On September 4, 1917, during the Battle of Jugra near Riga, Latvia, on the Eastern Front of World War I, the bodies of Russian soldiers killed by chemical weapons were scattered across the battlefield.

     On September 4, 1917, during the Eastern Front of World War I, the bodies of Russian soldiers killed by chemical weapons littered the battlefield near Riga, Latvia, at the Battle of Jugla. During the fighting of the Jugla Offensive, there were no Russian survivors.

     The German offensive at Jugla (Riga) erupted from September 1 to September 5, 1917. The Germans launched their attack on September 1, crossing the Daugava River south of the fortified Russian positions around Riga. One column attacked the Russian corps threatening the bridgehead, while another advanced north along the river towards Riga. Most of the fighting occurred near the Dvina bridgehead, where the Germans also attacked Russian positions along the Jugra River further northeast. Meanwhile, German forces advanced into Riga with little resistance. However, in the southern fighting and the Riga advance, most Russian troops withdrew intact. The Germans captured only 9,000 Russian soldiers, and overall casualties on both sides were minimal.

    When the Germans attacked the Russian positions along the Jugra River, they employed gas shells, flamethrowers, and air strikes. Despite this, the Russians repelled the German river crossings for most of the day. Despite Russian resistance, the Germans ultimately secured bridgeheads along the Jugra River by the end of the day. The Germans employed a more fluid, infiltrating tactic rather than a straight-line assault. Advance units bypassed many defensive positions, leaving them for the main force to eliminate. While Russian cavalry, artillery, machine gun units, and some infantry fought well, the majority of infantry units fared poorly and decided to abandon their positions.

During the Siege of Port Arthur in the Russo-Japanese War, Japanese soldiers evacuated the enormous number of Japanese military casualties. In the first through third assaults on Port Arthur, the Japanese military suffered approximately 15,400 killed in action and about 44,000 wounded.

 　During the attack on Port Arthur in the Russo-Japanese War, Japanese soldiers repatriated the enormous number of Japanese military casualties. In the first general assault on Port Arthur alone, from August 19 to August 24, 1904, the Japanese forces suffered casualties of 15,800 out of the 50,700 soldiers who participated. The Russian forces also suffered significant losses of approximately 3,000 men. During the first half of the second general assault (September 19-22) and the third general assault (November 26-December 6), the Japanese captured Hill 203. From the first to the third assault on Port Arthur, the Japanese Army suffered approximately 15,400 killed and 44,000 wounded. Russian casualties amounted to approximately 16,000 killed and 30,000 wounded. 

　On August 19, 1904, General Nogi Maresuke, commander of the Third Army, issued orders to all Japanese divisions to launch a general assault on the Port Arthur fortress. The objective of capturing Port Arthur was to seize the fortress before the Russian Baltic Fleet could sail east, destroy the Russian fleet within Port Arthur Harbor, and thereby lift the blockade of Port Arthur by the Japanese fleet, conserving its strength. This attack on Port Arthur was carried out at the request of the Japanese Navy. With the Japanese Navy's urgent need, there was no time for a conventional assault; instead, a surprise attack was chosen.

　　On August 19th, under the order for the general assault on Port Arthur, all Japanese divisions launched their invasion simultaneously. However, the Russian defenses proved formidable, resisting the advance. Japanese troops charged in as human shields, piling corpses uselessly upon the hillsides. The Japanese divisions finally captured the East and West Bastions of Mount Banryong. Yet the Russians counterattacked relentlessly. They stabbed with swords, struck with rifles, and when firing ceased, hurled stones at each other, engaging in repeated hand-to-hand combat. After retreating, the Russians rained bullets down on the Japanese like hail from nearby gun emplacements. The Japanese paid a heavy price to secure these positions.

　The observation tower captured by the Japanese division's suicide squad through successive assaults on August 24 was immediately retaken by the enemy Russian forces, and the Japanese soldiers were almost entirely annihilated. The interior of the fort was filled with the corpses of Japanese soldiers. The slopes were also covered with bodies, leaving no gap in the ground. Finally, Commander Nogi Kiyotane abandoned the first general assault on Port Arthur and ordered the assault halted at 4:00 PM. The first general assault on Port Arthur, from August 19th to August 24th, became a true grave for both armies.

Gaza Endowments Ministry accuses Israel of exhuming graves, stealing bodies in Khan Younis. Ministry says Israeli forces deliberately destroyed 40 of Gaza’s 60 cemeteries under ‘false pretexts’

   The Palestinian Ministry of Endowments for Gaza accused the Israeli military of digging up graves in Khan Yunis and stealing Palestinian remains. According to the ministry, the Israeli military deliberately destroyed 40 of Gaza's 60 cemeteries under false pretexts.

    On July 11, 2025, the Ministry of Endowments in Gaza condemned the Israeli military for committing the horrific crime of exhuming graves and stealing Palestinian remains in the southern city of Khan Yunis. The ministry stated that Israel's actions constitute a blatant violation of all religious and humanitarian values and norms. Crossing all humanitarian boundaries and stripping away every moral, religious, and international value, the Israeli occupation forces destroyed the graves with tanks and bulldozers at dawn on July 10, 2025, exhuming the bodies. They committed a horrific crime by stealing the remains of Palestinian martyrs and the deceased.

