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Eye-Deep In Hell: Trench Warfare In World War I
Millions of men lived in the trenches during World War I. More than six million died there. In Eye-Deep in Hell , the author explores this unique and terrifying world—the rituals of battle, the habits of daily life, and the constant struggle of men to find meaning amid excruciating boredom and the specter of impending death.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
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1648 people want to read
About the author
John Ellis
127 books21 followersJohn Ellis was born in Bradford and educated at the Universities of Sussex and Manchester. He was a lecturer in the latter's department of Military Studies. His books include The Sharp End: The Fighting Man in World War II; The Social History of the Machine Gun, Eye-Deep in Hell, an account of trench life in the Great War; Cassino: The Hollow Victory; and Brute Force: Allied Strategy and Tactics in the Second World War.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
May 2, 2021
I thought this was great! This book leaves out the prelude to WWI, political and ideological circumstances, and the multinational context of the Great War. Instead it's about the hellish nightmare of trench warfare.
The book is relatively short but very comprehensive. There is a lot of information to include trench design, combat rotations (front line, reserves, and rest/leave), gear and equipment carried, dealing with the harsh elements (rain, cold), and logistics/supply runs (chow, mail, etc.). The casualties were high from new technological advancements like the machine gun and chemical warfare. Trench foot, sickness, artillery barrages, shell-shock, and patrols and raiding through the no-man's land also led to high casualties.
The final section addressed the patriotism, honor, and duty found in all armies throughout the war. It also informed about the gradual disillusionment and protest among the ranks towards the end of the war. This section brought the book to a nice close.
This book is about the trenches in the Western Front. I'm pretty new to learning about WWI so I don't know how the Western Front compares to the Eastern Front. I would definitely recommend this book for someone new to reading about WWI. Thanks!
The book is relatively short but very comprehensive. There is a lot of information to include trench design, combat rotations (front line, reserves, and rest/leave), gear and equipment carried, dealing with the harsh elements (rain, cold), and logistics/supply runs (chow, mail, etc.). The casualties were high from new technological advancements like the machine gun and chemical warfare. Trench foot, sickness, artillery barrages, shell-shock, and patrols and raiding through the no-man's land also led to high casualties.
The final section addressed the patriotism, honor, and duty found in all armies throughout the war. It also informed about the gradual disillusionment and protest among the ranks towards the end of the war. This section brought the book to a nice close.
This book is about the trenches in the Western Front. I'm pretty new to learning about WWI so I don't know how the Western Front compares to the Eastern Front. I would definitely recommend this book for someone new to reading about WWI. Thanks!
November 18, 2014
Illuminates the Horrific, Primal Nature of the Great War …
While World War I has always been dubbed “The Great War”, it may actually be the “Forgotten War” in terms of how little is remembered of the horrible manner in which it was fought. John Ellis’ EYE-DEEP IN HELL provides an excellent detailing of how armies endured almost four years of killing and dying in the bowels of endless, filthy trenches.
Ellis offers readers a rather blunt portrayal of the average infantryman’s experience in the trenches on the Western Front from 1914-1918. Starting with a basic overview of the inevitable circumstances that led to such static warfare, Ellis begins to meticulously delve into specifics: from trench construction specifics to food and entertainment activities, not to mention combat and death. By chronicling every conceivable facet of life in the trenches, we get a much clearer picture of how terribly miserable, unique and personal the war truly was.
