Part II: The School of Courage explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Loss of Innocence

  The initial excitement of war fades as soldiers face the grim reality of prolonged conflict, with a young soldier describing how the adventure turned into a sense of doom and slavery.

• Postwar Disillusionment

  Soldiers express bitterness and a loss of belief in the war's purpose, questioning liberty, empire, and God, and feeling trapped under a 'black spell.'

• Comradeship and Human Spirit

  Despite the horrors, bonds form between soldiers and civilians, and entertainments like Willie Woodbine's shows provide moments of courage and connection.

• Class and Inequality

  Territorial officers, despite their competence, were treated with contempt by the Regular High Command, highlighting class divisions within the military hierarchy.

Characters to notice

• Unknown Narrator

  The narrator observes the decline of the Regular Army and the rise of the New Army, interacts with soldiers and officers, and records the bitter reflections of a young soldier.

• The Boy

  A sensitive young soldier who expresses deep disillusionment, describing the loss of excitement, the sense of being under a spell, and questioning the purpose of the war.

• Colonel Ronald Campbell

  Colonel Campbell is mentioned as the discoverer of 'Willie Woodbine,' the fighting parson and soldier's poet who entertained and inspired troops.

• Willie Woodbine

  A fighting parson and soldier's poet, part of a traveling troupe of pugilists who gave entertainments and spoke of God, war, and courage to the men.

• Kaiser Bill

  Referenced in soldiers' graffiti on walls, illustrating their contempt and dark humor about the enemy leader.

• The Germans

  German prisoners are quoted expressing the same sense of being under a black spell, and German generals later paid tribute to the British Regular Army's efficiency.

• The British

  The British troops are depicted as popular with French civilians, adapting to local life, and forming bonds with the peasantry.

• The Scots Guards

  Scottish soldiers in khaki-covered kilts are described playing bagpipes and interacting with local girls in farmyards.

Key passages

• “By the time stationary warfare had been established on the western front in trench lines from the sea to Switzerland, the British Regular Army had withered away.”

  Once trench warfare stretched from the coast to Switzerland, the British Regular Army was essentially destroyed.

  Sets the stage for the chapter's focus on the transition to the New Army.

• “It was worst of all for boys of sensitive minds who were lucky enough to get a 'cushie' wound, and so went on and on, or who were patched up again quickly after one, two, or three wounds, and came back again.”

  The most suffering was endured by sensitive young soldiers who survived minor wounds and were repeatedly returned to the front.

  Highlights the psychological toll of repeated exposure to combat.

• “This sense of being under a black spell I found expressed by other men, and by German prisoners who used the same phrase.”

  Both British soldiers and German prisoners described feeling trapped by an inexplicable, malevolent force.

  Illustrates the shared sense of helplessness across enemy lines.

• “They could not reconcile the Christian precepts of the chaplain with the bayoneting of Germans and the shambles of the battlefields.”

  Soldiers struggled to square Christian teachings with the violence and carnage they witnessed and committed.

  Reflects the crisis of faith and moral confusion caused by the war.