    The statement added that the Israeli military violated the dignity of the dead and the posthumous dignity of human beings. Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli military has killed approximately 57,800 Palestinians in Gaza, the majority of whom were women and children. The Israeli military's relentless bombardment has devastated the Palestinian enclave, creating famine-like conditions. The Ministry of Relief and Works in the Gaza Strip stated that from October 7, 2023, to July 11, 2025, the Israeli military destroyed approximately 67 percent of coastal cemeteries during its war of genocide against Palestinian territory.

Warning: Mass grave in Northern Gaza: Gaza Endowments Ministry accuses Israel of exhuming graves, stealing bodies in Khan Younis. Ministry says Israeli forces deliberately destroyed 40 of Gaza’s 60 cemeteries under ‘false pretexts’ (Anadolu Ajansı © 2021)02

During the Battle of Kursk on the Eastern Front of World War II, from July to August 1943, a Soviet mortar unit soldier was killed instantly when their trench position was directly hit by German counter-battery fire.

     During the Battle of Kursk on the Eastern Front of World War II, from July to August 1943, Soviet soldiers perished. A Soviet mortar unit was killed instantly when their trench position was directly hit by German counter-battery fire. The battlefield became a tragic, desperate, and brutal arena, involving one of the highest casualties in history for both sides.

    The Battle of Kursk, fought from July 5 to August 23, 1943, marked a fundamental turning point on the Eastern Front of World War II. Following the German defeat, Germany transferred large reinforcements from other fronts to the Soviet front during the summer of 1943. This weakened the Italian and French fronts. The defeat of large German forces on the Eastern Front led the Allies to deploy on the Western Front, ultimately contributing to the collapse of Nazi Germany. 

    Following the German defeat at Stalingrad in early 1943, the German army launched an offensive to encircle and destroy Soviet forces in the Kursk region starting July 5, 1943. The German forces launched their offensive on Kursk. Fierce fighting raged during the first few days. On July 12, 1943, the Battle of Prokhorovka erupted, becoming the largest tank battle in history. Over 800 tanks from both sides clashed. By July 23, 1943, the German forces had suffered severe and costly losses. The Soviet forces liberated Orel.

    On August 5, 1943, the Soviet forces launched an operation to liberate Kursk. The operation's success enabled the Soviets to encircle and destroy a large German force, paving the way for ultimate victory. On August 23, 1943, the Battle of Kursk concluded with a Soviet victory. The German forces were forced to retreat. Soviet losses amounted to 254,470 dead and missing, with 608,833 wounded. German losses reached 500,000 soldiers killed and wounded.

The two Russians were dressed in Soviet military combat uniforms. After the Charikov offensive, they were executed in Kharkiv, Ukraine, as irregular civilian partisans following their command of grenade attacks against German forces.

  The two Russians were dressed in Soviet military combat uniforms. After the Charikov offensive, they were executed in Kharkiv, Ukraine, as civilian partisans fighting irregularly, following their command of grenade attacks against German forces. German anti-partisan units acted without mercy against partisans.

  Under the September 1941 Expiation Order, German forces were temporarily ordered in Serbia at the end of 1941 to execute 100 civilians for every German soldier killed. Adolf Hitler later repeated this order multiple times. Guerrillas could be executed as snipers after capture. The perpetrators of massacres were never held criminally responsible for the execution of captured partisans. For every German soldier wounded or killed, ten Cretans were shot. German forces were ordered to burn down farms and villages that fired back and to take hostages everywhere.

  In Europe, repressive measures against enemy civilians had become customary law over centuries. Both the British Army Manual of Military Justice and the U.S. Army Field Manual (Rules of Land Warfare) permitted reprisals against civilians. Within the German Wehrmacht, a quota of ten civilians massacred for each German soldier killed was commonly accepted. Conversely, in the French Army of Southern Germany under the Allied forces, four civilians were shot for every French soldier killed in 1945.

   Under modern international law, the military is an independent legal entity and the only state organ granted the authority to wage war. Individuals who are not members of the military or who do not submit to the corresponding established authority cannot take up arms, fight, or resist in any form.

In November 1943 during the Pacific War, American soldiers pulled the body of a Japanese soldier killed in action at Tarawa, the site of a suicidal defense in the Gilbert Islands, out of a trench using an iron wire looped around his ankle.

   In November 1943, during the Pacific War, American soldiers dragged the body of a Japanese soldier killed in action at Tarawa—which had become a site of total annihilation in the Gilbert Islands—out of a trench using wire looped around both ankles. Other American soldiers watched the dragging, grinning faintly.

