24 - Visual essay: War and the state

Summary

This chapter illustrates the extension of state authority, using different sets of images of the First World War. The technique of creating the composite photographs, popular among Anglo-Saxon war photographers, reflects how difficult it was to capture the drama of battlefield action, once combat began and when the troops' primary aim was to expose themselves as little as possible. The obstacles to real photography help to explain why all sides relied on artists to visualise the war and to portray the heroic struggle of their own troops. A set of visual motifs prominent among official photographs focused on the efficiency of state-run mobilisation of resources. Due to the increased portability and affordability of roll film cameras, professional photographers were transmitting visual representations of the war. The photographic archive of the period is an essential source for the transformations of state power in the era of total war.