Damaged standard gauge wagons on an embankment that has been subjected to enemy bombardment near the Front Line in France during the Great War (note the soldier in tin helmet)

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Although standard gauge lines were not usually placed close to the front line because of the risk of enemy bombardment, they could be overrun during advances and then recaptured (as seems to be the case here) Railway embankments also made good "stop lines" (particularly in Belgium, where the land was usually very flat) and often had their reverse slopes reinforced and used for dugouts, as here

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Size: 2650px × 2092px
Location: Western Front
Photo credit: © Digbydachshund / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 1, damage, embankment, france, front, great, military, railway, sandbags, soldier, war, western, world