The first book to concentrate on what actually happened when enemies met face to face as human beings in the First World War, whether on the battlefield, as prisoners of war or as relatives of the fallen after the fighting was over.
When war broke out in 1914, two previously united nations were forcefully pulled apart, leaving confused citizens on both sides of the divide. In Meeting the Enemy, eminent First World War historian Richard van Emden tells a new story of the war, exploring what happened to British and German subjects caught out in opposing countries by the declaration of war.
From soldiers who were rescued by men of opposing forces, to brutal encounters at the end of a bayonet or human kindness in a shell-hole, van Emden captures the heroism and humanity both at home and on the battlefield, and reveals the human face of the Great War as never before.
