Darrell Duthie

Vicissitudes of War Darrell Duthie

September 1916. The battle of the Somme is raging.

Newly-promoted lieutenant Malcolm MacPhail arrives in Albert, France feeling himself lucky to have left behind the sodden trenches of the Salient. Until he glimpses the battlefield. The Boche guns are thundering something fierce, the ground for miles around a barren wasteland. If the rumours are true a new offensive is only days away.

Malcolm has yet to prove himself as an officer - and chances are he'll need to do it in a mad charge across No-Man's-Land. When an old rival joins the battalion and discovers the secret Malcolm holds, not just life and limb but career and honour are at stake.

The Great War is thundering on, the Allies determined to force the elusive victory, and the Germans unwilling to yield an inch. Malcolm and his countrymen have their orders. But can they succeed where so many others have failed?

*****

A novel of Vimy Ridge and the Somme.