The Command Is Forward: Tales of the A.E.F. Battlefields As They Appeared in the Stars and Stripes

by Alexander Woollcott

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Genres: Nonfiction, History

360 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2008

About the author

Alexander Humphreys Woollcott (1887-1943) was an American drama critic and commentator for The New Yorker magazine, a member of the Algonquin Round Table, an occasional actor and playwright, and a prominent radio personality.

Reviews

[Don Gerstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Command Is Forward" is a different type of history book, made special because of the personal accounts of those who fought in the battles as well as recognizing the everyday bravery of others who were there. It is the intimacy of the stories that raises this book to another level. Some of these reprints from the Stars and Stripes are human interest stories centered around one individual, but even the stories detailing a battle find a way to identify different soldiers and include their personal contributions.

This is a different yet extremely enlightening way to learn about American soldiers in WWI. Five stars.

[Rachel Noel · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Free copy for an honest review.

I knew I was reading a different kind of book when I saw the copyright date, 1918. That's the beauty of books and their ability to time travel. The Stars and Stripes was created with purpose of unifying American soldiers spread throughout the battlefront in Europe. It was considered to be a rounding success. After reading these stories, I can see why.

Every story recorded is incredibly inspiring, even those that are less than jovial. There are stories about the different roles that soldiers perform and how each one supports the other. From runners risking life and limb to pass messages to observation pilots getting shot in the air. From engineers building makeshift bridges to gunners forcing the enemy to flee. Almost every story in this collection is about the camaraderie. There are stories about men giving up their rations for the wounded. Stories about men in charge doing dangerous jobs because they wouldn't ask their men to risk their lives.

At the same time, there are also stories about French refugees returning home and rebuilding. About the reception they gave the soldiers who pushed back the German Army. The personal stories were just as moving as the group stories.

This book is not just for fans of history or World War II buffs. This is a book that people of almost all walks of life can be inspired by. Not necessarily inspired to join the armed forces, but inspired to view America in a new way. The way the final installment of The Stars and Stripes says the soldiers did when they were finally able to return home.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating collection of primary source material - first-hand articles published during WWI that don't deal with grand offensives and military strategy, but rather with the everyday life of common soldiers.