gulf of Riga.

The Germans planned landings on these islands, with major assistance from large portions of the High Seas Fleet (brought through the Kiel Canal for the purpose).  Although their exact plans were unknown, the movement of German ships and their intention to carry out amphibious operations north of Riga were well-known enough to appear in British papers.  Fisher lamented that the Germans were poised to do with a small force what the British had not been able to do the entire war (despite Churchill’s plans):

We are five times stronger at Sea than our enemies and here is a small Fleet that we could gobble up in a few minutes playing the great vital Sea part of landing an Army in the enemies’ rear and possibly capturing the Russian Capital by Sea!…Are we really incapable of a big Enterprise?

Fisher concluded his short note with this line:

I hear that a new order of Knighthood is on the tapis–O.M.G. (Oh! My God!)–Shower it on the Admiralty!!

This is the first documented use of OMG as an abbreviation for “Oh My God” in the English language.

Today in 1916: Hindenburg & Ludendorff Discuss Full Economic War Mobilization Today in 1915: US Demands Recall of Austrian Ambassador for Fomenting Strikes Today in 1914: Lieutenant Colonel Hentsch Orders a German General Retreat

Shakespeare was right, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

12 snipers from the Soviet 3rd Shock Army with a total of 775 kills.

There is no such thing as Peri spammed. You can never get enough Peri

In honour of her birthday, prepare to be Peri spammed! 1/?

Oddly, the game most prevalent in my country is one of the few that I don't play

Most popular Paradox game by country.

Jan 5 1919 Spartacist uprising or German Civil War starts. Was Power struggle between the moderate Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the radical communists of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) https://t.co/o4m2lLbv50 https://t.co/g3xJhIvRDz http://twitter.com/ThisDayInWWI/status/1081582664249790464

Germans First Hear Peace Terms

Ulrich von Brockdorff-Rantzau, Germany’s Foreign Minister for much of the first half of 1919, pictured the year before.

May 7 1919, Versailles–The Germans had been summoned to the peace conference in late April.  They had hoped, as had originally been anticipated by all parties, that the last few months had been the Allies preparing their peace terms, and now would come the time for the actual peace negotiations.  The German delegation brought with it crates upon crates of material to back up these negotiations that they were never to have.

On May 7, the German delegation was brought to the Trianon Palace Hotel.  Clemenceau told them: “The hour has struck for the weighty settlement of oura account.  You asked us for peace.  We are disposed to grant it to you,” before outlining the major features of the peace deal: Germany would lose her colonies, parts of Silesia, and the Polish Corridor.  Danzig would become a free city, the Saar would be effectively a French protectorate, the Rhineland would be occupied for over a decade, Germany would owe a large reparations bill, the League of Nations would not include Germany among her initial members, and that the war had been “imposed upon [the Allies] by the aggression of Germany and her allies.”

The head of the German delegation, German Foreign Minister Brockdorff-Rantzau, gave an angry speech during which he insisted on remaining seated; it did not help that his interpreters did a poor job of translating his words.  In particular, he rankled at “the demand…that we shall acknowledge that we alone are guilty of having caused the war….Such a confession in my mouth would be a lie.”  His words misrepresented the treaty (which never used the word “guilt”), and had almost certainly been prepared before he had even seen the text of the treaty. Lloyd George snapped an ivory letter-opener in two during the speech; Wilson called it “the most tactless speech I have ever heard.  The Germans really are a stupid people. They always do the wrong thing.”  Balfour was more generous, saying merely that “I make it a rule never to stare at people when they are in obvious distress.”

The mood among the German delegation, and back in Germany, was that of shock and anger, especially at the Americans, whom they had hoped would spare them.  In the final weeks before the terms of the treaty were published, an American observer noted: 

The Germans have little left but Hope.  But having only that I think they have clung to it–the Hope that the Americans would do something, the Hope that the final terms would not be so severe as the Armistice indicated and so on.  Subconsciously, I think the Germans have been more optimistic than they realized….When they see the terms in cold print, there will be intense bitterness, hate and desperation.

Sources include: Gregor Dallas, 1918: War and Peace; Margaret MacMillan, Paris 1919.

Both world wars were started by some Austrian guy being in the wrong place

Germany Agrees to Sign the Peace Treaty

Gustav Bauer, German Prime Minister (Chancellor after the Weimar Constitution was adopted in August).

June 23 1919, Paris–After two tense days, President Ebert had finally managed to form a government under Gustav Bauer of the SPD, in coalition with Erzberger’s Zentrum party, on June 22.  The National Assembly agreed that evening to sign the treaty, on condition that Sections 227-231 be struck; these were the clauses on Allied military tribunals for the Kaiser and German war criminals, and on “the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to…the Allied and Associated Governments…as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies.”

The Allies quickly rejected this reservation, however: “The German government must accept or refuse, without any possible equivocation, to sign the treaty within the fixed period of time.”  On the morning of the 23rd, they made it clear that there would be no further extension of the deadline; the scuttling of the German High Seas Fleet had hardened the Allied position.  The outcome was only made clear once General Groener (Hindenburg having left him this thankless job) told the government  that a resumption of the war would be “hopeless” and that the Army advocated that the treaty be signed.  The National Assembly approved the treaty in full that afternoon, and by a broader margin resolved that the patriotism of those who voted for the treaty, in order to prevent an Allied invasion occupation of the country, would not be doubted.

Official word reached Paris at 5:40 PM, only 80 minutes from the deadline; a resumption of the war was only narrowly averted.

Sources include: Margaret MacMillan, Paris 1919.

On this day 94 years ago, “Metropolis” (1927) premiered in Germany. The expressionist sci fi collaboration between Thea von Harbou and Fritz Lang remains one of the greatest achievements of the era of silent cinema and, indeed, of cinema in general.