Bandages and Baguettes, The Care and Feeding of the Great War Soldier

[Thumb Dog]

Hi All,

And hi, MichaelS, elliott and Gil.

Mon Dieu, quelle surprise! It never occurred to me to run down the etymology of the word, “baguette.” The ubiquitous long-loaf is so much a part of French culture and cuisine that I assumed it must have been around for hundreds of years. Mais non! Though sources may quibble, the word and the bread as we know it today became popular only after the end of the Great War. To think there are people alive today that are older than the baguette. Qui savait? Merci, Gil!

And thanks MichaelS and elliott. Even though I chose to model and report on some of the more peaceful aspects of the Great War, the true, terrible nature of the conflict is never far away. Thanks for your appreciations of my efforts here, and there are more interesting subjects to come.

Score and fold,

Thumb Dog

[Thumb Dog]

Hi All,

Today’s rustic woodland scene shows French soldiers camping somewhere in the Argonne Forest. The leafy trees and above-ground structures are not the images that we think of when remembering the Great War. Muddy trenches, denuded forests and sheltering soldiers are what we see in our mind’s eye, not this relaxed, bucolic setting. In the early days of the war, the French had vigorously defended this region of northeastern France against the invading German Army. By the summer of 1915, the entrenched lines had solidified, and while the area remained a dangerous war zone, the heavy fighting had moved on.

Titled, “Nos Poilus Dans La Forêt D’Argonne,” or, “Our Hairy Ones in the Argonne Forest,” this is Pellerin Imagerie d’Epinal, Série de Guerre No. 13. The camp seems to be a quiet spot in a battle line that stretched from the North Sea in the west to the Swiss border in the east. Men are reading, writing, cooking and even hanging laundry. All is quiet, for now. The simple structures seem to be sheathed in tree bark, and while probably more comfortable that the dugouts found in the trenches, camping on a damp forest floor would have provided the soldiers with at least something to complain about. Certain luxuries are seen, too. There’s a house for the war dogs, hot food that can be eaten while writing a letter and lots of fresh air.

A group of men is shown setting out on patrol, but if they time it right, they won’t have to shoot any Boche, as that might be considered rude. There were areas along the line where an unspoken truce was in place between the opposing forces…you don’t shoot us, we won’t shoot you. As neither side had orders to advance, there was an uneasy cease-fire agreement. When ordered by frustrated generals to engage the enemy, short bursts of rifle and artillery fired by one side were followed by short bursts on the other side. In some cases, these exchanges were held at the same time during the day, so soldiers could take cover before the firing began. These rare accords were more common at the beginning of the conflict, as fatigue, hopelessness and revenge set in over time, increasing the hatred of the enemy.

Americans will remember the Argonne Forest as a quite different place than that shown in the diorama. The Meuse-Argonne Offensive began in September 1918, and raged until the last day of the war. American, French and Siamese forces pushed the exhausted Germans out of their lines and set the stage for the surrender of the Central Powers. Remembered for The Lost Battalion, Sargent Alvin York and the leadership of General John J. Pershing, the battle involved the largest American land force in history, 1.2 million men, and the second largest U.S. battle losses, with over 26,000 killed.

The Argonne Forest had played its part at both the beginning and the end of the Great War. It still carries the scars of battle on its forest floor, and remains a green and quiet resting place for the unclaimed dead.

Score and fold,

Thumb Dog

[SCEtoAUX]

Very nice diorama and some good historical information.

[MichaelS]

You can almost hear La Marseillaise playing in the background. Such a terrible stupid war. Of course, they all are. Thanks TD.

[davetun]

I wonder, were these originally meant as static dioramas or settings with toy soldiers that a child would actually play with? I would have done the latter.

[Vermin_King]

As many of these (Imagerie d' Epinal, etc.) also did play theaters, I think they were meant to be played with.

But I could be wrong

[Thumb Dog]

Hi All,

And hi and thanks Doug, MichaelS and davetun. Firstly, even though I'm a proud American, I have to hand it to the French. La Marseillaise is far and away the most stirring national anthem I’ve ever heard.

Davetun, so far, I haven't really taken much time to discuss the history of the models seen in this thread, as I've been focusing on the history they represent. But since you asked, I’ll offer up a few ideas here. As to whether they were meant to be built as dioramas or to be used as playsets, I think the answer to both questions is yes.

Most of the Pellerin models I've seen include a small drawing showing the model's various parts. I've attached a foggy image of the drawing seen on the Argonne Forest model. As you can see, my diorama did not follow the suggestions of Pellerin’s drawing at all. There were never any rules as to how to display or play with the completed model, so my dioramas only represent one of many ways to enjoy these paper creations.

The soldiers and their surroundings can also be made in such a way that they can be moved around a table top. Even though I’ve been cutting out paper soldiers for some time, I’ll admit I know virtually nothing about using such soldiers in table top wargaming. I'm only guessing here, but I think the poses of the Pellerin figures are not conducive to the more formal forms of the hobby, and I don’t think that these paper soldiers and their environs were ever meant to be used where strict gaming rules are applied. That’s not to say that they can’t be used that way, I just don’t think that was ever the intention.

