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To the Last Man: Spring 1918
As poignant as Niall Fregusson's The Pity of War, as powerful as John Keegan's The First World War, this is an engrossing eye-witness history of World War I. From the trenches to the battle lines, in bold advances and fighting retreats and courageous stands, this oral chronicle of World War I by award-winning historian Lyn Macdonald brings to life the massive German offensive of Spring 1918 that became the Second Battle of Somme. As moving as it is monumental, the volume recounts the devastating assault in the words of the men who survived it -- from the commanders to the war-weary British Tommies, the eager German foot soldiers, and the as-yet-untested doughboys fresh from the U.S. Unforgettably, To the Last Man puts a human face on the armies in the field as it gives voice to the soldiers who together held their position against the foe-resisting, as the Allied command had ordered, "to the last round and the last man."
416 pages, Paperback
First published October 29, 1998
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About the author
Lyn Macdonald
17 books85 followersOver the course of her career Lyn Macdonald established a popular reputation as an author and historian of the First World War. Her books are They Called It Passchendaele, an account of the Passchendaele campaign in 1917; The Roses of No Man's Land,, a chronicle of the war from the neglected viewpoint of the casualties and the medical teams who struggled to save them; ,Somme, a history of the legendary and horrifying battle that has haunted the minds of succeeding generations; 1914, a vivid account of the first months of the war and winner of the 1987 Yorkshire Post Book of the Year Award; 1914-1918: Voices and Images of the Great War, an illuminating account of the many different aspects of the war; and 1915: The Death of Innocence, a brilliant evocation of the year that saw the terrible losses of Aubers Ridge, Loos, Neuve Chapelle, Ypres and Gallipoli.
Her superb chronicles of popular history were notable for their extensive use of eyewitness and survivor accounts, and she drew on oceans of contemporary letters and diaries as well as capturing the memories of a dwindling supply of veterans. In doing so, she cast a unique light on the experiences of the ordinary ‘Tommy’ in the wider context of the First World War, documenting the innocence of a lost generation and bringing to life the disillusionment, the questioning and the heroism of the men of the British Army. “My intention,” she said, “has been to tune in to the heartbeat of the experience of the people who lived through it.”
Her superb chronicles of popular history were notable for their extensive use of eyewitness and survivor accounts, and she drew on oceans of contemporary letters and diaries as well as capturing the memories of a dwindling supply of veterans. In doing so, she cast a unique light on the experiences of the ordinary ‘Tommy’ in the wider context of the First World War, documenting the innocence of a lost generation and bringing to life the disillusionment, the questioning and the heroism of the men of the British Army. “My intention,” she said, “has been to tune in to the heartbeat of the experience of the people who lived through it.”
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
November 26, 2018
I was introduced to Lyn McDonald twelve ago when I came across a British copy of her classic Somme in the local library. I later read 1914 and then To The Last Man in 2000. She is the only World War One historian whose works I have actually ever bothered to purchase. Like Ambrose or Cornelius Ryan she captures the soldier's experience only she has done it for World War One. Like most Americans my knowledge of World War 1 is sorely lacking, but after reading Somme I have embarked on a personal mission to correct that. I have since read probably a dozen different books on the war and I owe it to Lyn McDonald.
For the novice her books are very well written and easy to understand. All her books are very generous with detailed maps, both official and ones sketched by the vets she has interviewed. She has quite a few pictures and her pacing is excellent. For the knowledgable historian her books can still offer a fresh perspective and would make a good addition to any library collection on World War One.
Also in contrast to Liddle Hart and Wolffe her books are not brimming over with anger and bitterness. No doubt due to the fact that McDonald was born after the war and has the professional historian's perspective, but it does make for easier reading. Though the anger and passion of the earlier historians is understandable it can clutter a book at times. I strongly recommend not only To The Last Man, but all of her works.
For the novice her books are very well written and easy to understand. All her books are very generous with detailed maps, both official and ones sketched by the vets she has interviewed. She has quite a few pictures and her pacing is excellent. For the knowledgable historian her books can still offer a fresh perspective and would make a good addition to any library collection on World War One.
