author
Paul Lintier
1893–1916
A young French writer and artilleryman, he left behind vivid first-hand books about the opening of World War I before being killed in action at just 22. His work is remembered for its energy, clarity, and the striking sense that a major literary voice was cut short far too soon.
1 Audiobook
My .75: Reminiscences of a Gunner of a .75m/m Battery in 1914
by Paul Lintier
About the author
Born in Mayenne, France, in 1893, Paul Lintier was drawn to writing early and studied law in Lyon. Before the First World War, he was already publishing, and when war began in 1914 he served in the French Army as a gunner in a 75 mm battery.
Lintier is best known for war books drawn from his own experience, especially Ma pièce and Le tube 1233. They stand out because they were written by someone very young who was both a soldier and a natural storyteller, able to describe military life with immediacy and feeling rather than grand speeches.
He was wounded, returned to service, and was killed in March 1916 near Jeandelaincourt during the war. Because he died so young, his reputation has often carried a sense of promise as well as achievement: even in a short life, he produced work that helped shape the literature of the Great War in France.