I view these models as simple playsets, similar to the Marx Service Stations, and Cape Canaverals of my youth. Built by fathers for their sons, or by the boys themselves, chances are that these paper soldiers didn't last long on their bedroom battlefields. As I mentioned before, I chose to glue the figures to their bases to make them easier to photograph, and to keep each model’s components together. I learned from past experience that freestanding paper soldiers can be very difficult to arrange and photograph, and it doesn’t take much to lose control and find the French hobnobbing with the Germans.

Thanks for your interest.

Score and fold,

Thumb Dog

[davetun]

Thumb Dog,
I have never seen an original Pellerin sheet, but I am now thinking the soldiers would have been pretty flimsy to use as toy soldiers unless they were reinforced as you seem to have done. Thanks for the historical info.

[davetun]

Originally Posted by MichaelS

You can almost hear La Marseillaise playing in the background. Such a terrible stupid war. Of course, they all are. Thanks TD.

But you do like warplane models!

[Thumb Dog]

Hi All,

As tomorrow is Good Friday, it’s appropriate to offer this view of a Catholic Mass as this week’s vintage diorama. “Messe Célébrée Sur Le Front,” or “Celebration of Mass on the Front,” Pellerin Série de Guerre No. 2, depicts a gathering of French soldiers as they take a moment to pray for their nation, their loved ones and themselves. In a quiet corner of the forest, the Priest has prepared his humble alter by laying some planks across a Red Cross packing crate. As he is operating in a war zone, he carries only a few of the objects usually associated with the Sunday service. A Sanctuary Lamp and Bible are seen on the alter, as the Priest raises the Chalice before the assembled worshipers. The service will be brief, as the Priest will soon pack up and move down the line to offer solace to yet another group of tired and troubled men.

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve discussed the dioramas in terms of their historical meaning more than I’ve described the models themselves. As davetun wrote last week when he was referring to Pellerin’s paper soldiers, they, “…would have been pretty flimsy to use as toy soldiers unless they were reinforced as you seem to have done.” And yes, davetun is right on both counts.

There are many ways to cut and display these soldiers, and a few of these options are shown in the snapshots seen below. The simplest and easiest method is to quickly cut around the figure so that it is surround by an aura of white paper. This eliminates the tedious cutting of the small details and the extra paper strengthens the figure. A similar approach is to cut close to the figure, but still leave a surround of white paper. This is more pleasing to the eye, but involves a bit more planning and execution. Lastly, the modeler can carefully cut the soldier completely away from his paper confinement. After coloring the white edges, this produces the most realistic image.

So far, I’ve been discussing “single-ply” soldiers. That is to say, figures cut from the sheet and displayed without any additional support. Davetun noticed that my figures don’t seem limp or wavy, but rather stand straight and true. That’s because they are reinforced in a couple of ways. Firstly, I generally print my vintage paper models onto 110 lb. cardstock. This heavy card is too robust for many smaller models, as it is too thick for the easy forming of small-scale parts. However, it works well for these larger dioramas, and it works even better is if is laminated to another sheet of 110. The paper, glue, paper lamination produces a stiff card part that takes a sharp blade and some extra effort to free it from the surrounding paper. Once cut out, swords, rifle barrels and other delicate areas stand a better chance of surviving the rough handling they will eventually encounter.

For these dioramas, I go the extra step of gluing strips of basswood to the backs of the soldiers and the diorama’s mat board backgrounds, as seen below. 1/16” and 3/32” square strips are cut from basswood sheet and attached behind the figures to help them stand ramrod straight even through the most humid summer. That’s it for the preparations of the soldiers and their environs, but how to get the figures to stand up?

If the paper soldier designer has thoughtfully included the classic bi-fold base for his soldiers, this can be cut, scored and folded and will ultimately provide a frustratingly impractical way of getting the figure to stand erect. A better way is to attach a triangular piece of heavy, stiff cardboard to the figure’s back. If this triangle is cut so the figure will lean back a few degrees, so much the better. Another method is to attach a small block of wood behind the soldier’s feet. This adds weight and stability to the figure, and keeps him from being knocked over by a misplaced breath or the slightest breeze from an open window.

For my dioramas, the bases need to be small and unobtrusive. After cutting out the soldier, I need to fold the strip of stiff, laminated cardstock at the bottom of the figure. I push a pin through the part at each end of the dashed line, flip the part over and use my knife to lightly cut between the pinholes, providing some relief for the valley fold to come. Then I flip it over again and score along the dashed line with my scoring tool. Using my needle nosed pliers like a sheet metal brake, I hold the figure close to the line and bend the tab 90 degrees. Now with the help of a metal bench block and an angle plate, I glue a 3/32” basswood strip into the fold for a secure and square base. After trimming the ends of the basswood, the figure is ready to be glued to the diorama.

We each use our own techniques to build the paper models we desire. To some, my efforts may seem extravagant for such simple paper soldiers, but I wanted to show these rarely seen groupings in a good light. Maybe some of these ideas will be of some use to you in the future.

Here’s hopping the Easter Bunny will visit you and yours this Sunday.

Score and fold,

Thumb Dog