Writing Home from the Front Cramped within the tight network of trenches on the western front, a British soldier writes a letter home while his compatriots rest before the next engagement. The post was typically the only connection between soldiers and their relatives, and over 28 billion pieces of mail passed between home and front on all sides during the war. Mass-produced postcards such as this one often portrayed fantasies about loved ones at home. (photo: © Imperial War Museum (CO 2533); postcard: Imperial War Museum/The Art Archive at Art Resource, NY)