The Highland Division: The Army at War Series

Eric Linklater

Jul 2014 · A&C Black

About this ebook

The Highland Territorials were made up of the 51st Division, who had fought bravely in the Great War, and entered WWII with a fearsome and loyal reputation. Here Erik Linklater draws from letters and War diaries alongside the official table of movements to construct a vivid picture of the battles, triumphs, and ultimately defeat, of the Highland Division in France. Not only do we see the tactical movements, but we get a closer look from the individual's point of view: Men so tired that the shells became a bothersome back-ground noise, and a ditch the perfect place to sleep; what it was like to hide in trees and pick off your enemy, or to be at the mercy of an invisible sniper.
From communicating in Gaelic to scupper the German spies, to holding the line beyond the realms of endurance, we see that although the division was finally lost, it fought valiantly to the very end.

First published in 1942 as part of The Army at War Series, The Highland Division is a record of ingenuity, fortitude, and brotherhood.

About the author

Eric Linklater was born in 1899 in Penarth, Wales. He was educated in Aberdeen, and was initially interested in studying medicine; he later switched his focus to journalism, and became a full-time writer in the 1930s. During his career, Linklater served as a journalist in India, a commander of a wartime fortress in the Orkney Islands, and rector of Aberdeen University. He authored more than twenty novels for adults and children, in addition to writing short stories, travel pieces, and military histories, among other works. He died in 1977.