Duitse locomotief op de brug bij Le Theux, kapotgeschoten tijdens de Frans-Duitse oorlog van 1870-71 1870

This photograph by Louis Eugène Vassogne captures a wrecked German locomotive at Le Theux bridge, during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. It's a humble albumen print – a common photographic process at the time – but the image it bears speaks volumes about the impact of industrialization on warfare. Consider the materials: steel, stone, water. The locomotive, a symbol of German industrial might, lies crippled amidst the solid stone of the bridge – also built by human hands. The force required to destroy such an object is immense, hinting at the scale of destruction that modern warfare could unleash. Look at the men gathered on the bridge, small against the backdrop of destruction; they are the witnesses and perhaps perpetrators of this industrial carnage. The image reminds us that even the most advanced technologies are vulnerable, and that war always leaves its mark on the physical landscape, and on human lives.