Four free reads on the Net: The First World War

This weekend will be one of commemoration and reflection on the first global war of the 20th century that resulted in the death of empires, the collapse of monarchies, the upheaval of millions of people from their native soil, the birth of revolutions that ultimately led to totalitarian states that destroyed millions of lives and, of course, killed or injured millions of people across the world.

Estimates place the total casualties, including people injured or missing, at 16 million deaths and 21 million wounded.  Such losses would have a profound effect on the generations to come and would deeply affect artists, poets and writers. 

The war itself also produced works of literature and art that still move us today and are justifiably famous, but in this week's Free Reads I've looked at works that are perhaps less well known today but are still remarkable, as well as trying to find reads that reflect multiple viewpoints.

Please feel free to share in the comments below your favourite reads related to the first World War and why they are important to you.

Short Story

One enduring legend from the Great War was the story of the Angel of Mons, a legend that angels or, sometimes St George and some phantom bowmen, ‘protected’ British soldiers at the battle of Mons on 23rd August 1914, a battle in which just over 1,600 British soldier of all ranks were killed, wounded or went missing. Arthur Machen strongly believed that the legend originated with the publication of his story The Bowmen, although the belief that supernatural intervention was real persisted long after the war.

Read Arthur Machen’s The Angel of Mons stories in a free download here

Incidentally the Fortean Times investigation of this legend is also worth a read.

Poem

The war produced so much memorable poetry by a generation of young poets, many of whom lost their lives on the battlefields of the Western Front. I have decided on a less well-known poem to highlight in Free Reads. It was written, not by a soldier, but by a paediatric doctor who was also an established poet and author. Helen Mackay witnessed this scene at a railway station. I can’t get through the poem without crying.

Train by Helen Mackay 

Novel

Written in 1916, Under Fire by Henri Barbusse was one of the first novels to be published about the great war. Although it is fiction, it was based upon the real life experiences of Barbusse as a French soldier on the Western Front. It is noted for the grim realism in its depiction of life in the trenches.

Download a copy here

Essay

The view from Germany- A fascinating Spiegel Online (International edition) special in 5 parts on how Germany will be commemorating the Great War.

Bonus links 

The very engaging Christopher Clark, author of The Sleepwakers: How Britain went to war in 1914 gives a lecture for Gresham College on the events of 1914 [“52 mins 52”]

The Great War was known as a World War because it drew in armies from across the globe as empires called upon their colonies and dominions to help in the war. Eric Bogle’s song Waltzing Matilda, about a young Australian mutilated at Gallipoli, reminds us how those who were able to return, sometimes maimed and disabled, sometimes mentally ill,  suffered terribly on their return to their home countries.

The divine voice of June Tabor delivers the definitive version of this song in the video