   In November 1943, the U.S. military invaded the Japanese-held Gilbert Islands, overrunning Japanese outposts across the Pacific islands. On November 20th, a force of approximately 35,000 U.S. troops launched an amphibious assault on Betio Island in the Tarawa group and the Makin Atoll. Defenses on Makin Atoll were minimal. The heavily fortified island of Betio led to the 76-hour Battle of Tarawa. By November 1943, 4,830 Japanese soldiers defended it. Pillboxes and defensive trenches were positioned throughout the island's interior.

  On the morning of November 20, U.S. forces advanced approximately 90 meters to shore under intense Japanese artillery fire. Crossing the breakwater to establish a base proved difficult. They secured small beachheads at the westernmost tip and the central northern beach. On November 21, U.S. forces pushed inland toward the central airstrip. They quickly secured a beachhead on the western side. On November 22, as the Americans began their eastward advance, Japanese machine gun fire hindered their progress. Attacks from the north and west forced the remaining Japanese defenders into a small pocket on the eastern side. That night, they regrouped for a Banzai counterattack. Subsequently, they launched a second, third, and fourth Banzai charge. This attack became the Japanese Army's last organized assault against the Americans and ended in total annihilation.

   By the morning of November 23, the only remaining Japanese forces on Betio were confined to a small pocket on the eastern side of the island. The Americans destroyed the last defensive positions. The American front line reached the eastern tip of Betio, and the island's capture was declared. Isolated Japanese soldiers continued to surface for weeks after the battle. Except for 146 prisoners of war, the Japanese garrison was annihilated. Of the 1,021 U.S. soldiers killed in the Battle of Tarawa, approximately 350 were listed as missing, many of whom were killed on the first day of the assault by Japanese artillery and machine gun fire. The Japanese forces met the Americans with 4,830 men, but 4,684 were killed in action. The 146 prisoners of war taken by the Americans were mostly Korean laborers.

During the 1938 Battle of Gubeikou in the Sino-Japanese War, Japanese soldiers carried the bodies of their fallen comrades. The Japanese forces crossed the Great Wall and invaded, gaining complete control over Jehol Province under the Tanggu Agreement.

 　During the Battle of Gubeikou in 1938, the Sino-Japanese War, Japanese soldiers carried the bodies of their fallen comrades. The Japanese forces crossed the Great Wall and invaded, gaining complete control over Jehol Province under the Tanggu Agreement. This allowed the Kwantung Army in Manchuria and the China Garrison Army in the Beijin-Tianjin area to easily coordinate, setting Japan's sights on full-scale invasion of North China.

　To conquer the North China Plain, the heartland of China, Gubeikou became the most crucial strategic point for the Japanese Army. During the Battle of Gubeikou, the Japanese deployed tanks and won after fierce fighting. In March 1938, Chinese Nationalist forces were killed by machine gun fire from Japanese tanks.

　Having completed the occupation of Manchuria and the three northeastern provinces, Japan's next target was Jehol Province, situated between North China. On February 23, 1938, following a decision by the Japanese government, the Jehol Invasion Operation commenced. Subsequently, in mid-March, the Japanese forces repelled Chinese troops at Shanhaiguan, the Yanbian Pass of the Great Wall. They occupied territory stretching approximately 450 km up to Gubeikou (Old North Gate). By May, Japanese forces crossed the Great Wall again, invading the Inner China region of North China, the area inside the Great Wall. They advanced into North China, approaching within 50 km of Beijing. 

　　The Chinese side was forced to request a ceasefire. Soon, the occupation expanded to include Jehol Province, with the Great Wall line as the boundary. This effectively meant China accepted inclusion into Manchukuo, a puppet state of the Japanese military and a Japanese occupied colony. The Japanese military invaded across China's Great Wall and, based on the Tanggu Agreement, brought Rehe Province (热河省) completely under its control. The Japanese Kwantung Army in Manchuria and the Japanese China Garrison Army in Beiping and Tianjin could now easily coordinate with each other, allowing Japan to fully pursue its invasion of China's North China region.

On Christmas morning, December 25, 1944, the bodies of German soldiers killed by American machine gun crossfire littered the shell-pocked field northwest of Bastogne.

　　On Christmas morning, December 25, 1944, the bodies of German soldiers killed by American machine gun crossfire littered the shell-pocked field northwest of Bastogne. Most of the German infantry participating in the attack were shot dead in close formation while advancing behind German Mark IV tanks. Other German soldiers who charged aboard the tanks were shot dead and fell from the decks. The Americans soon destroyed the German Mark IV tanks. During the harsh winter of 1944-1945, a month-long battle over Bastogne—a town with a peacetime population of 4,000 and only seven roads—claimed the lives of 23,000 American and 25,000 German soldiers.

　　The Battle of Bastogne took place in Bastogne, Belgium, and was part of the Battle of the Bulge during World War II. The German offensive aimed to reach Antwerp. Before Allied forces could regroup and utilize air superiority, German mechanized units had to seize control of the roads in eastern Belgium. All seven major roads in the Ardennes converged on the small town of Bastogne. Control of this crossroads was essential for the German attack. The encirclement lasted from December 20 to 27, 1944, and the trapped American forces were relieved by units of Patton's Third Army.

