PHOTO PROMPT © Madison Woods
It’s raining again as I leave the chateau. Bloody rain! It’s been raining since late July, halting our advance on Passchendaele. Nothing can move through this mud. Before reaching the line, I’m already rehearsing my report.
But the battlefield vanquishes me. A bog, pocked by oozing shell craters, which sunk and drowned a quarter of a million men. Sticking from the mud, an arm that had once belonged to a living man, that had raised a pint with mates or caressed a sweetheart’s cheek.
God! What have we done? I put my service revolver to my temple, squeezing the trigger.
Friday fictioneers is a weekly challenge to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find It here
Dear Neil,
Grisly and full of emotion. The image of the dismembered arm is vivid and disturbing as is the ending line. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks, Rochelle. In fact, in my mind, the arm is still connected to the soldier, who is below the surface
LikeLiked by 2 people
Either way, it’s a horrible picture.
LikeLike
What a terrible situation he found himself in. He was doomed from the start. I have to admit that I had to google Passchendaele to understand the history of this story.
LikeLike
We’re now approaching the hundredth anniversary of Passchendaele. That’s the problem with 100 words – no backstory
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yes…. in some senses, 100 words does eliminate backstories, and here, I mean no offense to Jossylyn Rae Turner, but age factors in too. Some parts of history, significant parts, are lost to entire generations, and they have perhaps, at best, a vague notion, rather than information, which means, as was the case, your reader was curious enough to search out the story in order to fully appreciate the meaning, and put it into perspective.
LikeLiked by 1 person
And I just watched the Canadian movie with Paul Gross recently…
LikeLike
This is awesome.. yes the barbed wire does make you think of Flanders Fields (except it was worse).. a fascinating subject.. I love how you used Passchendaele instead of Somme… making the terror more subtle.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Passcendaele is a more classic example of the high command not understanding the significance of the terrain and conditions, so I chose that, as well as the fact it happened in 1916
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dark and terrifying tale!
LikeLike
War is terrible in all its forms and all its ways and all its despair!
LikeLiked by 2 people
J B Priestley was never the same after he returned from the Great War. So much of humanities future had been destroyed.
LikeLike
At least it was the wat to end all wars
LikeLike
A grim and graphic reminder of grimmer times. The arm was just about the most horrifying example of the ordinary, everyday lives of those statistics that must haunt everyone engaged in operational warfare. Well done.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks Sandra
LikeLike
Excellent story about the horror of WWI. Have we learned from it? Nope.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nope
LikeLiked by 1 person
Bloody rain and very vivid imagery..range of emotions, esp. remorse. Well written and captured about the horrors of war in general.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you
LikeLiked by 1 person
I too admit that I had to look up Passchendaele. Your well written, vivid and horrific imagery, made me want to know more about the incident.
LikeLike
Excellent in capturing the brutality of the intensity of these places …. the mud that literally became a graveyard in such epic proportions, and the complete misunderstanding of the situation leading up to it – the failure of command – oh the follies of war and the terrible cost. Well done.
LikeLike
The high command knew it was raining, They just said that rain was a tactical consideration, not a strategic one
LikeLiked by 1 person
I suspect, that like most things, understanding the implications of weather and its affects, whether then or now, can honestly be classified as categorically “a guess at best” – it sort of reminds me of the aspect of not really understanding “the complexities of the terrain and jungles” in Vietnam.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great story of a horrific time that should never be forgotten
LikeLiked by 1 person
Captured oh so well. Indeed horrific. Reminds me of Pj’s description of when they liberated camps and found the bodies everywhere, coming to the surface in the rains and mud… very chilling.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much
LikeLiked by 1 person
The reflection of things the arm has done in a previous life, highlights the true horror.
LikeLike
Thanks Clare. When I was cutting it down I contemplated removing that but I thought it worked, so thanks for confirming that
LikeLike
Robert Leckie reported a similar incident during the USMC’s New Britain campaign, where it rained so hard for so long that many men went insane. The trenches were even worse, since an infantryman’s death was all but certain by 1917. I imagine that many a young man was willing to do anything to escape.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I feel his confusion and dismay.
How do survivors cope?
LikeLike
Thanks. It’s based on a true incident
LikeLike
Fantastic discriptions, really showed the horror of war and the impact it has. I would love to say we learn from past experiences of war…but it seems we don’t. Well done Neil, a very thought provoking peice! Heidi 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Heidi
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pleasure 🙂
LikeLike
Very gritty, and all-too-real-sounding.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I imagined that he was suffering from PTSD and the mud on the drive reminded him of the battlefield and his hand in it. A darkly beautiful tale. Well done!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The high command was in a chateau a long way from the front. He was intended to be a captain sent out to find out what the problem was and report back. But your interpretation worked.
LikeLike
A lot of horror captured in that image of the arm sticking out of the mud and it’s impact on the narrator. Very evocative
LikeLike
Thanks, Siobahn
LikeLike
Very graphic and intense. This, unfortunately, happens a lot. Awesome story, Neil!
LikeLike
Thanks so much
LikeLike
This is thought provoking. Wonderfully written.
LikeLike
Thank you so much
LikeLiked by 2 people
A grim tale with vivid descriptions. I like line “…the battle field vanquishes me”.
Well done!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh now that’s interesting. I almost deleted that line
LikeLike
Grimly told… Well done!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well done. War is Hell indeed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
War is really too much for any man to walk away unscathed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Gripping story!
LikeLike
Thanks, Jo
LikeLiked by 1 person
Incredible tale! So powerful.
LikeLike
Thanks so much
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s quite a strong image of the hand sticking out the mud. That’s going to stay with me all day. What a sad, tragic end. Well done.
LikeLike
I know I should apologise for that image staying with you all day, but that’s why we write
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha. No need to apologize. I agree…that’s why we do it!
LikeLike
How terribly sad. The transition in your character is enormous; my heart went out to him and all the rest in that bog. How very sad; how important to write and remember.
LikeLike
Thank you, Helena
LikeLike
This broke my heart
LikeLike
Thank you, Dawn
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow…powerful piece this week. Well done!
LikeLike
Thank you so much
LikeLiked by 1 person
The juxtaposition of the ordinary (as represented by the arm) and war (as conveyed through evocative imagery) is intensely powerful. A wonderfully written story!
LikeLike
Thank you for the appreciation and for analysing which bits worked for you
LikeLike