Sounds of gunshots ring through the ear. Bombs explode, destroying territories and land. Cold weather creeps in and takes the unfortunate with it. Soldiers dying while serving their one true love: their country. 

How can we see these tragic events? How were people physically and emotionally connected to the effects of war and the painful process? 

The pictures of the wars in the past burn through one’s mind. They are never forgotten. The tragedy shown in the pictures helps create the emotion drawn into war. The dead bodies, body parts, wounds and action shots changed the way people see battles. 

Photographers were hired to be front line in action in battle. They got close enough to combat that they were in just as much danger as the surrounding soldiers. They were placed into the military as photographers and this job came with many risks. 

“Photographers were forced to record war before and after battles, and combat was impossible to cover,” claimed Craig Allen, writer for The New York Times.

Photos were needed to capture the thrilling yet devastating scenes from battle. 

In this photo, an Australian soldier is rescuing another soldier at the Gallipoli Peninsula . The heart soldiers had for one another was like a brother’s heart for another brother. They became so close fighting with one another and saving each other’s lives. It didn’t matter what skin color another had or what religion they were. Everyone had each other’s backs and fought for their country with great patriotism. 

A medic can be seen giving a soldier medical treatment after being wounded. This photo contains the emotion these men felt. The eyes of the hurt soldier show the death he saw and the pain he was in. This photo was taken during World War One. Even after the First World War, many veterans would experience post traumatic stress disorder, at the time, PTSD was known as “Shell Shock”.  

Photographers were able to capture the deep moments war had to offer. Their job was to capture these moments to tell a story to the nations. They needed to show how the war wasn’t as great as many thought it would be. The governments all over the world used propaganda to get soldiers excited and ready to fight. Photographers captured the reality. 

This photo displays the rationing of food in the war. The soldier looks like he is enjoying himself which is misleading to the viewer. People would see these soldiers looking happy and well kept and assume everything was ok. The reality is, many countries didn’t expect they would be at war for as long as they were. They were told that they would be home in a month, but stayed for multiple months, and some even stayed for years.

People only see what the photo displays. The more gore shown in the picture, the more people could truly understand and have an idea of how extreme the battles were. 

After when the Wright Brothers produced the first airplane, the concept was quickly weaponized and used in the First World War. The Germans were known to dominate the skies with their Fokker Monoplanes. In this picture a German pilot and his gunner stand in front of their Hannover CL.II biplane. This specific aircraft was designed to escort Gotha bomber planes, and Zeppelin airships 

The photographer was able to capture emotion in the photo. The soldier looking down indicates he lost someone he truly cared about. War wasn’t easy and thousands upon thousands died in combat. Many had to leave their friends behind and keep on fighting. Lives were lost and many are missed. We must never forget those who died to protect our country.

The First World War introduced planes, dreadnought warships, and tanks to the battlefield for the very first time. This photo is a MK1 Landship moving over a British trench. The very first tanks were used at the Battle of Flair Kursulete on the Somme River on September 15, 1916. The tank is designed to move over trenches and large craters. These tanks proved effective after many different variations of the tank were produced. 

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the moment in history that changed the world forever. On June 28, 1914, Archduke Ferdinand and his pregnant wife Sophie, were assassinated in the Serbian town of Sarajevo. The assassination would lead the world into the First and Second World Wars. The assassination alone is the largest domino effect to ever happen in the history of humanity. In the photo, Ferdinand and his wife Sophie are getting back in their automobile to take a trip to a hospital where Austrian soldiers are being hospitalized. Unknowingly, it would be their last trip. 

The photos from previous wars and battles show the history of the brave men who fought and died for our freedom. They deserve to be honored and remembered. We must see what they did for us and learn from their mistakes. War is destructive, the world wouldn’t be the same as it is now without the people who fought for the greater good.