author
Georges Etienne Bertrand
A French officer and wartime writer, he is remembered for vivid firsthand accounts of World War I and for practical writing on trench combat. His books bring readers close to the daily experience, danger, and discipline of soldiers at the front.
1 Audiobook
Tactics and duties for trench fighting
by Georges Etienne Bertrand, Oscar N. Solbert
About the author
Georges Étienne Bertrand was a French military officer and author associated with the Chasseurs Alpins, the mountain infantry. Library and archival records identify him as the author of Carnet de route d'un officier d'alpins, published in 1916, and co-author of Tactics and Duties for Trench Fighting, an English-language manual published in 1918 with Oscar N. Solbert.
His writing stands out for its direct link to the First World War. Carnet de route d'un officier d'alpins appears to draw on his experience as an officer during the early campaigns of 1914, while Tactics and Duties for Trench Fighting reflects the hard lessons of trench warfare and the specialized demands it placed on infantry soldiers.
Archival material from the Theodore Roosevelt Center identifies a Captain Georges Étienne Bertrand, born around 1890, as a visiting French officer who instructed troops in trench warfare at Fort Sheridan in 1917. While detailed biographical information is limited, the surviving record presents him as both a soldier and a practical observer of modern war, writing from close experience rather than from a distance.