Klappentext

This book offers the first English-language translation of the finest soldier s memoir to emerge from the Franco-Prussian War, titled With my Rucksack: The Unvarnished Campaign Memoirs of an Infantryman from the Year 1870 by Carl Rückert. Lasting from 1870-1871, this was the war that made the modern German nation and set Europe on the path to World War I, and Carl Rückert offers an unrivalled worm s eye view of the experiences of common soldiers who fought in it. A Hessian lance corporal in the German army, he was a close observer of daily hardships, class tensions, the influence of nationalism, and the terrors of combat. He was gravely wounded in the war s decisive battle at Gravelotte, where he was among the first Europeans to face the horrors of breech-loading rifles, machine guns, and accurate artillery. Accompanied by an insightful translator s introduction and a wealth of footnotes, this book is an invaluable link to the everyday realities of the Franco-Prussian War.