Letters From Verdun: Frontline Experiences of an American Volunteer in World War I France - Couverture rigide

Royce Wolfe, Avery

 
9781932033946: Letters From Verdun: Frontline Experiences of an American Volunteer in World War I France
Couverture rigide
ISBN 10 : 1932033947 ISBN 13 : 9781932033946
Editeur : Casemate Publishers, 2010

Synopsis

• Personal letters detailing a soldier’s analysis of the war and day-to-day life on the front line• Astonishing contemporary photographs bring the many colourful characters vividly to lifeThough the United States was late to enter the Great War, a number of idealistic young Americans wished to take part from the beginning. One of these was Avery Royce Wolfe, a highly educated scion of a family in America’s burgeoning industrial heartland.Volunteering as an ambulance driver with the French Army in the Verdun sector, Royce sent back a constant stream of highly detailed letters describing the bitter experiences of frontline combat, Verdun being the worst battle the French have ever seen, not excluding comments on strategy, the country he encountered, and the Allies’ prospects for success. Containing expert overviews to set the reader in Royce’s time and place; however, the narrative is most gripping with his own day-to-day perceptions, analytical and emotional in turn. The reader can sympathize with Royce’s dilemma when his original term of service expires and he wonders whether to return home. Then the American army begins to arrive and he decides to continue on. We hear firsthand how the US troops are first kept out of battle, then take casualties no veteran unit would have sustained, because of their fresh-faced audacity. Full of exciting experiences as well as interesting firsthand analyses (such as comparing French and German trenchworks―the latter were far better), Letters from Verdun brings the reader amazingly close to the frontlines of the Great War, almost as if in person.

Les informations fournies dans la section « Synopsis » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

Présentation de l'éditeur

Personal letters detailing a soldier s analysis of the war and day-to-day life on the front line Astonishing contemporary photographs bring the many colourful characters vividly to lifeThough the United States was late to enter the Great War, a number of idealistic young Americans wished to take part from the beginning. One of these was Avery Royce Wolfe, a highly educated scion of a family in America s burgeoning industrial heartland.Volunteering as an ambulance driver with the French Army in the Verdun sector, Royce sent back a constant stream of highly detailed letters describing the bitter experiences of frontline combat, Verdun being the worst battle the French have ever seen, not excluding comments on strategy, the country he encountered, and the Allies prospects for success.Containing expert overviews to set the reader in Royce s time and place; however, the narrative is most gripping with his own day-to-day perceptions, analytical and emotional in turn. The reader can sympathize with Royce s dilemma when his original term of service expires and he wonders whether to return home. Then the American army begins to arrive and he decides to continue on. We hear firsthand how the US troops are first kept out of battle, then take casualties no veteran unit would have sustained, because of their fresh-faced audacity. Full of exciting experiences as well as interesting firsthand analyses (such as comparing French and German trenchworks the latter were far better), Letters from Verdun brings the reader amazingly close to the frontlines of the Great War, almost as if in person.

Revue de presse

..a beautifully produced and rather quirky memoir .... an interesting collection of photographs included in the text. --Military Illustrated, July 2010

This book keeps the reader enthralled and it is recommended as the finest account of ambulance work at Verdun. --The Western Front Association Stand To!, July 2010

Les informations fournies dans la section « A propos du livre » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

Éditeur
Casemate Publishers
Date d'édition
2010
Langue
anglais
ISBN 10 
1932033947
ISBN 13 
9781932033946
Reliure
Relié
Nombre de pages
226
Coordonnées du fabricant
non disponible
Personne responsable
non disponible