Six weeks
Subtitle: the short and gallant life of the British officer in the First World War
By: John Lewis-Stempel
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson; Orion Publishing Group, Limited
Published: 2010
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 358
ISBN-13: 9780297860068
Subjects: History; Officers; World War, 1914-1918; Biography; Psychological aspects; British Personal narratives; Command of troops; Armed Forces; Unteroffizier; Weltkrieg; Great Britain. Army; Great Britain
Description: "Often fresh out of school, still with their recent Latin lessons fresh in their minds, many junior officers in the First World War went straight from being prefects to having to lead their men in a charge over the top, knowing that the German machine guns would be trained on the man at the front, knowing that so many of their predecessors had fallen before them. In this remarkable book, John Lewis-Stempel focuses on the oft-overlooked men who were crucial to Britain's war effort, the men who had to persuade the ordinary Tommy to follow them into action. Basing his account on a huge range of first person accounts, including poignant letters and diaries sent home or back to their school, Lewis-Stempel reveals what motivated these men who faced an average life expectancy of just six weeks once they reached the frontline. He shows the life they led in the trenches, how they sought to keep up the spirits of their men, and how they tried to behave with honour in a world where their codes of conduct were being quite literally shot to pieces."--Publisher's description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 323-346) and index.