World War I spanned four years, three months, and two weeks. The Allied Powers defeated the Central Powers, and when it was all said and done, new countries and the League of Nations were formed. The casualty total of the war came to 8,528,831, more than half of the forces involved. While soldiers who made it out of The Great War alive are now deceased, their memories live on forever in our remembrance of the First World War.
The places these soldiers fought, however, are still here to this day. Photographer Michael St. Maur Sheil of Western Front Photography does tremendous work capturing these terrestrial reminders of the war that sadly featured incredibly gruesome battles.
National Monument to the Victories of the Marne at Mondemont.
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It was here where French and Moroccan troops held off the Germans in a seven-day battle that saved Paris, also known as “Miracle of the Marne.”
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Belleau Wood
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The Battle of Belleau Wood took place in June of 1918. Americans, French, and British forces faced off against German forces. The casualties were, at the time, a record-setting high for the United States Marine Corps. Today, there is a cemetery here to honor the fallen soldiers.
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A Benedictine monastery occupied by French troops, as evidenced by the carvings left in the walls.
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Tyne Cot Cemetery in Passchendaele, Belgium. It is home to over 12,000 graves.
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Reconstructed German trenches in Bayernwald.
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A bunker in the Vosges, which is in eastern France, right by the German border.
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This is where the French front line was located at the Battle of Hartmannswillerkopf.
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Another German bunker overlooking the Rhine plain.
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Where the Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge went down.
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A destroyed village in Nauroy.
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A concrete German bunker that held a trench mortar in the Battle of Hartmannswillerkopf.
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The tricky terrain of the 1917 Battle of Messines, which took place in Flanders, Belgium.
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A view from a bunker in Ypres.
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The muddy ground that had to be navigated in the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917.
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A sparse wooded section in Passchendaele, Belgium.
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The cratered ground from the many battles that took place in Ypres throughout World War I.
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German bunkers on a farm where the Battle of Passchendaele took place.
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The Newfoundland Memorial Park on the Somme.
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(via Western Front Photography)
These stood the test of time, but are still grim reminders of the Great War. If you’re interested in seeing more shots of what World War I battlefields look like today, check out Western Front Photography.