Also in contrast to Liddle Hart and Wolffe her books are not brimming over with anger and bitterness. No doubt due to the fact that McDonald was born after the war and has the professional historian's perspective, but it does make for easier reading. Though the anger and passion of the earlier historians is understandable it can clutter a book at times. I strongly recommend not only To The Last Man, but all of her works.
March 3, 2019
To the Last Man by Lyn MacDonald
Europe was caught in the grip of a cruel winter. In Paris, where the Seine was frozen over for the first time in 120 years, people crowded into bars and cafes in search of light and warmth. Wood, when it could be found, fetched astronomical prices and, with much of the country in the industrial north overrun by the Germans, coal supplies in the fourth winter of the war were more meagre than ever and there was precious little fuel to spare for civilians. A quarter of France was in enemy hands, locked behind the wasteland where the big guns thundered and the armies of the Kaiser and the armies of the Allies lived a troglodyte existence in trenches and dugouts gouged from the freezing earth.
I don’t normally write reviews on books that I don’t care for. First the positives. The writing in this book is quite good — far beyond the 3-star rating I gave the book. That is important because there are other more acclaimed books that this historian has written that I plan on reading for my WW1 reading project. Secondly there are heaps of extended quotes contained within that are directly from British soldiers on the Western Front reflecting the soldiers' perspectives of how it went down that fateful spring of 1918. It’s not that other books are lacking quotes but this book has an unusually large number. There are also several useful maps and it is abundantly clear that the author took great pains in her research. Her description, references to and diagram of the long-range Paris Gun that the German army used to terrorize the citizens of Paris was superb.
No the reason I didn’t particularly like this book is that it bounced across 500 miles of the western front but rarely provided the necessary context and background before jumping into the soldiers' stories. In a word, I was perpetually ‘lost’ while reading this book and I didn’t particularly like the feeling. This is a confusing period in the WW1 war timeline anyway and the book was not all that helpful in clearing this up. I had to use other resources to understand what was going on.
On the Western Front, the Germans were beginning the spring offensive dubbed Operation Michael. The allies were dug in and to a large degree ’impatiently waiting’ for the promised 1,000,000 American troops to arrive in the summer of 1918. At several points the Germans nearly broke through although it is not clear how far they could have gotten. Paradoxically, it seemed that part of the non-unified German strategy of sacrificing their soldiers in 1918 was to put themselves in a better negotiation position if the additional troop strength added to the Allies materialized. The air had been let out of the German balloon by the spring of 1918 but the German army was not going to sit around, there would be tremendous death and carnage in the days ahead. Some of these sentiments were conveyed in the book but it took a lot of piecing together.
In summary this book might be better suited as a reference book because there is a great deal of original scholarship here.
3 stars.
Europe was caught in the grip of a cruel winter. In Paris, where the Seine was frozen over for the first time in 120 years, people crowded into bars and cafes in search of light and warmth. Wood, when it could be found, fetched astronomical prices and, with much of the country in the industrial north overrun by the Germans, coal supplies in the fourth winter of the war were more meagre than ever and there was precious little fuel to spare for civilians. A quarter of France was in enemy hands, locked behind the wasteland where the big guns thundered and the armies of the Kaiser and the armies of the Allies lived a troglodyte existence in trenches and dugouts gouged from the freezing earth.
I don’t normally write reviews on books that I don’t care for. First the positives. The writing in this book is quite good — far beyond the 3-star rating I gave the book. That is important because there are other more acclaimed books that this historian has written that I plan on reading for my WW1 reading project. Secondly there are heaps of extended quotes contained within that are directly from British soldiers on the Western Front reflecting the soldiers' perspectives of how it went down that fateful spring of 1918. It’s not that other books are lacking quotes but this book has an unusually large number. There are also several useful maps and it is abundantly clear that the author took great pains in her research. Her description, references to and diagram of the long-range Paris Gun that the German army used to terrorize the citizens of Paris was superb.
