JF Ptak Science Books Quick Posts
I've looked through all of the issues of the very-popular magazine, the Illustrated London News, for the First World War and I think that the image below is one of the most harrowing of all of the early images of combat that I've seen. The artist, S. Begg, depicts a charge by British units on a German trench during the Battle of Loos (25-September--8 October, 1915) in what was ultimately a losing campaign for the British, costing them 59,000 casualties to the German 26,000. "Not like Soldiers, but like Devils" is the title of the work, and shows British "Territorials" (evidently a volunteer force used to supplement the professional soldiers) attacking a German line with drawn bayonets and hurled grenades--a lot of grenades. For some reason the main figure in front is throwing a grenade with his rifle shouldered, unlike virtually everyone else. The Brits are wearing gas masks in the charge, no doubt expecting a gas response from the Germans--at some point during this battle the British employ their own gas warfare weapons for the first time in the war.
The full scene:
Comments