Having Nothing to Lose is the New Wealth.

Two sergeants instruct soldiers on the firing range at this sniper school. Sniping required skill and patience as sniper teams, usually consisting of a shooter and a spotter, often waited for long periods of time for targets to appear. Snipers on both sides were notoriously accurate. A head jutting above a trench parapet could be spotted and shot in seconds.

Soldier writing a letter home, 1914.

Letters from home were often painful because of their naïveté. The ironies jumped out at the soldier: “Try not to get wounded!” or “We are having a hard time, too!” “My God! From what?!” was Delvert’s response. The soldier’s sensation, on reading such comments from home, was often one of complete isolation. The troops might as well have been on the moon. They lived and fought in a place beyond understanding, beyond imagination, even beyond feeling. “The Army fights on its own” was Garfield Powell’s conclusion during the Somme offensive.”

-Modris Eksteins, Rite of Spring: The Great War and the Birth of the Modern Age.

English/Anglais SU2012-0216-01 April 9, 2012 Vimy, France The vigil party during the main commemorative ceremony at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France. From April 7 to 11, 2012, a contingent of 105 CF members took part in ceremonies in Europe commemorating the 95th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. The contingent was composed mainly of personnel from historical regiments, branches and corps that participated in the 1917 battle, a flag party and the Royal 22e Régiment Band. The CF Vimy Contingent supported Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC). In particular, the Contingent participated in a private wreath-laying ceremony at the St. Julien Memorial in Belgium, a Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate Memorial (also in Belgium), and a VAC-led anniversary ceremony at the foot of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. The Contingent thus sought to ensure that the courage and devotion of our Canadian heroes will never be forgotten. Image by Master Corporal Pierre Thériault, Imaging Services, Ottawa © 2012 DND-MDN Canada ___________________________________ French/Français SU2012-0216-01 9 avril 2012 Vimy, France Le détachement de veille durant la Cérémonie commémorative principale au monument commémoratif de la crête de Vimy, en France. Un contingent compose de 105 membres des FC participent aux Cérémonies entourant la commémoration du 95e anniversaire de la Bataille de la crête de Vimy du 7 au 11 avril 2012 en Europe. Le contingent est formé principalement de militaires appartenant à des régiments, des branches et des corps historiques ayant participé à la bataille en 1917, d’une garde de drapeau et de la Musique du Royal 22e Régiment. Le contingent des FC offre son soutien à Anciens combattants Canada (ACC) et participe notamment une cérémonie privée de dépôt de couronne au mémorial de Saint-Julien (Belgique), une cérémonie de la Dernière sonnerie au monument commémoratif de la Porte de Menin (Belgique), une cérémonie anniversaire dirigée par ACC au pied du monument commémoratif du Canada à Vimy afin de s’assurer que le courage et le dévouement de nos héros canadiens ne seront jamais oubliés. Image par Caporal-chef Pierre Thériault, Imaging Services (Ottawa) © 2012 DND-MDN Canada

…and it was this sort of butcher’s-shop horror, with hot iron reducing the complex and fragile human body in to its component parts that shocked and broke many strong men’s wills.

Australian soldiers in Egypt, World War I (Part 1)

For ANZAC Day