No the reason I didn’t particularly like this book is that it bounced across 500 miles of the western front but rarely provided the necessary context and background before jumping into the soldiers' stories. In a word, I was perpetually ‘lost’ while reading this book and I didn’t particularly like the feeling. This is a confusing period in the WW1 war timeline anyway and the book was not all that helpful in clearing this up. I had to use other resources to understand what was going on.
On the Western Front, the Germans were beginning the spring offensive dubbed Operation Michael. The allies were dug in and to a large degree ’impatiently waiting’ for the promised 1,000,000 American troops to arrive in the summer of 1918. At several points the Germans nearly broke through although it is not clear how far they could have gotten. Paradoxically, it seemed that part of the non-unified German strategy of sacrificing their soldiers in 1918 was to put themselves in a better negotiation position if the additional troop strength added to the Allies materialized. The air had been let out of the German balloon by the spring of 1918 but the German army was not going to sit around, there would be tremendous death and carnage in the days ahead. Some of these sentiments were conveyed in the book but it took a lot of piecing together.
In summary this book might be better suited as a reference book because there is a great deal of original scholarship here.
3 stars.
November 29, 2009
Once again Lyn McDonald has produced another excellent historical account covering the last year of the Great War. This, the first volume of two, covers the German offensive in March 1918 designed to knock the Allied powers out of the war before America's might could be felt on the Western Front. As usual Lyn McDonald has made fine use of first hand accounts and draws you into the story from the very beginning. I found the book to be well researched and presented and it sits proudly in my library along side 1914, 1915, the Somme and the rest of her great books. Highly recommended!
June 24, 2018
One hundred years ago the German Army launched its spring offensive on the Western Front. The Kaiserschlacht nearly broke the Allied armies but ultimately failed, ending German hopes for victory against France and leading to the Second Reich's collapse later that year. In To the Last Man Lyn MacDonald chronicles the British experience of surviving the onslaught, following events chronologically. After a good introductory chapter surveying the state of forces on either side of No Man's Land, the rest of the book tracks events day by day, from 21 March through 5 April.
A great deal of the book consists of participants' voices. Interviews, letters, diary accounts, and other primary sources appear extensively, giving readers eyewitness accounts of events in great detail. This documentary approach gives To the Last Man a deep sense of humanity, while grounding larger questions of strategy. It also allows a wide range of experiences, including the full range of military ranks and some variety within the British empire (for example, a story about a Scots unit growing to like South African troops, 121–2).
One private reports in all candor:
Amidst the horrors there are many cheerful passages, however, like the story of a retreating British officer who pauses to set a gramophone to play a patriotic, German-mocking song (141), or this interesting bit of medical practice: "The next thing I hear is a lot of shells falling in the sunken road, and before very long I heard Major Adam saying 'Gas! Gas! Pass the whisky.' This was his antidote to gas" (133).
MacDonald's style is powerful and accessible, with some fine phrases—"The German infantry advanced like a tidal bore on the heels of the devastating bombardment, and the posts disappeared beneath the onslaught like castles on a sandy beach." (89) Her overall tone is interesting, in that while she portrays serious defeats and epic horrors, the text is generally very positive. The subject is a British victory, of course, but the author also takes care to represent British optimism and energy. This is unusual in my reading of WWI literature.
The book is well equipped with maps, some of which are very clear, and which helps the reader navigate some of the complex geographical details. There are also black-and-white photographs of some quoted participants and battlefields.
The focus of the book is largely on the British experience, especially the hard fighting of the Fifth Army. A key theme is understanding and ultimately approving of general Gough's decisions on the ground. On the positive side, this allows us to immerse ourselves in that population and its responses to events. However, we see much less of the French, beyond some brief notes about their strategic reaction to the German attacks.
Inter-Allied national discussions do appear, but with a strong bias toward London rather than Paris. We do read some German accounts, which nicely illuminate that side's experience, from initial success to too much pillaging, but I would have preferred more, in order to balance the British. The Portuguese units, who bore the brunt of one major attack and whose collapse led to a major crisis, barely appear at all. (159)
Ultimately this is a book best understood as being about the British experience of the Ludendorff Offensive. I think To the Last Man is the first Lyn Macdonald book I've read. It won't be the last.
