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Housebreaking Gommecourt 1917
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Housebreaking Gommecourt 1917
Soldiers demolishing a house recycling bricks in the ruins of Gommecourt on the British Front in France during World War I in March 1917
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Media ID 4426485
© Mary Evans Picture Library 2015 - https://copyrighthub.org/s0/hub1/creation/maryevans/MaryEvansPictureID/10268094
Bricks Demolishing Destruction Recycling Scavenging Wreckage Ww 1
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EDITORS COMMENTS
This evocative photograph captures the harsh realities of war as soldiers of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) housebreaking at Gommecourt, France in March 1917. During the First World War, the destruction of enemy lines and the acquisition of building materials were essential strategies for both offensive and defensive operations. In this image, soldiers meticulously dismantle a house, carefully extracting bricks from the wreckage. The house, once a symbol of domestic tranquility and stability, now lies in ruins, reduced to a pile of rubble and debris. The soldiers' actions were not driven by wanton destruction but by necessity. The bricks salvaged from the demolished houses were used to fortify the British trenches and build new defensive structures. This practice, known as housebreaking or house-hunting, was a common tactic employed by soldiers on the Western Front. It allowed them to repurpose the enemy's resources and turn their destruction into gain. The photograph provides a poignant reminder of the devastating impact of war on both the physical landscape and the lives of those who experienced it. The soldiers, once ordinary men with families and homes, are now reduced to scavengers in a desolate and war-torn landscape. The ruins of Gommecourt stand as a testament to the destructive power of war and the resilience of those who fought in it.
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