There have been thousands of books on the Great War, but most have
focused on commanders, battles, strategy, and tactics. Less attention
has been paid to the daily lives of the combatants, how they endured the
unimaginable conditions of industrial warfare: the rain of shells,
bullets, and chemical agents. In The Secret History of Soldiers, Tim
Cook, Canada's foremost military historian, examines how those who
survived trench warfare on the Western Front found entertainment,
solace, relief, and distraction from the relentless slaughter.
Mined from the letters, diaries, memoirs, and oral accounts of more than
five hundred combatants, rare examples of trench art, postcards, and
even song sheets offer insight into a hidden society that was often
irreverent, raunchy, and anti-authoritarian. While novels and poetry
often depict the soldiers of the Great War as mere victims, this new
history shows how the soldiers pushed back against the grim war,
refusing to be broken in the mincing machine of the Western Front.
The fighting at the front was devastating, but behind the battle lines,
another layer of life existed, one that included songs, skits, art, and
soldier-produced newspapers. Over the years, both writers and historians
have overlooked this aspect of the men's lives, but Cook reveals the
gallows humour the soldiers employed to endure the trenches.
With his trademark narrative abilities and an unerring eye for the
telling human detail, Cook has created another landmark history of
Canadian military life as he reveals the secrets of how soldiers
survived the carnage of the Western Front.
