Review of With the Serbs in Macedonia by Douglas Walshe

[Gardenerbill]

In the end I was rather disappointed with this book, I felt it fell between two stools; it is neither the complete story of the 708th MT Company nor a history of the Salonika campaign as a whole but a bit of both. Having said that, given the time it was written it is a relatively easy book to read and still enjoyable. The first half of the book covers the experiences of the men of the 708th from inception at Bulford through training, the move to Salonika, up to the front and supplying the Serbian army in the field in the latter of half of 1916 and the successful autumn offensive. In the second half of the book there is very little about the company and a lot of background colour; Serbian Soldiers and officers, local peasant villages, the landscape and weather etc. 1917 and the first half of 1918 are barely covered but then not a great deal happened during this period, apart from the battle of Doiran that gets just one sentence. I was really looking forward to reading about the company’s deeds in supporting the Serbian army’s rapid advance into Serbia, the liberation of Prilep and Belgrade but there is nothing. I can only assume that the advance was so rapid that they were left behind, I suppose the only way to find out what actually happened to the 708th in the autumn of 1918 is to get a copy of the war diary. I would still recommend the book to anyone who has an interest in the Motor Van companies (706,707,708 & 709) that operated in Salonika just don’t expect too much.

[bob lembke]

Mark;

 

Could you supply a formal bibliography, so someone looking for this book, to read or to buy, might have an easier time?

 

Not even clear if it is a memoire by a member of the unit, a contemporary secondary source, or one written or published recently.

 

I am interested in events in this general area, my father fought at Gallipoli, and I am writing about it.But not this particular time and place.

 

I have spent a good deal of time in ex-Jugoslavija, and have fair but extremely rusty Serbo-Croatian. 

[Dust Jacket Collector]

Published by Bodley Head in 1920 as part of their 'On Active Service Series'.

from the dust jacket ' A brightly written account of war experience in Macedonia by an A.S.C. Officer'

[Gardenerbill]

Good point Bob and thanks to Dust Jacket Collector for supplying the details. Douglas Walshe was a 2nd lieutenant in the 708th MT Coy and it is a personal memoire.

[Gardenerbill]

The book is available as a free download PDF format here:

 

Withserbs