European Victory. By John D'Arcy-Dawson. (Macdonald. 10s. 6d.) MR. DAWSON
has produced a sound and honest piece of reporting with none of the frills which too often disfigured war correspon- dents' work. He describes only what he himself has seen, and he was fortunate in what he saw ; his one piece of bad luck occurred when he caught fever and so missed VE-Day, but this conclusion to his book conveys no sense of anti-climax, but merely helps to confirm the honesty of Mr. Dawson's mind. His most pleasing characteristic is his admiration and respect for the fighting man ; In war for him the sword is mightier than the pen. This book appeared when security considerations allowed the mention of the names of individual units, and many readers will be pleased to find reference to the exploits of the formations and battalions with which they fought. But historians and soldiers of units which are not mentioned will sometimes be irritated at the gaps he has left un- filled. For example, his excellent account of the taking of Mont Pinson refers to a brigade of the 43rd Division, which " consisted of the 4th and 5th Battalions of the Wiltshires and the Somerset Light Infantry " (a somewhat ambiguous statement), but has no mention of another brigade of the same Division which also played its part in the assault.
Previous page
