A son at the front, p.34
A Son at the Front,
p.34
394.27–30 Russia retreating . . . Suvla.] German and Austro-Hungarian forces broke through the Russian lines in Galicia at Gorlice-Tarnow on May 2, 1915, and began crossing the San River on May 16. Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary on May 23, 1915, and began the first of many unsuccessful offensives along the Isonzo River on June 23. Allied troops landed on the Gallipoli peninsula on April 25, 1915, at several locations, including Anzac Cove (named after the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps). On August 6, 1915, the forces at Anzac began attacking inland as British troops staged a new landing further north at Suvla Bay.
395.6–11 “If thou ascend . . . thee?”] Cf. Psalm 139.
400.23 Mangle!] A clothes press, to wring water from laundry.
401.15 Chasseur Alpin] See note 294.21.
401.18 laiterie] See note 292.28.
423.15 Mater Dolorosa] Latin: Mother of Sorrows. A name for the Virgin Mary.
423.40 Scarlet Woman] The Whore of Babylon from the Book of Revelation in the Bible; after the Reformation it was often used in Protestant churches to refer to the Roman Catholic Church.
429.2 Preparedness!] The call for enhanced military preparedness was led by Wharton’s friend, former U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt.
429.34 Plattsburg] A camp designed to provide the rigors of military training, with a view to preparing a pool of potential junior officers, was established in 1915 in Plattsburgh, New York, by General Leonard Wood (1860–1927), a former chief of staff of the U.S. Army. Some 16,000 men had undergone training at Plattsburgh and similar camps by the time America entered the war in April 1917.
432.21 Déjeuner du jour] French: Lunch of the day.
449.23–24 the old song . . . more.] Cf. “To Lucasta, Going to the Warres,” by English poet Richard Lovelace.
462.16 The Germans had attacked at Verdun] The Germans began their offensive at Verdun on February 21, 1916. The battle lasted until December 18, by which time the French had regained much of the ground they had earlier lost.
468.23 Chasseur Alpin] See note 294.21.
468.29 dot] French: dowry.
471.18 paperasserie] French: waste paper.
478.23 Dulce et decorum] Cf. Horace’s Odes III.ii.13: “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.” It is sweet and honorable to die for your country.
479.2 Verdun] See note 462.16.
479.8 the Somme] In the battle of the Somme (July–November 1916), the British, French, and German armies lost a combined total of more than a million men killed, wounded, and missing.
481.24 Plattsburg] See note 429.34.
484.3 Bernstorff!] Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff (1862–1939), German ambassador to the U.S., 1908–17.
487.19 “America has declared war on Germany.”] President Woodrow Wilson requested a declaration of war against Germany on April 2, 1917; it was passed by the Senate on April 4 and by the House of Representatives on April 6.
487.34–35 first brown battalions . . . Concorde] The first troops of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) arrived in France in June 1917.
Edith Wharton, A Son at the Front
