Dans la Tranchée, Bizarre style
Picryl description: Public domain image of a siege, war, military conflict, free to use, no copyright restrictions.
Idea of the strength of the German barbed wire at Beaucourt
Front line trenches on both sides of the Western Front were guarded by belts of barbed wire. The dilemma facing the attacking soldiers was how to cut through such barbed wire defences while under heavy machine-... More
Raiding party returning after the raid, showing barrage behind them
Six soldiers are silhouetted black against the skyline and viewed through a tangle of barbed wire. The men are running back towards the trench. One appears to be climbing over wire. They are holding their rifle... More
Within 100 yards of Thiepval Village, Flanders
Two soldiers with their backs to the camera, are leaning up against the incline of the trench. The bottom of the trench is quite narrow and their equipment is lying to hand. They are peering over the top of the... More
Two Generals discussing a plan of defence in a trench
Two officers, identifiable as generals by their shoulder insignia and collar braid, are sitting in a trench, looking at a map. Two junior officers await their orders. There were regular briefings of officers. U... More
Tea time just behind the line, Flanders
This image shows a group of British soldiers having a cup of tea. They are all in full uniform and look as if they are just pausing for a rest. Their rifles have been put to one side. They could be in a trench... More
Troops passing through a camoflaged trench to obscure the enemy's view
In this photograph two soldiers can be seen walking up steps in a trench. The trench is partly protected from view by camouflage nets. Camouflage became increasingly important during the war as aircraft surveil... More
Staff Officer explains to the Spanish Officers the construction of a m...
Spanish officers inspecting a trench. Five officers are grouped around the entrance to a half-constructed trench. The structure of the trench is visible. In the background lie frosty puddles...[Original reads: ... More
Cavalry on the move during World War I
The power and noise of all these animals and men on a purposeful move would have been a new sight for most of these conscripted soldiers. The quality of the light, the soldiers in their trenches and the field o... More
Old German front line near Beaumont Hamel, Flanders
A soldier making his way over a wooden beam positioned across the top of a trench. He is wearing a steel helmet and carrying a large container. The area on both sides of the trench is covered with barbed wire e... More
Deserted trench during World War I, Flanders
A deserted and muddy trench. In the background there is a fence which is constructed using large posts with interwoven branches running horizontally. This would have been used as a support to prevent collapse o... More
Washing as Mother does it, Flanders
a soldier in his shirtsleeves, leaning over a makeshift tub filled with water. As he scrubs his clothes on a washboard, he is looking up at the camera and smiling. Existing in the squalor of the trenches, soldi... More
Front trench, showing the Lewis gun ready to deal with Boche
In this photograph, a machine-gun crew are standing in a front-line trench with a Lewis gun. The outer edge of the trench, to the left, is sandbagged to head height. The Lewis gun is lying across the back of th... More
Not necessary now, Flanders during World War I
Scene in an old support line near Kemmel, Belgium. Soldiers in a support trench. The walls of the trench are constructed from sandbags. Within these walls there are a number of dugouts. The men in the trench ar... More
Scene in a front line trench during an actual gas attack
Three men standing in a trench, wearing gas masks. All three are in uniform and wearing steel helmets. The walls of the trench are high, and one man is perched, possibly on a ledge, enabling him to look over th... More
Tommies eating in a trench, Flanders
Soldiers is gathered in a small section of trench. In the foreground, one man slices a loaf of bread and another holds a container, possibly filled with soup or stew. Invariably, food arrived in the trenches da... More
British troops enroute to front line trenches. Doullens, France. July ...
British Photographs of World War I Public domain photograph - British army, military forces, during World War One, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Railway trucks under which a communication trench is dug, Flanders
Communications trench, Western Front, during World War I. A well-constructed communications trench. It has been dug to a depth of around two metres and the sides lined with horizontal poles, which are held in p... More
Tommies watching the shelling near Wancourt, Flanders
Three soldiers are on a muddy ridge, one standing and looking through binoculars and two sitting down. One soldier is standing at the base of the mound. They are looking over the trenches into the distance wher... More
British troops enroute to trenches. Near Doullen-Amiens road, France
British Photographs of World War I Public domain photograph - British army, military forces, during World War One, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Happy Tommies at the entrance of the shelters they have erected whilst...
