Through gas and smoke, our troops advance to the final assault of Passchendaele Ridge c. 1917 - 1918

This photograph by Realistic Travels, taken at some point during the First World War, is a monochromatic study in dread. Imagine the artist, perched precariously, trying to capture this scene—the smoke, the gas, the relentless advance. The surface is grainy, a texture that speaks to the grit and grime of trench warfare. It’s hard to tell if it’s actually grey or if the colour’s been bleached out by the horror of it all. The figures, almost ghostly, emerge from the fog. A smudge here, a blur there. It reminds me of Goya’s war paintings—that same sense of humanity swallowed by chaos. There’s a painterly quality to the composition, with the landscape tilting and the figures poised, evoking a sense of impending doom. You can almost feel the chill of the morning and smell the lingering scent of gunpowder. Artists respond to conflict in so many ways, but it is often left to us to grapple with the ambiguities and uncertainties of the image.