What do you think?
Rate this book
Drawing Fire: The Diary of a Great War Soldier and Artist
A vivid and powerful diary of life in the trenches The horrors of war in the trenches are brought to life with a rare immediacy and power through the diary of soldier and artist Len Smith. Enduring battles such as those at Loos and Vimy Ridge, Len survives with a mixture of whimsical humour, bravery and sheer good luck. Len enlisted as an infantryman in the City of London Regiment on his 23rd birthday, 22 September 1914. During the war years he kept a journal on scraps of paper which he hid in his trousers to smuggle home at the end of the war. At the same time, he added to his thoughts with colour sketches of the people and places he encountered. His drawing skills were also put to good use to gather and record intelligence on German army positions which he did under great personal risk; they were later used to help plan military strategy. One of his many ingenious contributions to the war was to camouflage a watch tower in no man's land as a living tree. He had crept within yards of an enemy headquarters and drawn a tree so accurately that a hollow steel replica could be created. In the dead of night the real tree was removed and the fake one put in its place, with the enemy none the wiser. He also spent four days avoiding enemy fire to produce a two-yard long panoramic view of enemy troop lines at Vimy Ridge. Len, who was never honoured for his actions during the war, was extremely humble about his adventures - after delivering a message through heavy fire a General remarked that his efforts were worthy of a VC. With characteristic good humour Len writes, "I'd like to have assured him in that ordeal a WC would have been more appropriate." The diary as a whole creates a tremendous sense of being at his side during his extraordinary experiences.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
55 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 31, 2016
An outstanding first-hand account of the Western Front in the First World War. I was struck and frequently astonished by so many things, including going over the top at Loos in 1915, or being on the receiving end of German attacks (the explosion of 12 German mines under his trenches are one of his "hottest" moments). I found his accounts of daily routine, including out of the trenches, particularly fascinating. However, I was most astonished by his positive attitude: he goes through hell and yet finishes his diary by declaring that it was "a jolly fine adventure". Throughout the diary he rarely complains about the war (one exception I can remember is his dread about having to go through a winter campaign in the trenches), he is keen about going over the top and doing his bit, he is admiring of his senior officers, and he is very restrained in his grief for comrades lost. One of the relatively few "negative" sentiments he expresses in the diary are complaining about factory workers back home striking for higher pay, saying that they should come and try his job in the frontline for 6pence (or so) a day. The diary has an appendix of letters he sent home to his parents, and interestingly in these he does occasionally talk about wishing the "xxxx war" would end. It makes one wonder why he should express these sentiments in his letters but not his diary; perhaps he expected his diary to be a record for posterity and so did not want to be so negative, whereas he was more candid in his letters which he expected to just be read by his family. It's not clear how soon after events he wrote diary entries, and it's quite obvious that he is writing it for others to read.
The diary starts in March 1915 with Private Len Smith's arrival in France with a battalion of the London Regiment, an infantry battalion. Within about 10 days, they were heading for their first stint in the trenches. His descriptions of this are incredibly evocative. As interesting is the insight into attitudes and language of the time. From the first moment in the trenches and their first casualties, I am astonished at his survival; indeed, by the end of the war, there are few originals left in the battalion. Comrades continually die to his right and left, but he survives largely unscathed, with only the occasional scratch from a shell splinter, say. One of the most gripping episodes is the big push at Loos in 1915, his first big "show". The first minutes of fierce hand-to-hand fighting in the German trenches are a blur to recall, but as things calm, things then become tense as they hang on dearly in the German trench, resisting counter-attacks for several days, famished for lack of supply and utterly exhausted.
The trenches seemed as deadly when there was no offensive. Night after night they would go forward to carry supplies to the frontline trenches, and they would sustain many casualties stumbling forward in the dark under their heavy burdens across treacherous ground raked by speculative machine gun fire, the Germans expecting these work parties and seeking to make life difficult for them - there was nothing to be done but walk through it, and it was a lottery who got hit.
Even out of the trenches, life was hazardous. They would be billeted in abandoned, ruined villages which would be regularly shelled. Movement in daylight was not permitted, and so they would spend the day resting in their barns or cellars, before moving up to the front again at night. Conditions were hard to say the least. They lacked decent clothing to keep out rain or cold, they lacked changes of clothes, they had no sleeping gear, and even when far from the line, they would be told to bivouac in a field, with no tents or blankets; it was just a case of lying down in the open with their greatcoats.
Further out of the trenches, he described interactions with French civilians, and I was interested to see how many pidgin French phrases entered his vocabulary in the diary.
In 1916, he was transferred to the Brigade's sharpshooter section as an observer/sniper. His job would be to crawl out alone into no-man's land before dawn, spend the day observing or sniping at Germans, and then crawl back at night, avoiding shellfire, German snipers and machine guns, and German raiding parties or work parties (despite hardly anyone moving within sight of the enemy in daytime, no-man's land evidently became quite active at night). As an artist in this role, he would frequently be called upon to go into no-man's land and draw or paint pictures of the German lines, which strongly reminded me of Blackadder Goes Forth! I wondered if the writers of that series had read this diary, as Len Smith also describes concert parties, aircraft duelling in the skies, and bouts in hospital with sickness.
His drawings of the German trenches are among the best in the book. I should say that this book is essentially a facsimile of his original diary, and a wonderful reproduction, lavishly illustrated with many evocative images, including photos as well as his art. Some of the original text is also reproduced.
An extended stay in hospital as a result of trench fever saw him transfer upon his discharge into a special unit of the Royal Engineers, responsible for camouflage, in 1917 if I remember correctly. This saw him creating all kinds of camouflage for all kinds of positions, including fake armoured trees for observation posts. He remained with them until the end of the war. Interestingly, there was no apparent hint that the war would be ending, even in the few days before. The sudden finish must have been strange indeed.