　　The German army attempted to break through the Allied front lines during the Battle of the Bulge, which lasted from December 16, 1944, to January 25, 1945. On December 17, American airborne troops rushed to the Bastogne area. They halted the German advance and defended the main access roads into the town. Meanwhile, German armored units invaded and captured Bastogne from the north and south, encircling the town and its garrison. While the peak of the attack stalled at Dinant, the German high command concentrated its main forces on capturing Bastogne. For about three weeks thereafter, Bastogne remained encircled. Residents took refuge in basements and shelters. Isolated from their rear bases, the American soldiers held their ground against extremely fierce attacks. On December 27, General Patton's tanks arrived, liberating the town and resuming the offensive into the German heartland.

On June 24, 2024, at a morgue in Kyiv, Ukraine, forensic pathologists conducted autopsies on the bodies of Ukrainian prisoners of war returned from Russia.

    On June 24, 2024, forensic experts conducted autopsies on the bodies of Ukrainian prisoners of war returned from Russia at a morgue in Kyiv, Ukraine. According to the Ukrainian government, at least 206 of the more than 5,000 prisoners of war returned by Russia to Ukraine died while in captivity. Prosecutors stated that an additional 245 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed by Russian soldiers on the battlefield. Ukrainian authorities plan to file a complaint with the International Criminal Court accusing Russia of war crimes for the abuse of captured soldiers, based on evidence gathered from testimonies of former prisoners and autopsies of returned bodies.

  Human rights groups, the United Nations, Ukrainian government officials, and Ukrainian forensic pathologists handling the remains indicate Russia systematically subjected captured Ukrainian soldiers to brutal treatment, with abuse in Russian prisons likely contributing to many deaths. Russian authorities did not respond to requests for comment. The UN has described the situation as severe.

  Ukrainian authorities state that the frequent return of dismembered and decomposed bodies is a Russian measure to conceal allegations of torture, starvation, and poor health care in dozens of prisons and detention centers across Russia and occupied Ukraine. A 2024 UN report found that 95% of released Ukrainian prisoners of war had endured systematic torture and abuse. Prisoners reported beatings, electric shocks, suffocation, sexual violence, prolonged stress positions, mock executions, and sleep deprivation.

Warning: Forensic workers at a morgue in Kyiv, Ukraine, examine the body of a Ukrainian prisoner of war returned by Russia, June 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Babenko)

The Battle of the Marne during World War I erupted from September 5 to 12, 1914, as French soldiers searched for and gazed upon the bodies of German soldiers lying at the bottom of small defensive trenches.

 　The Battle of the Marne during World War I erupted from September 5 to 12, 1914. In the Soie-aux-Bois region of France's Marne department, two French soldiers discovered the body of a German soldier lying at the bottom of a small defensive trench.

　This photograph, along with the discovery of a German soldier's remains during the 2013 investigation at Betigny, led to the excavation by INRAP at Betigny-sur-Marne of a series of small holes arranged in two parallel rows stretching approximately 60 meters. These graves contained the remains of several German soldiers who had died around September 17 or 18, 1914, early in the war. Initially separate holes were later joined together, forming a small trench several meters long, about 70 cm deep, and approximately 50 cm wide. Two shells destroyed the trench, exploding and scattering the remains of at least seven German soldiers. The impact of the explosion was suggested by the twisted, unnatural positions of the bodies.

　Artifacts indicate the German combat unit at Vettigny belonged to the 73rd Fusilier Regiment, which deployed numerous soldiers early in the hostilities. Reinforcements comprised units with non-modern equipment. The excavation occurred during the final days of mobile warfare before trench warfare began.

　 Over two million soldiers participated in the First Battle of the Marne. French and German casualties were estimated at approximately 250,000 each, with French dead at 80,000 and German dead at around 67,000. British forces suffered 13,000 casualties, including 1,700 killed. For France, the decisive battle of the “Miracle of the Marne” occurred along the front stretching eastward from Paris along the Marne River. The German war plan had reached an impasse. Far from securing a decisive Allied victory, it left a trail of casualties and trench warfare scars across the Western Front for the next four years.

Luis Segura Vilichis stood before the firing squad, with the body of Father Miguel Pro beside him. He was a member of the Mexican Catholic Youth Association and also part of an armed resistance defending religious freedom. On November 23, 1927, he was immediately shot alongside his father, his brother, and accomplices in the attack on President Obregón.

　　 Luis Segura Vilchís stood before the firing squad. Beside him lay the body of Father Miguel Pro. He was a member of the Mexican Catholic Youth Association and also part of the armed resistance of the National Federation for the Defense of Religious Freedom in the capital. On November 23, 1927, he was immediately shot alongside his father and brother, along with Juan Antonio Tirao, an accomplice in the Obregon assassination, at the site of the current National Lottery Building.

　　Father Miguel Agustín Pro was a Jesuit priest martyred by firing squad in Mexico in 1927. With his arms spread in the shape of a cross and declaring “Viva Cristo,” bullets tore through his chest. He was executed by firing squad to restore religious freedom in Mexico, where all worship was banned by the anti-religious government. 

