American Soldier in World War I
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American Soldier in World War I
In the book, the day-to-day life experiences of an average American soldier are described. George Brownie, a former civil engineer, but now in the army writes letters to his fiancee Martha. A collection of all the letters Brown wrote while participating in the World War I now constitute a book entitled An American Soldier in World War I, edited by David Snead. The book describes Brown’s experiences during the war that formed part of the famed Rainbow Division. Browne served as a professional side by side with other comrades in the Engineering Regiment from 1917 until he was badly wounded in 1918 in the Meuse-Argonne offensive. At Saint-Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne, he took part in several defenses and offensives.
The book with Brownie’s letters captures the day-to-day life of a fighter in the European theater. The thesis here is that the difficulties during training, deportation to France, as well as the risks of combat stressed Brownie, leading to the ultimate strain on his relationship with Marty. David Snead is able weave the correspondence of Browne into a wider narrative about on service and hope among the troops in the war. By providing, a description of what the average American soldier experiences while serving in the Expeditionary Forces, in France, the group makes an invaluable contribution to the historiography of participation of America in World War I.
Brownie endured some one of the most brutal warfare ever known. He was sent away from home his for months, at a time, undergoing a series of untold emotional and physical experiences each time. A number of technological developments made machine guns and artillery extraordinarily effective weapons, which created a deadly fire zone in front of the positions of the defenders. Soldiers were required to dig up trenches for placements of machine guns. Brownie claims ‘these were meant to protect us from enemy shelling while allowing them to fire back without exposing ourselves to danger’ (Brown and Snead 2010, 4). Novel weapons were introduced, such as poison gas and tanks, making combat more unpredictable (Kindsvatter 2003, 14).
Long before the start of the actual battle, the experience in the lines was overwhelming. Brownie and his comrades were staying outside for days on end, without adequate shelter from rain and cold during winter or from the scorching sun during summer. Artillery often destroyed the landscape, reducing buildings and trees to a desolate rubble while churning up plenty of mud in a few places. The incredible noise of machine gun and artillery fire was ‘almost always incessant’ (Brown and Snead 2010, 4). The soldiers had to spend much time waiting there. In the quieter sectors, real fighting was little and an informal truce often developed between the two sides. In the active parts of the battlefront, fighting was rarely continuous, making boredom common among troops. The excitement and heroism many soldiers had anticipated before the war were not to be experienced. According to Brownie’s letters, life in the trenches was not only grim but also monotonous; there were rare attacks and thus no war, but only hard work.
In one of the letters, Brownie claims ‘going to the top’ was an extremely terrifying experience for him. Rarely did the men disobeyed orders to attack: most if not all soldiers were compliant. Brownie himself has never understood the motivation behind continually fighting under such inhumane conditions. It was a mystery what boosted the soldiers’ morale despite physical exhaustion and fear. The stress associated with these circumstances led to the eventual fallout of Brownie and his lover (Brown and Snead 2010, 5).
Traditionally, Brownie claims, the authorities hoped the soldiers’ motivation could be derived from loyalty to a general idea: often patriotism. Patriotism encouraged these men to volunteer their service and keep the spirits high over long spells of service at the front line. Nevertheless, once under fire they required more than ideals to keep up their courage. A seemingly plausible explanation for the resilience was the concept of the ‘primary group,’ where soldiers were motivated by comradeship. Extensive training also played a role, which made the soldiers familiar with the fear and chaos of the field. Because of this, actions in the battlefield had become second nature. However, armies never left soldier's behavior in war down to chance: the military system discipline coerced them into total obedience. Brownie narrates he disobeyed at times, and the punishment for such disobedience could be severe. For instance, conviction for desertion from one’s unit or cowardice in the face of an adversary could receive the death penalty (Brown and Snead 2010, 6). Hundreds of men were executed for such offences during World War I (Homsher 2006, 68).
Brownie has supported the thesis of his book very well. That has been achieved by narrating all the events of a soldier during World War I. The stressful experiences could not allow him to lead a normal life; he had to spend prolonged periods away from home. He spent extremely little time with his fiancé, which strained their relationship. Marty, despite her purported perseverance, could not bear with his partner. On his part, Brownie could not do anything to save the situation, like quitting the job was not possible (Cornell, Keene, and O’Donnell 2013, 22).
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