A great deal of the book consists of participants' voices. Interviews, letters, diary accounts, and other primary sources appear extensively, giving readers eyewitness accounts of events in great detail. This documentary approach gives To the Last Man a deep sense of humanity, while grounding larger questions of strategy. It also allows a wide range of experiences, including the full range of military ranks and some variety within the British empire (for example, a story about a Scots unit growing to like South African troops, 121–2).
One private reports in all candor:
That was the first moment that I was frightened, really frightened, because the orders came along, 'This position must be held at all costs until the last man.' Well, you've got to be in that situation to understand what it means. I was only nineteen, I'd only been a France a little over a month, and I thought I was going to be killed. I had a sinking feeling in my tummy. Everybody was thinking, 'How on earth can we hold this position? It's impossible!' That was on the night of the 22nd (197).
Amidst the horrors there are many cheerful passages, however, like the story of a retreating British officer who pauses to set a gramophone to play a patriotic, German-mocking song (141), or this interesting bit of medical practice: "The next thing I hear is a lot of shells falling in the sunken road, and before very long I heard Major Adam saying 'Gas! Gas! Pass the whisky.' This was his antidote to gas" (133).
MacDonald's style is powerful and accessible, with some fine phrases—"The German infantry advanced like a tidal bore on the heels of the devastating bombardment, and the posts disappeared beneath the onslaught like castles on a sandy beach." (89) Her overall tone is interesting, in that while she portrays serious defeats and epic horrors, the text is generally very positive. The subject is a British victory, of course, but the author also takes care to represent British optimism and energy. This is unusual in my reading of WWI literature.
The book is well equipped with maps, some of which are very clear, and which helps the reader navigate some of the complex geographical details. There are also black-and-white photographs of some quoted participants and battlefields.
The focus of the book is largely on the British experience, especially the hard fighting of the Fifth Army. A key theme is understanding and ultimately approving of general Gough's decisions on the ground. On the positive side, this allows us to immerse ourselves in that population and its responses to events. However, we see much less of the French, beyond some brief notes about their strategic reaction to the German attacks.
Inter-Allied national discussions do appear, but with a strong bias toward London rather than Paris. We do read some German accounts, which nicely illuminate that side's experience, from initial success to too much pillaging, but I would have preferred more, in order to balance the British. The Portuguese units, who bore the brunt of one major attack and whose collapse led to a major crisis, barely appear at all. (159)
Ultimately this is a book best understood as being about the British experience of the Ludendorff Offensive. I think To the Last Man is the first Lyn Macdonald book I've read. It won't be the last.
January 26, 2018
Once again Ms. Macdonald stitches together the reminiscences of veterans (most long gone now) to describe the events of the Spring a century ago.
The story is very Britisch-centric but details of the German plans are laid out clearly. There are lots of maps, and the inter-twining actions are interesting to follow.
I don't know much about the scandals surrounding the British military leadership other than Haig being pilloried since the war. The book certainly sets up Gough as a scapegoat. His "bend don't break" strategy seems to be the correct option, but of course that's through Ms. Macdonald's interpretation.
Well worth a read on the centennial.
The story is very Britisch-centric but details of the German plans are laid out clearly. There are lots of maps, and the inter-twining actions are interesting to follow.
I don't know much about the scandals surrounding the British military leadership other than Haig being pilloried since the war. The book certainly sets up Gough as a scapegoat. His "bend don't break" strategy seems to be the correct option, but of course that's through Ms. Macdonald's interpretation.
Well worth a read on the centennial.
April 21, 2018
As we approach the centenary of the end of the First World War, it's easy to forget that the Allies could very easily have lost it. Some historians believe that the Germans could never have sustained the offensive lainched with such devastating initial impact in late March 1918. However Lyn Macdonald makes the point that if Ludendorff had been more focused in the "Kaiserschlat's" execution, the British Army could have been thrown into the sea. As it was, the advance of 40 miles, in less than two weeks set alarm bells ringing, and seemed to threaten Paris, before the offensive petered out. As ever, Macdonald draws heavily on the testimonies of those who were there, personalising the narrative and making for an engaging read.
