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The opening month of the Great War ending in the Battle of the
Marne (6-9 September 1914) was a turning point in modern history.
The French and British armies were forced into a long retreat from
Belgium but subsequently regrouped to mount a successful
counter-attack. However, the miracle of the Marne, as it was later
called, ended in the stalemate of the trenches. The failure of the
Imperial German Army to achieve a decisive victory led to thirty
years of hostility, warfare and destruction, which cost millions of
lives. During the retreat to the Marne over a million soldiers
marched 20 miles a day carrying 60-lb packs in temperatures above
30 degrees. They were often short of food and only managed short
snatches of rest. They fought a series of engagements over two
weeks which ended in a battle from the plains of Lorraine to the
gates of Paris. This march tested them to the limits of endurance
and beyond. In this book Terry Cudbird recreates the experience of
the infantry during their gruelling journey. He describes his own
August walk from southern Belgium to the battlefield, which
followed the exact route taken by a French Lieutenant in the Fifth
Army. He draws on a wide range of personal reminiscences, not only
French but also British and German. He takes us back to the
landscapes of Northern France in 1914 and explains how they have
changed since that August one hundred years ago. He also reflects
on the soldiers' origins and training, and their morale as they set
out. This is not another military history but a unique evocation of
the powers of endurance of ordinary soldiers. It will appeal to
those interested in the history of the Great War, including readers
who want to explore the route of the retreat for themselves.
Why would a man retire from his job and take off on a unique
4,000-mile walk around France? What possessed him to wear out his
sixty-year-old hips and knees when he could spend a comfortable
retirement at home? In this fascinating book Terry Cudbird reveals
the obsession which is long distance walking--the intoxicating
freedom to go where you want, the escape from the complications and
paraphernalia of everyday life, the unpredictable encounters. His
itinerary covered the six sides of the French hexagon. In a year's
walking he passed through the Pyrenees, the Languedoc, Provence,
the Alps, the Jura, Alsace, Lorraine, Picardy, Normandy, Brittany
and Aquitaine. En route he discovered the astonishing variety of
France's regions; their culture, history, languages, architecture
and food. He passed through cities and hamlets, idyllic mountains
and bleak plains, the heat of Le Midi and the cold of Le Nord. The
author relates the highs and lows of a sometimes gruelling trek:
the dramatic changes in landscape, the unexpected acts of kindness
but also the guard dogs, snorers in hikers' refuges, storms,
man-eating insects, blisters, exhausted limbs, lack of water and a
rucksack which was always too heavy. Most important, he met
hundreds of French people, many with an unusual outlook on life and
interesting stories to tell: hermits, hippies, pilgrims, monks and
farmers to name but a few. He made some lasting friends. Terry
Cudbird's journey is rich in incident and observation. It is also,
in part, the story of an individual coming to terms with his
parents' old age and growing dementia. Through walking he finds not
only a source of endless new horizons but also the means of
accepting the past and its loss. This book will be of interest to
walkers, lovers of France and anyone who has ever dreamt of
encountering real adventures not far from home.
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