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The weakness of both, in my opinion, lies in the lack of sufficient practice after the above instruction has been assimilated. The time for instruction firing is usually limited—as is the ammunition allowance—and the record firing is crammed into a few hectic days. Everything must be done just so and so.
May we ever remain thus, for the privilege to bear, and the ability to use weapons is the greatest guarantee of Liberty. You may also remember that I questioned whether or not he was correct. Here is a contrasting quote by McBride:.
He felt as though they were slipping even then, inadequate in their marksmanship, initiative, and self-reliance. Every compromise, every bit of ground we concede, every minute spent in front of the telescreen instead of spent somewhere more worthwhile this could be almost anywhere doing anything , every small crime, whether by act or omission, in the interest of comfort or personal gain, is another nail in the coffin of our culture. We owe a debt. We owe are forefathers for what they have given us. Deserves is just a clever marketing tool, one that has nothing at all to do with the reality of life going on everywhere.
Gratitude is a much more realistic and workable condition of mind, one that will facilitate the decisions we make every day that will literally make us or break us. This has been about as much of a book review as A Rifleman Went to War was a biography. If you want to buy the book, there are two options below click on the photos to take you to Amazon:. Have to chase these books down, but I found a great resource for old books, and the one you are reviewing is a print on demand, mostly in England, but as long as it ships.
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As a matter of fact that is only half of it—. I have known, and know now, many expert riflemen who.
War and this shooting business was part of their gospel. These old men pretty well told it like it was and held little back. That is what this author has done. A great deal of military history and technique can be found in the pages of this book and I am grateful that Kindle made this work available. Note to the younger reader: I realize that they style used during the time this book was written is different but trust me I read this book because I had read somewhere that Col.
Jeff Cooper referred to it when describing how his scout rifle concept developed in his mind. Well, it's kind of a stretch to say you've found something in this book that would lead to the modern scout rifle, but I suppose there's at least some little, remote connection. But once I got that expectation out of my head, the book worked pretty well.
I like personal accounts of battle, and McBride has a certain aplomb in his style of telling what he experienced and saw, and his opinions about war and battle. I confess, I skimmed through some parts. I read it during the late evening hours and sometimes the author gets to waxing a little too eloquently so I'd cheat some to avoid falling asleep. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. All in all, though, it was a good book, with good insight to what fighting that war was like for the people who actually fought it. I wish you could rate with half or quarter-stars, as I think four is slightly below what this book deserves, but I'm learning to be much, much more picky with my "fives.
This is far from the perspective of "All Quiet on the Western Front," "For Whom the Bell Tolls," "dulce et decorum est," and the form of war writing that most readers are probably more familiar with, and this is a good thing. Feel free to be offended by McBride's perspective and lack of contemporary political correctness; he's not forlorn, he's not bitter, shell-shocked at least not so that it comes through in the writing , nor is he jingoistic or bloodthirsty.
He writes in the voice of a professional, career soldier both as a national guardsman and a full-time infantryman and machine gunner, someone who's seen several armies at work. The wording is straightforward, down to earth, realistic, and if it's seems distant, it's because it is the writing of someone who sees the concept of war, training for war, and the conduct of war, as a matter of fact endeavor. He is content to leave the theorizing to others. We can argue for all time whether his perspective is superior or inferior to the much well known style of WWI writing, but what matters to me is that readers see this perspective in addition to the literary one we know and "love.
It's surprisingly lacking in guile and comes across as sincere. That lack of irony though there is quite a bit of snark is also refreshing. However, when it comes to descriptions of infantry tactics, trench life, planning and how the men operated on the attack, on the defense, as a unit and as individuals, it might paint a VERY different picture of the Great War than you're used to, and for that reason, this detail is valuable.
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The time for instruction firing is usually limited—as is the ammunition allowance—and the record firing is crammed into a few hectic days. Is it music, or just a noise? Tente novamente mais tarde. There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Why should we be influenced by people who resent us best case or want to actively bring our society down more probable case? Tor rated it liked it Jul 26, This is a war classic for good reason.
Oct 06, Christian D. Military history buffs, gun enthusiasts. And readers like me can't help but be entertained by McBride's book either; exciting and detailed descriptions of battle, life and culture in the British Commonwealth armies, and a wicked politically incorrect sense of humour. The author's chapter on pistol work in particular give me a hankering to purchase one of Colt's reissued WWI-style M Author giving props to the NRA!
