Historic Military Trenches

A collection of black-and-white images depicting trenches from different historical battles, showcasing soldiers, defenses, and war-torn landscapes.

Reinforcements of British infantry are pictured crossing a captured front-line German trench, September 1916. Date: 1916

Abandoned German trenches, Eparges ridge, near Verdun, France, August 1915. Artist: Unknown

'La Supreme Offensive Russe; Le 1st juillet 1917, a 'Ouest de Tarnopol, au nord du secteur d'attaque: l'assaut de la position allemande de Dzike Lani', 1917. The Russian supreme offensive: 1 July 1917, west of Tarnopol (Ternopil), assault on German position. From "L'Album de la Guerre 1914-1919, Volume 2" L'Illustration, Paris, 1924.

Reinforcements of British infantry are pictured crossing a captured front-line German trench, September 1916. Date: 1916

Men with an unidentified unit execute a group of Soviet civilians kneeling by the side of a mass grave during World War II

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Photos at article Laskar fairy tale about white barbarians. Genie busy repairing a destroyed bridge. January 12, 1949. Indonesia, Dutch East Indies

'L'Attaque du Mont-Pertois; Prisonniers descendant les pentes du Pertois: au sommet du Mont, nos troupes ont deborde le tunnel dont elles ont aussitot obstue l'issue; apres de vaines tentatives de sortie, la garnison, forte de 260 hommes, devra se rendre le 2 mai', 1917. First World War: the attack on Mont-Pertois; prisoners descending the slopes of Pertois...From "L'Album de la Guerre 1914-1919, Volume 2" L'Illustration, Paris, 1924.

''L'expedition des Dardanelles, Entre Seddul-Bahr et Krithia; Senegalais en formation d'approche par echelons, a l'abri d'un pli de terrain', 1915 (1924). From "L'Album de la Guerre 1914-1919, Volume I" L'Illustration, Paris, 1924.

World War I, American machine gunners in battle, 1918, official British war photograph

Nationalist soldiers advance in battle, during the Spanish Civil War

09/30/1936. A hill taken by the Republican Forces, from where they shoot at the Nationals.

'Sur le Front Italien; L'offensive du Carso: infanterie italienne s'elancant a l'assaut, le 23 mai, dans la region de Jamiano', 1917. First World War: the Italian front; the Carso offensive: Italian infantry attacking in the region of Jamiano, May 23 1917. From "L'Album de la Guerre 1914-1919, Volume 2" L'Illustration, Paris, 1924.

***** Western Front -- French gunners in position near the Front Line Ready to Shoot. December 13, 1939. (Photo by Sport & General Press Agency Limited.).

09/30/1921. Melilla. The Occupation of the Sebt trench Built by the Moors, from the A Sebt railway, which was taken by our Soldiers and used by them to defeat the Enemy.

German dead after the Battle of the Marne. With huge losses on both sides, the most important consequence of the battle was that the French and British forces were able to prevent a swift and decisive victory by the German army. Date: September 26th 1914

The Allied Advance Into SyriaAxis infiltration into Syria compelled the advance of the Allied Forces to avert so dangerous a threat British and Free French forces have been opposed by the Vichy troops and there has been hard fighting along the entire front from the Mediterranean to Damascus and Palmyra.Free French Senegalese troops advancing in Syria. September 23, 1941. (Photo by British Official Photograph).

Members of U.S. 1st ARVN Division move along trail during assault operation near Fire Support Base O'Reilly, Vietnam, U.S. Army Signal Corps, October 8, 1970

01/12/1915. In the Eastern Theater of War. German infantry troops passing through a town in Poland. Photo: A. Grohs.

Aust Troops In Singapore/Malaya - Australian Troops. March 13, 1944.

A mortar crew stands back just before firing into a Nazi position somewhere along the Normandy Coast, France..

German soldiers surrendering, Bullecourt, France, World War I, 1914-1918.Artist: Realistic Travels Publishers

11/30/1916. On the Western Front. An Outpost in the Ruins of a Workhouse.

A Drink Of Water For A U.S. Jungle Fighter -- Surrounded by tall kunai grass, a U.S. Army sergeant drinks water from his canteen as he awaits the order to attack the Japs from his foxhole on the Buna front in New Guinea where Allied forces staged a successful offensive. March 22, 1943. (Photo by Interphoto News Pictures Inc.).

Marines In Pre-Dawn Detonation -- Marines caught in blast illumination brace against the walls of their trenches, 4,000 yards from ground gero waiting for shock waves to pass prior to charging out against mock-enemy. Some of the marines were leap-frogged into the objective area by the 40 helicopters participating in the exercise. April 18, 1953. (Photo by AP Wirephoto).

