Chapter I: Front Matter

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IN THE LINE OF BATTLE

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | _UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME_ | | | | Soldiers’ Stories of the War | | | | Edited by WALTER WOOD | | | | With 20 full-page Illustrations by A. C. MICHAEL. | | | | _Second Edition. Crown 8vo, 6s. net_ | | | | | | “Unchallengeably the best war budget of its kind that we have | | had.”--_The Referee._ | | | | “A collection of absolutely authentic accounts by privates | | and non-commissioned officers.... In the language in which | | these fighters couch their experiences and opinions we see a | | great simplicity and directness of observation and recital, so | | admirable that _one page of such writing is worth all the folios | | of the war experts and correspondents_, not to say romancers and | | publicists.”--_The Athenæum._ | | | | “It is a stimulating and hopeful record, full of the real | | atmosphere of the war, and Mr. Wood has done a serviceable thing | | in producing it.”--_Daily Chronicle._ | | | | “The human side, the naked horror and simple glory of actual | | conflict, is what Mr. Wood’s soldiers are concerned with, and the | | stories they tell give a clearer picture of this side of war than | | can be found in any other form.”--_Pall Mall Gazette._ | | | | “All Mr. Wood’s papers make us feel, if that is possible, prouder | | of the British sailor and soldier.”--_Evening News._ | | | | “A very real and deeply affecting book, and the editor has done | | a valuable work in collecting these poignant, odd, whimsical, | | terrible stories together.”--_Westminster Gazette._ | | | | “No man who boasts a heart, least of all any man of young limbs, | | will read these soldiers’ simple stories without a quickening | | of the pulse. They are at once a great stimulus and a great | | memorial.”--_Daily Telegraph._ | | | | “It is a noble tribute to the unassuming heroism of the | | British soldier, and brings one close to the realities of | | war.”--_Spectator._ | | | | “This is a collection of absolutely authentic stories narrated | | by non-commissioned officers and privates who have taken part in | | the present war, and who relate their experiences.”--_War Office | | Times._ | | | | “Mr. Wood has done his work uncommonly well; his book is alive | | with interest, and has the permanent value that must always | | belong to such first-hand testimony.”--_Bookman._ | | | | | | LONDON: CHAPMAN & HALL, LTD. | | | | | +--------------------------------------------------------------------+

“SEVERAL VILLAGES ... HAVE BEEN DESTROYED IN THE INTERESTS OF OUR DEFENCE.... MY HEART BLEEDS WHEN ... I THINK OF THE NUMBER OF INNOCENT PERSONS WHO HAVE LOST THEIR HOMES AND THEIR GOODS.”--THE KAISER, IN A TELEGRAM TO PRESIDENT WILSON.]

IN THE LINE OF BATTLE

Soldiers’ Stories of the War

Edited by

WALTER WOOD

Author of “Men of the North Sea,” “Survivors’ Tales of Great Events,” “North Sea Fishers and Fighters,” etc

Illustrated from Official Photographs

London Chapman & Hall, Ltd. 1916

Printed in Great Britain by Richard Clay & Sons, Limited, Brunswick St., Stamford St., S.E., and Bungay Suffolk.