In the Field (1914-1915): The Impressions of an Officer of Light Cavalry

A modest lieutenant of the French chasseurs offers an unvarnished glimpse into the early months of the Great War, choosing personal experience over grand strategy. His narrative is a series of vivid impressions—moments of misery, brief joys, and the relentless rhythm of daily life on the frontier—captured in a voice that feels as raw as the mud‑splattered fields he traverses.

The book opens with the uneasy journey to the front: a night‑time train rattling through the countryside, the officer cradling his own horses and those of his orderly, and the uneasy stirrings of animals sensing the end of their quiet stables. He watches the scattered lantern light, the glint of bayonets, and the endless string of stations, all while his thoughts drift toward the battlefield that lies ahead.

Through spare, honest prose, listeners hear the cadence of a soldier’s world—tent‑side conversations, the weight of equipment, the constant rain, and the quiet moments that reveal both the hardship and the humanity of those who lived through the first year of conflict.