1915, the Death of Innocence

Lyn MacDonald's book captures the true and complete horror of warfare in this book. Rich in detail and telling accounts by the men that fought in the savage and bloody battles in 1915. A must read for someone trying to understand the daily misery and destruction of a generation of brave men. By far, my favorite book in the series, but not to discount the others, each of which is a classic and should be read in sequence to grasp the fullness of the story of The Great War.

Some people may criticise this book for not including the French. But to do that, it would have to come in several volumes. World War One is just too vast to include everyone from both sides in one volume. What is covered very well is the experiences of those at the "sharp end". Generals and maps are very well for those who want to follow the overall view, but that does not cover the misery of the rifleman and company officers who did not have the luxury of comfortable billets and lack of danger enjoyed by the higher ranks. Drawing a line on a piece of paper is a far cry from having to man that line. Ordering an attack is easy for those who don't have to do the attacking and have no idea of the conditions of the soldier who has to advance through mud and barbed wire. I am reminded of a staff officer who, on seeing the actual front line after the battle of the Somme said "My God, did we send men to fight in that!"

Lyn MacDonald's writings on WWI are possibly the best available. She is not judgemental, rather she reports using first hand accounts from participants. The reports are always stirring and moving. Her detailed accounts together with a picture of the overall scene of the battles show the decades of research that were required to produce her books.

I have lived in Flanders for the past 9 years. Just over one year ago I picked up my first Lyn MacDonald "novel". I have now read and in some cases reread all of her books. They tell the story as no other author can. This book is like all her others. Magnificent. Now every day when I commute to the office the I view the countryside with a very different outlook. I think the story of WW1 is impossible to tell, but Lyn lets us glimps at just a small part of something that changed the future of the world forever.Thank you Lyn.

Lyn MacDonald has continued her presentation on the battles of World War I as seen through the eyes of its participants. Her use of first hand interviews and the diaries of the combatants brings to life for the modern reader the sense of exhaltation, fear, anxiety, loss, frustration, anger, and futility that the subjects of her book experienced. Her viewpoint is primarily that of the British soldier and nurse. The fading months of 1914 saw the cream of the British army, 1 million veterans, reduced to a tenth of their original strength. Now Kitchener was building a new army to hurl against the German juggernaut. 1915 saw an influx of the territorials that had originally been left behind during the first months of the war. In addition, raw, enthusiastic, and naive young men were sent into the trenches of France. Kitchener sends his new army against the well trained, well fed, well equipped Germans all along the front, from Ypres in the north to the Somme in the South. It is undersupplied, hastely trained and equipped, and haphazardly led. All which lead to costly battles in men and materials punctuated by incredible acts of sacrifice and bravery. Lyn MacDonald shares the hopes and expectations of a country slowly bled to death side by side with the ever increasing realization that the war would be with the British for many years to come