| | | “A very real and deeply affecting book, and the editor has done | | a valuable work in collecting these poignant, odd, whimsical, | | terrible stories together.”--_Westminster Gazette._ | | | | “No man who boasts a heart, least of all any man of young limbs, | | will read these soldiers’ simple stories without a quickening | | of the pulse. They are at once a great stimulus and a great | | memorial.”--_Daily Telegraph._ | | | | “It is a noble tribute to the unassuming heroism of the | | British soldier, and brings one close to the realities of | | war.”--_Spectator._ | | | | “This is a collection of absolutely authentic stories narrated | | by non-commissioned officers and privates who have taken part in | | the present war, and who relate their experiences.”--_War Office | | Times._ | | | | “Mr. Wood has done his work uncommonly well; his book is alive | | with interest, and has the permanent value that must always | | belong to such first-hand testimony.”--_Bookman._ | | | | | | LONDON: CHAPMAN & HALL, LTD. | | | | | +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ [Illustration: [_Frontispiece._ “SEVERAL VILLAGES ... HAVE BEEN DESTROYED IN THE INTERESTS OF OUR DEFENCE.... MY HEART BLEEDS WHEN ... I THINK OF THE NUMBER OF INNOCENT PERSONS WHO HAVE LOST THEIR HOMES AND THEIR GOODS.”--THE KAISER, IN A TELEGRAM TO PRESIDENT WILSON.] IN THE LINE OF BATTLE Soldiers’ Stories of the War Edited by WALTER WOOD Author of “Men of the North Sea,” “Survivors’ Tales of Great Events,” “North Sea Fishers and Fighters,” etc Illustrated from Official Photographs London Chapman & Hall, Ltd. 1916 Printed in Great Britain by Richard Clay & Sons, Limited, Brunswick St., Stamford St., S.E., and Bungay Suffolk. INTRODUCTION