In Meaux, the Great War Museum has launched a new campaign to raise awareness about the psychological injuries of soldiers. One hundred and ten years after the battles of Verdun and the Somme, these poignant posters pay tribute to the suffering of the poilus, but also resonate with contemporary conflicts such as the war in Ukraine.

Published on: 03/07/2026 - 5:30 p.m.

A gaping hole in the face. Barely visible eyes, plunged into shadow. The same portrait was printed 1916 times before being cut out, superimposed, then sculpted to form a real trench. "The war is ending. Its suffering has only just begun", we can read on this poster which is part of a new communication campaign initiated by the Great War Museum of the Pays de Meaux and the BBDO Paris agency.

“This year, we commemorate the 110th anniversary of the great battles of the First World War, those of Verdun or the Somme. We have chosen to evoke the invisible wounds of the soldiers who experienced the unspeakable in the trenches for four years. They returned from the war with physical wounds, but also with psychological wounds,” describes Audrey Chaix, the director of the museum.

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“A true artistic work”

In November 2013, during the official launch of the centenary of the Great War, the museum had already stood out by launching an original initiative to highlight the daily life of the 14-18 year olds. He had created a fake Facebook account where a certain Léon Vivien described his life as a young soldier in texts and photos. Thirteen years later, the cultural establishment wants to once again make an impact with a series of posters on “broken souls”.

On a second portrait, 823 drops of solvent were dropped, one by one, over 24 hours, to reflect an entire day of bombings like those which took place in 1916 in the Somme. A third visual was buried in the mud of a trench for eight days, the time spent by the soldiers before the relief. “We are not dealing with a slogan or a montage, but with a real artistic work,” underlines the historian Jean-Yves Le Naour, who participated in this project. “This affects us well beyond a simple advertising campaign,” he enthuses.

Also read: The suicides, these forgotten soldiers of the Great War

“The Brain Ambushers”

For several years, this specialist in the Great War has been trying to shed light on the psychological consequences of the war of 14-18 on the soldiers. “At the time, we had difficulty classifying and understanding these injuries because we did not really know whether they were due to physical shock, concussion or the psychological shock of emotion,” explains Jean-Yves Le Naour. “Soldiers whose bodies were failing were very frowned upon because it went against the stereotype of virility and the hero. Mental illnesses were the responsibility of women. They were therefore treated as womenlettes or brain tricksters,” continues the author of the work “Soldiers of Shame” (ed. Perrin).

During and after the conflict, many of these soldiers were mistreated. Taken from hospital to hospital, they suffer from the helplessness of doctors in the face of this type of illness. They even have electric shocks applied to them, so that the physical pain takes precedence over the psychological suffering. This is the case of Zouave Baptiste Deschamps who, from September 1914, found himself prostrate after a bombing. In 1916, he was sent to Tours to the neurology department of Doctor Clovis Vincent, a fan of electrotherapy, but refused to undergo "this treatment". Taken before the military tribunal, he becomes a symbol. “The French would never have known anything about these brutal and degrading methods if Zouave Deschamps had not said no to this torture,” says the historian.

After three days of highly publicized trial, he finally received a symbolic suspended prison sentence of six months. “He was the Dreyfus of military medicine,” recalls his granddaughter Marylène Touzet, who was associated with the Great War museum campaign through her participation in a short documentary. "I'm very proud of him. I don't forget where I come from. It's essential to know the history of your family. When you see the images of the trenches today in Ukraine, it's the same thing."

From the trenches of 14-18 to those of Ukraine

Invited during the presentation of this campaign at the Great War Museum, Colonel Arnaud de Peretti, head of the office of studies on society and war of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, approves of this parallel. A century after the First World War, he believes that the war in Ukraine, "despite its technological developments, its drones and its ground robots", "still plunges the soldier into his trench and makes him suffer". But for this officer, the difference lies in the care: "Today we take into account the mental health of soldiers to better prepare for future combat and limit psychological injuries."

According to the Union of Facial and Head Injured Persons (UBFT), better known as "Les Jules Brossés", nearly 80% of the new military casualties it receives each year are psychologically injured. Master Corporal Florent Mesana is one of the examples. Engaged with the Foreign Legion during Operation Barkhane in the Sahel, he returned with mental after-effects and is today supported by “Les Gules Brossés” like 3,320 of his wounded comrades. Also invited to the launch of the campaign, he is happy to see that this subject is being highlighted. “We often think that post-traumatic stress only affected the great wars of the past, but it is still a problem in today's armies,” he confides. “Me, I try to rebuild myself through art. There are some who write, others who sing. I paint and that helps me a lot.”

Also read: Great War: broken faces “were a stain on the population”

In addition to the series of three posters, the museum's campaign ends with a video which diverts the figure of the victorious poilu present on numerous war memorials throughout France. While the camera lingers on the details of the statue, the voice of a traumatized soldier cracks this heroic image. For Jean-Yves Le Naour, it is a resolutely modern bridge between the wounds of yesterday and today: "The strength of this campaign is to remind us that this trauma is combined with the present. As long as war remains on the horizon of men, war will make you mad."

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