Product Description

A first-hand account of the horrors of war experienced by a British soldier in World War II. As a 24-year-old lieutenant in the King's Own Scottish Borderers, Peter White kept an unauthorized journal of his regiment's advance through the Low Countries and into Germany in the closing months of the war in Europe. Forbidden by his commanding officer from doing so for security reasons, Peter's boyhood habit of diary keeping had become an obsession too strong to shake off. Each day he found time to record in copious detail the war whom he served, and the inexorable allied advance into the Third Reich. to shake off.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #301730 in Books
• Published on: 2001-04-24
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 496 pages

Customer Reviews

A true picture of Infantry warfare
This is a stunning book, written as a novel but apparently a (barely) edited diary of a platoon commander in WW2 as he experiences a truly rotten cocktail of, amongst other things, frequent contact with the enemy, the desperate cold and tiredness and the vaguaries of senior commanders' plans. The black and white nature in which the author depicts terrifying events is amazing. This book must be read by anyone who wants to understand quite how horrible the life of an Infantryman was during the push through Holland and Germany 1944/5. The only down side to whole book is the remarkable oversight in giving the reader any worthwhile maps on which to follow the rapidly moving action. This would make the book a lot more easier to follow and I suggest that maybe for any second edition and/or paperback that this point should be addressed.

A compelling first-hand account of the push into Germany
Peter White, a lieutenant of the kings own scottish borderers kept a diary of events in his company during their push through Belgium and Holland through Germany to the end of the war.
Thank god he did... because it provides such a fantasic glimpse into the hearts and minds of the men thrust into a nightmare world. Peter's humanity shines throughout his account... villains, heroes and cowards alike....he is totally unjudgemental of his colleagues and of the enemy. You can feel the tensions, pains, joys and disapointments with Peters Company...as he takes you into his world and you travel with him to the end.
This book is a must read!

Mud, sweat and blood for us too
Having slowly become addicted to military history, I've particularly enjoyed the grunt's eye view of battle, or more accurately, hanging around and waiting to be killed. The Sorrow of War, snippets in Stalingrad from diaries and Band of Brothers. However, it always seemed that such social histories were written about others. Glamourous Americans fighting across Europe, Exotic Vietnamese in guerilla engagements. In comparison my knowledge of the poor old British Tommy, or Jock, was poor. Did we have a boring regulation war? Did any turn their hand to recording the realities and horrors. White's book is an answer, an emphatic yes. It is is a diary, not a considered retrospective, so it does just give surnames and his officer-eye view. But his descriptions of huddling the earth in a scrape are incredibly evocative. It brings it home the mud, the sweat and the wasteful blood spilt as brave men battled.