　　During President Obregón's term, conflicts began between Catholics and supporters of the Mexican Revolution. Some bishops actively campaigned against land reform and the organization of workers into secular unions. Obregón was elected President of Mexico in 1920, inheriting a chaotic nation. His presidency focused on stabilizing the country, implementing the 1917 Constitution, and promoting economic and social reforms.

　　The Legitimacy of Christian Warfare: In the 12th century, Saint Bernard of France taught Christians the legitimacy of war against pagans. In war, dying for Christ or killing is not a crime but an honor. Death in battle leaves no trace of sin and brings glorious merit. Christ accepts the enemy's death as punishment and offers Himself to the soldier as consolation. Dying in war is for oneself, while killing is for Christ. It is the act of God's messenger punishing evil and exalting good. When Christians kill the wicked, they are not committing murder but slaying the devil. When Christians themselves are killed, they are not perishing but attaining eternal glory. The death a Christian gives is again for Christ's sake; the death he receives is for his own benefit. Christians rejoice at the death of pagans, for Christ receives glory; in the death of Christians, generosity is shown. It is better for them to be killed, so that the righteous do not yield to the injustice of their hands.

In January 1938, during the Battle of Teruel in the Spanish Civil War, a Republican soldier laying telephone lines was shot by a Francoist sniper. Photographed by war photographer Robert Capa as a frozen, immobile soldier against the winter sky.

　　In January 1938, during the Battle of Teruel in the Spanish Civil War, a Republican soldier laying telephone lines was shot by a Francoist sniper. His agonized expression and hand clutching a twig were captured by war photographer Robert Capa as the frozen, immobile soldier against the winter sky. The Battle of Teruel, lasting from December 15, 1937, to February 22, 1938, was one of the most brutal battles of the Spanish Civil War. Although the People's Army combat units launched an offensive, the Republicans were defeated, and irreplaceable elite units were destroyed. 

　　Teruel had fallen to the rebels early in the Spanish Civil War. By late 1937, Republican forces had encircled Teruel on all sides except the northeast. Fearing Franco's forces would consolidate the northern front and launch a major assault on Madrid, the Republicans attacked Teruel in the dead of winter. They initiated the assault with superior numbers and supplies. Worsening weather, heavy snow, and sub-zero temperatures favored the Francoist defenders. Thousands of rebel soldiers and volunteers mounted fierce resistance in hand-to-hand combat within Teruel's heavily fortified center. The fighting and shelling resulted in heavy civilian casualties. Francoist reinforcements failed to arrive in time. The situation became desperate. Isolated in a few buildings and running out of food, the rebel forces surrendered on January 8, 1938.

　　Teruel was the first provincial capital captured by the Republicans, and the victory was widely celebrated. The Francoists halted their advance on Madrid, concentrating their forces to retake the lost city. The counterattack began in mid-January, with fierce fighting resuming amid harsh weather. Early February saw a dramatic shift when Republican forces suffered a devastating defeat at the Alfombra River northeast of the city. Thousands of Republican soldiers were killed or captured. The rebels forced the Republicans to withdraw from Teruel on February 22, with both sides suffering enormous casualties. Forty thousand were killed, and thousands more were wounded or suffered frostbite. The Battle of Teruel cost the Republicans heavy personnel and material losses, including the loss of their elite units, and determined the course of the Spanish Civil War. Franco's forces, superior in numbers and equipment, launched a full-scale offensive across Aragon towards the Mediterranean. 

On July 4, 1917, the Russian July Uprising erupted, demanding the immediate overthrow of the Provisional Government. On July 17, 1917, on Nevsky Prospect in Petrograd, the demonstration was met with gunfire, resulting in numerous deaths.

　　On July 4, 1917, Russian soldiers, sailors, and workers took to the streets in the July Uprising, demanding the immediate overthrow of the Provisional Government. On July 17, 1917, on Nevsky Prospect in Petrograd, their demonstration was met with gunfire, resulting in numerous deaths. Having experienced the February Revolution, the citizens were well-armed. The Kerensky government fell into disarray but resolved to hold onto power. Units loyal to the government were hastily assembled and opened fire on the resisters. Sixteen demonstrators were killed, 700 were missing, and 100 were arrested. The Provisional Government reported 24 dead.

　Russian national anger erupted in the July Uprising. Thousands of Russian soldiers, inspired by powerful speeches from the Left (Bolsheviks, Left SRs, Anarchists), declared the Provisional Government untrustworthy, stating they would “vote with their hands.” They threw down their weapons on the battlefield. Petrograd's enraged working class erupted in boiling turmoil. Citizens poured out of factories onto the streets, unconsciously expressing their surging fighting spirit. They demanded an end to World War I, shouted for all power to the Soviets, and called for workers' control of production.

　　The Bolshevik leaders could not suppress the workers' fighting spirit and stood helplessly stunned. Just as in the February Revolution of 1917 (when the people were fired upon on February 27, 1917, Julian calendar), it seemed the revolution was about to be carried out directly from the streets.