Serbian troops going to combat, 1915, Serbia, Europe

French infantry resting in a shell hole, Chemin des Dames, France, 11 June 1918. Artist: Unknown

Germans Captured In Don River Area -- Russian sources say this picture shows German soldiers, with hands in the Air, surrendering to Soviet soldier (right) somewhere in the Don River area. August 31, 1942. (Photo by AP Wirephoto).

Chinese People's Liberation Army soldiers in action during the Chinese Civil War 1948.

Italian soldiers in the trenches on the col d'Echele, Veneto, Italy 1915-18.

Turkish dead at Tell el Ful in 1917

Flame-Throwing Tank Burns Out Hiding Japs: An American soldier (Foreground) holds his rifle ready as he waits to move up while a flame-throwing tank of the U.S. Army 96th infantry division burns out Japs hiding in holes along a sunken road on bitterly contested "Big Apple" ridge of southern Okinawa. June 21, 1945. (Photo by AP Wirephoto).

Marine Looks Over Jap Sniper He Bagged Private Jennings, of Columbia, Misg., A Marine who stormed Tarawa Island in the Gilberts Nov. 21, looks at a Jap sniper he shot during the bitter fighting. June 12, 1943. (Photo by Associated Press Photo).

'Sur le front Roumain; soldats roumains dans boyau d'acces aux tranchees', 1916. From "Collection de la Guerre IV. L'Illustration Tome CXLVIII. La Guerre Juillet, Aout, Septembre, Octobre, Novembre, Decembre 1916". (On the Romanian front; Romanian soldiers in access trenches).

Stalingrad's Defenders Move Up -- Red soldiers; fighting in defense of Stalingrad, move up to a new position behind barbed wire barricades. October 26, 1942. (Photo by AP Wirephoto).

Ejército, servicio militar. Clase práctica. Campamento Sant Climent Sescebes, Girona. Años 70.

'Derriere la bataille, au Sud de la Somme : Le defile, le long des boyaux, de prisonniers appartenant au 5e regiment de la Garde prussienne et don’t plusieurs portent le casque de tranchee, apprend aux troupes en reserve que l'attaque a reussi.', 1916. From "Collection de la Guerre IV. L'Illustration Tome CXLVII. La Guerre Juillet, Aout, Septembre, Octobre, Novembre, Decembre 1916".

Russian troops waiting for the signal, Ternopil, Ukraine, First World War, 1 July 1917. Artist: Unknown

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Semarang sector. Semarang 26-7: before the straight began, the pre-area was explored. A patrol at Semarang in action. July 26, 1947. Indonesia, Java, Dutch East Indies, Semarang

Okinawa. After setting off explosives, Marines wait at entrance to cave in which Japanese soldiers are hiding. These bitterly contested cave positions formed the Japanese 'Little Siegfried Line', defending the capital city of Naha. 1945

Belgian Commandos in Training in Britain, 1945 Three Belgian Commando trainees lie on the ground during a training exercise somewhere in Britain, waiting for the smoke to provide sufficient cover to launch their assault.

Auguste Mariette-Bey (1821-1881) French archaeologist and founder of the Egyptian Museum, Cairo in 1863, centre, with group statuette uncovered at the excavations of the necropolis complex at Saqqara. Ancient Egypt Archaeology

American marines digging trenches, Lucy-le-Bocage, France, 1 June, 1918. Artist: Unknown

Pte. J. Brown of Stanmore,M'ddx and Pte. T. Palmer of Southall during the attack upon Myitson, Burma town captured from occupying Japanese after crossing the Shweli river. March 01, 1945. (Photo by British Official Picture).

Captured Chinese Communist -- A member of the T Three Star Regiment who was taken prisoner by a patrol of the 7th Gurkha Rifles during fighting round Kuala Lumpur early in July.The Sort Of War Picture That Makes The Tactician Quail -- Gurkhas taking up position in the Malayan jungle. The way they are bunching together would seem to indicate they are well away from danger or else have forgotten the elementary principles of platoon training. The men are carrying rifles, stens, and brens, but no doubt the nimble kukri is brandished when opportunity offers at close quarters.***** The Chinese Communist Attack On Batu Arang -- Miners resume operations In the open cast workings following a concerted attack by 100 well-armed terrorists. Once the men were assured of British protection there was no difficulty in persuading them to return to work. Among many of the Chinese, however, there had been much uncertainty regarding the British ability to combat highly organised Communist attacks over

Flame Thrower Goes After Iwo Jima Japs -- While fifth Division Marines (right) are alert to provide protective fire, one of their comrades (left) moves in on a stubborn Jap pillbox to end its resistance on Iwo Jima. February 27, 1945. (Photo by AP Wirephoto).

