On the theatre’s pediment «Theatre of the Front» appears in gilt lettering and, represented in grisaille, on the left side, the head of a poilu smoking his pipe, on the right side, the head of a German soldier wearing a spiked helmet, glasses and a big moustache.
Below this cartridge, the Croix de Guerre, painted in trompe-l’œil.
On the top, on the sunrays, a white rooster, the symbol of the French people, seems to be crowing.
At each end of the pediment, trophies made of grenades, bugles and Adrian helmets are painted and surround the inscription «Honneur» (Honour) and «Patrie» (Homeland).
On the pilasters supporting the pediment, also in trompe-l’œil, is the star of the Legion of Honour and the Military Medal.
Below these decorations, on the right, is a French soldier ready to throw a grenade and, on the left, a grenadier from the Ancien Régime. On the theatre’s base, on the left is inscribed, «théâtre offert par…» (theatre offered by). Then, 1914 is painted in a medallion on the left, 1915 in the centre and 1916 on the right. The theatre’s curtain rises on an indoor scene. A soldier wearing an Adrian helmet, pictured on the left gives the scale. He seems to be enjoying the show.
The mobile theatre on this postcard is not Scott’s theatre, but it shows the soldiers’ eagerness to watch the show so that they can forget the war during their few minutes of rest..

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One of these pensioners is sitting in the room, which serves as his bedroom, surrounded by daily life objects. He is wearing the Invalides uniform: a long dark blue coat fastened by a double row of gold buttons, woollen trousers, a shirt and a cap with a shiny peak. Three of his military decorations, fastened to the front of his coat, can be seen here as well as the chain of a pocket watch. Under the table, we can also notice his wooden leg.
During the Great War, the pensioners guarded Napoleon’s tomb and the museum’s rooms. Some of them also took part in the handing over of the flags.

Louis XIV, founder of the Invalides

From 1671, the king of France Louis XIV had the Hôtel des Invalides built to take in soldiers who, due to age, illness or injuries, were no longer capable to serve in the king’s armies. They could therefore end their lives under favourable conditions.
Even today, the Institution nationale des Invalides operates as a hospital, but continues to take in former members of the French forces.

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American soldiers, all of the same height, are standing to attention and keep back the crowd pushing forward to see the military and political leaders. The public has invaded the courtyard’s upper balconies and, to the right of the picture, has even formed a sort of pyramid in the courtyard. To the left of the picture, French soldiers, wearing Adrian helmets, stand on guard and remind us of the role played by aviation during the Great War. The roundel is visible on its wingtips.

French and Americans together celebrate the American national holiday. The French officially handed over to the Americans the emblems of the War of Independence kept in the Musée de l’Armée. In return, American volunteers offered their flags to General Niox, the museum’s director. The ceremony took place in the presence of Pershing, Poincaré, Painlevé, the Minister of War, the Minister of the Navy, the presidents of the Senate and the
Chamber, and also Marshall Joffre, General Foch, deputies, as well as descendants of those who fought in the American War of Independence.

Black Jack

As Germany launched an all-out submarine war in early 1917, the United States declared war on 6 April 1917. President Wilson chose General John Joseph Pershing (1860-1948), nicknamed «Black Jack», to command the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in France. Pershing, who spoke French well, arrived in Paris in June 1917.

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A few weeks earlier, on 11 September 1917, Guynemer was killed on board another plane, when he was only 23 years old. This close-up of the plane allows its name, Vieux Charles to be seen as well as the stork in flight, the emblem of squadron n°3 since July 1916. The figure 2 is Guynemer’s own specific number within squadron SPA 3 (the new name given to it in October 1917), each pilot had his own personal number. The plane is armed with a machine-gun that the pilot himself fired: in fact, there was only one seat in this plane. The plane’s tail carries the French ace’s tricoloured band.

The ace of aces

Guynemer was considered as one of the aces of French aviation. In principle, an «ace» must have five aerial combat victories to his credit, similarly to the five symbols on the «Ace» playing card. The French system for victory certification required that the aircraft shot down should fall on the allied side of the front line and that there should be at least two witnesses on the ground.

