Ressources numériques en sciences humaines et sociales OpenEdition Nos plateformes OpenEdition Books OpenEdition Journals Hypothèses Calenda Bibliothèques OpenEdition Freemium Suivez-nous

Nouvelle Publication: “Behind the Front: British Soldiers and French Civilians, 1914-1918

‘Behind the Front: British Soldiers and French Civilians, 1914-1918’ (Cambridge University Press, 2014).

BjvlCOGCYAElFSvUntil now scholars have looked for the source of the indomitable Tommy morale on the Western Front in innate British bloody-mindedness and irony, not to mention material concerns such as leave, food, rum, brothels, regimental pride, and male bonding. However, re-examining previously used sources alongside never-before consulted archives, the author shifts the focus away from battle and the trenches to times behind the front, where the British intermingled with a vast population of allied civilians, whom Lord Kitchener had instructed the troops to ‘avoid’. Besides providing a comprehensive examination of soldiers’ encounters with local French and Belgian inhabitants which were not only unavoidable but also challenging, symbiotic and uplifting in equal measure, the author contends that such relationships were crucial to how the war was fought on the Western Front and, ultimately, to British victory in 1918. What emerges is a novel interpretation of the British and Dominion soldier at war.


OpenEdition vous propose de citer ce billet de la manière suivante :
matthias (14 avril 2014). Nouvelle Publication: “Behind the Front: British Soldiers and French Civilians, 1914-1918. Regards sur HARTIS : le carnet des doctorant·e·s. Consulté le 14 janvier 2026 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/qgrn


Vous aimerez aussi...