July 10, 2024
Lyn Macdonald was a respected historian of the First World War who was known for presenting first person accounts in her books. This book, which covers the German Spring offensive of 1918, contains numerous accounts by British, French, and German officers and enlisted men, as well as some civilians.
In the spring offensive, Germany gained a salient of 40 miles into British and French lines, at the cost of high casualties. Although British troops in particular were pushed hard, they conducted a fighting retreat that exhausted the Germans and made the pay dearly for the ground they took.
Recommended for those wanting to learn more about this offensive and the human stories of those involved.
In the spring offensive, Germany gained a salient of 40 miles into British and French lines, at the cost of high casualties. Although British troops in particular were pushed hard, they conducted a fighting retreat that exhausted the Germans and made the pay dearly for the ground they took.
Recommended for those wanting to learn more about this offensive and the human stories of those involved.
March 29, 2025
This is another excellent book by Macdonald covering the multi-week major assault by the Germans in the Spring of the last year of WWI. As with her previously works, she covers the movements and history of both sides during the German assault. But, unique to Macdonald, she portrays the words of the participants in the action. You get a personal view of their thoughts, concerns and fears. There are also multiple pictures of the highlighted soldiers. The one drawback was that the maps, liberally used in the book, were quite generic and not tied to the stories in the text.
I loved the book and would highly recommend it.
I loved the book and would highly recommend it.
August 11, 2025
this is the last of Lyn Mcdonald's World War 1 books, and relates to the German Spring offensive of March 1918, intended to split the British from the French on the Western Front and send them packing across the English Channel. This doesn't happen, bad decisions and stubborn allied resistance puts paid to that idea, but what does happen is the Germans break up almost 4 years of static trench warfare and set the stage for a return to mobile warfare and the final allied offensive which drives the Germans back and forces them to seek an armistice. This is reflected in the use of German and French veterans' testimony, as well as that of the English
January 10, 2020
Een indrukwekkend sluitstuk van bijzondere serie. Verhalen van ooggetuigen op verschillende niveaus gecombineerd met een beschrijving van de strategie. De eerste industriële oorlog krijgt zo een heel menselijk gezicht. Ruimte voor de gruwelen van de strijd met op gezichtspunt van de ooggetuigen op de grond verhalen over vriendschap en hulpvaardigheid waarin dit ook vaak grensoverschrijdend was op allerlei manieren.
June 12, 2024
Well researched and fascinating close-unit and individual study of a short period during the last year of the war. Seemed to lack a strategic setting for very interesting examination of the life of the soldier.
September 3, 2022
This was okay. A bit heavy on the British experience, as most WW1 books in English are, but has a good amount of firsthand accounts. I wish it had covered the full year like her book on 1915.
October 8, 2023
When we read about World War One, we often focus on 1914, The Somme and The Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele), all books that the late, great Lyn Macdonald also explores. These moments in the Great War are tokens to us of hope, disaster and futility and I have always felt that the narrow view of lions and donkeys, PBI, the sacrifice of generations and the way we misremember the war has badly affected our memory of those who fought in it. Step up Lyn Macdonald and her really quite breath-taking account of the German Spring Offensive of 1918. The tale is told by a host of British, French, German, Canadian, South African and ANZAC letters and diary accounts, bringing to life to dazzling events of March of that year. If you want to find out about another dimension of this gripping and fascinating conflict, then et a copy of this moving, dramatic and gripping history.
July 10, 2011
This is an example of what I call "subjective military history." That is not a put-down, it is simply the best way I can think of to describe a popular work that attempts to give readers insight into the daily experiences of common soldiers in a war, rather than the grand vision from the general's armchair of the same battles. Quite a few such books exist, the most famous of which is probably The Longest Day: The Classic Epic of D-Day (reviewed elsewhere). MacDonald's book is somewhat more methodical than Ryan's, and also more thorough, but probably the Second Battle of the Somme doesn't have the same kind of mass appeal that the D-Day landings have.
