This photograph, which was number 42 on theatlantic.com, was captured in 1918 in Lille, France which had been had been under the control of the German for four years, according to the caption of the photo, and was being taken back with the help of the arrival of British armies. Also according to the caption, "As Autumn approached, the end of war seemed inevitable." I'm not sure whether or not any of this was included in the actual caption of the photo released at the time, but if it had been many people most likely would have felt very happy and optimistic about this news.
This photo is definitely one that the government would have wanted people to see. The men seem to be in good spirits and the young boy who is carrying one of the soldier's guns looks very excited that the men are there. This picture also shows the men in a place outside of combat and could even show a regiment that had not fought before, or at least many of the ones in the front. The men, for the most part, look quite young and their equipment appears very clean and new as if it had not seen any actual fighting yet.
The child is also barefoot so it shows that the people in this town could not afford such simple items for their children as socks and even simple shoes. People would have felt pity for the child and supported the war against the Germans more because of how this portrays them treating the people that they had conquered.
By showing this picture in the last year that the war was expecting to be fought, people's spirits would have been risen and they would have been excited about the "inevitable" end. Even though many probably would have rather the war already been ended by the British or other allies, they would have seen the men and thought that the ally's chances were very high and continued to support the war effort for a little while longer.
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