In the Line of Battle

En ligne de bataille Edité par Walter Wood

Title: In the Line of Battle

Soldiers’ Stories of the War

Author: Various

Editor: Walter Wood

Soldiers’ Stories of the War

Edited by WALTER WOOD

Unchallengeably the best war budget of its kind that we have had.

A collection of absolutely authentic accounts by privates and non-commissioned officers.... In the language in which these fighters couch their experiences and opinions we see a great simplicity and directness of observation and recital, so admirable that one page of such writing is worth all the folios of the war experts and correspondents, not to say romancers and publicists.

It is a stimulating and hopeful record, full of the real atmosphere of the war, and Mr. Wood has done a serviceable thing in producing it.

The human side, the naked horror and simple glory of actual conflict, is what Mr. Wood’s soldiers are concerned with, and the stories they tell give a clearer picture of this side of war than can be found in any other form.

All Mr. Wood’s papers make us feel, if that is possible, prouder of the British sailor and soldier.

No man who boasts a heart, least of all any man of young limbs, will read these soldiers’ simple stories without a quickening of the pulse. They are at once a great stimulus and a great memorial.

It is a noble tribute to the unassuming heroism of the British soldier, and brings one close to the realities of war.

This is a collection of absolutely authentic stories narrated by non-commissioned officers and privates who have taken part in the present war, and who relate their experiences.

Mr. Wood has done his work uncommonly well; his book is alive with interest, and has the permanent value that must always belong to such first-hand testimony.