On the Front Line: True World War I Stories

by Jon E. Lewis

In 1930, the editor of Everyman Magazine requested entries for a new anthology of Great War accounts. The result was a revolutionary book unlike any other of the period; for as Malcolm Brown notes in his introduction 'I believe it might fairly be described as a rediscovered classic'. It was the very first collection to reveal the many dimensions of the war through the eyes of the ordinary soldier and offers heart-stopping renditions of the very first gas attack; aerial dogfights above the trenches; the moment of going over the top. Told chronologically, from the first scrambles of 1914, the drudgery of the war of attrition once the trenches had been dug, to the final joy of Armistice.

Genres: History, War, Nonfiction, World War I, Military History, Military Fiction

512 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 27, 2009

About the author

Jon E. Lewis is a historian and writer, whose books on history and military history are sold worldwide. He is also editor of many The Mammoth Book of anthologies, including the bestselling On the Edge and Endurance and Adventure.

He holds graduate and postgraduate degrees in history. His work has appeared in New Statesman, the Independent, Time Out and the Guardian. He lives in Herefordshire with his partner and children.

From: Constable & Robinson

Reviews

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soldiers, nurses, POWs and more recount their memorable experiences from the various fronts of World War I - some more, some less eloquently, but all worth the read.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

These first-hand accounts gathered together for a 1930 compilation gave me entirely new insights into the realities of the First World War.

[Jeff Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good collection of accounts from Word War One from across the different theatres of the war.

[Radiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A priceless collection of memories told by men who had been in the trenches during the Great War. All through reading the stories, I was a little stunned by how close each of the survivors had come to death. If a bullet had missed some of them by just a few centimeters, we would not be honoured with their stories. Another thing I couldn't help notice was the prose of these veterans. I found it almost poetic even though they told it in plain language. The stories bring to mind a vivid picture of the trenches, and I appreciate even more why it was such a terrible place to be. One hundred years after World War 1, these stories ought to be cherished for future generations.

"I shall never forget that terrific bombardment. The never experienced anything like it before or since. The shells were flying in all directions, heavies, lights, high explosives, armour-piercing shells of all calibres, some whistling overhead, to burst as far away as La Panne, others dropping in the village with a roar that shook the foundations of the earth." - George Brame, On The Belgian Coast

"We did get to France at last, though; and into the trenches, too. The memory of that is mainly - mud. There was the ominous donning of 'gum-boots, thigh'; the shell holes and slithery duckboards [dear old Johnson and his 'following each other about in the dark']; the front line, where, by constant baling, liquid slime could just be kept from lipping over the dugout door sills. And there is the nightmare of mud and wire, by the deathly light of occasional star-shells from over the way, we learned the landmarks to guide us; 'Left by the coil of wire, right by French legs.' 'French legs?' 'Yes, we took over from the French; the legs of one they buried in the trench stick out a bit, you can't miss it.' It was rather startling, but didn't seem to merit a second thought." - A. A. Dickson, Varieties of Trench Life.

[Ginger Monette · Rating 2 out of 5]

On the Front Line was disappointing. Once again, I feel somewhat pained to be critical of first hand accounts as the writers don't pretend to be writers, and the action about which they are writing was dictated by real life events.

My purpose for reading was to glean realistic details about WW1 in general. With the exception of one account, I can't say there was much here that I had not seen elsewhere and told in a more polished and get-on-with-the-story style.

There was one noteworthy account that I shall never forget--two men in an observation balloon who had to abandon ship some 2000 feet in the air. What makes the story so memorable were the mishaps of one poor chap. Everything that could go wrong went wrong--nearly lost his parachute bailing out of the balloon, the lines tangled nearly choking him to death, the chute ripped causing him to free-fall, he miraculously lands on the billowing chute of his mate below him, then gets tangled in that man's lines... Ironically, I found myself hysterically laughing as the tale unfolded as it was so skillfully written--though I can't imagine how terrifying it must have been. Both men survived.

Now, having read some ten first-hand book accounts (and MANY more online accounts) of WW1, Sapper Martin, Diary of Jack Martin, still stands as the best of the best. He was an outstanding writer, he sojourned to many interesting places during his military service, and the details sprinkled throughout paint a vivid picture of the life of an average soldier.

[Leif Bodnarchuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

60 stories from the people who survived the war. As an historical source, it must surely be invaluable. As far as editing goes, it fell behind a little; numerous typos lent the impression that the original book was scanned using OCR tech, and skimmed over by someone who didn't expect any anomalies. Nonetheless, there are many eye-opening accounts written in styles you'd expect from people from that generation.

It's often said that the people who lived through the war never talked about it. For that alone, the prose in this book is priceless. There are various styles from the authors, and sure enough, some reads are not as easy as others, but each and every entry is more than competent. Some are written with such care, you start to think that the authors were quite seasoned in their craft.

If you want thrills and and novel-type excitement, you might want to look elsewhere. If you're interested in the boredom, the mud, air battles, prison camp conditions, and adventures in retreating nurses, all from the western front to East Africa, pick this up and dip in and out.

[Val · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 1930 C. B. Purdom, the editor of "Everyman", sent out a request for servicemen and women to write about their wartime experiences in no more than 3,000 words. He got a good response and chose 60 for publication and arranged them roughly chronologically. He mainly chose those by ordinary people, so the standard of writing is often simple and unpolished. He says he did some edit (sic) for spelling and grammar, but wanted the contributors to tell their stories in their own words.
There are first-hand accounts, often of small incidents, rarely by people who know the overall picture. Sometimes accounts of an incident overlap and in one case (at Noyons) devastatingly so. Most of them come from the northern sector of the Western Front, but it was the ones from elsewhere in the theatre of war which were more interesting in a way, because we have not heard so many of them.

[Lizabeth Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of stories was first published in 1930 after the editor, C. B. Purdom, put out a call for true stories from the men, and a few women, who were there. This book will drag you through your emotions. World War I is considered by many as the first modern war. Trenches and mud, little sleep or food, men on both sides who truly thought war would be a glorious event only to discover that it was anything but glorious. The fact that these stories are real, written by the participants only makes the impact stronger despite the fact that the majority of the writers didn't dramatize it. It is difficult to rate a book like this, but I give it 4 out of 5.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad little book. A series of first-person retellings of battles from the European front to Gallipoli, air, sea, nurses and prisoners of war. Unfortunately, all of the stories are from the British and I was scared that it would be all "God Save the Queen!" and "gung ho!" instead the truth of what happened. Instead, it was very stark and rarely glossed over the bloody details. If you want stories where the soldiers turned into anti-war correspondents, this is it.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fascinating first person accounts of experiences in WW1. This wasn't a quick read, as most of the stories had a hidden emotional power that only struck at the close. Even the introduction offered an interesting look at the differing ways in which soldiers interpreted their experiences in hindsight.

[Stuart Jennings · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a wonderful opportunity to hear the voices of ordinary soldiers telling their experiences less than 12 years after the event. Hardened by the experience but not yet shaped by developing ideologies of meaningless and folly

[Emma de Brabander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting

[Fishface · Rating 5 out of 5]

All superlatives. Wonderful stories, ranging from the frustrations of a young nurse's aide who never got near the Front to a biplane pilot who went up against the Red Baron and his Flying Circus.