Dere Mable
LOVE LETTERS OF A ROOKIE
BY
EDWARD STREETER
With 35 Illustrations In Black-And-White By
G. William Breck
Copyright © 2016 Read Books Ltd.
This book is copyright and may not be
reproduced or copied in any way without
the express permission of the publisher in writing
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Illustration List
Image 1. American troops on the march
“The Only Place There Flat Is On The Map”
“You Can Read Em To Your Granchildren”
“You Walk A Post But There Aint No Post”
“I Just Found It In My Bakin Can”
“I Dont Care Much For Horses, They Feels The Same Way About Me”
“Max Glucos What Lives On The Next Cot”
“Not The Kind Your Father Has”
“I Wear Them Every Night Over My Uniform”
“Somebodied Set A Trunk On The Turky”
“Built Like The Leg Of A Sailurs Trowsers”
“You Paint A Horse Black And White Stripes”
“I Spent Mine Doin Kitchen Police”
“I Wish That Hired Girl Could Come Down”
“A Croquette Is A French Society Woman”
“I Sat Next To A Colonels Wife
“Men Hate To Be Watched While They Are Freezin”
“I Had A Reputashun For A Devil With The Wimen”
“It Seemed To Depres Them Awful”
“If I Catch One Of Those Ailin Enemies Windin Up Your Victrola”
“Stuck My Head Out Of The Blankets”
“When I Looked In The Tin Mirror I Thought I Was Starvin”
“They Come Round And Watch You Eat It.”
“He Smokes Cigarets Something Awful”
“I Poured Some Oil Out Of His Lamp”
“The Water Comes Through On Me”
“The Last Time I Will Take My Pen In Hand For You”
“It Wont Be No Use Runin To The Door”
Introduction to the World War One Centenary Series
The First World War was a global war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918. More than nine million combatants were killed, a casualty rate exacerbated by the belligerents’ technological and industrial sophistication – and tactical stalemate. It was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, paving the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the world’s great economic powers, which were assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies (based on the Triple Entente of the United Kingdom, France and the Russian Empire) and the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were both reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war: Italy, Japan and the United States joined the Allies, and the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers. Ultimately, more than 70 million military personnel were mobilised.
The war was triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by a Yugoslav nationalist, Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, June 28th 1914. This set off a diplomatic crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to Serbia, and international alliances were invoked. Within weeks, the major powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. By the end of the war, four major imperial powers; the German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires—ceased to exist. The map of Europe was redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created. On peace, the League of Nations formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such an appalling conflict, encouraging cooperation and communication between the newly autonomous nation states. This laudatory pursuit failed spectacularly with the advent of the Second World War however, with new European nationalism and the rise of fascism paving