Moorehead, "one of the first to recognize the fact that individual proficiency with the rifle was the very highest attainment of the 'doughboy. There was a war on and I did not intend to miss it. Haha, so the acronym "S. Had they spent one-tenth of the time in trying to teach the newly-made soldiers the real and practical side of warfare, there would not be so many graves over there for the Mothers to visit. Well then, God bless Gen. The old fife and drum bands of Civil War days That's marching music and fighting music, I want to tell you.
Why, confound it, man; men do not act like that whether in war on in peace.
What the devil are we hare for? Apr 22, James rated it liked it Recommends it for: World War I trivia fans. It's a personal narrative of the author's experience in World War I, but it's pretty impersonally told until the very end, with all the verve and intensity of describing a trip to the grocery store. And it's not much as a detailed account of the methods and tactics he and his unit used, either, because he relates things in such general terms, except for a couple of short chapters near the end on tactics.
Also, McBride went off on some tangents with predictions and prescriptions for A mixed bag. Also, McBride went off on some tangents with predictions and prescriptions for the organization, training, and equipping the army for the next war - he was writing in the s, so his strongly expressed views were put to the test less than a decade later in World War II, and his batting average was dismal.
If it had been up to McBride, our troops would never have seen the M1 Garand rifle, because he was sure that soldiers couldn't exercise the self-discipline to refrain from firing off all their ammo right away if they were allowed to carry semiautomatic rifles. And he felt that it was impossible to meld soldiers from different regions or ethnicities into cohesive units - wrong again. His crystal ball had some serious cracks in it. Finally, at the end, McBride wrote reluctantly about the impact combat had on him as a person, discussing what sounds like a deep depression he went through, in the depths of which he had lost hope of survival and actually looked forward to getting it over with.
A Rifleman Went To War Paperback – November 25, From childhood Herbert W. McBride was familiar with rifles, at first watching his father prepare for the hunt, later learning the game himself: he was destined to become a Rifleman. Growing up in Indiana, surrounded by. A Rifleman Went to War [Herbert W McBride] on donnsboatshop.com *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. This is a new release of the original edition.
A relief to find that he wasn't quite the robot or psychopath he'd professed to be at the beginning, but disappointing because if he'd woven that into his narrative throughout, it would have been much easier to relate to his experience. I won't be reading his second book, because I'm not interested enough in the subject a machine gun unit if he's going to stay clear of the psychology and interpersonal part of his experiences. Feb 22, Christopher rated it really liked it. I wish you could rate with half or quarter-stars, as I think four is slightly below what this book deserves, but I'm learning to be much, much more picky with my "fives.
This is far from the perspective of "All Quiet on the Western Front," "For Whom the Bell Tolls," "dulce et decorum est," and the form of war writing that most readers are probably more familiar with, and this is a good thing. Feel free to be offended by McBride's perspective and lack of contemporary political correctness; he's not forlorn, he's not bitter, shell-shocked at least not so that it comes through in the writing , nor is he jingoistic or bloodthirsty.
He writes in the voice of a professional, career soldier both as a national guardsman and a full-time infantryman and machine gunner, someone who's seen several armies at work. The wording is straightforward, down to earth, realistic, and if it's seems distant, it's because it is the writing of someone who sees the concept of war, training for war, and the conduct of war, as a matter of fact endeavor.
He is content to leave the theorizing to others. We can argue for all time whether his perspective is superior or inferior to the much well known style of WWI writing, but what matters to me is that readers see this perspective in addition to the literary one we know and "love. It's surprisingly lacking in guile and comes across as sincere. That lack of irony though there is quite a bit of snark is also refreshing. However, when it comes to descriptions of infantry tactics, trench life, planning and how the men operated on the attack, on the defense, as a unit and as individuals, it might paint a VERY different picture of the Great War than you're used to, and for that reason, this detail is valuable.
McBride doesn't skimp on the horror, or the deadlock of the trench, but his description of raiding and other tactics reveals that the Front at least portions of it were far from static, stagnant, endless artillery duels, and also far from cinematic "over the top" slaughters.