A dramatic photograph was prominent in media reports of the centenary of the opening of the Battle of Verdun on 21 February 1916, apparently showing a French soldier caught in the moment of death. It is usually licensed from Getty images who have now altered their caption to acknowledge that it is in fact a film still from 1928.
The French film maker Léon Poirier produced a remarkable feature Verdun, visions d’histoire, shot on the old battlefields and inside the forts, using veterans wearing original uniforms and equipment.
Another famous photograph of stretcher bearers under shell fire is also from the film but Getty have yet to alter the caption.Embed from Getty Images
Watch Verdun, visions d’histoire on YouTube:
Booking is open for my Medics & Padres Battlefield Tour to France & Belgium with The Cultural Experience 16-19 July 2022
Join me on a battlefield tour with The Cultural Experience:
The War Poets: Words, Music and Landscapes, 10th-13th July 2023
First & Last Shots 1914 & 1918
Medics & Padres in the Great War
Walking the Somme, Summer 2023
More Information about Battlefield Tours
Understanding the 1914 Christmas Truce
The Lochnagar Mine
The Secrets of Rossignol Wood
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