Backs to the Wall: A Iarrikin on the Western Front

by G.D. Mitchell

Originally published in 1937 (and long out of print), this is a gripping, first hand account of a young soldier's experiences in France and Belgium during the First World War. ' In that hour was born in me a fear that lasted throughout the whole winter. It was the dread of dying in the mud, going down in that stinking morass and though dead being conscious throughout the ages. Waves of fear at times threatened to overwhelm me . . . a little weakness, a little slackening of control at times and I might have gone over the borderline. In the light of the sun, on firm ground, I could laugh at fate. But where the churned mud half hid and half revealed bodies, where dead hands reached out of the morass, seeming to implore aid - there I had to hold tight. 'In this gripping account, George Deane Mitchell relives the horror and the humour of being an Australian soldier on the Western Front in World War I. Backs to the Wall by was originally published in 1937. This edition - with commentary by Robert Macklin, author of Jacka VC - will allow a new generation of readers to fall under the spell of this forgotten Australian classic.

Genres: World War I, Nonfiction, Military History, War, History

356 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2007

Reviews

['Aussie Rick']

This book covers the World War One experiences of George Deane Mitchell, a private in the 48th Battalion, 1st A.I.F. This is a great account of one man's front-line duty between 1916-1918. It’s a pretty good read and strangely enough before reading this book I had not previously heard about George Deane Mitchell. I looked him up on the Internet and this is what I found:

"He served at Gallipoli from 25 April 1915 until he was evacuated with enteric fever on 6 August. Rejoining his battalion on 9 September 1916 in Belgium, he was transferred to the 48th Battalion on 31 October and promoted lance corporal on 17 March 1917.

On 11 April, after six hours of bitter trench fighting in the first battle of Bullecourt, France, Mitch covered his comrades' retreat, then shouldered his Lewis gun and strolled through heavy enemy fire to his lines. He won the Distinguished Conduct Medal and was promoted second lieutenant. His walk entered A.I.F. legend, and Charles Bean's official history used it to characterize Mitchell's brigade in the battle. On 28 March 1918 Mitchell's platoon held an exposed hillside at Dernancourt. On his right the enemy broke through. He ran to the break, waving a pistol, and captured about thirty soldiers. He was awarded the Military Cross. In May 1919 he returned to Australia an A.I.F. rarity, having survived four years of front-line service unwounded.

Mitchell wrote the A.I.F.'s most evocative diary, with a knack of seeing significance in events. 'We had come from the New World for the conquest of the Old', he observed at the Anzac landing. 'They all bore the hall mark of the Cog', he remarked of Londoners in 1916. 'I feel that I have lost touch with any life but this one of war', he wrote in 1917, it 'is hard to recall Australia, and apart from my people nothing stands out vividly. I feel an outsider. We are lost in the magnitude of our task'."

As the above section indicates this is a good book, its a very enjoyable first-hand account, easy to read and laced with some front-line humour. I am sure that this book will be a joy to read for anyone who has an interest in WW1 literature or good first-hand accounts.

[Sharon]

Books about the Great War are not supposed to be funny, but G.D. Mitchell's Backs to the Wall had me laughing out loud at times. This man was not only a larrikin but had a wonderful way to tell a story. Sometimes to his own detriment.

Then there were times he had me in tears, the raw emotion of losing his best friend being one of those times. He put in actual excerpts from his diary at times to illustrate what he was actually writing.

Taken at face value, some of his antics were nothing to make a nation proud, but when put into the context of the horrors of war, poor nutrition, cold, wet, mud and those pesky lice, it's easy to understand why he stole. He always shared his spoils, believing that he was no better than the man beside him and deserved the same. He also didn't see himself as better than the troops he commanded, as told in an anecdote with a British officer.

To know that Mitchell went to war again (WWII) is incredible. The only thing I'm curious about is why Mitchell didn't include his experiences at Gallipoli in his book. A mystery that will never be answered.

I loved this book and am grateful that it was rediscovered.

[Rod]

Absolutely stunning read! No larrikan wrote this book. The degree of clear definition of everything he sees and feels brought tears to my eyes on several occasions. He has a way of writing that brings the reader along with him while traversing the filthy mud, bypassing the broken bodies and fearing what was to come. He shows abject misery in one sentence and absolute elation the next as he takes us in a roller coaster ride thru the whole book.
I wish it had been 1000 pages long. My disappointment when I v CCG completed the book was palpable. Incredible!

[Douglas]

Excellent memoir.

[Cam]

Outstanding.