The diary starts in March 1915 with Private Len Smith's arrival in France with a battalion of the London Regiment, an infantry battalion. Within about 10 days, they were heading for their first stint in the trenches. His descriptions of this are incredibly evocative. As interesting is the insight into attitudes and language of the time. From the first moment in the trenches and their first casualties, I am astonished at his survival; indeed, by the end of the war, there are few originals left in the battalion. Comrades continually die to his right and left, but he survives largely unscathed, with only the occasional scratch from a shell splinter, say. One of the most gripping episodes is the big push at Loos in 1915, his first big "show". The first minutes of fierce hand-to-hand fighting in the German trenches are a blur to recall, but as things calm, things then become tense as they hang on dearly in the German trench, resisting counter-attacks for several days, famished for lack of supply and utterly exhausted.
The trenches seemed as deadly when there was no offensive. Night after night they would go forward to carry supplies to the frontline trenches, and they would sustain many casualties stumbling forward in the dark under their heavy burdens across treacherous ground raked by speculative machine gun fire, the Germans expecting these work parties and seeking to make life difficult for them - there was nothing to be done but walk through it, and it was a lottery who got hit.
Even out of the trenches, life was hazardous. They would be billeted in abandoned, ruined villages which would be regularly shelled. Movement in daylight was not permitted, and so they would spend the day resting in their barns or cellars, before moving up to the front again at night. Conditions were hard to say the least. They lacked decent clothing to keep out rain or cold, they lacked changes of clothes, they had no sleeping gear, and even when far from the line, they would be told to bivouac in a field, with no tents or blankets; it was just a case of lying down in the open with their greatcoats.
Further out of the trenches, he described interactions with French civilians, and I was interested to see how many pidgin French phrases entered his vocabulary in the diary.
In 1916, he was transferred to the Brigade's sharpshooter section as an observer/sniper. His job would be to crawl out alone into no-man's land before dawn, spend the day observing or sniping at Germans, and then crawl back at night, avoiding shellfire, German snipers and machine guns, and German raiding parties or work parties (despite hardly anyone moving within sight of the enemy in daytime, no-man's land evidently became quite active at night). As an artist in this role, he would frequently be called upon to go into no-man's land and draw or paint pictures of the German lines, which strongly reminded me of Blackadder Goes Forth! I wondered if the writers of that series had read this diary, as Len Smith also describes concert parties, aircraft duelling in the skies, and bouts in hospital with sickness.
His drawings of the German trenches are among the best in the book. I should say that this book is essentially a facsimile of his original diary, and a wonderful reproduction, lavishly illustrated with many evocative images, including photos as well as his art. Some of the original text is also reproduced.
An extended stay in hospital as a result of trench fever saw him transfer upon his discharge into a special unit of the Royal Engineers, responsible for camouflage, in 1917 if I remember correctly. This saw him creating all kinds of camouflage for all kinds of positions, including fake armoured trees for observation posts. He remained with them until the end of the war. Interestingly, there was no apparent hint that the war would be ending, even in the few days before. The sudden finish must have been strange indeed.
April 8, 2012
I love military history and realize that 99% of you DON'T but if you are one of the few who may ,
I must recommend this non-fiction diary of an English boy who finds himself in the front
line trenches of France in world war One. His first person observations kept in his
diary are graphic as he loses his friends but not his sense of duty to The Empire.Recommended.
I must recommend this non-fiction diary of an English boy who finds himself in the front
line trenches of France in world war One. His first person observations kept in his
diary are graphic as he loses his friends but not his sense of duty to The Empire.Recommended.
June 24, 2015
"Bang!! Came the war, and for millions everything changed overnight." Prachtig dagboek van een kunstenaar tijdens '14-18 dat al je first world problems eventjes doet vergeten.
September 9, 2020
This has been sitting on my shelf for a few years now and I've not had time to read it. I loved this personal account of a war artist during the First World War. Loved the drawings and photographs. Some may be offended to the references of groups of people, but reflective of the time.
The only downside to the book was the size of the text. Also, had difficulty reading the written text so had to skip these parts. The publishers could have written these in typo at the end of the book so people with poorer eyesight could read the text.
The only downside to the book was the size of the text. Also, had difficulty reading the written text so had to skip these parts. The publishers could have written these in typo at the end of the book so people with poorer eyesight could read the text.
August 29, 2025
3,5 stars
December 1, 2013
A truly incredible first-hand description of world war one by a soldier who also happened to be a talented artist. His diary was written on scraps of paper and hidden, as keeping a journal was forbidden, no doubt because the conditions were so dreadfully in-humane. Lens talent as an artist was respected by the higher ranks and his comrades as way to keep up morale. However after utilising his powers of observation to become a sniper he eventually found himself working-up detailed drawings for camouflage and espionage in a special works unit.
August 4, 2012
Very interesting to read of the war as it was happening, though I understand Len Smith would have been in awful trouble if his diary had been found. He was able to document parts of his accounts with his illustrations as well as use his gifting for the benefit of the allied troops as he observed and drew the enemy lines.
Have been wanting to read this book for some time (I have a 'thing' for diaries) and it did not disappoint.
Have been wanting to read this book for some time (I have a 'thing' for diaries) and it did not disappoint.
April 22, 2015
This is a wonderful book. Len Smith's descriptions of his war service give a clear impression of what life was like for an "ordinary" soldier in the First World War. However, he wasn't ordinary, he was an amazing artist and his sketches and caricatures of the landscape and people he encountered add immeasurably to the text.
July 12, 2012
Absolutely great! I am speechless. Wonderful!
February 28, 2014
A wonderful, personal account of an ordinary soldier's experience of the Front - with an incredible talent for drawing and painting. Loved it.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews