The War at Home

Anyone who told you they weren't scared was either a fool or a liar.

Anonymous Combat Veteran

All Quiet on the Western Front

8/31/2006


I found this photograph on the website The Heritage of the Great War. The site features a wide variety of period pictures, stories and information pertaining to World War I. Check it out if you have an interest.

This particular image looks like it was taken from the German lines in France or Flanders circa 1917/1918. It seems to be of a German flame-thrower team in the middle of "No Man’s Land" confronting an approaching tank. The top of the vehicle is barely visible through the thick black smoke.

WW I tanks were slow, lumbering machines that were notorious for suffering mechanical breakdowns. But, if they reached the enemy trenches, they could also be quite effective. The damage they would inflict was not just physical, such as flattening barbed wire and machine gun bunkers, but also psychological. When the first tanks appeared on the Somme in September of 1916, many Germans troops fled in terror, having never before seen, much less having any idea how to stop, these "mechanical beasts."

But, as human beings always do, the Germans started to improvise. After their trial and error, one of the more accepted ways of "taking them out" was the use of the newly invented flame-thrower. My guess is their goal was to heat the tank up so much that either the engine would break down or the crew would be burned out and have to abandon ship. The above picture looks like it captures this action pretty clearly.

This is a powerful photograph.

Besides from the obvious stunning "You are there" feel to it, it also made me think of the human element:

Three men in the middle of a moonscape, completely devoid of cover.

Toe to toe with a hulking piece of steel that is coming to kill them.

Huddled body to body in tandem, behind a tube that spews fire because it is the only thing keeping them alive.

The idea of death is no longer conjecture to these guys. In fact, it is quite probable.

Can you imagine the unbelievable bond that is formed at that moment?

And there is no possible way they could share their thoughts about that moment in time, possibly the defining moments of their lives, with anyone else accept those two other men.

It is said that battle brings out the very worst and the very best in Mankind:

The worst is obvious. The pointless death, pain, disfigurement and terror all meted out by inhuman steel.

The best is the camaraderie. These three men, out of their fear and/or determination, are mustering up the strength and will to fulfill an age-old Human quest to overcome. And, more importantly, they are going to survive or perish together.

Now some will argue that the root of most, if not all, wars is government or corporate greed. I pretty much agree. But the reason why War, with a capital W, does not go away entirely and is not only tolerated but embraced with fervor is a lot more subtle than that.

That fear and the desire for self-preservation are in abundance in the trenches there is little doubt. The fear is overcome because of several different factors such as training, duty and discipline. The instinct for survival is built into all of us and needs little coaxing. I have heard several veterans say point blank, “When the guy next to you got it, you were happy that it wasn’t you.”

But an interesting thing happens in the heat of battle. Either out of loyalty or necessity or...dare I say...love, this “self-preservation” morphs into “group-preservation.” In this case, a three man flame-thrower team in the middle of a man-made apocalypse, stick together to stay alive.

The feelings these three men are having can not be described in a conventional societal way. The emotions must be amplified so intensely it is as if they are waves of light beyond our visual spectrum. They are unattainable.

That is, unattainable to everyone except them. It was a shared experience of the highest order. At that moment in time, no matter how noble or base any of their individual motives were, there will be an unspoken bond between them. Probably until the day they die.

And that feeling, the aftermath of the experience, is what is envied and coveted by a great many people. Usually people whom never actually been in The Crucible. Whom never seen the shelling. Or smelled the death. People whom view war as some sort of an adventure never understanding what high price is paid for this glory. As Remarque wrote:

...and least of all an adventure because death is not an adventure for those who have come face to face with it.

The shame of it all is that it takes human beings the extreme conditions of any number of nightmarish “No Man’s Lands” around the world to realize the simple truth that if We are to move forward, we have to work together.

The irony is that the “working together” part is not only the only means to a satisfactory end to the human experience but is, in itself, a source of great joy and contentment which, in their hearts, is what everybody is searching for in the first place.

Larry