Each of these pictures looks like a nightmare, but nearly a hundred years ago, this was the dark reality of war.
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This was a time when people grew very accustomed to the aesthetics of war.
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Civilians in occupied countries commonly wore masks such as these to guard against gas attacks.
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During the first day of battle alone, the Germans used 2.5 million artillery shells.
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Also on the first day, the British created this colossal crater in France during the Battle of Messines by setting off 19 mines in just 19 seconds. Over 10,000 Germans were killed, and the blast was said to have been heard all the way from Ireland.
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One of the most shocking images photographers saw after the smoke cleared was this newly dead man laying underneath a crucifix that had strangely been left unscathed.
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Upon victory, America decided to symbolically erect a pyramid of 12,000 German helmets outside Grand Central Station.
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Everyone was employed to help the war effort, apparently even this Belgian dog that was forced to pull artillery on a wagon.
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After the war, prosthetic faces were popular for the soldiers who returned with disfigured faces.
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The masks were hideous to look at, but they were, at times, far more appealing then the badly maimed faces underneath.
