Early in World War One, a young Canadian soldier is wounded and trapped behind German lines. He uses quick thinking and ingenuity to evade capture, then deeper into enemy territory, he meets a young woman who recently lost her father and brothers to...
For those unfamiliar with, or a little rusty on, the history and geography of the First World War, the following paragraphs provide some context for the setting.
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On the first day of August 1914, the German Empire declared war on France and Russia. Three days later, they invaded neutral Belgium. Their intention was to sweep quickly across Belgium and into France, encircle Paris, and force the French to surrender. Once that was accomplished, they would turn their attention to Russia.
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As the German armies swarmed into their country, the Belgians destroyed their own railway bridges and other transportation infrastructure, slowing the advance toward Paris until it stalled as the armies outran their supply lines. The stalled German positions became the Western Front, which remained largely unchanged through more than four years of horrific trench warfare.
With the Belgian neutrality violated, on the 4th of August, the British Empire declared war on Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, bringing Canada and other Commonwealth nations into the conflict. After recruitment and initial training, Canadian troops were transported to England for further preparation. They arrived in France in February 1915 and, within days, were sent into the trenches to become accustomed to front-line conditions. In mid-April, they were moved north to Flanders to take over large sections of the Front Line near Ypres.
The opening scene in this story is during the Second Battle of Ypres, which began on the 22nd of April, when the Germans released chlorine gas toward the Allied trenches in the first effective use of poison gas in warfare. The French were forced back from their positions, but the Canadians, despite heavy casualties, held on.
When the Germans advanced toward the broad gap left by the French, the Canadian 8th Battalion was ordered forward from reserve to push them back and retake the higher ground near Saint-Julien. For three days, the line shifted back and forth amid fierce fighting and further gas attacks, while the Canadians, still unreinforced, bluffed that they were a much larger force. By the 25th, their numbers had been so reduced that their ruses were no longer credible.
The preceding paragraphs are fact. The fictional story opens late that afternoon as David watches casualties from the recent fighting being carried down the slope toward Ypres. Among them are the last of his company's officers and NCOs.
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During this battle, Canadian army medical officer Major John McCrae wrote his poem 'In Flanders Fields,' establishing the poppy as our symbol of remembrance.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.
