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Western Front, France, 1918
Poster Prints from Mary Evans Picture Library
Western Front, France, 1918
Telephone and pigeon men in a shell hole. Telephone lines are broken so messages have to be sent by carrier pigeons on the Western Front in France during World War I on 25th April 1918
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Media ID 4403647
© Mary Evans Picture Library 2015 - https://copyrighthub.org/s0/hub1/creation/maryevans/MaryEvansPictureID/10272100
Carrier Communication Hole Larne Messages Messenger Pigeon Pigeons Shell War Time Ww 1
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EDITORS COMMENTS
This evocative photograph captures a poignant moment during the Western Front's most intense period in the spring of 1918. Amidst the desolation of a shell-pocked landscape, two soldiers carefully prepare and release a line of carrier pigeons. The telephone lines, a vital means of communication for the Allied forces, have been severed, leaving these birds as the only reliable method to transmit messages between units. The First World War, a conflict that redefined the very concept of warfare, brought about unprecedented challenges in maintaining effective communication between soldiers on the front lines and their commanders. Telephone lines, though a modern marvel of the time, were easily disrupted by the constant shelling and artillery fire. In response, the use of homing pigeons as messengers became an essential part of the Allied war effort. Trained birds, like the ones in this image, were sent with messages tied to their legs, and their natural instincts would guide them back to their lofts, allowing for crucial information to be relayed to the commanders. The soldiers in this photograph, their faces etched with the weariness of war, carefully release the birds, their determination unwavering in the face of adversity. This image is a poignant reminder of the ingenuity and resilience of the soldiers during the Great War, and the vital role that animals, like these carrier pigeons, played in the communication networks that kept the Allied forces connected during the most challenging of times. The photograph, taken on April 25, 1918, in France, stands as a testament to the indomitable human spirit and the power of animals in the face of war.
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