Visions of the Trenches by Otto Dix (Artist's Portfolio, 1919)
Attached are assorted W.W. I combat images by noted German Expressionist Otto Dix (1891 – 1969). Shortly after returning from the war, Dix threw away his uniform, locked himself in his print studio and began to diligently labor over a vast number of etching plates - all baring the dreadful images of trench warfare that had been burned into his memory during the course of living his beastly, troglodyte existence in the trenches of France.
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Furnishing the British Officer's Dugout (Mappin and Webb, 1915)
The attached catalog page illustrates the simple, collapsible furniture that was approved by the British War Office for use in the field.
There was a good deal of antique pomp to be found in the British Army during the Great War, but it is interesting to note that this furniture seemed to have been designed with an understanding as to the lightning speed at which modern war is conducted (which was certainly not the case in W.W. I). We recommend this book on the topic: British Campaign Furniture: Elegance Under Canvas
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A Stupid Thing to Do In a W.W. I Trench... (The Literary Digest, 1917)
Dealing with the issue of boredom on the front line is one of the concerns that soldiers have had to deal with since time immemorial and few pictures clarify this matter better than the attached photograph: it is a seldom seen picture depicting an acrobatic stunt being performed above the parapet in plain view of German snipers.
The French hoorah-boy who performed the stunt was thrown in the hoosegow for ten days. *The Misery of W.W. I Trench Warfare is Beautifully Depicted in This Animated Film*
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Entry to a German Dugout (L'Illustration, 1915)
A French photograph showing the entry way to one of the many subterranean shelters that dotted the Western front during the First World War; also included is another diagram of what one of the smaller German dugouts resembled that had such an entry.
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German Dugouts (L'Illustration, 1915)
A 1915 diagram from a French news magazine depicting the depth of a German front-line dugout. John Laffin makes it quite clear in his World War One book, The Western Front Companion:
"From 1915, the remarkably well developed German positions, notably on the Somme front, reflected their strategic advantage. They were on enemy soil, the Germans held the initiative and they could afford to settle down in their dugouts. Hence, most had electricity, drainage, sewage system, piped water, a telephone system and many were heated. The soldiers could lie down on mattresses resting on beds made of stacking stretched over wooden frames, and -and because of deep overhead cover - 30 to 40 feet of it, they were safe even during heavy shell fire."Click here to see a 1915 ad for British Army military camp furniture.
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