In any case, the image had acquired its force of truth, testimony from the field. Crime or war, it was demanded by the greatest number. For the press bosses, and the journalists, it was necessary to be where the drama was happening, to capture the scene and send it for rapid publication. Competition and speed against a tragic backdrop. Collective emotion was at this price, sales too.
Thus on August 8, 1915, in its illustrated supplement, the vk database Petit Journal published the drawing of a soldier, sounding the assault with a trumpet in his hand, his other arm torn off by a shell... Heroic exaltation by an already old technique.
While the same day, the daily newspaper displayed on its front page a photo of English troops storming the battle of the Dardanelles – yet another one. A little further on was an interview with a photographer. He had captured the terrible spectacle of suffering inflicted on Louvain by the Germans.
" It was necessary to preserve indestructible, indisputable proof of all these visions, of all these aspects: it was necessary to photograph ," he said.
The image as a political issue
The force of truth – presumed – of the image could not be better affirmed. And at the same time, the political stakes of its publication. Based on the maxim that one is never better served than by oneself, the armies created their own photo service in 1915, with around sixty reporters.