　　The headquarters of both the Bolsheviks and the anarchists were ransacked; the Bolshevik newspaper Pravda was shut down. Trotsky and other Bolshevik leaders were thrown into prison. Lenin fled Petrograd, relocating his base to the area around Lake Lazarev. Lenin shaved his beard, adopted an alias, and fled to a hideout in Finland. Kerensky, temporarily successful in suppressing the rising radical tide, became Prime Minister and organized a new coalition government. This led to the October Revolution, spearheaded by the Bolsheviks, who sought to overthrow the Provisional Government by force.

 

On May 14, 2025, Palestinians mourned before the bodies of their relatives at a hospital in Beit Lahia, Gaza Strip. That night, Israel resumed its attacks on northern Gaza Strip.

 　　On May 14, 2025, Palestinians mourned before the bodies of their relatives at a hospital in Beit Lahia, Gaza Strip. Since Israel resumed attacks on northern Gaza on the night of May 14, Jabalia in the Gaza Strip has become the site of one of the bloodiest assaults. Hospital corridors overflowed with bodies, including women and children, killed in airstrikes, while the cries of relatives filled the compound. In addition to the 50 victims in the northern enclave, 13 people were killed in the bombing of the southern town of Khan Yunis. According to data from the Gaza Ministry of Health, since the start of the war in October 2023, more than 52,900 people, mainly children and women, have lost their lives in Gaza, and another 119,700 have been injured by the Israeli military's relentless bombardment.

　　Hassan, one of the victims from the Mekbel family, said that no one survived after an Israeli shell hit his sister's house. Hassan's sister and several relatives, including four children, were killed in one of the houses destroyed by Israeli bombs. Hassan stood at the door of the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia, his pain and anger evident.

　　Emergency teams are transporting the bodies of victims from Jabalia, a northern town that has been the focus of the attacks. They have no connection with Fatah or Hamas, the secular parties that govern the Palestinian Authority. Jihad, another survivor of the Mekbel family, stood in front of the Indonesian Hospital gate, holding the body of his young nephew.

　　“My cousin and his children are dead,” he said, showing me the body of little Adam, who had died in the bombing along with his mother and brother. I was surprised by this news, as I had thought the situation in Gaza would improve after the release of American hostage Ethan Alexander on May 12. A boy of about five was crying because he had not been given a sedative injection. Many people waiting for treatment in the hospital were suffering the same fate.

Warning: People mourning in front of the bodies of their relatives at a hospital in Beit Lahia, Gaza Strip, 14 May 2025. EFE/ Ahmad Awad

During the Battle of Iwo Jima in the Pacific War, a Japanese soldier was killed in action beside the command post in February 1945. The Japanese forces had constructed a formidable defensive position, transforming the ravines and gorges into a deadly maze.

 　During the Battle of Iwo Jima in the Pacific War, a Japanese soldier was killed in action beside his command post in February 1945. The fighting across Iwo Jima was extremely fierce; American casualties alone exceeded 2,400 on the first day of the landing. The Japanese forces had constructed formidable defensive positions, turning the island's ravines and gorges into deadly mazes. Some strongholds were defended with extreme intensity, proving brutally tenacious. Both sides eventually conceded that the defenses would collapse, and it was only a matter of time before Iwo Jima fell to the Americans.

　　Iwo Jima was a small island with a total area of only about 21 square kilometers. The Japanese military had built three airfields on the island. It lay just about 1,126 kilometers from the Japanese mainland. The Japanese military had fortified the island, transforming it into a maze, and lay hidden within Iwo Jima. An underground tunnel network concealed the Japanese forces from American reconnaissance.

　　The U.S. forces landed with a Marine division first, followed by infantry regiments. The landing occurred almost exactly on schedule at 9:00 AM on February 19, 1945. The volcanic ash covering the island was soft and loose; on the beach, soldiers sank ankle-deep into the sand. The coastal slope was steep, and fierce waves violently pounded the landing craft.

　　Japanese forces lay concealed in underground tunnels. When the shelling ceased, they waited for the Marines to gather on the beach before opening fire. They unleashed a hail of bullets and shells upon the American soldiers crawling up the sandy beach and climbing the slopes. The Japanese garrison fought until their last breath. Iwo Jima became the only battle in the Pacific War where American casualties exceeded those of the Japanese.

　　The Battle of Iwo Jima lasted from February 19 to March 26, 1945. On the night of March 25, the Japanese forces launched a desperate banzai charge, their final strike for the Emperor. This attack killed or wounded over 100 American soldiers, but Iwo Jima was officially declared secured. Over 21,000 Japanese soldiers died defending Iwo Jima, with 216 taken prisoner. Of the 70,000 American troops on the island, more than 6,000 were killed in action, and a further 18,000 were wounded or killed. The bloody outcome forced American strategists to reconsider plans for an invasion of the Japanese mainland.

Russian forces buried bodies under rubble during their June 7, 2025 attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine. Kharkiv emergency responders discovered the sixth deceased body beneath the rubble, bringing the death toll to six.