While the book leans to documenting the Allied armies’ trench experience (mainly British and French), almost every topic is countered with a German perspective as well. I found this particularly appealing in that it gave the book a great deal of balance. EYE-DEEP IN HELL is told in a manner that gives readers a comprehensive understanding of how utterly miserable it must have been for the men who experienced life in the trenches. While I had a basic knowledge of trench-warfare, Ellis rendered that knowledge superficial … it was much worse than I had previously thought. Vivid accounts of men living in knee-deep, stagnant water contaminated with human waste and rotting corpses. The men were always wet, cold and hungry; they were exposed to perpetual artillery bombardment and constantly spied-on by enemy snipers eagerly seeking an opportunity to kill any man who briefly and carelessly exposed himself. Even worse were the accounts of wounded men too weak to keep themselves from drowning in the water and mud of their own trenches, the overwhelming, putrid smell of rotting corpses, swarms of flies and an incident where one soldier realized the movement of a corpse in no-man’s land was due to rats feasting on it from within. Ironically, these horrors listed are what men experienced from WITHIN the trenches … “going over the top” (leaving the trenches to attack the enemy) is another ghastly experience all together as men are senselessly ordered to charge point-blank into enemy artillery and machine-gun fire. EYE-DEEP IN HELL provides a well-rounded education in the weaponry, equipment, tactics and wholesale slaughter of Western Front in a brief, but insightful manner.
Readers will readily realize the futility of a war in which men were either sitting ducks in their trenches or charging suicidal into direct enemy fire. EYE-DEEP IN HELL doesn’t ignore detailing how men “cracked” under the circumstances and how others, more amazingly, found ways to endure … entire segments of the book are dedicated to the “attitude” of the men doing the fighting, the methods they used to cope and how technology advancements saved countless lives. Poems, excerpts from letters and an abundance of pictures throughout the book add both a personal and graphic quality that enhances Ellis’ writing.
I was looking for a book to give me a clearer idea of what trench warfare was like and got more than I bargained for with EYE-DEEP IN HELL. I felt that John Ellis’ book provided me an excellent and detailed account of World War I from the ground-level. The book is concise, yet very informative. EYE-DEEP IN HELL has certainly triggered my interest in learning more about the Great War.
While World War I has always been dubbed “The Great War”, it may actually be the “Forgotten War” in terms of how little is remembered of the horrible manner in which it was fought. John Ellis’ EYE-DEEP IN HELL provides an excellent detailing of how armies endured almost four years of killing and dying in the bowels of endless, filthy trenches.
Ellis offers readers a rather blunt portrayal of the average infantryman’s experience in the trenches on the Western Front from 1914-1918. Starting with a basic overview of the inevitable circumstances that led to such static warfare, Ellis begins to meticulously delve into specifics: from trench construction specifics to food and entertainment activities, not to mention combat and death. By chronicling every conceivable facet of life in the trenches, we get a much clearer picture of how terribly miserable, unique and personal the war truly was.
While the book leans to documenting the Allied armies’ trench experience (mainly British and French), almost every topic is countered with a German perspective as well. I found this particularly appealing in that it gave the book a great deal of balance. EYE-DEEP IN HELL is told in a manner that gives readers a comprehensive understanding of how utterly miserable it must have been for the men who experienced life in the trenches. While I had a basic knowledge of trench-warfare, Ellis rendered that knowledge superficial … it was much worse than I had previously thought. Vivid accounts of men living in knee-deep, stagnant water contaminated with human waste and rotting corpses. The men were always wet, cold and hungry; they were exposed to perpetual artillery bombardment and constantly spied-on by enemy snipers eagerly seeking an opportunity to kill any man who briefly and carelessly exposed himself. Even worse were the accounts of wounded men too weak to keep themselves from drowning in the water and mud of their own trenches, the overwhelming, putrid smell of rotting corpses, swarms of flies and an incident where one soldier realized the movement of a corpse in no-man’s land was due to rats feasting on it from within. Ironically, these horrors listed are what men experienced from WITHIN the trenches … “going over the top” (leaving the trenches to attack the enemy) is another ghastly experience all together as men are senselessly ordered to charge point-blank into enemy artillery and machine-gun fire. EYE-DEEP IN HELL provides a well-rounded education in the weaponry, equipment, tactics and wholesale slaughter of Western Front in a brief, but insightful manner.
Readers will readily realize the futility of a war in which men were either sitting ducks in their trenches or charging suicidal into direct enemy fire. EYE-DEEP IN HELL doesn’t ignore detailing how men “cracked” under the circumstances and how others, more amazingly, found ways to endure … entire segments of the book are dedicated to the “attitude” of the men doing the fighting, the methods they used to cope and how technology advancements saved countless lives. Poems, excerpts from letters and an abundance of pictures throughout the book add both a personal and graphic quality that enhances Ellis’ writing.
