Bringing WWI to Death

I admit that I had regarded WWI through Grade-10-History goggles before reading The Wars .
Findley's work of riveting fiction, however, made it seem more real than the dully detached narratives of a textbook.

WWI was like any other war in the absurdity of organising, preparing and training huge masses of men to kill one another in the name of some intangible goal. The year and the motivation that drove them over the top was not important - battle charges have pitted human against human from the time we could wield spears. The thing that defined this war, however, was the fact that the charge meant for many men both literally and figuratively 'going over the top'.

The technology of the 20th century shattered the veneer of Edwardian elegance with impersonal killing machines that revealed and amplified the extent of human brutality and callousness fostered by war.

The weapon with which the Germans now attacked had been introduced at Verdun. It was something called a 'flamethrower' and rumors had come down the line describing it - but no one had believed. Men, it said, carrying tanks of fire on their backs came in advance of the troops and spread the fire with hoses. Water burned and snow went up in smoke. Nothing remained. It was virtual attrition. The ultimate weapon had been invented. Only powder and dust remained of trenches filled with men. These were the rumors. Some of the commanders laughed. Fire can't come out of hoses. Don't be ridiculous. If fire came out of hoses, the men who wielded them would be the first to burn. (Dynamite and tanks and gas and aeroplanes had all been dismissed with the same rebuttal. A: men would not do such things and B: they could not. Then they did (p. 132).)


Technology spawned a war that was fought on calculist efficiency, and in turn made man himself part of the production line in 'vitory manufacture.' Keeping assembly running smoothly were the supervising officers.

They wore red armbands. Their holsters were open. They were directing traffic and keeping their eyes out for possible deserters. And, of course, for spies. Often, when there were large-scale troop movements like this, renegades would make an attempt to get to the rear posing as wounded or sometimes messengers. Spies too, could infiltrate the ranks - usually posing as local peasants or refugees from near the front. The job of the M.P.s (Military Police) was often quite brutal. In the trenches before an attack it was their responsibility to see that everyone went over the top. Their orders were to kill any man who refused.

And it never occured to them that a man might not go over the top because he already had - 'shell shock' would not be identified till long after the war.