　　Russian forces buried bodies under rubble during their June 7, 2025 attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine. Kharkiv emergency responders discovered the sixth body of a victim killed in the Russian airstrike on June 7 beneath the rubble, bringing the death toll to six. Search and rescue operations continued afterward.Around 17:35 on June 7, Russian forces attacked the Shevchenkivskyi and Kyivskyi districts of Kharkiv with four guided bombs. 

　　In this attack, a 30-year-old woman employed by Ukrainian Railways died near the Mara Pivdenna production facility and rolling stock depot. By the evening of June 11, rescue teams had recovered three bodies.They were women aged 46, 48, and 50. More than 40 people were reported injured in the attack.

　　The death toll from Russia's large-scale combined attack, which occurred through June 7, reached eight people (three of whom died inside their homes). The Kyiv and Osnovianskyi districts were targeted. Russian forces attacked using 48 Shahed-type drones, four guided airstrikes, and cruise missiles.

Warning: Aftermath of the Russian attack on Kharkiv Photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine

On April 19, 2025, Palestinians mourned the body of Mohammad Abu Nada, a Palestinian child killed in an Israeli military airstrike, at his funeral in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.

   On April 19, 2025, Palestinians mourned the body of Palestinian child Mohammad Abu Nada, killed in an Israeli military airstrike, at a funeral in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza. Mourners embraced the deceased's face and kissed it. Before the body bag was closed, they stroked the child's forehead with their fingers.

      Gaza's Health Ministry announced on April 19 that over 90 people had been killed in 48 hours by Israeli military attacks. The Israeli military has intensified its attacks to pressure Hamas to release hostages and disarm.According to Khan Younis Hospital, the 15 people killed overnight included children and women. At least 11 died in southern Khan Younis, several of them inside tents in the Muwasi neighborhood where hundreds of thousands of displaced people are staying. 

     According to the European-run hospital where the bodies were taken, four people, including a mother and daughter, were killed in an April 19 attack in Rafah city.Al-Auda Hospital reported one death from an Israeli airstrike on a civilian group west of Nuseirat in central Gaza on April 19. Gaza's Civil Defense Agency on April 14 condemned the Israeli military for carrying out a “summary execution” of 15 rescue workers last month, rejecting the findings of an internal Israeli military investigation.

     The Israeli military announced on April 19 that an Israeli soldier had been killed in northern Gaza. This marks the first death of an Israeli soldier since the Israeli military resumed the war on March 18, 2025.The conflict erupted on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led armed groups attacked southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Hamas currently holds 59 hostages, 24 of whom are confirmed alive. Most other hostages were released through ceasefire agreements or other exchanges.Prime Minister Netanyahu stated that Israel “has no choice but to continue” the fighting in Gaza. Israeli attacks have killed over 51,000 Palestinians.

Warning: Mourners grieve over the body of Palestinian child Mohammad Abu Nada, killed in an Israeli army airstrike, during his funeral in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

In the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, in 1962, an ARVN soldier attempted to execute a young Viet Cong prisoner by threatening him with a pistol after interrogation, as the prisoner lay on the leaf-covered ground.

　　In Vietnam's Mekong Delta, a South Vietnamese soldier attempted to execute a young Viet Cong prisoner by pistol threat after interrogation in 1962, as the prisoner lay on leaf-covered ground.Other ARVN soldiers watched from behind. American photojournalist Dicky Chapel, who covered wars from World War II until her death in Vietnam on November 4, 1965, photographed the scene. 

　

　The execution in Saigon became one of the defining photographs of the Vietnam War. On February 1, 1968, South Vietnamese Police Chief Nguyen Ngoc Loan shot and killed Viet Cong officer Nguyen Van Le, a suspect, by firing a pistol into his head on a Saigon street during the early days of the Tet Offensive.On a Saigon street, a South Vietnamese police chief pointed a gun at the head of a handcuffed Viet Cong prisoner and suddenly pulled the trigger. Photographed by Eddie Adams of the Associated Press, it won the Pulitzer Prize. He agonized that the photo didn't tell the whole story. 

　It was the second day of the Tet Offensive, which erupted on January 30, 1968.North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong guerrillas attacked towns and cities across South Vietnam, including the capital Saigon, during the holiday ceasefire. South Vietnamese soldiers were dragging a prisoner out of a building and heading toward the press corps. The soldiers stopped, and Police Chief Lieutenant Colonel Loan approached, pistol drawn. Instead of interrogating him, Loan fired, freezing prisoner Bui Leop.The execution was broadcast across America. While the Tet Offensive was a military failure for the Communists, it fueled American public pessimism and fatigue about the Vietnam War. The North's victory in 1975 brought the Tet Offensive to an end.

   

In the outskirts of Baoshan District, a fierce battleground of the Shanghai Incident, the Japanese military abandoned the bodies of Chinese Shanghai citizens they had massacred in tunnels.