I read it some years back as part of a graduate course on the First World War and wasn't terribly impressed at the time, but when I revisit it now, I see that it does have much to recommend it: a compelling style, attention to detail, and a very sympathetic approach to a generation often written off as "victims" of a war not of their own making, for example. The thing that stuck with me all these years, however, was a minor error I spotted that seemed to suggest that MacDonald had over-extended herself by trying to include the German experience. On page 86 she quotes the lyrics to "Deutschland ueber Alles," unfortunately getting the article wrong in the second line. Its an easy mistake to make; many second-year German students might make it, but it pretty well proved that she was unable to read the German sources for herself and called into question anything she said about the Germans. The fact that this was the only thing I really recalled about the book six years later (I couldn't even remember which battle it was about) is also evidence of the importance of having good proof-reading on your publication!
I read it some years back as part of a graduate course on the First World War and wasn't terribly impressed at the time, but when I revisit it now, I see that it does have much to recommend it: a compelling style, attention to detail, and a very sympathetic approach to a generation often written off as "victims" of a war not of their own making, for example. The thing that stuck with me all these years, however, was a minor error I spotted that seemed to suggest that MacDonald had over-extended herself by trying to include the German experience. On page 86 she quotes the lyrics to "Deutschland ueber Alles," unfortunately getting the article wrong in the second line. Its an easy mistake to make; many second-year German students might make it, but it pretty well proved that she was unable to read the German sources for herself and called into question anything she said about the Germans. The fact that this was the only thing I really recalled about the book six years later (I couldn't even remember which battle it was about) is also evidence of the importance of having good proof-reading on your publication!
July 28, 2014
An excellent review of a pivotal offensive in the end of the war, After years in trenches, the Germans transferred 40+ divisions to the Western Front and smashed through the Allied lines for some 40 miles, turning this trench war into a mobile one if only for a week. The Memoir based accounts create an incredibly engaging narrative as she captures both German and Allied accounts, mostly British though. She seems to gloss over some of the factors of this offensive or doesn't mention them but the book is a tad older now. The stories are almost unbelievable and this book shows us the horror and sacrifice of war up close and personal, as well as a gallantry and honor not found in today's conflicts. The action is so intense that you forget its a historical account and worry about Paris being taken even though you know it won't be. The mobile war foreshadows that tactics of WW2 quite well but in 1918 everything was sloppy, it was difficult to maneuver and even feed your troops. You wouldn't even have to know much about The Great to enjoy this book and the accounts written in first hand will stay with you for some time.
March 12, 2013
the last book of Lyn Macdonald's series concerning the memoirs of veterans of the First World War, this time relating the experience of soldiers caught up in the German offensive of March 1918 is another engrossing read. This book deals with soldiers from all the sides involved, not just the British but the French and Germans, along with nurses and civilians, covers all the emotions of people involved in major world events. Well worth a read, especially when you consider that just about everyone quoted in this book is no longer with us, and this is the best way to remember them at the crossroads of history
February 21, 2018
Reviewing this quite a while after reading it, so just want to say that MacDonald's series on British soldiers during World War I is amazing and well worth your time. Read them all if you are interested in the accounts of soldiers actually taking part in the huge battles of WWI. Yeah, it's exclusively the British perspective, but that doesn't diminish it. You get the strategic picture, the tactical side from the troops and officers, and a feel for what they were telling the folks back home (minus whatever was censored). It's not like being there, but it's like listening to a bunch of guys who were. I was sad to reach the end of the series.
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August 5, 2011Lyn Macdonald is one of the best writers/historians of the WWI years. She combines a historian's eye and perception with a journalist's ear for the personal account and individual experience and perceptions. The result is an immersion in the days, lives and times of the soldiers of the Great War juxtaposed against the strategies and tactics of the command structure.
August 4, 2011
this yet again another brilliantly vibrant book by lyn macdonald, she is skilled in bringing these events to life in brilliant historical techno-colour.
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