Retreat from Death
Subtitle: A Soldier on the Somme
Publisher: Tauris Parke Paperbacks
Published: August 25, 2005
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 480
ISBN-13: 9781850437543
Subjects: Crime & mystery; Military History - Modern; History; Royal Irish Rifles; History - Military / War; Military - World War II; Military; Military - World War I; History / Military / World War II; Army; Personal narratives, British; Somme, 2nd Battle of the, France, 1918; Western Europe - General; 1898-1969; Battalion, 1st; Great Britain; Hill, George Herbert,
First sentence: The First World War stands like a set of iron gates in British history, shutting off the old world from the new.
Description: "At 2 o'clock on the morning of 21 March 1918, the Battle of St. Quentin began. The German assault, consisting of trench mortars, mustard gas, chlorine gas, tear gas and a heavy artillery bombardment, was said to be one of the most fierce and devastating of the Great War. Over the course of 6 days, thousands of British troops lost their lives and yet this would prove to be the turning point of the war - the end was in sight. George Hill was just sixteen when he enlisted in the army, eager to fight for his country and full of pride for the role he would play. After only a few weeks in France, he was in the midst of St. Quentin and the full horrors of the trench warfare. Incredibly, he survived - one of the few members of his battalion to do so.

After several months at the front, he was gassed and spent the last days of the war in a field hospital. Hill turned 19 on the day of the Armistice. Retreat from Death is based on his experiences."--Jacket.