A cumbersome resident

After the war, the Vieux Charles left the main courtyard for the room in the Musée de l’Armée devoted to Guynemer. It was then suspended from the ceiling of one of the staircases leading to the upper gallery of the main courtyard. Exposed to the weather, it deteriorated. Today, it is in the Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace, at Le Bourget, after having been fully restored.

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Taube means «dove» in French. In fact, the Austrian engineer Igo Etrich (1879-1967) took inspiration from a Zanonia seed and a pigeon to design his «heavier than air» aircraft. The wings and tail are decorated with a simplified version of the Iron Cross. This was the first time during the Great War that this decoration appeared on German military aircraft as the symbol of German nationality. Between the wings we can see a first space for the pilot, then a second, in the front of the plane, for the observer.

Psychological impact

The first time Paris was bombed from the air was on Sunday 30 August 1914. Lieutenant von Hiddessen and his observer took off on board their Taube from a site close to Saint-Quentin in Aisne, to fly over Paris. Their mission was to spot French troop movements, to drop four bombs, not particularly accurate and relatively ineffective at the time, as well as packets of propaganda leaflets, and also to unfurl a long banner bearing the German colours to which was attached a letter saying: «The German army is at the gates of Paris, the only thing to do is to surrender». This raid, and those which were to come, was aimed at civilians and its objective was to frighten and demoralise the rear. Nevertheless, written accounts and photographs of the time show that some Parisians were curious enough to rush to where the bombs fell and to gather, particularly in Montmartre, to see these fascinating and dangerous planes!

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Giving the French access to this gondola, covered by a tent, responds to several objectives: to show that we were capable of defeating the enemy, to mobilise resources (in this case financial) in the rear, to satisfy the curiosity of the public , frightened by these machines of war, but fascinated by their technique

The German programme: to frighten Paris

The German caption on this satirical postcard may be translated as: «Oh my God, it bangs and cracks so much/ That all Paris wets its pants» Just below the Zeppelin, the beam of the projector installed on the top of the Eiffel Tower, and used to help locate these flying machines can be seen. Apart from the airship, there is also a plane which has just dropped a bomb.

A great shot

The Zeppelin was a type of rigid airship manufactured from the 19th century by the company owned by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin (1838-1917) and used by the German army for reconnaissance and bombing missions. The L-49 or LZ.49, for Luftschiff (airship) Zeppelin model 49, were among the «High Climbers», the «climbers», lighter than the earlier models: it reached a cruising speed of 113 km per hour and could climb to a height of more than 6,000 metres, with two tonnes of bombs on board.
The LZ.49, returning from a bombing mission over England on 19 October 1917, with 11 other airships, got lost in bad weather. Pursued by French planes, it was forced to land close to Bourbonne-les-Bains, in Lorraine. This was one of the rare Zeppelins captured in good condition: French and American engineers came running to study it. It was then disassembled so that it could be shown at the Invalides.

Financing the war

The First World War, much longer and more destructive than foreseen, was extremely costly. Loans from the Banque de France, British or American banks, the increase in the money supply were not enough to finance it. In addition, the State launched four major loans (one each year from 1915 to 1918). The rooms in the Musée de l’Armée devoted to the Great War contain reproductions of the posters announcing these loans; including the one of 1917.
A Zeppelin bomb is also displayed in these rooms.

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The projector captures the attention of several soldiers, as well as that of a young boy on the left of the picture. The latter is wearing a scout’s uniform. In fact, during the war, a large number of groups undergoing military preparation visited the Musée de l’Armée.

Night attacks

In 1915, the magazine La Science et la vie, Issue n°19, published an article on the projectors of which the following is a revealing extract:
«The development of techniques is a motivation for finding solutions to protect ourselves against night attacks. The approaches to a trench must be lit to prevent enemy pioneers from cutting the wires with wire cutters or from throwing grenades. At sea, torpedo boats must be detected. The old techniques: grenades, flaming torches, fires, rockets or flares are no longer enough. Electric light and projectors are therefore used. The principle is to use a very intense electric unit which projects a cone of white light onto a concave mirror of silvered glass […] To increase their range even more; we use bulbs with a substantial light intensity ranging from 3,000 candles for small projectors up to 50,000 candles for the large ones».

