A Rifleman Went to War

‘A Rifleman Went To War’ was written by Captain Herbert W. McBride – intended as a narrative of the author’s experiences and observations wile with the Canadian Corps in France and Belgium between 1915-1917. The text places particular emphasis upon the use of the military rifle in sniping, its place in modern armament, and the work of the individual soldier. McBride (1873- 1933) is best known for this first-person account of the fighting in World War One, it is a work which took him almost his entire adult life to write. It contains chapters on Canada, England and Flanders respectively, as well as more specific military subjects of ‘trenches’, ‘scouting and patrolling’, ‘duds, misfires and stuck bolts’, ‘trench raiding’, ‘the pistol in war’ and ‘the Somme.’ This book contains an author biography, briefly outlining McBride’s life, as well as a black and white portrait of the author. It makes essential reading for anyone interested in military tactics and history, as well as engaging accounts of battle.