September 13, 1918 - St. Mihiel,

1934

An accomplished magazine illustrator and printmaker, Eby served in World War I as an ambulance driver, camoufleur, and combat soldier in northeastern France; sketches he made during this time inspired a series of war-related prints. This dramatic composition evokes a major American-led counteroffensive against the Germans—a hard-fought victory under heavy wind and driving rain near the town of Saint Mihiel. A ghostly column of advancing troops pushes heavy artillery uphill under ominous black skies—serving as a metaphor for what the Germans called a "cloud of blood." Such battlefield experiences took an emotional toll on Eby, who became an anti-war spokesman by the 1930s.