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Back of the card, written and sent by a certain Louis Vidal

«17 July 1916. Mr and Mrs Giraudier.
After having spent three days in Paris, here I am back again in the Somme. The festivities went very well but didn’t last long enough. We were reviewed by Joffre and Poincaré on the Champs-Elysées. There was a battalion from all branches of the French armed forces and as mine was mentioned in the order of the day, I was sent there as a preference. We paraded in all the main streets and were (…) cheered, we had all we needed, the Parisians are very generous. I visited a bit of everything. There was a battalion of Belgians and English, Italians and Serbs but those who got the best reception of all were the colonials from the Somme. You must have read in the newspaper that we did good work. Bit by bit we are rolling back the Jerries but with terrible losses. Sometimes these battles could lead to peace. They have
started to relieve Verdun. Think that my card will find everyone in good health. Best wishes to all not forgetting Abel and Marceau. Returning to the battlefield this evening. Louis Vidal»

The little story

Louis Vidal came from the French region of Ardèche. In the middle of the Battle of the Somme, his unit distinguished itself by its bravery and was awarded the Croix de Guerre. As a reward, he and his battalion comrades were sent to Paris for the parade on 14 July 1917. Making the most of a few hours of freedom, Louis visited Paris and particularly the Hôtel des Invalides where he bought this postcard on which is both the stamp of the Société des Amis du Musée de l’Armée (Association of Friends of the Army Museum) and that of the Société de Secours aux Blessés Militaires (Association for Assistance for the War Wounded). Louis sent this postcard to his former primary teacher, Élise Giraudier, living in Ardèche in the hamlet of Oubreyts. He mentioned Abel and Marceau, both prisoners in Germany. Marceau was Élise’s son. The note, «Card from Louis Vidal (brother of Léa) afterwards killed in the war», on the front of the card, was added much later by Élise’s nephew, René Giraudier, himself a primary teacher in Ardèche.

In 2003, this postcard was donated to the Musée de l’Armée by a descendant of the Giraudier family. It is displayed in the part of the museum dedicated to the First World War

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Unexploded 420 mm shell

The photograph shows the public’s curiosity for the impressive shell 1.54 metres high, much bigger than some of the children around it. The position of the man seen from the back in the foreground seems to express astonishment at this steel monster. Another attraction: the camera belonging to the operator who took the photo, attracts the attention of the small boy who, hidden behind the shell, peers around it to see better, and also that of the man wearing a beret who holds his hands crossed in front of him as if he didn’t know what to do with them, or again the woman who, on the extreme right, her hands on her hips, turns her head towards the lens, narrowing her eyes, bothered by the bright light which makes the tip of the 420 mm shell shine.

“Big Bertha”

The Germans were particularly associated with the development of heavy artillery during the First World War. Without any doubt, Big Bertha – in German Dicke Bertha – was one of their most famous pieces of artillery which fired 420 mm shells, similar to the one in this photograph. The howitzer’s real name was in fact Kurze-Marine-Kanone 14 in its M42 version. According to some people, its nickname comes from a custom in the Krupp companies: to name the new guns they manufactured after a member of the family, in this case Bertha Krupp, the group’s sole heiress!
At the end of the war, the German army destroyed all the 420 mm howitzers to avoid them falling into the hand of the Allies. There is only a model and a German photograph of Big Bertha in the permanent exhibition rooms on the First World War in the Musée de l’Armée.

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The Indian Army in Paris

Three of them posed for the photograph. The soldier on the left is holding two swords. No doubt he was requisitioned for the photo without having had the time to give the second weapon back to one of his comrades.
The Indian troops were among the first to take part in the British Expeditionary Force fighting in France against the Germans, although later on, they were often used on other fronts, such as in Egypt.

Bagpipes and tartans

Wearing the kilt is one of the Scottish traditions and is distinctive of a large number of Scottish troops. This photograph, also taken on the Invalides esplanade, shows these soldiers belonging to a British band standing waiting. Several bagpipes, as well as percussion instruments, are lying on the ground. The pipers are wearing the traditional kilt with the sporran hanging in front. The sporran is a pouch made of leather and horsehair which compensates for the fact that the kilt has no pockets.
The kilt is a band of tartan fabric about 7 metres long, pleated at the back and sides, while the front is flat so that its colours can be clearly seen.

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