I was looking for a book to give me a clearer idea of what trench warfare was like and got more than I bargained for with EYE-DEEP IN HELL. I felt that John Ellis’ book provided me an excellent and detailed account of World War I from the ground-level. The book is concise, yet very informative. EYE-DEEP IN HELL has certainly triggered my interest in learning more about the Great War.
December 29, 2014
Excellent look at the experience of trench warfare in the Western Front from 1914-1918. This was required reading for a college course on World War I.
April 30, 2009
I like my history packed full of tangents, details and painfully dry exposition. This book has all three and is, therefore, my favorite book about trench warefare during WWI. Sure, you can find books that are more comprehensive or more focused on 'the human element' and stuff like that. There are many books on the subject which are better written and flow like poetry. But this book, once you start to process all the information that it contains, is a punch in the face; which is precisely what a book about WWI should be.
March 2, 2025
참호속에서의 생활, 배급, 무기와 관련된 자세한 내용과, 관련 전술을 지도까지 포함하여 생생히 보여주는 역사서이다.
최초로 대량살상무기를 사용한 전쟁이었던 1차 세계대전에서, 그 기술의 발전에 따라가지 못한 낙후된 전술에 대해서도 알 수 있었고, 병사들의 심리와 고통이 내 눈앞에서 펼쳐지는 것 같았다.
온갖 벌레와 쥐가 들끓었던 비좁은 참호 속, 게다가 폭격이 계속되는 후방에선 나는 절대 견디지 못할 것 같다.
1차 세계 대전사에 입문하고 싶은 사람에게 일독을 권한다.
최초로 대량살상무기를 사용한 전쟁이었던 1차 세계대전에서, 그 기술의 발전에 따라가지 못한 낙후된 전술에 대해서도 알 수 있었고, 병사들의 심리와 고통이 내 눈앞에서 펼쳐지는 것 같았다.
온갖 벌레와 쥐가 들끓었던 비좁은 참호 속, 게다가 폭격이 계속되는 후방에선 나는 절대 견디지 못할 것 같다.
1차 세계 대전사에 입문하고 싶은 사람에게 일독을 권한다.
November 19, 2017
I don't know why I have such a morbid fascination with this bizarre war, but this book will make your skin crawl with horror as it described in detail what it was actually like to be down in those trenches day after day.
(I did keep thinking that if you told a group of women, now guess what, your country wants you to go down into this trench filled with frozen mud, lice and giant rats, and stay there for four years, until of course a shell lands on you, you die of some loathsome disease, are poisoned with gas, we decide hey! let's everybody jump up and run into that nest of machines guns across the way, or you lose your mind--- the women would say, "you're kidding, right, country? Think again." and go shopping and out to lunch instead.)
(I did keep thinking that if you told a group of women, now guess what, your country wants you to go down into this trench filled with frozen mud, lice and giant rats, and stay there for four years, until of course a shell lands on you, you die of some loathsome disease, are poisoned with gas, we decide hey! let's everybody jump up and run into that nest of machines guns across the way, or you lose your mind--- the women would say, "you're kidding, right, country? Think again." and go shopping and out to lunch instead.)
October 31, 2024
Oh. My. God. This was heartbreakingly amazing. History should nearly always make you angry. This book will make you furious.
December 10, 2015
(In 2015, I came across a review of this book I wrote in 2001 for a Military History college course. I had not recollection of reading this book, but I also forgot about reading James McPherson's "For Cause and Comrades" earlier in the same class - which this review implies that I hated it at the time. When I read McPherson in 2013, I thought it was great. Here is the entire review, with a little editing.)
World War I is infamous. Infamous for the hideous life in the trenches, the ridiculous loss of life in suicidal charges into the face of enemy machine guns, and numerous firsts in warfare such as tanks and poison gas. Eye Deep in Hell attempts to give an account of life in those infamous trenches on the Western Front and does an impressive job.
