Paths of Glory

Rating:
Summary: A powerful Anti-War story. Highly Recommended!
Review: After seeing the excellent movies from Stanley Kubrick, I decided to read the novel, which it was based upon. Being out of print, it was difficult to locate. But I finally found a copy at a local library. It was worth searching.

Paths of Glory was written by Humphrey Cobb and first published in 1935. Cobb, who had served in the Canadian Army during the First World War, wrote this novel as an anti-war statement. In my opinion, it's one of the best. Cobb shows an unpositive view of war. There are no heroes. Not even Regiment Commander Colonel Dax is the courageous man he was in Kubrick's film. He doesn't even have that big of a part.

French General Assolant is given orders by his Army Commander (Whose name is not revealed) to take an important German position called the Pimple. To take the "Pimple", Assolant calls the 181st regiment, which was supposed to be placed on leave.

We see the attack beforehand from the eyes of those on the battlefield. A patrol is sent out, where one of the men gets killed by the drunken commander due to a careless accident. The incident is covered up, but would play a part later.

The next morning, the eargely anticipated attack on the Pimple is launched. It proves however to be impossible. The 181st is made up of a combination of battle weary vets and fresh new recruits to compensate for losses. Thus, casualties are high. The bombardment from artillery and machine guns also is so difficult to go through that many soldiers never even leave the trenches. Believing the men are mutinying, Assolant orders the battery commander to fire on the men. Fortunately, in what may be the only sensible act in the novel, the man refuses without a written order. Assolant then orders a court martial to preserved his dignity at the expense of others.

Four men are selected: One from each of the attacking sections. One section refuses to send a man but the other three select. The men are sent in front of a court-martial with a well-trained lawyer at their side. But it is really more of a Kangaroo Court. This is because the Indictment against the convicted is not read ("It basically states the accused are convicted of cowardice"), no Stenographic notes are kept of the trial, thus denying the convicted the possibility of a pardon, and the defense is not allowed to build its case. For example, when an attempt is made to call witnesses, it can only be "To prove that they made it to the enemy wire", which no one of the regiment did. And when the defense attempts to state the decorations one of the men has received (So it can be shown he isn't a coward) the president of the council says "The men are on trial for their current cowardice, not their former bravery" and that "Medals are no defense".

What is most ludicrous is the line of questioning on the defendants. It is absurd in the way it forces the men to answer irrelevant questions. An example by the President of the council on the convicted Private Ferol:

President: Did you advance?
Ferol: Yes, Sir.
President: How far did you advance?
Ferol: To about the middle of no man's land.
President: Then what did you do?
Ferol: Well, the Boche machine guns were like a hailstorm and I saw that-
President: No. Answer my question. What did you do?
Ferol: Well, sir, I saw that me and Meyer-
President: I didn't ask you what you saw. I asked you what you did.
Ferol: Yes, sir.
President: Did you advance?
Ferol: Not after I saw that me and Meyer-
President: Did you turn round and go back?
Ferol: Well, when I saw that-
President: Attention! Answer my question. Did you turn round and go back? Yes or no?
Ferol: Yes, sir.

This edition (Paperback, University of Georgia Press, 1987) includes a fascinating afterward by Stephen E. Tabachnick. He mentions about the book's placement of the chain of command and about themes from the book.

Sadly, Paths of Glory has become largely underrated over the years. My English teacher hadn't even heard of it. This book should be put back in publishing as soon as possible so more people can experience how great it is and should be recommended reading at schools so people can see how ridiculous war can be.

Rating:
Summary: The Irony of Glory
Review: Soldiers have forever obeyed the commands of officers, knowing sometimes that to obey the command was to die and to refuse to obey it was to die. Compound the situation when the officer is acting solely in self-interest, for pride's sake, for the sake of a promotion, for his own ego regardless of the lives of the men he leads. The paths they must follow, the paths of glory, leads but to the grave.

This army is French, but it could be any nation's, any year's, any war. Cobb's evocation of pride and prejudice affectinfg the lives of innocent men is scary in that we know it is not over.