Louis Barthas

Louis Barthas Born in Homps on July 14, 1879 was the son of Jean Barthas, cooper, and Louise Escande seamstress (Barthas xix). Barthas only went to primary school which he graduated first of his regions (Barthas xix). He was cooper and owner of a few acres of vine (Barthas xix). Very involved in politics as member of the socialist party and secretary of his party local branch (Barthas xix). Barthas was a Corporal during the Great with an impressive longevity for non-com of four years of service. He died in Peyriac-Minervois May 4 1952 (Barthas xxi). Barthas wrote an extensively during his years of service, those original notes had been lost and deteriorated but Barthas copied them and collected a total of 19 hand written notebooks (Barthas

xxii).
In fact the notebooks were discovered in 1977 by Professor Remy Cazals during a preparation of the Great War exhibition (“Louis”). A student told him about the notes and he ask to see them. He immediately realized their importance (“Louis”). The notes are very important for the French historiography of the Great War because they were the first writing of a simple soldiers included in middle and high school history books (“Louis”). The work was publish for the first time on November 11, 1978 (“Louis”).
The book Poilu is a collection of notebooks written by Corporal Louis Barthas during his years of services in the Great War conflict.

The notebooks contain events, discussions and feelings of the corporal. The work emphasizes the horror of the war and bad treatment that the soldiers who were victim of starvation, hunger and fatigue. The book is a collection of primary source with as implicit focus on the life of French soldiers during WWI. The book contains military tactics description, soldiers work description, detailed aspect of the trenches and how they were built, soldiers treatment, and various cultural aspect of regions of France, Spain and the people living

there.
Consequently his notes helped me better understand the relation between regular soldiers and officers as well as the soldiers thought. The notes gave an interesting inside into the social aspects of the war revealing courtesy between enemies, powerful socialist influence in Europe, state propaganda and other topics not cover in many history books.
Barthas explicitly denounce the incompetence of his superiors and often describe the leaders of France as dictator (Barthas 377). His notes makes reader understand how officer were seen by their soldiers and gives an inside about their feelings. The soldiers were often complaining about the bad treatment they were victims to their elected official but no one cared about them. “In spite of numerous denunciations, protests, and petition sent to high places, and veritable indictment sent to senator Maurice Sarraut, we had to endure this slaughter, this hog butcher with sleeve stripes and medals, until the day he got a promotion, which freed us from him” (Barthas 67).
As a matter of fact soldiers very early understood that there leaders had no concrete strategies to fight the trench war and every assault was a death sentence. “Even the stupidest understood that we were going to our death, without the slightest hope of success, simply to serve as living targets for the German Machin gunners” (Barthas 40). Soldier were very revolted by the way their lives were treated. “We felt revolt rising in our whole being before such a fate, such cruelty on the part of those who disposed of our existence” (Barthas 46).
The notes reveal that soldier were not willing to fight but despite their fear and willingness to stop fighting they were threaten by their officer with death. ‘“Tell Adjutant Col that if the section doesn’t move forward, we’ll fire on it!”’ (Barthas 41). This tension combined with the lack of respect for officers will push certain soldiers to rebel. “That evening of revolt, I had been assigned to guard duty at the police station, so I had not been able to take an active part in this movement” (Barthas 136).
Another essential aspect of the great that is presented in the note is the extend of propaganda. As we talk about in class civilians know very little about the truth of the front. The notes explain clearly that that reality of the front were kept from the civilian to maintain moral. “Therefore, triumphantly, the next day’s communique announced to France and to the whole world:”…after a brilliant combat, town of Vernelles and Le Rutoite fell into our hands…” of course, we couldn’t admit that we had simply occupied a position abandoned by the enemy who had fallen back on another, even stronger position” (Barthas 34 and 35).
The notes reveal the propaganda strategies used by France in its colonies to convince the population to fight for them against the Germans. They created fear among their colonies spreading the word that Germany will reintroduce slavery. “They had been infused with hatred of the Germans, and they were persuaded that if we were conquered their own land would be prey to the Germans and they would fall into frightful slavery” (Barthas 225).
WWI despite being one of the most horrible war in human history had a great deal of courtesy between enemies and the note revealed to me the inconceivable extent of it to me.

We already had cover in through the book “All Quiet on the Western Front” the very high degree of humanity that certain soldiers had during WWI toward their enemies, but those notes had totally surprised me. An incredible anecdote refer to when the French soldiers were playing and let the ball go toward no man land Germans by courtesy wont fire at them. “The Germans would have been blind to not see the ball fly into the air and sometimes land way out ahead of the front line, in the barbed wire where bold player would go out to get it, testing the courtesy of the Germans, who never fired on the players” (Barthas

57).
I was surprise by certain tacit rules existing between both enemies who did not fire at each other when they were working on their trenches and putting barbed “Once we got to our destination, we heaved the sawhorse over the top of a slope, and it rolled noisily down into a ravine, on the other side of which were the Germans who certainly heard all the racket. But they never fired a shot. This was reciprocal; we rarely fired at each other’s work details” (Barthas 137).
Interestingly enough both enemies were not firing at each other’s munitions for unknown reasons. “One might have said that in this war of extermination of whole peoples, there was a tacit accord between the warring parties not to destroy munitions” (Barthas 314).
As we saw discuss in class WWI was a modern war and I was surprised to find out that the French had efficient techniques to fight against gas attacks but still died due to poor life conditions. The Corporal Barthas notes provides interesting anecdote about the methods the French army used to fight against gas attacks. “At the entrance of each shelter, there was a stick of wood, some straw, and some gasoline, to be lit in order to dissipate the murderous cloud. There were special grenades to disperse the gas by their explosion; exploding canisters full of water with bisulfite to make the gas cling to the ground” (Barthas 222).