For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War attempted to show what motivated a portion of the soldiers in the Civil War, focusing on just a small portion of a much larger picture. Ellis covers a much broader scope, showing all sides of the motivation of the soldiers in the trenches as well as covering life in the trenches. This makes for a much more interesting and complete read and does not bog down in the endless repetition that For Cause and Comrades did. Eye Deep in Hell is rather unbiased, more an attempt at a statement and summary of facts. Ellis does seem to make a point in the conclusion to note just how stupid and senseless World War I trench warfare was, but that is not uncommon. There are a very large number of diagrams and pictures used, which illustrate the things being talked about. The organization of the book is also very effective, building from the bare bone facts of why trench warfare came about to a discussion of the soldiers’ motivations and morale, both the good and bad points. There are also some excerpts from prose and letters by those who were there, but nowhere near as many as McPherson’s book.
While much of the content isn’t exactly revolutionary by any means, it is a bit more in depth than many other books on the same subject. Ellis talks about. It does put forth some ideas I had not heard before, in particular the idea that home front in World War I were so clueless about conditions in the trenches that it made the troops often feel rather isolated. Eye Deep in Hell does have some weak points. It focuses more on the Allied side of the trenches than the German side, in particular on the British army. The book also leaves almost totally unmentioned the trench warfare between Italy and Austria and at Gallipoli against the Turks.
I would definitely recommend the book for someone who wants a more in-depth discussion of trenches. It is interesting and informative and effectively portrays World War I’s trench warfare better than anything except maybe All Quiet on the Western Front.
World War I is infamous. Infamous for the hideous life in the trenches, the ridiculous loss of life in suicidal charges into the face of enemy machine guns, and numerous firsts in warfare such as tanks and poison gas. Eye Deep in Hell attempts to give an account of life in those infamous trenches on the Western Front and does an impressive job.
For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War attempted to show what motivated a portion of the soldiers in the Civil War, focusing on just a small portion of a much larger picture. Ellis covers a much broader scope, showing all sides of the motivation of the soldiers in the trenches as well as covering life in the trenches. This makes for a much more interesting and complete read and does not bog down in the endless repetition that For Cause and Comrades did. Eye Deep in Hell is rather unbiased, more an attempt at a statement and summary of facts. Ellis does seem to make a point in the conclusion to note just how stupid and senseless World War I trench warfare was, but that is not uncommon. There are a very large number of diagrams and pictures used, which illustrate the things being talked about. The organization of the book is also very effective, building from the bare bone facts of why trench warfare came about to a discussion of the soldiers’ motivations and morale, both the good and bad points. There are also some excerpts from prose and letters by those who were there, but nowhere near as many as McPherson’s book.
While much of the content isn’t exactly revolutionary by any means, it is a bit more in depth than many other books on the same subject. Ellis talks about. It does put forth some ideas I had not heard before, in particular the idea that home front in World War I were so clueless about conditions in the trenches that it made the troops often feel rather isolated. Eye Deep in Hell does have some weak points. It focuses more on the Allied side of the trenches than the German side, in particular on the British army. The book also leaves almost totally unmentioned the trench warfare between Italy and Austria and at Gallipoli against the Turks.
I would definitely recommend the book for someone who wants a more in-depth discussion of trenches. It is interesting and informative and effectively portrays World War I’s trench warfare better than anything except maybe All Quiet on the Western Front.
July 21, 2011
I like John Ellis. He doesn't write as much as he used to which I think is a shame. He was one of the first historians to really examine what the average soldier experiences in war. Not just combat, but the day to day life of the soldier in and out of combat. He arrived on the scene (mid-seventies) about the same time as fellow historian John Keegan, but while Mr. Keegan has gone on to receive accolades, wealth and fame Mr. Ellis has faded into relative obscurity. Which is a shame because his books are often found in the bibliographies of more recent books that have been huge sellers such as Stephen Ambrose mega bestseller Citizen Soldiers . Ambrose and other historians now write in the style of eyewitness history combined with "The Big Picture" that was pioneered by Ellis and Keegan and Cornelius Ryan.
