Tommy: The British Soldier on the Western Front

Tommy: The British Soldier on the Western Front
Richard Holmes

The first history of World War I to place centre-stage the British soldier who fought in the trenches, this superb and important book tells the story of an epic and terrible war through the letters, diaries and memories of those who fought it.Of the six million men who served in the British army, nearly one million lost their lives and over two million were wounded. This is the story of these men – epitomised by the character of Sgt Tommy Atkins – and the women they left behind.Using previously unseen letters, diaries, memoirs and poetry from the years 1914-1918, Richard Holmes paints a moving picture of the generation that fought and died in the mud of Flanders. He follows men whose mental health was forever destroyed by shell shock, women who lost husbands and brothers in the same afternoon and those who wrote at lunchtime and died before tea.Groundbreaking and critically-acclaimed, this book tells the real story of trench warfare, the strength and fallibility of the human spirit, the individuals behind an epic event, and their legacy. It is an emotional and unforgettable masterpiece from one of our most important historians.Note that it has not been possible to include the same picture content that appeared in the original print version.

Tommy

The British Soldier On The Western Front 1914–1918

Richard Holmes

COPYRIGHT (#ulink_4f90757e-c8ae-5908-bf53-a7e5c042a961)

HarperPress

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www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

First published by HarperCollins Publishers 2004

Copyright © Richard Holmes 2004

PS section copyright © Patrick Bishop 2005

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Richard Holmes asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

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Ebook Edition © SEPTEMBER 2010 ISBN: 9780007383481

Version date: 2018-07-18

Some images were unavailable for the electronic edition.

DEDICATION (#ulink_ee391a5e-acc4-5f69-8b67-0f0d67bd9b0f)

For Lizzie, with love and admiration

CONTENTS

Cover (#uc7345cf5-b3a5-5f01-8091-7179c4984ef0)

Title Page (#u34ceeba6-bd9d-52af-b986-a40e76e1e5cb)

COPYRIGHT

DEDICATION (#ulink_248e9969-c94a-58f4-a59b-eef155c1a30c)

INTRODUCTION (#ulink_2c7f679e-850d-5564-b367-07354d466fd6)

PROLOGUE: TOMMY ATKINS (#ulink_1fed693c-abae-53ee-b853-f9c192524a82)

I

ZERO HOUR (#ulink_daff2d77-7a4a-5fe9-9d04-013bdd1ca064)

SWITZERLAND TO THE SEA (#ulink_7a9f7cf8-378c-5f50-86fa-032368a4afaf)

THE EBB AND FLOW OF BATTLE (#ulink_2e33830d-09cb-5bd1-be13-ce5aef146490)

II

ONE WAR, FOUR ARMIES (#ulink_120f16bc-0692-52e9-8ab2-ab22688249e8)

OLD WORLD, OLD ARMY (#ulink_b5fe6ecb-a0d3-5124-a4e5-91d9b37234c2)

SATURDAY NIGHT SOLDIERS (#ulink_6dd76edf-c45f-5848-9009-e01f95966ec0)

NEW ARMY

III

CHAIN OF COMMAND

ONE LONG LOAF?

IV

A VIEW FROM THE PARAPET

FIGURES IN A LANDSCAPE

BASE DETAILS

V

A MILITARY REVOLUTION

BROTHER LEAD AND SISTER STEEL

THE BOLD BOMBARDIER

THE DEVIL’S BREATH

BRAZEN CHARIOTS