A Month at the Front: The Diary of an Unknown Soldier

Book Description

Secondhand. Near fine condition.

Discovered at the bottom of a box of books donated to the Bodleian Library, Oxford, this war journal vividly tells the story of a young World War I soldier and his experiences at the Front in the summer of 1917 in his own words.

The anonymous author candidly describes his daily life: dodging shells to fetch meals from the rations cart; his regiment lost on a march, straying perilously near enemy lines; the daily distribution of rum; the soar of shells ('whiz bangs') above his head; communicating by sign with a captured German soldier living in his trench; sleeping in snatches of ten or fifteen minutes; and always, the endless mud.

The introduction traces the author's progress across the battlefields of Flanders as he and his regiment, the 12th East Surreys, move deeper into enemy territory, suffering heavy casualties and fighting against remarkable odds. One by one, the author's comrades fall away until he, one of the last survivors of his group, narrowly avoids death, only to be captured.

This poignant and moving account, never before published, is narrated with a keen sense of observation, bringing to life the sights, sounds, smells, and horrors of war.