âSumnerâs brilliant window onto the French army is a book I cannot recommend highly enough . . . Full of detail and mixed with vivid personal accounts.ââWar History Online  This graphic collection of first-hand accounts sheds new light on the experiences of the French army during the Great War. It reveals in authentic detail the perceptions and emotions of soldiers and civilians who were caught up in the most destructive conflict the world had ever seen.  Their testimony gives a striking insight into the mentality of the troops and their experience of combat, their emotional ties to their relatives at home, their opinions about their commanders and their fellow soldiers, the appalling conditions and dangers they endured, and their attitude to their German enemy. In their own words, in diaries, letters, reports and memoirsâmost of which have never been published in English beforeâthey offer a fascinating inside view of the massive life-and-death struggle that took place on the Western Front.  The authorâs pioneering work will appeal to readers who may know something about the British and German armies on the Western Front, but little about the French army which bore the brunt of the fighting on the allied side. His book represents a milestone in publishing on the Great War.  âAn interesting, well-written and informative book which goes a long way to explaining why the French army mounted the staunch defense of its homeland that it did.ââBurton Mail  âThe text is skillfully put together and moves seamlessly from one voice to another while illuminating the flow of events that affected Frenchmen and women during the Great War.ââStand To! The Western Front Association
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