rotogravure

The shot of the inside of the hospital train car is what caught my eye.

The lower photo caption says ".......speeding towards the coast.....". It is difficult to identify the interior of the coach as to its origins, but from the interior roof line, I am surmising the coach is either French or Belgian - further research needed. Meantime I am of the view that English (plus US, South African etc) built coaches at that time had proper opening windows in the Clerestory, whilst this coach seems to be equipped with ventilators there, and also along the lower sides. Perhaps for medical reasons? Also the formers, all shaped, inside the roof are unusual. Compare with the interior views currently available from all relevant images within the Clerestory Group : click here........ . Have you anything further to confirm one way of another? The National Railway Museum (York, UK), is also using this image for their WW1 Ambulance Train exhibition (current August 2016). Based on their image, the "A" on the far wall of the coach stands for 'Ward A'. For other relevant Ambulance train photos in the Clerestory Group, so far, click here....... . .

The upper picture is interesting, although obviously posed, since they appear to be using captured Russian Moisin-Nagant rifles. This suggests second-line troops, but the standard field caps seem to rule out Landsturm which leaves either Landwehr or a reserve formation. I admit to the caption to the lower picture raising a smile - I doubt very much whether these men could haul that gun into position as it's set in a concrete emplacement! The Germans seem to be either infantrymen who have been pressed into service to help their Austrian comrades-in-arms or Bavarian artillerymen, since the only man wearing a pickelhaube has a spike rather than the artillery's ball (only Bavarian artillery wore spikes on their pickelhauben).

A couple of corrections are to be made. 1. This is not Ghent, but Deinze, a city at about 15 miles SW of Ghent. The church is the Our Lady Church and the soldiers are crossing the river Leie (Lys). 2. They are crossing the river from left bank to right bank. This means that they are heading towards the Germans, so they are not withdrawing (yet). It also means that they have not been in any fighting yet.