This photograph shows a line of men from the Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding), standing in reserve trenches. They have rigged up tarpaulins and branches to make a shelter over the trench, and look ve... More
Ration party going to the trenches. Arras, France; 3/1917
British Photographs of World War I Public domain photograph - British army, military forces, during World War One, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Distant view of Mametz showing battered German trenches in foreground
German trenches near Mametz, France, during World War I. The picture is dominated by a snaking trench and its surrounding barricades. The trench is a scene of chaos. In the distance the rest of the battlefield ... More
Highlanders having a rest on their way from the trenches
This photograph shows a group of kilted soldiers from one of the Highland Regiments. The men are resting, leaning against the wall of a large shell-damaged building. Their relief at getting away from the trench... More
Lewis gun's crew ready in the front line during an actual gas attack
This photograph was taken at ground level from a bend in a trench. The trench itself is shallow and quite wide. It is also free from wet mud at the moment. The top of a line of trees further down the hill can b... More
Captured German front line trench before Gommecourt, Flanders
A captured German front-line trench, with a complex system of dugouts and pathways. The walls of the trench are reinforced with posts, wooden planks and interwoven branches. The surrounding landscape is bleak a... More
Ration party coming out of a communication trench, having distributed ...
This image was most likely taken by the British official photographer, John Warwick Brooke. It shows a ration party moving through a communication trench in single file. Some of the men are carrying trays of su... More
Shell bursting on front line trench, Flanders
Shell exploding at the Front, France. It can be seen in the distance, through rows of barbed wire stretching across no-man's-land. The ground is snow covered. ..Whilst many images were deliberately taken as pro... More
Huge bell in a German support trench, Flanders
Church bell in a German trench, Messines Ridge, Belgium, 1917. The image is dominated by and intricately carved and inscribed church bell. The bell is lying in the bottom of a muddy trench. The trench is a scen... More
Built up communication trench running to front line, Flanders
Communications trench above ground, Western Front. In some places, as this photograph shows, it was not possible to dig trenches, either because the ground was too waterlogged, or because the underlying rock wa... More
Messenger dog with its handler, in France, during World War I
Messenger dog with its handler, in France, during World War I. This collie dog worked as a messenger in the front line under constant gunfire. A scrolled up message can be seen attached to the dogs collar. Dogs... More
Kitchens in a trench, Flanders during World War I
This image of a soldier cooking at a stove while standing in a trench might seem rather unusual, but this trench would certainly not be in the immediate front line as the smoke from such a stove would have attr... More
Rude awakening, Flanders during World War I
Firing a field gun, during World War I. In the foreground stands a man leaning against a bridge which crosses his trench. At the back of the picture is a large, smoking field gun which has just been fired...Fie... More
Part of captured German trench opposite Gommecourt, Flanders
Part of a captured German trench, near Gommecourt, France. There is a soldier leaning against the trench wall in a rather relaxed and cavalier fashion. The well-built and solid structure he is standing next to ... More
Tired Tommy makes a resting place in the mud with German ammunition
A soldier is lying in a hollow in the middle of a trench system. The hollow is lined with ammunition. He is propped up asleep against them. Beside him is a pile of equipment and a bike...Tommy' is 'Tommy Atkins... More
Shave and a clean up after coming out of the trenches
Two soldiers just out of the trenches. Both men appear to be at the entrance to a dugout. They have taken off their helmets and are in shirt sleeves. One of the men is shaving. Apart from military discipline th... More
Spanish Officers are interested in the effects of our Artillery fire o...
Four Spanish officers visit captured German trenches, during World War I. The four men look as though they are moving slowly towards the camera, whilst peering down the steep drop into what the existing caption... More
Dead German outside dug-out during World War I
Dead German soldier, near Arras, France, during World War I. A dead German soldier lying outside the entrance to a dugout. Abandoned rifles and stick grenades lie in the trench beside him. This photograph was p... More
Chinese students starting for the trenches on the Western Front
Chinese students at the Western Front, France, during World War I. This group photograph of five Chinese students with an army officer was most likely taken by the British official photographer, John Warwick Br... More
Where Tommy rests, Flanders during World War I
Soldiers resting, Western Front, during World War I. This photograph possibly shows a reserve trench, it is certainly far enough away from the front-line that the troops are able to relax, but near enough that ... More
Alert outpost in the Ypres salient, Flanders
This photograph shows five men in a wide trench, sheltering behind an entanglement of barbed wire, and covering the ground further up the trench. The shot appears posed as, on the extreme right, another man can... More
British troops moving to attack, Flanders
About ten soldiers are standing in a narrow trench while many others are running from right to left, across the trench line. More troops can be seen in the distance. They are carrying their full kit and have th... More
Raiding party getting clear of a sap and racing towards the Boche tren...
