68485: Undertones of War: Chapter XXI: The Crash of Pillars
Creators: name: Project Team, First World War Poetry Digital Archive
Publisher: name: University of Oxford
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 430304
subject: British history
classificationCode: 430308
subject: European history (excl. British, classical Greek and Roman)
classificationCode: 430316
subject: International history

description: The Crash of the Pillars' section of 'Undertones of War'. This section of the memoir describes Edmund Blunden's experience of Passchendaele, beginning with his battalion going 'over the top' on Tuesday 31 July 1917. This page describes the beginning of the British attack, and Blunden has changed 'the British guns began' to 'the British guns spoke'. The alteration is ink in Blunden's hand. This particular volume is a 6th impression copy from 1929, with an inscription by Edmund saying that this copy 'is corrected for a new edition'. |File descriptions(s):
Page 213 from 'The Crash of the Pillars' section of 'Undertones of War'. This section of the memoir describes Edmund Blunden's experience of Passchendaele, beginning with his battalion going 'over the top' on Tuesday 31 July 1917. This page describes the beginning of the British attack, and Blunden has changed 'the British guns began' to 'the British guns spoke'. The alteration is ink in Blunden's hand. This particular volume is a 6th impression copy from 1929, with an inscription by Edmund saying that this copy 'is corrected for a new edition'.<br>Page 214 from 'The Crash of the Pillars' section of 'Undertones of War'. This section of the memoir describes Edmund Blunden's experience of Passchendaele, beginning with his battalion going 'over the top' on Tuesday 31 July 1917. This page describes going into No Man's Land, harrassed by the German shells, and Blunden has made a retrospective addition and changed the punctuation of a sentence. The alteration is ink in Edmund's hand. This particular volume is a 6th impression copy from 1929, with an inscription by Blunden saying that this copy 'is corrected for a new edition'.<br>Page 215 from 'The Crash of the Pillars' section of 'Undertones of War'. This section of the memoir describes Edmund Blunden's experience of Passchendaele, beginning with his battalion going 'over the top' on Tuesday 31 July 1917. This page carries on describing Blunden's experience of the first day of the attack. This particular volume is a 6th impression copy from 1929, with an inscription by Blunden saying that this copy 'is corrected for a new edition'.<br>Page 216 from 'The Crash of the Pillars' section of 'Undertones of War'. This section of the memoir describes Edmund Blunden's experience of Passchendaele, beginning with his battalion going 'over the top' on Tuesday 31 July 1917. This page describes the afternoon coming, and Edmund visiting the company headquarters. This particular volume is a 6th impression copy from 1929, with an inscription by Blunden saying that this copy 'is corrected for a new edition'.<br>Page 217 from 'The Crash of the Pillars' section of 'Undertones of War'. This section of the memoir describes Edmund Blunden's experience of Passchendaele, beginning with his battalion going 'over the top' on Tuesday 31 July 1917. This page carries on describing Blunden's experience of the first day of the attack, going into the evening when tempers flare, a visit from Arnold Viddler, present at the 'Feast of Five' and Blunden's friend from Christ's Hospital, and relieving the 14th Hampshires on the line, which Blunden has added, 'was justly termed the Black Line'. He has also corrected a proper name. The alterations are ink in Blunden's hand. This particular volume is a 6th impression copy from 1929, with an inscription by Blunden saying that this copy 'is corrected for a new edition'.<br>Page 218 from 'The Crash of the Pillars' section of 'Undertones of War'. This section of the memoir describes Edmund Blunden's experience of Passchendaele, beginning with his battalion going 'over the top' on Tuesday 31 July 1917. This page carries on describing a conversation with the Hampshire colonel, and enduring the night. This particular volume is a 6th impression copy from 1929, with an inscription by Blunden saying that this copy 'is corrected for a new edition'.<br>Page 219 from 'The Crash of the Pillars' section of 'Undertones of War'. This section of the memoir describes Edmund Blunden's experience of Passchendaele, beginning with his battalion going 'over the top' on Tuesday 31 July 1917. This page describes the resumption of shelling, and a near miss. Blunden has added that 'the Aid Post and signallers' dugout were shattered'. The alteration is ink in Edmund's hand. This particular volume is a 6th impression copy from 1929, with an inscription by Blunden saying that this copy 'is corrected for a new edition'.<br>Page 220 from 'The Crash of the Pillars' section of 'Undertones of War'. This section of the memoir describes Edmund Blunden's experience of Passchendaele, beginning with his battalion going 'over the top' on Tuesday 31 July 1917. This page carries on describing the continuation of the attack, casualties, and a direct hit that killed 30 of the 13th Hampshires at their headquarters. This particular volume is a 6th impression copy from 1929, with an inscription by Blunden saying that this copy 'is corrected for a new edition'.<br>Page 221 from 'The Crash of the Pillars' section of 'Undertones of War'. This section of the memoir describes Edmund Blunden's experience of Passchendaele, beginning with his battalion going 'over the top' on Tuesday 31 July 1917. This page carries on by describing the experience of finally being relieved, with, as Blunden adds, 'all in billets by 3.30 am' . The alteration is ink in Blunden's hand. He also describes the weariness and the men's lack of a reaction to the shells, and the deadening effects of the past days. This particular volume is a 6th impression copy from 1929, with an inscription by Blunden saying that this copy 'is corrected for a new edition'.<br>Page 215 from 'The Crash of the Pillars' section of 'Undertones of War'. This section of the memoir describes Edmund Blunden's experience of Passchendaele, beginning with his battalion going 'over the top' on Tuesday 31 July 1917. On this page the shells carry on, Edmund receives a brief run-down of the attack's mistakes from the Brigade-Major, and reacts to returning to Poperinghe. He also adds a line of description, and corrects the spelling of a proper name. The alterations are ink in Blunden's hand. This particular volume is a 6th impression copy from 1929, with an inscription by Blunden saying that this copy 'is corrected for a new edition'.