The date of this picture postcard is unknown but in January 1917, General Franchet d’Esperey  (1856 – 1942) became commander of the Northern Army Group. He was defeated by the Germans at the Battle of Chemin des Dames in May 1918, which prompted his removal from the Western Front.

General John “Black Jack” Pershing (1860 – 1948) served as the Commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) during World War I from 1917 to 1920.

This postcard is one of a series from G. J. Kavanaugh of the Chicago Daily News War Postal Card Department.

Although the first American troops did not arrive in Europe until June 1917, the AEF did not fully participate at the front until October 1917, when the First Division, one of the best-trained divisions of the AEF, entered the trenches at Nancy, France. 

This postcard is one of a series from G. J. Kavanaugh of the Chicago Daily News War Postal Card Department.

It was not custom to display killed and wounded troops back to the country of their origin. In World War I, America American losses in World War I were modest compared to those of other belligerents, with 116,516 deaths, and approximately 320,000 sick and wounded of the 4,700,000 Americans that served. 

This postcard is one of a series from G. J. Kavanaugh of the Chicago Daily News War Postal Card Department.

The original World War One German bayonet (Seitengewehr) was identified as a S-1998/05 “Butcher Blade” and manufactured by Erfurt.

This postcard is one of a series from G. J. Kavanaugh of the Chicago Daily News War Postal Card Department.

War may be many things but “wonderful” would not be an adjective that immediately comes to mind.

This postcard is one of a series from G. J. Kavanaugh of the Chicago Daily News War Postal Card Department.

The British Mark IV tank entered service in May 1917 and was the first tank to be mass produced.  The development of this vehicle was in response to the stalement that had developed on the Western Front.

This postcard is one of a series from G. J. Kavanaugh of the Chicago Daily News War Postal Card Department.

The most frequently used chemicals during World War One were tear inducing irritants rather than fatal or disabling poison. During World War One, the French army was the first to employ tear gas.

This postcard is one of a series from G. J. Kavanaugh of the Chicago Daily News War Postal Card Department.

“25. Our heavy artillery is another division of Uncle Sam's boys who will make themselves felt wherever they go. Here is a view of a battery of four 4.6-inch guns on the march, taken just as they had forded a stream near Fort Sill Oklahoma. In the old regime these guns required eight horses per gun, as shown, but these batteries are now being “motorized” as rapidly as possible, and it won't be long until you will see them all drawn by powerful motor trucks, and the horses will get a long deserved rest. Published by American Colortype Company, Chicago. Photo by International Film Service, Inc.”