1914 WWI French Infantry Attack Custom-House Art Postcard

About This Vintage Postcard

This evocative World War I illustration captures a dramatic assault by the Chasseurs Alpins, elite mountain infantry of the French Army, on a German custom-house in the Vosges Mountains. The scene depicts the troops, famously nicknamed "Les Diables Bleus" (The Blue Devils), engaging in close-quarters combat amidst a snowy alpine landscape. The artwork was originally published in the British illustrated newspaper The Sphere, known for its vivid war reporting. This postcard serves as a stirring piece of wartime propaganda, highlighting the grit of the French mountain units in reclaiming territory along the contested border during the early stages of the Great War.

Details

Era: Divided Back (circa 1914–1915)
City: High Vosges (Hautes Vosges)
State or Region: Grand Est
Country: France
Topic: World War I, French Chasseurs Alpins, Mountain Warfare, Military Illustration, Patriotic Art
Condition: Uncirculated
Postage: None
Address Side: divided back
Orientation: Vertical (Portrait)
Artist / Photographer: Unknown (Copyrighted by The Sphere)
Publisher: Levy Fils & Cie (L.V. & Cie), Paris
Printer: Levy Fils & Cie (Series AS 4)
Print Type: Chromolithograph