The photograph has been taken looking along a trench, over the tops of the helmets of the soldiers waiting their turn to climb out. One man is heaving himself over the edge while three others are out and runnin... More
Spanish Officers in a captured German Trench, Flanders
Spanish officers visiting the Western Front, France, during World War I. Four men stand amidst the chaos of a captured German trench. The ground is muddy, churned up and littered with the debris of war. The man... More
Boche machine guns captured at Beaucourt sur Ancre, Flanders
Two soldiers are sitting on the edge of a German trench examining captured German machine guns. The entrance to the German dugout is in the background. The soldier in the background has the cap badge of the Nor... More
What it looks like in the front line 50 yards from Regina trench
Soldiers in a trench. One man is looking through a periscope, towards the enemy lines. The other soldiers are leaning against the trench wall, having a rest. A close look at the surrounding area shows that it i... More
Reading the news in the trenches 1000 yards from the Bosch present pos...
Soldiers in a trench, all wearing steel helmets. Four of them crowd round a newspaper. Their rifles and kit have been put to the left side of the trench, and are hanging from the walls of the trench. The ground... More
Store of our big mortars in a captured trench, Flanders
Mortars in a trench. The mortars consist of cast-iron spheres with a long solid tail unit. These appear quite large, and are of the 'toffee apple' type , originally designed by Vickers. They are quite different... More
Another sort of war ruin - after several days in the trenches
A British Red Cross orderly escorting a wounded, captured, German soldier to a field hospital for treatment. National Photo Company Collection. Photo by Central News Photo Service. No. 8800A.
German communication trench near Beaumont Hamel, Flanders
Trench near Beaumont-Hamel, France, during World War I. According to the photograph's original caption it is a German communication trench near Beaumont-Hamel, France...[Original reads: 'OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHS T... More
Massive strong point in a part of the Hindenburg trench
A very square, heavy stone structure has been buried into an embankment and a narrow path runs along the front of it. There is a gun barrel emerging from a gap in the building and a collection of homely, sturdy... More
Scotch soldiers digging trenches to the accompaniment of bag-pipes nea...
British Photographs of World War I Public domain photograph - British army, military forces, during World War One, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
British working party in German trench, recently captured, Flanders
A trench full of soldiers. They are all wearing steel helmets and are working with shovels and pickaxes. According to the photograph's original caption, they are in fact a British working party in a captured Ge... More
Hot stew in the trenches, Flanders
Soldiers in a trench in the snow. A sergeant and a corporal are doling out hot stew from a large metal canister into individual mess tins and handing it out to their men. The stew would have been made in the fi... More
Highland machine-gunner ready with his gun for any emergency
There is a thin line of trees in the background which open out onto countryside. At the front of the picture a trench has been dug into a field of long grass. This trench is not particularly deep and is quite s... More
Northumberland Fusiliers, Flanders
A row of soldiers are sitting on the edge of a trench with their legs dangling in. Behind them stands three further rows of soldiers...Photographs of regiments were often taken to instil a sense of pride and un... More
Ration party going into front line trenches. Near Arras, France. Durin...
