The Poor Bloody Infantry: 1939-45

The compelling reality of the unglamorous life of a World War II infantryman. An essential read for fans of Charles B. MacDonald, Stephen Bull, John Lincoln, and Dr Alexander Shaw. The infantry were the backbone of Allied military operations across every theatre of the Second World War, from Europe to the Western Desert and South East Asia. Tasked with ground combat, they were often the first to engage the enemy and the last to leave captured territory. Facing a well-equipped and highly trained Nazi enemy, their life expectancy was tragically short. Author and military historian Charles Whiting, who himself served in Belgium, Holland, and Germany, draws on numerous original sources and personal correspondence to reveal the true experiences of these frontline soldiers. He captures the brutal reality of men pushed to the very limits of human endurance and often beyond, confronting constant danger and the ever-present threat of death. From life in slit trenches, inadequately armed and supplied, to poor rations, desert sores, and exhaustion, alongside comradeship, courage, and extraordinary acts of self-sacrifice, this is the unvarnished truth of the infantryman's war.