WWI Colorized MG08 Photo

[Roscoeturner]

MG-08 manned by a crew from 4.Schlesisches (Silesian) Inf.Regt. Nr.157., 78 Infantry Brigade, 12.Division.
From a post card dated 26/1/1917.

[MarkFinneran]

Coloured postcard:

[MarkFinneran]

[42rocker]

Great Photos. To sit in those trenches just waiting for the next move. WW1 in the trenches must have been hell.

Later 42rocker

[MarkFinneran]

Impossible to imagine but people were much (generally speaking) tougher then. However there are some key facts about 'trenches' that should be remembered. The Germans always selected the best ground and maximised the use of every height advantage. They really understood defence and therefore built appropiate long term safe and almost comfortable defences. They wanted a long drawn out conflict so why not make the most of it!
Meanwhile the British/Allies wanted to maintain a sense of attack, short term positioning and so sadly comfort and often safety were the obvious victims. Their unit rotations reflected this as forget the munitions, life in the Allied trenches was unhealthy, and often boring. Either way you are right it must have been awful for all, but without doubt we the Allies certainly did not make it easier for ourselves - nothing has changed in that respect

[MarkFinneran]

DWM (44).png (31.76 KiB) Viewed 1882 times

Designed and built purely for defence, always selection of the best ground. No wonder the machine gunners could simply 'pop out' on the first day of the Somme, after the bombardment, and do their ''stuff''.