''Les Peripeties d'une Attaque; Le 1er aout 1916, entre Belloy et Estrees, au moment d'une attaque: dans un ravin pourvu d'abris, les reserves se tiennent pretes a sortir au premier signal', 1916. From "L'Album de la Guerre 1914-1919, Volume I" L'Illustration, Paris, 1924.

Huon Peninsular, Australian troops arrive at a forward disembarkation point to cut off retreating Japanese who are attempting to bypass Allied-held Saidor by an overland route. February 15, 1944.

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Table Jongengradja and Katjoeagoeng (Palembang). Soldiers working on a fence. August 1947. Indonesia, Dutch East Indies

Detachment 101, an enigmatic Allied intelligence and special operations unit during World War II, played a pivotal role in the Burmese theater. Operating deep in the jungles of Burma, their mission was multi-faceted, encompassing guerrilla warfare, espionage, and sabotage against Japanese forces. Comprising a diverse group of individuals, from OSS agents to indigenous fighters, they effectively disrupted Japanese supply lines, gathered critical intelligence, and supported resistance movements.

Red Army Soldiers Dash Past Flames -- Flames reduce a building (right) to rubble as Russian troopers continue to push through a village on the Russo-German front. This picture is one a series made by the same corps of cameramen who produced March of time's "One Day of War". March 7, 1943. (Photo by Associated Press Photo).

Boer War, British soldiers tend to the wounded Boers after a battle, South African War (1899-1902), Historic, digitally restored reproduction from an original of the period.

Reds Use Armored Train To Blast Nazis -- Soviet soldiers stand at their posts beside Anti-Aircraft guns on an armored train on the Sebastorol front, ready for action against Nazi Airmen. Such armored trains also are in use on the Kharkov front. June 28, 1942. (Photo by AP Wirephoto).

The Stalingrad area. Machire-gunners taking up a new firing position. November 1, 1942. ;The Stalingrad area. Machire-gunners taking up a new firing position.

Second Italo-Ethiopian War. Ethiopian infantrymen running during battle in Southern Ethiopia. Oct. 1935.

Early Wars & Battles - War Files (See Also: Early Uniforms See Also War Games). December 17, 1954.

Detachment 101, an enigmatic Allied intelligence and special operations unit during World War II, played a pivotal role in the Burmese theater. Operating deep in the jungles of Burma, their mission was multi-faceted, encompassing guerrilla warfare, espionage, and sabotage against Japanese forces. Comprising a diverse group of individuals, from OSS agents to indigenous fighters, they effectively disrupted Japanese supply lines, gathered critical intelligence, and supported resistance movements.

Battle of the Canal Du Nord, 27 September - 1 October 1918

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Great East. Workers busy with the construction of dam? Laying boulders. November 10, 1947. Indonesia, Dutch East Indies

Soldiers Of First Polish Army Penetrate Barbed Wire -- Soldiers of the First Polish Army, fighting with Russian forces, cat through barbed wire entanglements to advance against the Germans near Warsaw. Farther South, the Red Army by Oct. 3, 1944, was sweeping into Yugoslavia to open a way for a pincer assault on Hungary and cut off the enemy in Yogoslavia and Greece, The offensive was part of the Allied plan adopted at Teheran to crush Germany and her satellites. This is a radiophoto sent from Moscow to the U.S. November 10, 1944. (Photo by U.S. Office of War Information Picture).

Some of General MacArthur's troops on the obstacle course at their camp "somewhere in Australia" where they are undergoing a severe training regime in jungle fighting. August 29, 1943. (Photo by Signal Corps, U.S. Army).

Nobody has ever accused the Russians of lacking in the spirit of attack. Here is an official picture of determined Soviet soldiers going forward to a village. Every piece of ground is vigorously contested, and the tide of the battle changes quickly. September 11, 1942.

The Second Boer War, 1899-1902 Troops of the Dublin Fusiliers defending a piquet.

Company of French Troops Advancing in Italy -- Above photo taken in the hills in the North of Italy shows a company of French Infantry advancing to take up the positions captured from the Germans. The French must be given credit for the wonderful work they did in stopping the German drive toward Venice. April 16, 1918.

1937. Spanish Civil War, the national troops when they occupied the first line of the iron belt.

Photograph of Italian soldiers preparing for a frontal resistance in Sicily. Dated 20th Century

07/31/1916. English advance on the Western Front - in northern France. Appearance of a line of German Trenches Destroyed by artillery.

