
Fascinating photographs taken by a German officer through the First World War have lifted the lid on what life was like behind enemy lines.

The collection belonged to medical officer Robert Lichte, who filled nine albums with snaps from the German trenches and the operating table.

They fell into the lap of PhD student Marius Moneth, 33, from Düsseldorf, who considers the pictures a 'real historical treasure' capturing a unique insight to the war from a German soldier's point of view.

A group of soldiers in front of a well-fortified light bunker. One soldier is getting his face groomed by a comrade in what became known as the morning shave as an officer sits barefoot in the foreground in the image titled 'Life in the Trench'

A medical team work on a patient who appears to have a wound on his chest in a rare photograph taken in a restricted area. Marius Moneth, who inherited the photographs, believe this picture was staged as access to the operating theatre is usually prohibited for photographers and there are no gloves being worn nor any blood as you would expect to see during an operation

A soldier sits in the debris of destroyed buildings at the edge of a huge crater. The walls of the buildings have crumbled and roofs fallen down in a scene synonymous with The Great War which ravaged Europe between July 28, 1914 to November 11, 1918

Topless German soldiers hunt through their belonging for fleas in the infested trenches during the First World War. Fleas were a huge pest during the war and left troops with red and blotchy bite marks all over their bodies. The most effective way to get rid of them was burning the pests with a candle, but this usually resulted in soldiers burning their clothes, which is why many resorted to picking them out like this by hand

A dog faces the camera and sits on top of bags of clothes as soldiers toil away in the laundry room which is overflowing. The First World War was the first major conflict where sanitation and hygiene was taken seriously amid fears of disease and illness spreading away from the battlefield. It was the first time an effort was made on both sides to provide soldiers with clean clothes

'The convolute of Robert Lichte is special because he left behind eight photo albums and a postcard album,' said Mr Moneth, who studies at Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf.

'Normally a soldier leaves behind one or two of those albums, but he created nine of them.

'I guess he created several of them to share with each family member.

'You can discover tanks from the later course of the war, aircraft, guns and you can get an impression of the area behind enemy lines in his photos.'

A soldier poses stern-faced with a walking stick in the trenches (foreground) while a comrade smiles behind him, both standing next to a Char d'Assault Schneider (Schneider CA) Assault Tank which has been knocked onto its side

An eerie photograph of soldiers and officers nursing their wounds in a crowded sick bay as medics stand over them. As well as treating injuries from shrapnel, falling debris and physical combat, sick bay would also have to keep an eye out for spreading disease. The flu was widespread among the troops fighting in Europe during The Great War

Soldiers in the trenches in Keyem, Belgium, during the First World War as two gunmen point their weapons over their comrades' heads towards their enemies over the barren no man's land which has been ravaged by the battle. There is now a military cemetery at Keyem, where 590 soldiers have been laid to rest - 364 of them were never identified

The incredible set of photographs belonged to Robert Lichte (centre), pictured here with two other soldiers and their dogs. Lichte was a medical officer in The Great War. He and his comrades treated around 27million injured and sick soldiers during the battle. Of the 27million, only 5.7million were treated for wounds, the other 21.5million were treated for illnesses

Lichte's photos not only show life in the trenches and the destructive nature of the war, they also share his personal experiences.

One of the photos Mr Moneth uncovered from the collection was taken during an operation, which is rare as photographers were not permitted in medical areas.

This has led him to believe that the photograph could have been staged.

Mr Moneth said: 'While my family has a huge archive of private photographs from the War, I never encountered a picture showing an actual medical procedure.

'I was astonished, but then it deemed to me that the scene was staged to bring relatives closer to his everyday life as medical staff.

'Photographers were usually not allowed in the medical area.'

The albums also has photo showing an area in Lille after an explosion destroyed a German ammunition camp on January 11, 1916, at 3.30am.

The incident killed 134 people, 104 of which were civilians and 30 were German soldiers, with about 290 being left injured.

Lichte's identity was uncovered from postcards in one of the albums, which included ones he both sent and received.

A picture of the aftermath of a bombing in an area of Lille on January 11, 1916, which hit at 3.30am. The huge explosion destroyed the German ammunition camp in Lille as well as 21 factories and 738 houses. The blast killed 134 people, of which 104 were civilians and 30 were German soldiers

A huge procession of German soldiers walk into a town battered by bombings. The location of the town is unknown. In Britain, more than 5,000 bombs were dropped on towns, destroying homes and businesses and causing £1.5million in damage - around £156million in today's money

German plane with a pilot (left) who is believed to be with a prisoner of war. The aircraft number has since revealed the pilot was Hellmuth Riensberg. He flew a Pfalz D.III in Jasta 10 (Jagdstaffel). He died on January 18, 1918, at 10.30am in a crash right after a dogfight

The medical team pose with their patient following a seemingly successful operation as one soldier (left) holds up a copy of a newspaper from Düsseldorf

British prisoners of war marching with German guards after being captured in battle during the First World War. During the fierce battle, 10million people, servicemen or civilians, were captured and sent to detention camps

Seven soldiers stand in front of a downed plane as huge swathes of troops gather around the aircraft on in Lechin on August 24, 1915

A solider is seen to by medical staff as he lies on a stretcher (bottom right) while two of his comrades are already loaded into the back of a cart

Mr Moneth said: 'Out of his photos and postcards, you can deduct that Robert Lichte survived the war. During the war he climbed the ranks from a corporal to non-commissioned medical officer.

'The information revealed Lichte held the rank of a non-commissioned medical officer in the 1st Company of the Infantry Regiment of Sparr No. 16, deployed on the 3rd West Front.

'His division was stationed at the major Battlezones like Reuve Chapelle and Verdun. In these battles, he got the Iron Cross II, which he embedded on one of his albums.'

Mr Moneth is now planning to turn Lichte's nine albums into a scientifically annotated photo book in both German and in English.

Aerial view taken from a reconnaissance aircraft where a castle and its grounds can be seen at an unknown location

Robert Lichte, who amassed the incredible set of photographs from the First World War, sits with the Iron Cross II

Air reconnaissance photo of a train station taken during the First World War which claimed 17million deaths over four years

A postcard featuring the owner of the set of images Robert Lichte. It reads 'With god for Emperor and Empire'

He recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the project, which involves digitising the images, translating the postcards and his own research.

Mr Moneth said: 'I'm in a position that I have a big archive of private photographs behind me. Those pictures are unique, and I have always searched for a way to share this treasure with other interested people. Kickstarter seems to be a very good first step for this endeavour.

'The photo book is planned in German and English as one of my main motivations was to give an insight into the trenches of German soldiers.

'I hope the English audience is interested into the point of view of those men who fought against their great grandfathers in the great battles of the First World War.'

Mr Moneth wanted to create this picture book in order to bring the public closer to the private view on the Great War.

He added: 'I've designed the campaign so that people with a small budget can get an insight into the history of the First World War, so a publication as an e-book is planned, too.'