Marble
University of Notre Dame
Loading navigation...

Steel-Helmeted Scots Entrenched and Awaiting a Counterattack

Date

1917

Creator

Unknown British artist

Location

Raclin Murphy Museum of Art

This photograph, likely taken by a soldier, captures a lull in the action [during the Battle of Passchendaele]. The Scots soldiers rise from cover to stretch, smoke and relax, their slouching, haphazard postures conveying exhaustion rather than military decorum. Their shallow trenches were excavated during quick advances, and the many shovels visible on the ground are evidence that digging was a constant activity; a group of mud-caked ammunition cases in the foreground provides an architectural wall that helps to shelter them. Their rifles lie close at hand with bayonets fixed. They all wear their helmets with their kilted battle dress, and each carries a gas mask on a bag across his chest. Though essentially a snapshot, this image captures the scale of the conflict on the Western Front and the soldiers' experience. This photograph is one of a stereographic pair, mounted together with another print taken simultaneously from a slightly different angle...Published without attribution in the United States and Britian during the war, this image remained in print afterward, when it was also issued in Germany. from Acton, A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame: Twentieth Century (Notre Dame, 2019)

Cite This
This photograph, likely taken by a soldier, captures a lull in the action [during the Battle of Passchendaele]. The Scots soldiers rise from cover to stretch, smoke and relax, their slouching, haphazard postures conveying exhaustion rather than military decorum. Their shallow trenches were excavated during quick advances, and the many shovels visible on the ground are evidence that digging was a constant activity; a group of mud-caked ammunition cases in the foreground provides an architectural wall that helps to shelter them. Their rifles lie close at hand with bayonets fixed. They all wear their helmets with their kilted battle dress, and each carries a gas mask on a bag across his chest. Though essentially a snapshot, this image captures the scale of the conflict on the Western Front and the soldiers' experience. This photograph is one of a stereographic pair, mounted together with another print taken simultaneously from a slightly different angle...Published without attribution in the United States and Britian during the war, this image remained in print afterward, when it was also issued in Germany. from Acton, A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame: Twentieth Century (Notre Dame, 2019)
Open external viewer application
  • This photograph, likely taken by a soldier, captures a lull in the action [during the Battle of Passchendaele]. The Scots soldiers rise from cover to stretch, smoke and relax, their slouching, haphazard postures conveying exhaustion rather than military decorum. Their shallow trenches were excavated during quick advances, and the many shovels visible on the ground are evidence that digging was a constant activity; a group of mud-caked ammunition cases in the foreground provides an architectural wall that helps to shelter them. Their rifles lie close at hand with bayonets fixed. They all wear their helmets with their kilted battle dress, and each carries a gas mask on a bag across his chest. Though essentially a snapshot, this image captures the scale of the conflict on the Western Front and the soldiers' experience. This photograph is one of a stereographic pair, mounted together with another print taken simultaneously from a slightly different angle...Published without attribution in the United States and Britian during the war, this image remained in print afterward, when it was also issued in Germany. from Acton, A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame: Twentieth Century (Notre Dame, 2019)
  • This photograph, likely taken by a soldier, captures a lull in the action [during the Battle of Passchendaele]. The Scots soldiers rise from cover to stretch, smoke and relax, their slouching, haphazard postures conveying exhaustion rather than military decorum. Their shallow trenches were excavated during quick advances, and the many shovels visible on the ground are evidence that digging was a constant activity; a group of mud-caked ammunition cases in the foreground provides an architectural wall that helps to shelter them. Their rifles lie close at hand with bayonets fixed. They all wear their helmets with their kilted battle dress, and each carries a gas mask on a bag across his chest. Though essentially a snapshot, this image captures the scale of the conflict on the Western Front and the soldiers' experience. This photograph is one of a stereographic pair, mounted together with another print taken simultaneously from a slightly different angle...Published without attribution in the United States and Britian during the war, this image remained in print afterward, when it was also issued in Germany. from Acton, A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame: Twentieth Century (Notre Dame, 2019)
  • This photograph, likely taken by a soldier, captures a lull in the action [during the Battle of Passchendaele]. The Scots soldiers rise from cover to stretch, smoke and relax, their slouching, haphazard postures conveying exhaustion rather than military decorum. Their shallow trenches were excavated during quick advances, and the many shovels visible on the ground are evidence that digging was a constant activity; a group of mud-caked ammunition cases in the foreground provides an architectural wall that helps to shelter them. Their rifles lie close at hand with bayonets fixed. They all wear their helmets with their kilted battle dress, and each carries a gas mask on a bag across his chest. Though essentially a snapshot, this image captures the scale of the conflict on the Western Front and the soldiers' experience. This photograph is one of a stereographic pair, mounted together with another print taken simultaneously from a slightly different angle...Published without attribution in the United States and Britian during the war, this image remained in print afterward, when it was also issued in Germany. from Acton, A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame: Twentieth Century (Notre Dame, 2019)
Unknown British artist
1917
Photographs
Gelatin silver print
1997.044.009.003
kilts
rifles
shovels
soldiers
trenches
wars
World War I (global war, 1914-1918)
Not on view, please request access
3 1/2 x 7 in. (8.89 x 17.78 cm)
Gift of Dean A. Porter

Our collection information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. If you have spotted an error, please contact Raclin Murphy Museum of Art at RMMACollections@nd.edu.