British Photographs of World War I Public domain photograph - British army, military forces, during World War One, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Bombarding the German trenches, Flanders
This photograph of British mortars bombing the German trenches looks over the devastated landscape of shattered trees and shell-pocked earth, apparently extending to the horizon. This typifies the desolation of... More
Captured German trench in Gommecourt, Flanders
Captured German trench, Gommecourt, France, during World War I. This image shows a typical trench - flooded and extremely muddy. The sides of the trench have been reinforced with large posts, planks of wood and... More
Our men occupying a German trench, Flanders
This eye-catching image is thought to have been captured by the official war photographer, John Warwick Brooke. The flatness of the landscape with the scar of the trench running through it, along with the quali... More
Sappers digging a communication trench near Messines, Flanders
All of the men are using spades to dig up the earth in this shallow trench. They are wearing steel helmets, and most of them have removed their shirts as they do this heavy work. A few men in the distance have ... More
Gordon Highlanders, Flanders during World War I
As the British army became increasingly desperate for men, the various Highland regiments that constituted the Gordon Highlanders were ordered to expand rapidly during World War I. By 1918 the regiment had expa... More
Tommy's Xmas on the West, Flanders
Soldiers celebrating Christmas in the trenches, Western Front, during World War I. Men sitting in the mud in a trench celebrating Christmas. They have laid some white paper on a crate and set out some slices of... More
Some of the Wiltshire Regimentt crossing a shell swept piece of ground
Advance from the trenches, Western Front, during World War I. This photograph, which appears to have been taken from inside a trench, shows soldiers attempting an advance. They appear to be advancing up a sligh... More
Gas alarm in the front line, Flanders
This trench, which is not very wide or deep, has been roofed over to provide a cover for the bell which is the gas alarm. The soldier who is ringing the bell is wearing a heavy coat and gloves. There is snow on... More
Railways in the trenches, Flanders
This photograph, probably by John Warwick Brooke, shows a junction of two wide trenches. Tracks in the trenches carry shallow wooden trucks. Two soldiers stand to the right beside an engine for pulling the truc... More
Supporting infantry going up to the attack, Flanders
In the foreground a group of infantry are advancing to the right across the line of a narrow trench. One soldier is crossing the trench over a plank, clearly balancing himself against the weight of his pack. M... More
Trench orderly room, Flanders during World War I
Soldiers carrying out their paperwork in the regimental orderly room, which looks as if it may be somewhere close to the front line. ..The Battalion Orderly Room (BHQ) was where soldiers went to receive orders ... More
Troops digging trenches in a hop field
Trench digging, France, during World War I. Soldiers are digging a trench in between the tall poles that would normally have been used to support hops, grown to make beer. Three officers are watching, one appea... More
How nature prevails - flowers overgrowing an old front line German Tre...
This photograph, attributed to John Warwick Brooke, shows two British soldiers talking in an overgrown German trench. They are surrounded by wire and rubbish but flowers are blooming all over the sides of the t... More
Men of the Machine Gun Corps at drill, Flanders
A gunner pointing a machine gun at a passing biplane. He is positioned just above a trench. At the bottom of the photograph, in the trench itself, there appears to be another machine gun in position. ..Whilst m... More
Trench mortar and its crew, near Gommecourt, Flanders
This photograph has been taken looking down into a trench or deep pit, where a five-man crew is standing next to a trench mortar. They are all wearing steel helmets and packs round their necks. Despite the snow... More
View of smashed Bosch O.P. and trenches, Flanders
A captured German trench at Messines Ridge, Belgium. The location of the trenches in this bleak and dismal landscape can be identified by the wooden posts running along the trench walls at regular intervals. On... More
Look-out showing our wire in No Mans Land, Flanders
A lone soldier risks raising his head above the trench parapet in order to look out into no-man's-land and towards the German front line. This looks to be a very shallow trench, with the soldier stooping down t... More
Group in the trenches, Flanders
Soldiers in a trench, France, during World War I. A group of soldiers pose for the camera in a trench. All of them are wearing steel helmets and many of them are holding some form of weaponry. One man, third ro... More
Occupying newly captured ground, Flanders
This photograph shows a group of infantry examining a trench which, according to the original caption, they have recently captured. Despite the mud, the men appear quite relaxed and are clearly not under attack... More
Ridgewood, Flanders during World War I
Officers at mess by the side of a communication trench. Four officers sitting next to a makeshift table. The table is scattered with a number of items, including glasses, cups, plates, and three bottles of wine... More
Photograph taken from British front line trenches at La Boisselle, Fra...
