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Sir John Bagot Glubb
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Into Battle: A Soldier's Diary of the Great War (The Life of Glubb Pasha Book 1) Kindle Edition

by John Glubb (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 73 ratings
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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.
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  1. Book 1 of 4
    The Life of Glubb Pasha
  2. Print length
    219 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    October 6, 2024
  5. File size
    2.3 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
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  8. Enhanced typesetting
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  9. See all details
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0D921CH2Y
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sapere Books (October 6, 2024)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 6, 2024
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.3 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 219 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 73 ratings

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Sir John Bagot Glubb

Sir John Bagot Glubb

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
73 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Kindle Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent read.
    Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    I am big fan of first-hand accounts of war and this book was no exception. Like most if not all accounts the listing's of military units, officers, towns, etc is somewhat tedious. But the personal commentary and observations are excellent and earn it an extra star above what I would normally assign such a book.

    The descriptions of the dead soldier's towards the front of the book are so horrendous as to almost be unbelievable even though I've read dozens of journals in a similar vein.

    I found interesting the appearance of tanks for the first time but was surprised how little they were mentioned thereafter. I suppose that had to do with the author being assigned to a combat engineering unit.

    Overall I recommend the book and plan to consider some of Glubb's numerous later books.
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  • Amazon Customer
    3.0 out of 5 stars Tales from the rear guard
    Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    After reading stories from the infantry in the trenches this story of the life of an officer was a letdown.
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  • Jayfred
    3.0 out of 5 stars It's ok.
    Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2016
    He was a lieutenant in the Engineers in the British Army in WW1. This is ok as a war memoir. 223 pages.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • HankJr
    5.0 out of 5 stars A must read.
    Reviewed in Canada on January 24, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    The often humorous and sometimes deeply touching story of a life in the trenches of WWI. Very well written, I enjoyed every page.
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  • Scifi fan
    5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book
    Reviewed in Australia on February 7, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    Amazing account of the author's experiences in the Great War. It was fascinating to hear how logistics shaped trench warfare
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  • Willyum R
    5.0 out of 5 stars WW1 Diary of a very young officer in the Royal Engineers
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 14, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    In 1975 Lieutenant-General Sir John Gubb, a famous Second World War general, came across some exercise books written in pencil, which were his First World War diaries. They were started when he was aged 18, and as a young subaltern in the Royal Engineers arrived on the Western Front; Gubb wisely resisted the temptation to rewrite them, because he thought (and I think that he was right) that they radiate a naive charm and enthusiasm which vividly portray the life of a young officer in that war.

    Gubb, serving with the 7th Field Company Royal Engineers (a Regular Army unit) was at Ypres in early 1916, supervising the construction of trenches and defences, and then on the Somme summer 1916 to early 1917 he found himself in charge of a small railway line north of Montauban carrying supplies and munitions to the front line trenches. In August 1917 he was badly wounded by a shell, and returned to the front nearly a year later for those final frantic months of the war.

    The volume includes plenty of maps and sketches of trench-construction, as befits a very intelligent young man with a very ordered mind and a great military career ahead of him, but this is mixed with the grief at the death of friends, and small incidents such as his upset when the company commander disposes of the gramophone which had been such a joy to him.

    I found this among the best of the many worthwhile WW1 memoirs, and would think that it is virtually indispensable to someone researching the Royal Engineers in that war.
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  • AndreC
    5.0 out of 5 stars I'd recommend this to anyone who wants to read a well ...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 11, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    An extremely readable and interesting first hand account of life in WWI from a soldier who went on to become a general and an historian of note.
    Scion of a military family, the young Glubb was eager to get over to the front as a Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers. This book isn't what one expects in many ways. Mixed in with accounts of operations, of attacks and of horrors, there are interludes of poetic appreciation of nature, and even a spiritual interlude away from the front lines. One can't help but be impressed both by the standards of Glubb's writing and his dedication to his men, and to his beloved horses.From a 19 year old.
    Interestingly, there is hardly a single critical word directed towards the Germans, but some admiration for the achievements of German military engineers.
    I'd recommend this to anyone who wants to read a well written and very engaging account of the war from the perspective of a young officer of the regular army.
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  • Roger Bruton
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 13, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Interesting read
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