The Old Front Line

by John Masefield

"The Old Front Line" by John Masefield is a military history book published in 1917. Written by an English poet, it describes the British Army's battlefield front-line from the first day of the Somme, July 1, 1916. Originally commissioned to write a full account of the Battle of the Somme, Masefield was denied access to official documents. Instead, he produced this lyrical eyewitness description of the terrain, creating perhaps the First World War's first battlefield guide.