The Western Front

This official photograph shows a soldier from the York and Lancaster regiment in a front line trench.  It was taken by Second Lieutenant Davis McLellan on 6 February 1918 near Cambrin, in France.  Trench warfare led to large periods of boredom, but even in the static conditions of trench warfare there was a constant threat from random shelling and snipers on both sides.

This personal photograph was taken by Robert Cotton Money on 7 December 1914.  It shows the crew of an 18-pounder Field Gun in a gun emplacement on the Armentieres sector of the front line, in France.  Artillery was a crucial part of the war.  Most of the wounds soldiers suffered were caused by exploding shells.  Whenever infantry crossed no man’s land, they relied on artillery for support.  In the first year of the war artillery shells were  in short supply.  Only from the end of 1915 were guns able to fire heavy and sustained bombardments.

The second phase of the Somme offensive began on 14 July 1916 with The Battle of Bazentin Ridge.  At first, this battle was a considerable success for the Allies, however as German opposition intensified the stalemate resumed.  This photograph was taken by Lieutenant John Warwick Brooke and shows a long line of German prisoners being marched into Fricourt in France.

On 31 July 1917 Britain launched a major offensive at Ypres which is often called the Battle of Passchendaele after  the Belgian village where the battle ended four months later. The initial bombardment destroyed the drainage of the battlefield so when it started to rain heavily  on the first day, the battlefield turned into liquid mud, which made conditions very difficult.   This photograph, taken by Lieutenant John Warwick Brooke on 1 August 1917, shows a team of stretcher bearers struggling through deep mud to carry a wounded man to safety near Boesinge.  In the sound recording (IWM 4156), Cyril Lee explains the conditions during the Battle of Passchendaele.

During September 1917, the weather conditions improved and the Allies were able to push forwards. This photograph, taken by Lieutenant Ernest Brooks, shows German prisoners being marched through the Cathedral Square in Ypres, during the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge on 20 September 1917.  The ruins of the 13th century cloth hall can be seen in the background.

The gains made during September encouraged the Allies to continue the offensive, but the bad weather returned and further attacks in October failed to make much progress.  This photograph shows men of the 16th Canadian Machine Gun Company holding the line in a landscape of mud and water-filled shell holes, in November 1917.  The eventual capture of what little remained of Passchendaele village on top of the ridge  by British and Canadian forces on 6 November finally allowed the offensive to be stopped in a position that could be defended over the winter.