British Photographs of World War I Public domain photograph - British army, military forces, during World War One, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Two German shells bursting in our lines, Flanders
Two shells exploding in the distance. According to the existing caption they have been fired by the Germans and are exploding on Allied lines. They appear as two large puffs of smoke in the sky. It is impossibl... More
Dinner time in a reserve trench, Flanders
British soldiers in a reserve trench queuing for dinner, during World War I. This image shows soldiers in a reserve trench queuing up for their dinner rations. The metal containers carried by the soldiers are c... More
At an advanced observation station, Flanders
Observation station, France, during World War I. Three soldiers use binoculars and telescopes to look into the distance. The landscape is still fertile and the trench in the picture is organised and well built.... More
Out from the trenches, one has a rest, the other cleans his rifle
Two soldiers are set against a background of the muddy wasteland of the Front, with devastated trees on the skyline. One is half sitting, half lying in the mud with his rifle on the ground beside him. It is not... More
Flooded dug-out in front line trench, Flanders
Soldier in a flooded dug-out, France, during World War I. This photograph shows a smiling soldier stooping down outside the entrance to a flooded dugout. Adjoined to the trench, frontline dugouts such as these ... More
Outpost in front of our lines in the Ypres salient
Four British soldiers on outpost duty. They are all in full uniform, including packs and steel helmets, and look fairly relaxed. One man is standing on a raised area looking over the edge. The outpost consists ... More
View of an advanced R.E. depot - huts built in old trenches
Down the left of the photograph is a thick wood which stops suddenly and gives way to a flat rocky plain. There are scars on the plain which turn out to be trenches. In some places along the trenches, sloping r... More
Infantry waiting to attack during World War I, Flanders
Infantry are crouched in line in a very narrow trench. Their tension is clear in the taut outline of their bodies and in the face of the one young soldier who is looking back towards the camera. The trench is q... More
Common scene in Flers, Flanders
Dead soldier, near Flers, France, during World War I. A dead German soldier lying in the bottom of a trench, beside the entrance to a dugout. An Allied soldier is looking out from the dugout. The tins and water... More
Ration party going up to the trenches, Flanders
Hot food being delivered in the trenches, Western Front, during World War I. This photograph shows two pairs of men carrying lidded food containers along a trench. The containers are carried on poles on their ... More
Gas alarm in the front line, Flanders
A soldier ringing a gas alarm bell. Someone has written on the bell 'DUCK YE NUT', possibly a warning to soldiers to lower their heads. The bell hangs from a makeshift wooden frame in the trench. The soldier is... More
Once a German trench, Flanders during World War I
Remains of a captured German trench after heavy artillery fire, during World War I. The entrance to a tunnel gives some idea of the labyrinthal network of tunnels and trenches that formed the front line defence... More
H.M. the King outside a German dug out
King George V looking at a German dugout, Western Front, during World War I. King George V of Britain (1865-1936) and three officers touring what appear to be captured German trenches. They are looking in the e... More
Remains of a German trench in Gommecourt, Flanders
The concrete box in the middle of this scene gives the appearance of a formidable, solid construction. The depressing confusion of muddy, collapsed trenches, however, gives this supposedly victorious scene a mo... More
King watching the Battle of Pozieres from captured German trenches
HRH King George V of Britain (1865-1936) watching the Battle of Pozieres through a telescope. Other officers stand around watching through field glasses. This photograph is likely to have been taken between 23 ... More
Wounded Tommy being removed from trench, Flanders
Wounded man on a stretcher, near Arras, France, during World War I. Two soldiers carrying a wounded companion on a stretcher. They are trying to manoeuvre the stretcher out of the main trench into a deeper tren... More
CrossRoads at St Eloi, Flanders
Aerial photograph, St Eloi, near Ypres, Belgium, 12 March 1916. This aerial photograph shows trench lines and shell damage in the area around St Eloi, near the Ypres salient. Trench lines can be seen as long, i... More
Fusing Stokes trench mortar shells before going into the lines
Three uniformed men fusing Stokes mortar shells, near Wieltje, Belgium, during World War I. This image shows three men fusing Stokes mortar shells. In front of each there is a box containing more shells, and di... More
New support line, Flanders during World War I
This photograph shows men in a support trench. Support trenches were behind the frontline trenches, out of the range of artillery. This explains the soldier walking beyond the trench without a steel helmet, and... More
German shell bursting close to our trenches, Flanders
Shelling near the British trenches, Western Front, during World War I. This photograph must have been taken by one of the official war photographers as it appears to have been shot from inside a frontline trenc... More
Awaiting the order to move forward during the recent advance
Soldiers in a trench. They are all wearing steel helmets and are fully armed and equipped. There are a few soldiers standing on the ground in front of the trench and there are more men off into the distance. Th... More
Lewis gun's crew ready in the front line during an actual gas attack
Three uniformed men standing behind a Lewis gun, France. This image shows three uniformed men standing in a trench. According to the original caption, this photograph was taken during an actual gas attack. All ... More