Sharp End: The Fighting Man in World War II [Hardcover]

John Ellis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1980

In any army, it is only a minority of men who end up as combat soldiers, at the "sharp end" where they have to shoot and be shot at, but it is their experiences that are the most intense and reveal most directly what war is actually like. John Ellis has drawn together the testimony of men who fought with the British, Commonwealth, and American armies in all theaters of World War II, from Western Europe to Burma and from North Africa to the Pacific. He uses these eyewitness accounts to explain how they were trained, the different landscapes and climates in which they fought, their attitudes and aspirations, how they relaxed when they were out of the line, and, above all, how they reacted to the experience of battle.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"'It is the most comprehensive, best balanced, most sensitive and best informed study of the condition of the fighting man in our time.' General Sir John Hackett 'John Ellis has written an essential account of the experience of the unknown soldier.... No one who opens this book will again lightly pronounce the words "World War Three".' John Keegan 'I believe John Ellis to be an exceptionally gifted writer and historian. I have returned to The Sharp End many times.' Len Deighton 'It would not be easy to find a better book about war... Mr Ellis has got it exactly right.' Major-General John Strawson" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

John Ellis is the author of Brute Force, Eye-Deep in Hell, The Social History of the Machine Gun, and The World War II Databook, and the coauthor of The World War I Databook. Max Hastings is an award-winning journalist whose titles include Armageddon: The Battle for Germany, The Korean War, and Retribution: The Battle for Japan.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 396 pages
• Publisher: Scribners; Edition Unknown edition (1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068416728X
• ISBN-13: 978-0684167282
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,525,723 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book of it's type I have encountered., July 23, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Sharp End: The Fighting Man in World War II (Hardcover)

G.K. Chesterton said that "a...rational army would run away" and this book shows, better than any other that I have read, why it should and why, so often, it doesn't. In a field that includes Keegan's `Face Of Battle' this is high praise.

Focusing on the experiences of the ordinary Western Allied soldier during the Second World War Ellis discusses the circumstances affecting the lives of the front line soldier from recruitment through training and combat to his eventual fate.

Ellis examines the detail of what was actually happening to the individual Tommy or GI, using many first hand accounts and an appropriate admixture of statistics, without ever becoming heavy going or gratuitously gory. Where there are blood and tears they are there because that is how it was. This approach enables a number of popular myths about the war to be examined in a clearer light. His comparison of the experiences of members of the rifle companies of an infantry battalion during the Second World War with his predecessor of 1914-18 is especially illuminating as is his analysis of what actually keeps soldiers fighting.

I found the book impossible to stop reading and was left with a feeling of great sadness, profound respect for individuals who kept going in circumstances that I personally would find overwhelming and a greater understanding of the mechanics of war that tend to sink below the magnification of many conventional military histories. If you have any interest in the subject matter at all, or possibly in the reaction of ordinary people to extraordinary circumstances, you should read 'The Sharp End'.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars daily life on the front lines, June 5, 2004

By 

Smallchief - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Sharp End: The Fighting Man in World War II (Hardcover)

Most of the soldiers in World War II never experienced combat. It took a dozen soldiers behind the front lines to support and supply a single trooper at "the sharp end" where the battles were fought and won. "The Sharp End" focuses on the British and American fighting men. The author attempts, with considerable success, to describe the daily life of the men on the front lines -- their training, the hardships of the front lines, how they were killed or wounded, what they ate, how they dug foxholes, their morale and why they fought.

Fascinating vignettes abound in this book. One of the most interesting to me was the author's description of British soldiers' addiction to tea which they brewed up at every opportunity, even while under fire. A British orderly once described the five principles of preventing shock as "a cup of tea and four lumps of sugar." Getting tea to the front lines had a priority second only to ammunition.

Other vignettes are not nearly so cheerful. The author gives an extended discussion on subjects such as battle fatigue or "shell shock", medical care, and self-inflicted wounds. All in all, reading this book will give you an excellent idea of what it was like for the World War II soldier in the deserts of North Africa, the forest of Western Europe, and the jungles of SE Asia. It was not a pleasant life -- nor a very long one for many of the infantry who bore, by a large margin, the majority of the casualties of the war.

Smallchief