You observe most fabulous location — the Twelve Islands famous for desperate fights for luxuries and treasures of the continent. (gamebra.com)
The real test of the virtue of Britain and France was bound to come when they found themselves in a position analogous to that of the Hapsburgs in 1914 — when, as declining empires, they would be faced with the decision whether they would consent to go under without making a last desperate fight. (religion-online.org)
Reported in Scientific American, this Week in World War I: November 13, 1915 The first two months of World War I saw intense, desperate fighting between French and German armies in Alsace - Lorraine. (scientificamerican.com)