Melissa

=__With A Machine Gun To Cambrai__=

Content
__With a Machine Gun to Cambrai__ is the memoir of George Coppard's experiences fighting in France in World War One. He enlisted in August 1914 after lying about his age to officials, "The Sergeant asked me my age, and when told replied, 'Clear off son. Come back tomorrow and see if you're nineteen, eh?"

Coppard's experiences in training alone for war were enough for him to doubt his enrolment. There was severe competition for sleeping space, food and appliances. Inspection of equipment occured often, and a soldier missing and equipment was reprimanded. Thus stealing another man's tools was a regular occurrence. "A good deal of pinching was going on and I found myself minus some articles...the only thing I could do was a bit of counter-swiping."

Before entering the trenches, the soldiers were given 'a warning'. "The colonel reminded us that we were on a war footing and that the severest military laws would apply for any dereliction of duty, such as desertion, mutiny, leaving the trenches without permission, cowardice and sleeping while on sentry duty. A conviction by court martial for any such offence would carry the death sentence."

Coppard's experiences whilst on a war footing in France revolve around his battles in the Loos, Somme, Arras and Cambrai; as well as everyday occurrences. Coppard's brush with a court marital offence as his fellow soldier's revolver went off in his pocket and shot Coppard in the foot. He was labelled an SIW (self inflicted wound) and sent to a prison-hospital and risked death by firing squad. Fortunately he was cleared of the offence and sent ho'me for six months.

The accounts highlight perfectly the constant feeling of death which surrounded the soldiers. From the threat of being killed at any moment, to hundreds of thousands of corpses lying only metres away from the trenches. Even if one didn't fear death, the risk of being seriously wounded took over from there.

Reliability
In terms of its origin __With a Machine Gun to Cambrai__ is a highly reliable memoir to a historian or individual studying the life of a Tommy in the Great War. George Coppard’s experiences in the trenches are as valuable as any textbook as __With a Machine Gun to Cambrai__ is a primary account and provides first hand information from someone who actually experienced and lived right in the midst of the warfare. However there is one limitation concerning the book’s origin. The book is only from one point of view, which can obviously be expected as the book is based on diaries written by a British soldier.  The purpose of __With a Machine Gun to Cambrai__ is as valuable as its origins. “This book is based on the diaries that the author kept during his service in France.” The book was published for the Imperial War Museum in 1968, and its sole purpose is to inform. In comparison to a textbook specialising on the First World War, the information contained in __With a Machine Gun to Cambrai__ is the raw facts and accounts of a soldier; with no opinionated analysis included.

Significance
The significance of __With a Machine Gun to Cambrai__ is that it provides a Tommy’s perspective – something a textbook would not be able to do unless they referred to external sources. A majority of the recollections are based around the soldiers’ life in the trenches and the constant fighting. Coppard fought in the battles of Loos, Somme, Arras and finally Cambrai. In each recollection he informed the reader of the condition of the fighting and the trenches; without complaint. “It was inspiring, though uncomfortable, for soon eighteen-pounder shells were screaming just over our heads, an experience to which we were not yet accustomed.”…“The next morning we gunners surveyed the dreadful scene in front of our trench…Hundreds of dead, many belonging to the 37th Brigade, were strung out like wreckage washed up to a high water mark. They hung there in grotesque postures…they had died on their knees and the wire had prevented their fall.”  The constant bitterness towards the Germans and the comparison of the different trenches was also a main discussion point in the book. “In my opinion the German troops were in no way superior to the British. What was superior beyond any doubt was the enemy trench system, built in thorough German fashion to a proper standard of strength and efficiency…” Coppard acknowledged that he was a dealer of death, and the resentment towards the Germans grew as the war went on. “…Snowy and I saw a sheet of white material stretched taut, on which was painted, ‘Onward to Paris’. Snowy raked the sheet with a full belt, blasting the message and carving the material to ribbons.”…“The age old sentiment of ‘goodwill to all men’ meant nothing to us then….I can categorically state that we were in no mood for joviality with Jerry. In fact, after what we had been through in the Loos, we hated his bloody guts.”


 * Please note that all quotations are taken from __With a Machine Gun to Cambrai__.

Three Useful Weblinks

 * http://www.amazon.co.uk/Machine-Cambrai-Cassell-Military-Paperbacks/dp/0304352586/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224662905&sr=8-1 (Book reviews)
 * http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWcoppard.htm (Brief biography of George Coppard)
 * http://www.freepedia.co.uk/FWWcambrai.php (Brief overview of the Battle of Cambrai)