Sent under wartime Feldpost (field post) privilege from a German soldier stationed at Metz in March 1914 — on the very eve of catastrophe — this striking black-and-white card shows the massive medieval Deutsches Tor (German Gate, today the Porte des Allemands), Metz's iconic 13th–15th century fortified bridge-gate on the Seille river, its round towers and crenellated battlements photographed with crisp clarity. Metz, annexed by Germany after 1871, had become a major Imperial German garrison city, and the gate's German name reflected that political reality; after 1918 it reverted to French Lorraine and its French name. The reverse carries a dense, heartfelt message in German Gothic script addressed to "Gräfin Henriette" in Wien (Vienna), Neudeggergasse 14/10, Ostmark — the Nazi-era name for Austria, suggesting the card was kept and the address updated, or the postmark year should be reconsidered; the postmark reads 23.3.14 (23 March 1914), with "Feldpost" noted at top, signed by "Hans," who identifies himself as serving in an Artillery Regiment in France (Artillery Reg. 262). A vivid human document of a soldier far from home.