I read almost all the books that have appeared in the first ten years following the war. "The Cross of wood- the west nothing new-Fire-The large herd etc" but I was never fell in bookstores on this book. It was often used as a model for other works such as comics ("it was war trenches J Tardi") and for sequences of `films (" A Very Long Engagement "). This book is an exception, he denounced the first page to the last war. The state of war that allows a civilian killing, the lowering of man to animal status, the negligence of the leaders, and especially the constant FEAR soldier. Fear of being in a poor corner, fear of going out of the trench, under bombardment fear, fear of losing a mate, the constant fear of death. For him, a soldier who is not afraid is a mad man. He does not hesitate to reveal that the soldier is happy when he is in the hospital with a thin wound, he goes even further, revealing that some soldiers were not unhappy with their amputation and thought the same. It includes desertions and mutinies he approves, he fully endorses the voluntary mutilation. You understand therefore why this book was very badly judged by the military when it was released but very appreciated by the veterans. The author was even accused by politicians of the 30s to have this narrative reinforced by non postwar patriotic spirit which entraînât debacle during the Second World War. We find excuses we can! Conclusion: a terrible indictment against the Great War but also as the author points out in the reprint of the book after the Second World War against all wars.
