Photo by Jeff Gusky @hiddenwwi | A tragedy occurred here in the village of Vingré , France on December 4, 1914 when a French Army General ordered six innocent French soldiers be put to death by firing squad as an example to others not to lose ground to their German adversaries. The six men who were closen for execution were arbitrarily selected by drawing straws. The soldiers would later be fully exonerated. The nation still mourns this miscarriage of justice. This gut wrenching letter from one of the murdered soldiers to his wife tells the story: “My darling Lucie, By the time you receive this letter I shall be dead by firing squad. This is why: on 27th November, around 5pm, after 2 hours of heavy shelling in a trench on the front line, just as we were finishing our supper, Germans got into the trench. They captured me and two other comrades. In the crush I was able to escape from the Germans. I followed my comrades and then I was accused of desertion in the face of the enemy. Twenty-four of us went before the War Council last night. Six were condemned to death and one of them was me. I am no more guilty than the others, but they want to make an example of us. My wallet will be sent home to you along with its contents. In haste I say my last farewell to you, with tears in my eyes and a heavy heart. I humbly beg your forgiveness for all the grief that I will cause you and the difficulties that you will have to face because of me... Dear Lucie, again, please forgive me. I’m going to Confession now and I hope to see you again in a better place. I shall die innocent of the crime of desertion of which I stand accused. If, instead of escaping from the Germans, if I had remained a prisoner, my life would have been spared. It must be fate. My last thoughts are for you, right to the end. Henry Floch" To view more of my photographs of The Hidden World of WWI, please visit @hiddenwwi. Copyright 2013, Jeffrey Gusky, All Rights Reserved #wwi #history #photooftheday #picoftheday #instadaily #photo #igdaily #fineart #instaart #hidden #secret #art #classic #igers #hiddenwwi #thephotosociety

thephotosocietyさん(@thephotosociety)が投稿した動画 - 2015/09/03 03:20:48