Now that the last veterans are gone, the First World War is now a
completely historical subject--governed by archaeology and genealogy,
battlefield tourism and military history. The anguish and privations are
a bit further away, but there is still huge interest in the awful
conditions and carnage endured by a generation of youth who sacrificed
their lives for their country.
"The Old Front Line" is a phrase first coined by the poet John Masefield
when he looked back on the battle of the Somme from a distance of just
one year, in 1917, and speculated how the Western Front might look in
the future. Stephen Bull's copiously illustrated work--part travel
guide, part popular history--a century on, answers his speculations. The
main source material is new and contemporary photographs, as well as
some from the intervening century. Taken together these provide a series
of exciting vistas and informative details that tell the story of the
battles and landscapes. Aerial photography, old and new ground
shots--and in a few cases even images taken underground--provide an
authoritative summary of the war on the Western Front.
Following an introduction that sets the scene and looks at the early
stages of the war, eight chapters examine the Western Front
geographically, looking closely at the main areas of fighting and what
is visible today: not just the "iron harvest"--the scars left by trench
and battle--but also the cemeteries, war memorials and statues that
remind the visitor starkly of the loss of a generation.
