George Browne Chapter Summary

George Browne was an American solder during World War 1. He also went by the nicknames of Brownie and Doughboy. While he was in the Army he wrote a series of letters to the love of his life, Martha. He had to leave Martha behind when he had enlisted into the war. However, he kept in touch with her, and kept her updated on everything that was going on by writing letters to her. These letters expose the life of an American Soldier during World War 1, and also helps individuals to gain an understanding of the trails and struggles that the American soldier experienced during World War 1.

David L. Snead edited the book and combined all of Brownie’s letters into a diary, then transformed them into a story by adding a little of his own commentary to complete

the project. In his opinion, this book is the best way to obtain an understanding or idea of the American soldier. He explains, “While soldier’s stories have been told many times, most studies don’t touch many key areas. First of all, they don’t always share the soldier’s personal view. Second of all, they don’t really provide any citations to represent their information. Unlike those books that would be hard to find references to research information about World War 1, this book is very useful for finding facts about World War 1 because it helps students that want to do more detailed research by providing main sources to them” .
David L. Snead made an attempt to help his readers gain clarity of the whereabouts and situations during WW1 by examining the claims within Browne’s letters and exhibiting the meshing of a first person story with included context. It also fully records the events taken place during World War 1.
Woodrow Wilson was elected president in 1912. World War 1 sparked in August 1914, when Archduke Francis Ferdinand was assassinated on June 28, 1914. For two months Austria-Hungary and Serbia bumped heads, due to the assassination of Ferdinand, and finally led to war between the two at the beginning of August. Several states became involved when they chose sides and by the end of the first week in August both sides were established and drawn. Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire were the Central Powers. Great Britain, France, and Russia were the Triple Entente. When Italy joined in 1915, they quickly joined forces with the Triple Entente and now were the Allied Forces. Over the next four years millions of soldiers died from both sides.
Woodrow Wilson was more concerned with problems in Mexico. Therefore he decided to remain Neutral during the war. The US kept neutral during the war from 1914 to April, 1917. However, due to “extensive cultural ties to Great Britain and France, the United States gained a more pro-Allies position. Also it was easier for Americans to trade and bank with Allied Countries than it was for America to make trades with Central Powers due to the British blockade towards Germany. This is another reason why it was easy for the United States to become pro-Allies.
The Germans had made a pledge that was supposed to keep Germany from attacking unarmed countries. The pledge was called the “Sussex pledge” and was made in 1916. However, Germany attacked the US in February 1917 by sinking multiple neutral ships and killing tons of Americans. Wilson viewed the attack as a “critical threat” and decided to declare war. “On April 6, 1917, the United States had declared war on Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire- the Central Powers. This conflict had already been going on for three years when the United States declared war. At first, Americans feared going to war, but after Germany continued to attack United States soil, Americans were ready to fight back. Almost four million men joined the Army. At the time, George Browne was twenty-three years old and worked as an engineer in Waterbury, Connecticut. His girlfriend, Martha was nineteen and a teacher in East Morris Connecticut” . George Browne quickly volunteered to fight for his country in the war and by the end of October 1917, him, along with 116,261 soldiers left the United States for Europe. Browne sailed on the USS Covington for about two weeks upon arrival to Europe. While on the ship the crew followed strict schedules. “Reveille was at 6:00 a.m., breakfast was at 6:30 a.m., inspection was at 10:30 a.m., lunch was at noon, another inspection was just before sunset, dinner was served at 5:00 p.m., and bedtime/lights out was at 9:00 p.m.” . The soldiers shared small cramped spaces on the ship and endured harsh weather conditions and nasty food. Browne explains that men became sick aboard and the “air below the deck was getting bad” . He also explained how the soldiers were only allowed to go on the deck for forty-five minutes, twice a day. He describes the weather as being “cold and cloudy and hard to keep warm, the wind being very raw” .
While in Europe Browne writes Martha explaining how him and the French soldiers are wondering why they are at war in the first place.
Browne also explains how he spent ime in the trenches and the pros and cons of the trenches.

He says, “the trenches are funny things and it’s not as bad as some people think. If there is an attack or a raid then it is bad. Otherwise it’s the safest place within five miles of the front” . He also described the terrible attacks that they went under. He says, “what proved to be for us the cruelest days of the war. For weeks now we had been under almost constant shell-fire, snatching what little slepp we could in miserable foxholes, always wet, always cold. Life depended on a matter of feet and inches-whether the next shell would fall a few feet or yards away or whether it would find its mark. We had seen our men change before our eyes, their faces becoming gaunt and grey, their lips thin and blue, their nerves ragged from lack of sleep; their clothes, their hair, their stubble of beard matted with the slimy mud of the foxholes” . Browne continued to share his experiences, such as how he and other soldiers witnessed animals, their fellow soldiers and friends get murdered by the German’s machine guns during the war. Brownie was gassed during the last two weeks of October when the Germans released thousands of gas

shells.
In conclusion, Snead did a phenomenal job in incorporating Browne’s letters and his extra commentary and facts of World War 1 to achieve the perfect understanding of what happened during World War 1. I really enjoyed reading this book and at times it felt as if I was actually there. The way that Browne described the harsh conditions and attacks taken place during the war opened my mind up to the dangers and fears that he faced. This book really helped me to realize how unpredictable armed forces were during World War 1. This book gave insight to the lives that these soldiers lived during the war and provides, not only facts, but the first hand horrors of World War 1.
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