The Cannoneers Have Hairy Ears: A Diary Of The Front Lines

Book excerpt: An American Captain tells the story of his unit of artillery in the Front Lines of the Western front through the battles of St Mihiel and the Argonne to the ceasefire. An acclaimed classic account of an American Officer whose battery fought bravely as part of the American Expeditionary Forces in 1918. The unedited journal, which was kept by the author on his person at all times, is a gem of reportage filled with scenes that vividly portray the battle front and at times the sheer brutality of war. His unit were cited for their accurate and deadly work with their French-made 75 mm. guns, and despite the unit not often being more than 1000 yards away from the trenchlines the efficiency of the battery allowed the author time to write. Not polished or damaged by post-war editing the author’s diary retains its freshness and immediacy of the shell-torn trenches of the French countryside. “Diary, August—November 1918, of a U.S. Field Artillery unit—75mm guns—attached to the 33rd Division. One of the best American artillery accounts” - p. 120, Edward Lengel, World War I Memories, 2004, The Scarecrow Press, Lanham Maryland, Toronto, Oxford.