Into Battle

The deeply personal diary of a young British soldier serving in France with the Royal Engineers during the First World War.

This account of the ups and downs of active service on the battleground is the perfect read for fans of Aubrey Smith, Jonathan King, John Toland, and Laurence Stallings.

In 1915, at the age of 18, John Glubb joined the 7th Field Company in the Ypres Salient. From here, he would go on to serve at Ypres, on the Somme, at Arras, and Cambrai. As the war progressed, he often found himself in command of his company until brutally injured in 1917. Desperate to return to active service and his beloved unit, he returned in 1918 to the Western Front, not as a naïve teenager but as a man who had witnessed the full horror of war.

This diary tells his own war story: the work carried out, the conditions, the sights, the comradeship, and how life was lived amidst the daily horrors, dangers, and desolation in front of and behind the lines. It also captures his very humane sensitivity towards the welfare of the horses employed under his charge, as well as the men and the contrasting beauties of the natural world.

Through Glubb's fascinating firsthand account, the reader gains a real insight into the vital contribution the Royal Engineers made towards achieving final victory over Germany.

'... the diaries are compelling for their freshness of observation and quiet pride in each day's duty done and, amid the glut of infantry memoirs, almost unique in offering a glimpse of the war from the Engineers' viewpoint.' Christopher Wordsworth, The Observer

'... a valuable contribution to the literature of the First World War and a most interesting narrative ... An absorbing, impressive account.' Philip Warner, Times Literary Supplement

'The author has, to a great extent, avoided up-to-date comment and the book has retained the relatively simple prose of a young RE officer. This makes the book live - you are there and share the horrors, sufferings, fortitude, heroism and eventual triumph. The Preface sets the scene, the diary tells the story.' Royal Engineers Journal

'The horrors he records, including his own mutilation, are all the more vivid because they are not embedded in a passionate denunciation of the war but are set down as part of the routine. There is pity here, but no self pity.' The Economist

'This book is unique and a joy to read.' Brigadier Sir John Smyth, V.C., M.C.