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An original 6.5x5" antique photo from a stunning collection of rare WW1 press photos that we acquired from an estate collection in London from a major sale house. It is an original silver gelatin print. Professionally packaged in a rigid mailer for safe delivery.
Photo Overview
German stormtroopers in Stahlhelm helmets charge forward from a shell-crater position across a cratered battlefield, rifles and bayonets at the ready, as smoke from artillery explosions rises behind them on the Western Front during World War One. The assault troops move in small groups using cover in the open ground, illustrating the new infiltration tactics developed late in the war against entrenched enemy lines, with a low horizon of trees and wire marking the devastated no-man's land.
German Sturmtruppen (stormtroopers) were elite assault units created in 1915-1916 to break the stalemate of trench warfare using speed, surprise, and decentralized tactics that later influenced modern infantry doctrine. Their most famous offensives came during the German Spring Offensive of 1918, when stormtroop units spearheaded deep penetrations into Allied lines before being halted by exhausted manpower and supply shortages. Authentic WW1 stormtrooper combat images are avidly collected and seldom appear in this quality, so secure this compelling piece of battlefield history before another collector does.
Text Present
Front lower left, white printed number:
6158
Back, printed Dutch caption on pasted paper strip:
Van uit een trechterstelling aanvallende Duitsche stormtroep.
Translation of Dutch caption:
From a crater position attacking German stormtroopers.
Print analysis:
This is an original silver gelatin press photograph on period fiber paper, likely printed c1917-1919 based on the subject, surface, and typeface of the Dutch-language caption strip mounted to the reverse. The image shows continuous tone with no halftone dot pattern, consistent with a photographic print rather than a later lithographic reproduction. As it appears to have been produced for contemporary publication within a few years of the action depicted, it is best classified as a Type 1 original press photo.
Condition: Photo is in fair to good condition. Please check photos for the most accurate condition. The back of the photo may have remnants from having been attached to an album page.
