Although McPhail convincingly demonstrates that German rule was oppressive, something is missing. Little is said, for example, about collaboration. Well over half the population did not appear to require direct assistance. The ambiguity of their positions must have led to agonizing choices and even outright collaboration. Such choices lie at the heart of understanding the dynamics of occupation.
Any occupation involves some sort of interaction between the rulers and the subjects.
To understand this relationship truly, the aims and policies of the Germans in northeastern France should be addressed. Germany undoubtedly knew that it was violating international conventions when German forces conscripted French civilians to work on military fortifications. The book alludes to the dire material straits of the German soldiers but does not explore the possible ramifications of their desperation. Looking at German records would flesh out both the pattern of German regulations and French responses. This book is not about the complexities of collaboration or the motivations of the German occupiers but about how the French experienced the Great War.