To the Last Ridge (Paperback)

Paperback. Written just after the heat of the battle and in the language of the time, this is the personal account of an ordinary soldier's experience of one of the most horrific series of battles ever fought. Fleurbaix, Bapaume, Beaumetz, Lagincourt, Bullecourt, The Menin Road, Villers-Bretonneux, Peronne and Mont St. Quentin. Downing describes the mud, the rats, the constant pounding of the guns, the deaths, the futility, but also the humour and the heroism of one of the most compelling periods in world history. His writing is spare but vivid, and presents a graphic description of an ordinary person's struggle to survive. Walter Downing was a Melbourne law student before fighting on the Western Front, where he won the Military Medal. Written just after the heat of battle and in the language of the time, this extraordinarily moving account expresses in a brutally honest and personal way the ordinary soldier's experience of one of the most horrific series of battles ever fought. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. …