I have long felt that too much history is being lost as the generations die off (not only about war but daily life in other eras). My family, however, has 28 diaries that my grandfather kept during the Russo-Japanese War; it is only through his writing that I’ve been able to get a sense of who he was, as he died before I was born.

One of the things he talks about in his diaries, which makes me wonder about this as a source of information, is how the Russian army didn’t deliver mail, either to the soldiers or their families. From noting what he wrote to his parents (that they never received) and discovering an abandoned mailbag near a railroad depot with a letter for him (in which his parents wrote that they had gotten the news that his brother was dead – - which was not true), I wondered about the existence of a ”Dead letter office.” Aside from the Russian army’s incompetence, it can’t ever be easy for the military to deliver mail to or from the field, especially when everyone is moving around. If it were possible to locate ”undeliverable” mail that was postmarked during wartime, I’ll bet there would be a lot of first person accounts of battles (before or unless letters were read by censors) that might provide that eyewitness account.

The Armistice on November 11, 1918 brought a temporary end to the hostilities of the Great War, but the conditions set forth required regular renewal until the final signing of the Treaty of Versailles in June, 1918. In the interim, the Allied troops already on the ground maintained their training and preparedness to resume the attack should Germany fail to meet any of the ”onerous” conditions required by the Allied governments. Sam Avery remained in France with the 26th Division until April, 1919, prepared to join the Expeditionary Forces in Russia if necessary while worrying about the impact of the Spanish Flu at home. Read Soldier’s Mail for more…

The Meuse-Argonne Offensive began in late September, 1918 and was both the largest American military operation and greatest AEF victory of the Great War. In early October, 1918 the 26th Division entered the front lines near Verdun and remained continuously under fire until the cessation of hostilities on November 11. Visit Soldier’s Mail for letters home from Sam Avery of the 103rd Infantry during the final push: http://worldwar1letters.wordpress.com. Check it out!

The latest issue of Military History has a very good article on Afghanstan — it’s a good read and makes one wonder if we will be successful in our current endeavors.

Today (July 18) is the anniversary of the start of the Aisne-Marne Offensive also known as the Second Battle of the Marne. A joint French-American operation, this battle arguably turned the tide of the Great War by forcing a German retreat which was then followed by additional Allied victories in the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne Offensives. Visit Soldier’s Mail for the first-person account of Sgt. Sam Avery as he moves forward on the drive with the 26th ”Yankee” Division: http://worldwar1letters.wordpress.com.

Rich