Desolated Berry au Bac after four years of fighting, France

Desolated Berry au Bac after four years of fighting, France

V18936

If you had no conception of the strength of the weapons that are used in modern warfare you might think that this once peaceful plain had been tossed about by the titanic forces of an earthquake. But all this desolation and destructiveness is the work of man and his engines of war. Tons and tons of this earth have been dislodged and shoveled out by the troops in their efforts to maintain a trench system under fire. But while they were doing it the sappers, the "miners" of the army, were busy underneath the surface of the earth, dozens of feet, tunnelling under the lines of their adversaries to lay a huge charge of powder which when exploded would toss the men and earth above it high into the air. While those things were being done the big guns constantly pounded the fields, endeavouring to wreck every bit of work that the enemy was trying to accomplish. Near you on the right are some twisted pieces of steel, the remnants of a gun position, long since discarded and useless. Beyond, as far as you can see, to the edge of the hill, this shallow valley is as dead and devoid of life as the white sands of the Sahara. Nor does the view of the hill offer much more. At first glance it would appear to be dotted with homes but they, like the ground before you, have been swept by the fierce fire of the guns and are in ruins, fit only for fighting posts, underground quarters and rats.

1 stereograph : b&w

1 gelatine silver print stereograph (8 x 15 cm) mounted on card (9 x 18 cm)

Copyright. The Keystone View Company

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World War through the stereoscope