The wounded of the war.

The photo presented is of a particularly brutally wounded soldier who survived a vicious attack on the frontlines. This wound on this soldier was just one of thousands of other various injuries other soldiers would endure, some less severe than this one, and some vastly worse than his. The cause of the wound is unknown; however, it is a testament to what the Canadian soldiers had to endure to defend their allies and achieve victory. Yet also a physical reminder of the consequences of war for the soldiers who did not share the same level of shared comradery through suffering as those who hounded for war in the government and often their superiors as well. This wound also indicated that war had indeed changed, it was not as simple as getting shot and receiving minor treatment, it was now a hellish reality where a soldier could be eviscerated by artillery in less than a moment or suffer a gruesome death via gas attacks.

Bibliography

[1] Creator unkown, World War I soldier (probably Canadian) showing flesh wound suffered to back, 1917, Government of Canada Archives / Collections and Fonds, https://beta-recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Home/Record?app=fonandcol&IdNumber=3224962&q_type_1=q&q_1=World%20War%201&ecopy=a149317-v8