Eye-Deep in Hell was one of the first books that Mr. Ellis wrote and is probably his most well known. Simply put Mr. Ellis looked at what life was like for the average soldier, on the ground, in World War One. Before this book there had been other writers (naturally) to examine the life of the trench soldier in both fiction and non-fiction. But none had examined it in such great detail. Mr. Ellis even covers the field laundries and the kitchens that fed the men. In addition to the detailed accounts the book is lavishly illustrated with photographs.
Like Mr. Eilis's WWII follow-up book in 1980, The Sharp End: The Fighting Man in World War II, this book might seem fairly typical in 2011. but it's one of the first of it's kind and is still a very good read. I strongly recommend it.
Eye-Deep in Hell was one of the first books that Mr. Ellis wrote and is probably his most well known. Simply put Mr. Ellis looked at what life was like for the average soldier, on the ground, in World War One. Before this book there had been other writers (naturally) to examine the life of the trench soldier in both fiction and non-fiction. But none had examined it in such great detail. Mr. Ellis even covers the field laundries and the kitchens that fed the men. In addition to the detailed accounts the book is lavishly illustrated with photographs.
Like Mr. Eilis's WWII follow-up book in 1980, The Sharp End: The Fighting Man in World War II, this book might seem fairly typical in 2011. but it's one of the first of it's kind and is still a very good read. I strongly recommend it.
October 26, 2017
I like this book precisely because it is what it purports to be, a look at trench warfare in WWI mostly from the view of the soldiers themselves. Other books dealing with The Great War, of course, mention this most horrible aspect of the war, devote part of a chapter to how this approach to warfare came in to being, and, maybe, discuss the more lurid aspects of what these men actually went through, but until reading this, I had no idea of the simple Hell that being stuck in this would be. Did you know that soldiers drowned in the mud in the inland fields of France? Did you know that at times, the German soldiers had to resort to eating sawdust because their food supplies became so low. Did you know that at times during the war, certain countries made it "mandatory" for soldiers, when off the trenchline, to spend time with prostitutes? And did you know that the Christmas Truce wasn't the only time opposing combatants encountered each other peaceably? It was nothing for a soldier, covered in mud, lice, and other filth, to be digging a new section of trench and uncover body parts, or that men at times slowly died screaming in No Man's Land because to attempt to retrieve him would mean certain death for the others in his squad. This was a horrible war, and my Grandfather was involved in it. When he was still alive he never talked about what happened, what he saw. I understand a little better now.
June 27, 2016
I read this book several years ago while doing research for a short comic I was writing. The book is well researched and gives a very in-depth look at the daily lives of soldiers on the Western front. Ellis draws from a number of first-hand sources, mainly the diaries of soldiers at the front, and the book as a whole works as a great jumping off point for discovering some of those first hand accounts. I plan on re-reading the book soon and will leave a more detailed review once I've done this.
January 3, 2008
This book was so very educational. It was a first reader for learning about WWI Trench Warfare. It was not as graphic as some of the tales from the trench that I read later, but it was much more informative. I highly recommend this to anyone who is looking to learn about WWI without spending months in dry research.
January 20, 2016
The story, as told by the soldiers themselves, of what it was like to live in the trenches of WW1. Covers the cold, the mud, the lice, the atrocious food, and the humor that got them through the day. Especially nice that this book covers what it was like for the German soldiers as well.
March 7, 2009
A view of the realities of war - the drowning in mud, lost limbs, guts, shell shock, abysmal conditions facing front-line soldiers in WW I.
November 12, 2011
I read this book for a university course. I remember really liking it at the time (yes, it harsh and disgusting at times, but that's what happened)...now I want to dig out my copy and read it again!
October 28, 2018
Not a step by step history of the war. Rather, it details, in often horrifying detail, life in the trenches.
February 28, 2019
I absolutely LOVED this book! If you want to get down and dirty and see what the troops dealt with during WWI, this is the book for you!