    In the outskirts of Baoshan District, a fierce battleground of the Shanghai Incident, the Japanese army abandoned the bodies of Chinese Shanghai citizens they had massacred in pits. The First Shanghai Incident erupted on January 28, 1932, and the Second Shanghai Incident on August 13, 1937. Baoshan in Shanghai faces the Yangtze River and lies west of the Huangpu River, serving as the Japanese army's landing point.

    Following the Marco Polo Bridge Incident on July 7, 1937, full-scale Sino-Japanese War erupted. Chinese forces actively launched strategic offensives against Japanese troops in Shanghai. The Second Shanghai Incident, which broke out on August 13, became one of the largest and fiercest battles throughout the entire Sino-Japanese War. The fighting lasted three months, continuing until Japanese forces captured Shanghai on November 12.

     During the three months of fierce fighting and after the fall of Shanghai, the Japanese military carried out inhumane and systematic massacres against civilians in the Shanghai area. These atrocities were more brutal and widespread than those during the First Shanghai Incident on January 28, 1932. Japanese forces detained large numbers of Chinese civilians and prisoners of war in urban and rural areas, subjecting them to mass shootings, beheadings, and burials alive.Massacres erupted particularly in Baoshan, Luojing, Wusong, Pudong, and Songjiang. Japanese forces abandoned tens of thousands of Chinese victims' bodies in wastelands, ponds, tunnels, riverbanks, and hastily dug pits, forming multiple shocking “mass graves.” Japanese forces caused the deaths of at least hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians in Shanghai and its surrounding areas.

Reiko Fuchimoto, who was exposed to the atomic bomb dropped and detonated by the U.S. military over Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, received treatment for the wound that formed from her right cheek to her ear at a special relief hospital set up at Shinseizen National School in Nagasaki City in late September.

　　Reiko Fuchimoto, who was exposed to the atomic bomb dropped and detonated by the U.S. military over Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, received treatment for a wound from her right cheek to her ear at a special relief hospital set up at Shinseizen National School in Nagasaki City in late September.The city center where the atomic bomb exploded was filled with people who could no longer move. Reiko Fuchimoto was loaded onto a truck and received treatment at a hospital in Tokitsu Town, Nagasaki Prefecture. After that, she attended the Shin-Kozan Special Hospital until January 1946.

　　During the summer, Reiko's wound festered, throbbing with pulsing pain. Once healed, she became self-conscious about the scar. She pinned her hair back so it wouldn't be visible even in the wind. Five years later, she married her husband through an arranged meeting. On the night ten days after their wedding, her husband noticed the scar. He said, “I didn't know you had a scar like this.”Reiko Fuchimoto resolved, “If he asks for a divorce, I'll agree.” But the next day, and the day after that, her husband said nothing. Eventually, he never said anything. Reiko Fuchimoto stated, “I regret not properly telling him about the scar, but I think it turned out for the best. Now, I no longer feel hatred toward America or the atomic bomb. I just don't want it to happen again.”

　This photograph was taken by Yasuo Tomishige, a photographer with the Asahi Shimbun Western Headquarters Photo Department. On August 9th, when the atomic bomb exploded over Nagasaki, he was stationed in Fukuoka City. He entered Nagasaki City immediately after the war ended and again around September 22nd. He photographed the immediate aftermath of the bombing and the treatment of atomic bomb sickness at the Shinmeisen Temporary Relief Hospital. Sixty-six of these photographs are preserved at the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum in Nagasaki City. 

In May 1944, on the Italian front of World War II, along a road through the fortified hills between Cassino and the Tyrrhenian Sea, an American tank halted just before the corpse of a German soldier whose left arm had been blown off.

 　In May 1944, an American tank halted just before the corpse of a German soldier whose left arm had been blown off. In May 1944, on the Italian front, fighting erupted between some French units and German forces along roads through the fortified hills where German troops were trapped between Cassino and the Tyrrhenian Sea.On May 11, the French Expeditionary Force set the time for the battle to break the long stalemate on the Gustav Line and the Anzio landing zone front for 12:01 a.m. on May 12.

　Suddenly, from Cassino to the coast, the roar of approximately 1,000 German artillery pieces lit up the night sky. It was the Gumié unit, composed of French and Senegalese-Algerian soldiers, advancing ahead of other forces. To their right were British troops ordered to capture Cassino, and to their left were American forces aiming to open a path to Anzio.Some American soldiers accompanied the force as crew members aboard Sherman medium tanks. Allied combat aircraft provided powerful support by attacking supply lines and artillery positions. The French-led assault broke through the Gustav Line within two days, pushed on to the Hitler Line, and swiftly breached it during the major sweep towards Rome.

　　The road on May 18th was near the hamlet of Esperia. Esperia was a cluster of stone houses at the foot of Monte Doro, a key German stronghold on the Hitler Line. As the French approached Esperia during the German retreat, a fierce counterattack commenced, employing German 88mm guns, tanks, and tracked vehicles.One German shell blew up a French light tank. A hundred shells followed in rapid succession, making the entire hill seem to lift off the ground. Hundreds more rained down on other vehicles. Algerian soldiers launched their assault, storming the village. They bayoneted German soldiers out of the houses, taking many prisoners.