War of 1914 - on the front lines

There's a lot to unpack with this card.It’s the first in a long series of postcards from World War I.First, it’s interesting that it says "War 1914." This was at the very beginning of the war. Obviously, people had no idea how long it would last. In 1914, everyone thought it would be short. This is probably the case for every war.The trenches weren't a thing yet. The French infantry was still wearing its original uniform of red pants and hats, which had been the norm since the 19th century.As has been well-documented, these uniforms were partly responsible for the heavy losses of the French army at the beginning of the war. A hat with red parts is the perfect target for a head shot.Ironically, there had been a push a few years before the war to remove the red from the uniforms, but enough conservative politicians and high-ranked officers opposed it. Although warfare had begun to mechanize, no one could have imagined what World War I would be like. The "horizon blue" uniforms had…