Marching in WWI

Description: 

It is said that soldiers marched upwards of 25 miles a day while in WWI. I can tell you confidently that I would not be able to do this every day  for who knows how long. "Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots,But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame, all blind;Drunk with fatigue" writes Wilfred Owen in Dulce Et Decorum Est. This line in the poem shows just how exhausted and delusional these men were when marching long treks throughout the day. The line "Men marched asleep" particularly stands out to me because in order for a man to be tired enough to march when he's exhausted to the point of appearing to be asleep is unfathomable to me. Sure I've been tired before but never to the point where my body is on the brink of shutting down while marching with over 60 lbs of military gear.  He says that men lost their boots and still marched on, blood on their feet and all. This shows me that the men weren't treated humanely by even their own country. They were being forced to continue and get to their destination no matter what. It's truly sad to see and hear about the way that these men were treated by the people who were supposed to lead them. 

Associated Place(s)

Part of Group:

Artist: 

  • The Education Center of the National library of Israel

Image Date: 

20th century