Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #304761 in Books
• Published on: 1999-10-08
• Binding: Paperback
• 392 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
The war was the only real and permanent thing, thriving and increasing in a world going to ruin. These are the telling words of former officer Desmond Allhusen, looking back on his wartime experience. 1918 was the year of victory for the Allied forces, a welcome respite from four bloody years of toil in trenches with, seemingly, no end in sight. As Malcolm Brown points out, 1916, the year of the Somme, and 1917, the year of Passchendaele, are the years more typically focused on when one talks about the Great War, but 1918 was, for the British at least, the bloodiest of them all--more casualties were sustained in this year than in any other. Amazingly, the casualty rate was higher in this single year than it was for the entire Second World War.

In this remarkable book, Brown constructs a highly readable narrative of this dreadful yet ultimately joyous year around the writings of those who served on the front line. From the year's bleak beginning in appalling weather conditions, when few held out the prospect of celebrating the next Hogmany in peacetime, up to its happy conclusion, the chapters slip by in an easy narrative style, providing compelling insights into people's attitudes to the war and what sustained them through it. Brown is clearly an accomplished historian, and there is much here for those interested in a broader picture, but what really illuminates this book are the contributions from the soldiers on the ground, many of which are beautifully written. His extensive use of the Imperial War Museum's collection of diaries, memoirs and letters, and his skill in setting them together within a wider framework have allowed him to create a uniquely compelling account of this momentous year in history. --Alisdair Bowles

Synopsis
Published on the eightieth anniversary of the 1918 Armistice, this book tells the story of a year during which the casualty lists on all sides were longer, and the turns of fortune most remarkable and action most intense.

Customer Reviews

Great Account of the Final Year of the Great war
This latest book by Malcolm Brown covers the final year of the Great War in a similar style to Lyn MacDonald's great books on World War One. Once again the author uses first-hand accounts of the participants of this dreadful conflict to reveal to the reader the horror of this conflict as seen through the eyes and experiences of the soldiers. With access to the Imperial War Museums archives he utilises the reports, letters, diaries and interviews of the soldiers and civilians on both sides who fought during 1918. I am a prolific reader of history books and I tend to forget sometimes that besides history I am also reading about people. This book is one of those rare books where you fully realise that this is not only history but also flesh and blood. The accounts of some the people in this book are truly sad, they hit home and make you realise that these were real people, individuals caught up in a war of massive scale and destruction.

I would like to present just a few accounts take from this magnificent book to demonstrate why I found this book such a great story of men and war.

This first account is by a 20-year-old Second Lieutenant during an assault on some German positions... This was after this officer had seen a number of his friends cut down by German defensive fire and having a team of three men operating a Lewis gun in a shell hole with him killed. He picked up the gun and wiped the butt clean of blood and brain and passed it onto other soldiers to continue their advance (Page 211-215).

Another account is from Major F.J. Rice, 82nd Brigade, RFA. His account is about the death of a twenty-four year old Bombardier. He later received a package from the dead soldiers parents which he subsequently forwarded to his own mother...

Sadly the book is full of these sort of stories, the last letters of many men condemned to die on the Western Front but brought back to life by this author to allow us to feel the horror and exhilaration of this final year of the Great War. Many books have covered the German Offensive starting on March 21st 1918, the so-called 'Kaiser's Battle'. However this book goes past that point and carries the story to the Allied Counter-Offensive and final victory. The books main focus is on the Western Front but he does not neglect the Home Front nor those areas designated as 'Side Shows'.

Overall this is a great story, at first I found it a bit slow to start but after awhile I could not put the book down. I was proud to read about the accomplishments of my own countrymen and I came to fully appreciate the efforts of the British Army, the Canadians, and the Americans. This is an excellent book, written without bias, well researched and well presented. A number of black & white photos are presented to assist the narrative but no maps which I didn't find to be too much of a hindrance. If you enjoy Lyn MacDonald's accounts of World War One you will appreciate this book. It sits along side this authors earlier book on the Somme and all of Lyn MacDonalds books as well.

Excellent Account!
This latest book by Malcolm Brown covers the final year of the Great War in a similar style to Lyn MacDonald's great books on World War One. Once again the author uses first-hand accounts of the participants of this dreadful conflict to reveal to the reader the horror of this conflict as seen through the eyes and experiences of the soldiers. With access to the Imperial War Museums archives he utilises the reports, letters, diaries and interviews of the soldiers and civilians on both sides who fought during 1918. I am a prolific reader of history books and I tend to forget sometimes that besides history I am also reading about people. This book is one of those rare books where you fully realise that this is not only history but also flesh and blood. The accounts of some the people in this book are truly sad, they hit home and make you realise that these were real people, individuals caught up in a war of massive scale and destruction.

I would like to present just a few accounts take from this magnificent book to demonstrate why I found this book such a great story of men and war.

This first account is by a 20-year-old Second Lieutenant during an assault on some German positions; "We passed on and quickly reached the objective, a line of trenches along the crest of slightly elevated ground. I jumped down into the German trench followed by a NCO and about eight men. The trench was deserted except for some bodies of dead Germans. Later, I noticed the sad manner of the death of one of these. Evidently a piece of shell had carried away the whole calf of his leg, baring it to the bone. He had dragged half of his body into a 'cubby-hole' at the bottom of the trench side, there to die quietly, in the dark, his face hidden from the world. He was respected and grieved for, in death, by at least one enemy soldier." This was after this officer had seen a number of his friends cut down by German defensive fire and having a team of three men operating a Lewis gun in a shell hole with him killed. He picked up the gun and wiped the butt clean of blood and brain and passed it onto other soldiers to continue their advance (Page 211-215).

Another account is from Major F.J. Rice, 82nd Brigade, RFA. His account is about the death of a twenty-four year old Bombardier. He later received a package from the dead soldiers parents which he subsequently forwarded to his own mother with this covering letter; "Will you please put the enclosed away for me somewhere safe? I have always got nice letters back from parents whose sons have been killed in my battery but these seemed exceptionally grateful for my letter and sent me a photo of Bombardier Stone and a sort of memorial ribbon. He was badly wounded during the barrage we fired on Sept. 18th when we were shelled from 5-15 to 6-45 a.m. and we had to go on firing our guns all the time. We had ten casualties during that time (six killed). It was the worst hour and a half I have ever had." (Pages 271-272). The ribbon had a poem, which went on to say:

'How little we thought when we said good-bye, We were parted for ever, and he was to die; Oh, the grief that we feel words can never tell' For we could not be with him to bid him farewell; But Christ will clasp the broken chain Closer when we meet again.'

Sadly the book is full of these sort of stories, the last letters of many men condemned to die on the Western Front but brought back to life by this author to allow us to feel the horror and exhilaration of this final year of the Great War. Many books have covered the German Offensive starting on March 21st 1918, the so-called 'Kaiser's Battle'. However this book goes past that point and carries the story to the Allied Counter-Offensive and final victory. The books main focus is on the Western Front but he does not neglect the Home Front nor those areas designated as 'Side Shows'.

Overall this is a great story, at first I found it a bit slow to start but after awhile I could not put the book down. I was proud to read about the accomplishments of my own countrymen and I came to fully appreciate the efforts of the British Army, the Canadians, and the Americans. This is an excellent book, written without bias, well researched and well presented. A number of black & white photos are presented to assist the narrative but no maps which I didn't find to be too much of a hindrance. If you enjoy Lyn MacDonald's accounts of World War One you will appreciate this book. It sits along side this authors earlier book on the Somme and all of Lyn MacDonalds books as well.