Historical Combat Scenes

Black-and-white images showing soldiers in combat positions during historical conflicts, with a focus on trench warfare and military tactics.

The weapon which is said to have changed German Infantry tactics: A machine-gun in the German trenches. 1914

04/30/1918. On the French front in Lorraine. Entrance to a Machine Gun Blockhouse Built in the Ruins.

Four members of the "Flying Tigers" engage in "friendly action" on the ground while waiting on the alert for any Japanese planes. The pilots are Lt's L to R M.J. Buku; M.S. Feltz; F.D. Barnard; and W.E. Brinkeman.

Anefo photo collection. Seinpost Cadiz keeps contact with Surabaia. August 25, 1947. Indonesia, Dutch East Indies

Camel Transport ***** Slipping camels before applying a *****. October 09, 1918. (Photo by Egyptian Official Photograph).

Army Printing and Stationery Section First World War Collection

Soldier with rifle equipped for launching grenades in trench at Diksmuide in Flanders during the First World War, Belgium, Europe

Reinforcements of British infantry are shown moving in long, narrow columns towards the front lines, September 1916. The soldiers marched in such a way to minimise any damage that might be inflicted upon them by enemy artillery fire. Date: 1916

The British Occupation of Java Soldiers of the 5th Indian Division wait for a casualty to be evacuated after a skirmish with Indonesian nationalists outside of Surabaya (Soerabaja). Although British and Indian forces secured the town after heavy fighting the surrounding countryside continued to harbour many fighters armed with discarded Japanese weapons.

The Battle of the Somme, July - November 1916 German prisoners captured by the British during the Somme Offensive, July 1916.

The Royal Navy during the Second World War Operation Husky: The Sicily Landings 9-10 July 1943: Ambulance parties resting after clearing the beach during the start of the invasion of Sicily.

Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905: Japanese troops landing at Chinnampo, March 1904

German infantry in advanced trenches in front of Antwerp readying to fire upon the Belgians with a machine-gun. Date: October 24th 1914

British soldiers outside Jerusalem, during anti-Jewish riot

08/31/1913. Military Operations in Morocco. Soldiers from General Arraiz's column advancing to occupy new positions near their camp.

Italian Soldiers Fight Germans -- Amid Rocks on mount Lungo on the allied fifth army front Italian soldiers fire at their former Allies, the Germans, in Italy. This is an official British photo. December 17, 1943. (Photo by AP Wirephoto)

Front of Petersburg Lines. Artist: Timothy H. O'Sullivan (American, born Ireland, 1840-1882). Former Attribution: Formerly attributed to Mathew B. Brady (American, born Ireland, 1823-1896 New York). Date: 1864. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

China At War With Japan -- Japanese troops defending a position along the river front in China. March 9, 1932. (Photo by Central News).

Dei large Italian Manovei in southern Italy.Funker a signal corps in maneuvers . October 12, 1936. (Photo by Atlantic Photo).

12 cm cannon battery at the knoll head.

11/30/1914. From the Ottoman army. Turkish artillery pieces in position to attack the enemy.

09/30/1912. The Eastern War. Turkish Machine Gun Section Preparing to Go into Action.

The Battle of the Somme, July - November 1916 Battle of Albert. 6-inch gun firing. July 1916.

WORLD WAR II. German army tactical exercises.

Near Stalingrad: Another German Gun Has Been Silenced -- A direct hit from a Red Army gun has killed the crew of this German gun, scattering debris far and wide. May 17, 1943. (Photo by Soviet Newsreels Picture).

Cannons are pulled by soldiers of the German army during World war One

Dash to Shore, Iwo jima 1945. US forces storm ashore on the beaches during the invasion of Iwo-jima.

08/31/1917. On the Western Front King George, Contemplating the Grave of an English Soldier, at Vimy.

Photograph of French troops under fire move through a trench. Dated 1916

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.

The German Spring Offensive, March-july 1918

Republican artillery position during the Spanish Civil War

Troop transition via the Piave 15.6.18. .

Photograph showing a battery of 15.5 cm howitzers, used by the Nationalist army during their offensive against Catalonia; Spanish Civil War, 1939. By January 1939 the Spanish Civil War, between the Republican Government and the Nationalist Rebels, was nearly over and when General Franco launched his offensive against the Republican stronghold of Catalonia it was a decisive blow. Date: 1939

Military transport on the line between Nässjö - Falköping.

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. Patrol gang. 1946. Indonesia, Dutch East Indies

Emperor Wilhelm II. Birthday celebration in Vladimir Wolinsky.

Regimentskmdo of IR.90 Nordöstl.Pelza. 15. XII. 1915..

Melilla Campaign, 3/10/1924. A convoy to Tizzi Azza. Tercio Forces ready to protect the operation.

The Second Boer War, 1899-1902 Troops of the 1st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders washing their clothes.

Burning down the town of Kogys Operation Barbarossa - German Invasion of Russia, 1941 - 15th Infantary Division of the Thuringia-Kurhessen Division

German - Russian Battlefield Near Makow

British forces during the First Battle of Ypres (19 October to 22 November 1914), the Allies captured the town from the Germans Ypres occupied a strategic position during World War I because it stood in the path of Germanys planned sweep across the rest of Belgium and into France from the north (the Schlieffen Plan). The neutrality of Belgium was guaranteed by Britain; Germanys invasion of Belgium brought the British Empire into the war. The German army surrounded the city on three sides, bombarding it throughout much of the war. To counterattack, British, French, and allied forces made costly advances from the Ypres Salient into the German lines on the surrounding hills. In the First Battle of Ypres (19 October to 22 November 1914), the Allies captured the town from the Germans.

Europe: September 26, 1918 Wounded Canadian soldiers within the HIndenburg line are being taken back of the firing lines by captured German prisoners.

The Battle of Aubers Ridge 9 May 1915 Following a meeting of battalion commanders at 23rd Brigade HQ, Lieutenant Colonel C B Vandeleur briefs the 2nd Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), on their role in the forthcoming attack. At this time the battalion were in billets at Rue de Bois.

Royal Saxon Protection Regiment No. 108

Water disaster 1953. Dutch soldiers in the area affected by the disaster. Just a moment of peace.

The Royal Navy during the Second World War Sailor sappers placing the charges in the bridge over a rapid stream whilst they are training at Hvalfjord, Iceland. One man is standing, keeping watch on the bridge. These sailors are undergoing training for demolition work, wherein they are shown how to prepare charges and detonators for the destruction of enemy property and defences, as they would in a landing in enemy occupied country. The men are led by specially trained officers who teach them the art of taking cover and harden them with long treks over country.

An N.Z. Dressing Station, 24 August 1918, France, by Henry Armytage Sanders.

01/31/1915. The English in War. A rifle patrol on the lookout for the enemy in northern France.

The 9th Lancers returning from the Front, Premont Aisne, 13 October 1918

07/31/1936. Republican Forces Jumping Over the Walls of the Andalusian Fences to Pursue the Nationals.

Antietam, Maryland. Dead soldiers in ditch on the right wing where Kimball's brigade fought so desperately | Library of Congress

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.

Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905: Cossacks of the Krasnogarsk Regiment being drilled.

Cheshire Regiment trench Somme 1916

Rumanian soldiers march to war to the company of a violin, World war one 1916

Mash. rifles for flyer defense at the Isonzofront.

World war two: the liberation of wiitenheim, Alsace, France 1944

U.S. Infantrymen sheltering behind a M-4 Sherman tank during heavy German shelling. Dec. 11, 1944. Geich, Germany. World War 2. (BSLOC_2014_8_60)

A column of Italian infantry at the battle of Isonzo, world war one 1917

Photograph of Spanish troops during the Spanish Civil War. Dated 20th Century

Battery is brought to position.

The Royal Navy during the Second World War The advance party storm up the beach with bayonets fixed during training at the Royal Marine barracks, Eastney.

Marmolada: Lunch on "and" South. .

Sappeur - artillery in fire position. .

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930), directed by LEWIS MILESTONE.

The British Army in Pre-1914 Period Troops of the Lothian and Border Horse Yeomanry preparing for a mounted patrol.

10/31/1909. The marine general in Dar - Missiam, the commander in chief of the Operations Army, with his General Staff, witnessing the advance of our Troops in Benisicar.

Dunkirk and the Retreat From France 1940 RAF personnel on the deck of a ship during the evacuation from France, c. 18 June 1940.

Spanish army patrol in Morocco 1910

The British and French commanders-in-chief walking together at the front; Sir John French and General Joffre with a party of British and French staff officers. Date: June 5th 1915

Russian soldiers awaiting assault signal, July 1917, Tarnopol, Russia, Europe

Inspecting by its excellence General of the Infantry Succovaty v. Vezza at the field hunter battalion 32 in the castle trench.

The US Army on the Western Front 1917-1918 American soldier and his mules lying dead in a dirch by the road.

The German Spring Offensive, March-july 1918

Soldiers and a cannon at the front line, Spring Offensive, World War I, from l'Illustrazione Italiana, Year XLV, No 20, May 19, 1918.

Austrian prisoners eating their first rations after being captured, Gorizia, Italy, World War I, from L'Illustrazione Italiana, Year XLIV, No 26, July 1, 1917.

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Soldiers of the Worcester Regiment (29th/36th Foot) going into action in c1915 during World War I.

WWI. The battle of Verdun. The catastrophic battle which took the lives of almost half a million men. 1916.

Italians Bullets Against The Nazi Enemy During The Liberation, World War II, 1945.

'The Capture of Givenchy', (1919). Creator: Fortunino Matania.

Germans Shell Enemy River Bank - On The Russo-German Front -- Smoke columns (in background) mark fires started by shells from German SS elite troops artillery. Two German infantrymen (foreground) and rifle fire to that of big guns, on the Eastern front, according to German caption. June 12, 1941. (Photo by ACME).

Selling food to the Russians in Pawlowieczi Russia, Volhynia; photographer: Kriegsvermessung 4.

''La Bataille de la Marne; Pendant la poursuite, une halte a l'entrée d'Ay', 1914. From "L'Album de la Guerre 1914-1919: Volume I". L'Illustration, Paris, 1926.

Dresden. Protect on field guard

Yank Sharpshooter Picks Off Japs -- A Marine sharpshooter, crouched behind a blasted foundation, picks off the crews of Jap tanks as they fled their blazing vehicles on Saipan in the Marianas during a desperate battle to stem the American advance. Some of the Jap tanks (center of the picture) are aflame. American forceshave knocked out at least 80 Jap tanks on Saipan. July 5, 1944. (Photo by Associated Press Photo).

first world war, 1915-18

Attack on the Soviet Union, Operation Barbarossa, original caption: Baukompanie bei Stolpce, Belarus, Europe

Anefo photo collection. Boy's village of Amsterdam-Oost. January 12, 1950. Amsterdam, Noord-Holland

The picture shows captured English soldiers sitting on the ground and writing letters.Original text: "Captured Englishmen Rasta before the transfer to the Germans gathering place for prisoners."The image shows captured English soldiers sitting on the ground and writes letter.Original text: "captured Englishmen Rasta before the transfer to the German gathering place for prisoners.

Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Fighter Command An RAF 'ground gunner' mans a 20mm Hispano cannon in a revetment at Tangmere, 8 June 1941.

Tanks advancing along a road. 1917 - 1918. Photographs. The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection

War album 19, picture 4959.

The German Spring Offensive, March-july 1918

12/31/1936. Anti-aircraft pieces taken from the Nationalists in Strait Quinto. Photo: Aldama.

Photograph of Military Individuals Standing Near Tank with Bulldozer Attachment.

2nd king. Saxon. Hunter Battalion No. 13

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