the spectre of defeat: Germany in the First World War

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

How Germany was crucified in the First World War: Hidden for 100 years, the astonishing photos by 16-year-old soldier show how his brothers-in-arms would forever be haunted by the spectre of defeat

These remarkable photos, published for the first time, give a rare and uncensored view of the horrors of the First World War from behind enemy lines. They were taken by Walter Kleinfeldt who joined a German gun crew in 1915 and fought at the Somme aged just 16. As his haunting pictures show, life in the trenches was a harrowing experience.