The Five Little Pischers

The last picture/pischer card is paying homage to Belgium's resistance to the Germans in 1914. It takes Belgium's unusual victory by inundation to a new psychological level with a little humor.

In October of 1914, the Germans were advancing in superior numbers. The Belgians were on the west side of the Yser River, on higher ground.

From the firstworldwar.com website, "With Belgium resistance weakening and the King, Albert I, fearing a German breakthrough in the direction of Dunkirk and Calais, the Belgians took the drastic step of opening the canal locks at Nieuwpoort on 25 October. The result was the German Fourth Army was obliged to retreat on 29 October transferring its offensive effort to Ypres...Nieuwpoort remained in Belgian hands throughout the war."


So, it was a military and a psychological victory for the Belgians, as they were able to keep approx. 5% of their country out of German hands.

'
The Germans learned from that one; next time 'round, the Dutch never got the chance to open their dikes.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

POUR UNE FOIS // TU AS EU TORT DE // VENIR PROFITEI AVEC // MANEKEN-PIS

Kinda slangy; the best in-the-spirit-of-the-thing translation I can manage is:

"For once in your life you're allowed to come & enjoy yourself (in this at other times inappropriate way)."

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

If you search for images of Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, you will quickly find that he really did wear a big black hat with a skull emblem front'n'center.

Extra credit if you know what that was all about.

I've spent some time mulling whether this card was postmarked in Paddington in 1922 or 1932. To my eye, the curve at the top of the third digit seems to enjoy a smaller radius than the fourth digit, favoring 1932 ... but PM me for a 600 dpi scan if you want to weigh in.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey (who lazy-googled J H Ferguson without profit)