The Price of Glory essays

The Price of Glory essays Historian Alistair Horne's book, "The Price of Glory" is one of the most well known and admired books on the Battle of Verdun. Early on, he gives his own perspective on the battle when he writes, "A small affair; [the battle] yet out of it grew what those who took part in it considered to be the grimmest battle in all that grim war, perhaps in History itself" (Horne 1). Verdun was one of the deadliest battles of the war, and Horne zeros in on it because of its importance to the entire war, and the magnitude of the losses there. He maintains that before the battle, Germany still had a chance to win the war, but as the battle continued, their chance trickled away (Horne 1). Thus, the battle was a great turning point in the war, and this is why he concentrates on it, and why he wrote his book. He also maintains that Verdun still influences France today, and certainly had influence over the way the French fought the Germans during the Second World War, which is why Germany so easily overthrew France with their Panzer divisions (Horne 2). Clearly, Horne's thesis embodies the importance of the battle, not only on World War 1, but also far beyond. Horne presents some compelling evidence throughout the book to support his thesis, and simply to illustrate just how devastating this ten-month long battle was to both sides. Not only does he give graphic details of the bloody and gruesome battles, he gives insight into the motivation on both sides that held them in the trenches. For example, he writes of the taking of a French village, "Up came the Pioneers with their flamethrowers, and the last brave defenders were consumed in their remorseless fire" (Horne 86). The book is full of chilling accounts such as these, which make the extreme horrors of battle even more understandable to the reader. Discussing the tactics of both side, Horne shows how no one really ...