It may seem strange to many that the German soldier
should be much the same as the British Tommy, but Private Suhren, by George von der Vring (translated by Fred Hall and published by Methuen at 7s. 6d.), makes one think that he must be. Life in a German regiment, though it was stricter, was apparently little different from life in a British one. The sergeant-major and the button-stick, the lieutenant and the parade ground, the lance-corporal and the bugs—the German soldier knew them all as well as the British Tommy, and made much the same remarks about them. This book for its very simplicity deserves to be read by everyone, and it is ihnost better than a visit to Germany, for only a very good linguist could get to know " the man in the street " as well as we feel we know Albering and Hahn and Max Pfeiffer and the others in Private Suhren's regiment.
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