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The Mud Soldier
The Mud Soldier sculpture was created from a composite of Passchendaele mud and sand by Belgian twin sister artists Damian and Killian Van Der Velden. Over four days, the sculpture will be largely washed away by rainfall.
The infamous WW1 Battle of Passchendaele 31st July 1917 to 10th October 1917 claimed around half a million Allied casualties killed, missing or wounded across a 15 mile front in Flanders. During the battle, 3,000 Allied guns fired over 5 million shells, destroying some of the German defences, but also the land drainage. The worst rain for 30 years created a treacherous mud-sodden battlefield that swallowed men, horses and machinery in what proved to be a futile waste of life. A negligible gain of territory claimed a life for every 2 square inches with 61 Victoria Crosses won and inspired Siegfried Sassoon to write "I died in Hell, they called it Passchendaele".
The infamous WW1 Battle of Passchendaele 31st July 1917 to 10th October 1917 claimed around half a million Allied casualties killed, missing or wounded across a 15 mile front in Flanders. During the battle, 3,000 Allied guns fired over 5 million shells, destroying some of the German defences, but also the land drainage. The worst rain for 30 years created a treacherous mud-sodden battlefield that swallowed men, horses and machinery in what proved to be a futile waste of life. A negligible gain of territory claimed a life for every 2 square inches with 61 Victoria Crosses won and inspired Siegfried Sassoon to write "I died in Hell, they called it Passchendaele".
Created: Thu, 27 Jul 2017, Updated: Fri, 28 Jul 2017
3 images use this description: (all images taken in 2017)
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