U.S. Soldiers rout Germans from ***** covered by a sharp-shooting comrade sprawled in a tree stump in the foreground, U.S. infantrymen charge up a street in Normandy village of Sainteny. The American in the foreground has decorated his jacket with the name of his home city, New York, in the eastern state of New Germans in the bloody fighting which culminated in the liberation of St. Lo by the Allies on July 18, 1944. September 13, 1944.

Anefo photo collection. Excavation shot plane in polder at Waalwijk. Three RAF members with a band from the plane. July 5, 1961. Noord-Brabant, Waalwijk

World War I, American soldiers of the 167th Infantry during the fighting at Seringes, U.S. Signal Corps photograph, 1918

05/31/1918. On the Anglo-French front. Driving cattle for the consumption of the Troops (French Troops Drive an Abandoned Cow).

Soldiers in a trench, historic photograph, around 1915, First World War

Marshall Islands: August 11, 1944 U.S. Marines take cover behind sand dunes in the opening phase of the invasion of Eniwetok Atoll.

Vintage photograph. Marines hurdle of Stonewall as they drive across Okinawa

The US Army on the Western Front 1917-1918 Body of German sniper, who was passed in the advance of 103rd Infantry, 26th Div. and was firing at their rear, showing the exact position in which he was firing. Camouflaged concrete dugout is shown. Nr. St. Remy.

soldati al lavoro, 1939 1945

08/31/1936. The Militias Assaulting a house occupied by the Nationals on the Extramadura front.

Fallen soldier during World War I, Italy 1915-18.

Infantry positions on the Desna River Operation Barbarossa - German Invasion of Russia, 1941 - 15th Infantary Division of the Thuringia-Kurhessen Division

Photograph of Haganah men in the no man's land between Jaffa and Tel-Aviv

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Five-day advance by Mountains Patjet, Sendi, SOEMMENT GONDO, Djurang, KoEli, Lember, Brantas, Djoenggo, Batoe. Patjet Batoe. Along narrow mountain paths the infantry goes forward, always higher the mountains in .. July 1947. Indonesia, Java, Dutch East Indies

Nazis In Stalingrad -- German soldiers man a light machine gun during the street-fighting in Stalingrad. Picture came to U.S. from London. November 26, 1942. (Photo by AP Wirephoto).

Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878). On 11 September 1877, during the third Russian assault on Plevna, Romanian troops took Grivitsa. Burial of the dead in the Grivitsa redoubt. Engraving. "La Guerra de Oriente" (The Russo-Turkish War). Volume I. 1877.

German trenches on the Aisne

French soldiers in improvised gas masks', 1915. A print from Le Pays de France, 5th August 1915. The photographer is unknown.

Soviet soldiers killed in action Operation Barbarossa - German Invasion of Russia, 1941 - 15th Infantary Division of the Thuringia-Kurhessen Division

Original caption: "4/25/34. Santa Ysabel. Snaking stone for dry rubble retaining wall ". 1936 - 1942. Pacific Region (Riverside, CA). Photographic Print. Department of the Interior. Office of Indian Affairs. Mission Agency. 11/15/1920-6/17/1946. Photographs

American Dead in Caserta Checked: Stretched out beneath Canvas, American soldiers who were killed in battle in the Caserta sector in Italy, are checked for identification by Sgt. R. Strese of the state of Washington. December 26, 1943. (Photo by AP Wirephoto)

Photograph showing a unit of Republican troops firing from behind a parapet of sandbags, near San Sebastian in the province of Guipuzcoa, 1936. Date: 1936

08/31/1936. An advance party of Republican Troops Defends Their Positions on the Northern Front.

08/03/1936. A section of Machine Guns Served by the Militias, in the Lines of Fire.

Algerian Desert Maneuvers. Photographs of Marshall Plan Programs, Exhibits, and Personnel

French infantry in the front line on hands and knees creeping forward to within charging distance. Two soldiers are seen in the foreground wearing steel helmets. Date: October 30th 1915

A German prisoner of war is depicted 'in a hurry to get away from British shell-fire,' by the Illustrated London News, with three British soldiers walking behind. The accompanying article claimed that at the time soldiers of the Central Powers were being taken prisoner in considerable numbers, with many of those captured found unwounded. Date: 1916

Dead Confederate soldier of Ewell's Corps near Spottsylvania Court House, Virginia, photo by Timothy O'Sullivan, May 19, 1864

Historical WW I Photos - Tommy enjoys possession of newly captured Hun trench.

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