In the Furnace of the Fire

[Robert Dunlop]

It is unusual to find books about the French experience of war, particularly from an NCO perspective. The English translation of this book was published in 1916. The book is about a reservist who is called up as soon as war breaks out. He travels to his unit and then describes the next weeks is great detail. The mobilization process, the limited training and the embarkation are covered. It was especially interesting to view this from a sergeant's perspective. Dreher, the focus of the book, recounts his involvement in the early Battles of the Frontier, the transportation of his unit via Paris to the left wing, and the First Battle of the Marne. During the latter, Dreher suffers a leg wound that ultimately results in an above-knee amputation.

The tactical details are unprecendented for a French personal account. Added to which, the story tracks Dreher's path from his cynical self-centred approach to life before the war, through the baptism of fire and the development of his ability as an NCO, the reconiliation with his father, and the growing realisation of his love for Jeannine. Dreher's father had been wounded in the Franco-Prussian War. He had favoured the elder son, who continued the tradition of military service in the family but was killed in the early fighting around St Mihiel. Dreher had felt distanced from his father, then his mother had died when he was young. As the book unfolds, it becomes clear that these influences had led to the protective cuirass of cynicism. Gradually, Dreher finds himself breaking free from this. The process is complex and tortuous, indicating a profound level of psychological insight.

A fascinating book, at many levels. It is definitely not an anti-war book but neither does it have a propagandist pro-war Boys Own style. The book grapples with the tensions between individual and country, between saving oneself and being part of a unit, in a way that I have not come across before. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Robert

[SiegeGunner]

I wonder if the estimable Mike Skipman can find this book available somewhere as a free digital download?