Having read two separate eyewitness accounts of Word War I, one obtains a greater insight into the life and times of the individual soldiers involved. Through the accounts in these particular readings were that of the French perspective, one can infer that based on the times and era of the war, conditions were pretty close to the same no matter which country from which one hails. For instance, one can assume that in the midst of battle, supplies and rations (food and water) were scarce. Or even further, one can also assume that in the midst of battle, medical treatment will be minimal at best if available at all. .
While the authors of these two accounts gave great insight as to goings on of their particular situation, one cannot help but notice that Henry Sheahan's, "A Volunteer Poilu" gives exceptional descriptions of the speaker's experiences. From the individuals he speaks to all the way down to his personal observations, the writer takes his audience directly to the war. As opposed to the textbook, Shaehan describes in great detail various conversations with several different soldiers so that one can put a face to the war rather than see it as an entity in and of itself. .
Most impressive was the authors" vivid descriptions of the landscape, action and attitudes of the period. One gets a sense that while most would rather not fight in a war they knew little about, they all served their county bravely and faithfully. These readings absolutely changes ones perspective of the war. One tends to not think of individual soldiers on a personal level when a war story is told. The faceless soldier is often overlooked as discussions focus mainly on the army as a whole. .
One cannot say that these accounts are more or less believable that historian versions. While these accounts are very descriptive one cannot slight the research historians perform when giving an account over the same subject.