February 2, 2025
Poems. I have not heard a lot about poems in World War Two, but in World War One (the Great War) it seems that Poems where more published after. Could it have been that more educated men fought in that war than in the other? I mean you hear of whole classes of men signing up from University, or is it that in later wars death was not so publicized? The conditions that men lived in, I mean just think about drowning in mud. To be so tired and exhausted that you could not even get out of the mud to save your own life. It is also a bit strange to think of two different Armies in the same uniform, one at the front and the one at the rear. And this happened on both sides of No Man's Land. I recommend this book.
February 15, 2021
John Ellis paints a picture of a soldier's life in the trench fighting of World War I in only the broadest strokes. Eye-Deep in Hell manages to cover all practical aspects of the Great War from the horrific conditions in the trenches themselves to soldier's sense of alienation with regards to the home front. However, beyond a relatively brief reference to each one of these aspects Ellis goes in to no particular depth. Volumes have been written about the various perspectives of World War I so you can understand how the attempt to reflect that type of research in perhaps, 10 pages, is woefully inadequate.
September 28, 2024
read for class, but this will stick with me for a while. rarely does gorey writing make me physically cringe, but the descriptions of soldiers helplessly sinking into the mud, clutching their guts, or suffocating from gas attacks for days before dying made me hug my knees before turning a new page. simultaneously, I got many laughs from the soldiers' jokes and almost cried over the intensity of their bond. of this book's most important themes, human endurance is the most apparent.
"May 1915: ‘Funny that they couldn’t leave even one of my two best friends.’"
"May 1915: ‘Funny that they couldn’t leave even one of my two best friends.’"
May 23, 2021
Non-fiction is difficult to rate. This book is nothing but the facts on the Great War. It covers all aspects of soldier’s time in the trenches for all sides. There are letter from solider and it paints a strong picture of the hell the men went through just living. I am using the book for my research, but it reveals just what a dark time it was. I recommend for historians and anyone interested in World War 1.
January 28, 2025
World War I deserves to be understood, and what its soldiers experienced deserves to be known. Now that all WWI veterans are passed, it is more imperative we not forget this history. This book really sheds no light on the politics of the war, or the strategy, or really even the big-picture history. But, if the "how" (not the "why") of WWI and trench warfare is puzzling to you, this will clear it up. Easy reading, and quite informative.
November 15, 2018
Learned a lot about the utter horribleness of daily life in the trenches.
Even though this book was published by Johns Hopkins, a prestigious Univeristy Press, it is full of missing words. It is also poorly laid out and the photos are grainy and fuzzy. That last could be deliberate, but since the selling point of the book was the PHOTOS, that was not a good decision.
Even though this book was published by Johns Hopkins, a prestigious Univeristy Press, it is full of missing words. It is also poorly laid out and the photos are grainy and fuzzy. That last could be deliberate, but since the selling point of the book was the PHOTOS, that was not a good decision.
December 26, 2019
Very detailed look into life in the trenches of WWI. Goes through everything from the food they ate to the psychology of going "over the top" (getting out of the trench and charging the enemy). Very interesting reading for those interested in the subject.
February 20, 2020
Sometimes I’m surprised what I find on my bookshelves. This book was very interesting in that it covered all aspects of life in the trenches. It didn’t just talk about how horrible things were, you really get a sense of what these men experienced.
November 25, 2017
We're here because we're here because
we're here because we're here....
we're here because we're here because
we're here because we're here
we're here because we're here....
we're here because we're here because
we're here because we're here
May 2, 2018
Short and "sweet". Very gripping and an excellent quick rundown of the hell that was the soldiers life in the trenches.
December 28, 2019
Bone chilling, heart breaking, weeping story of trench warfare WWI, another life changing book.
April 28, 2020
Informative, intimate, and chilling. A detailed exploration of one of the most horrific conflicts in the history of our world, picked out with stark clarity.
June 30, 2020
Great book on the terrible conditions and waste of lives during World War I. Such a pity so many were killed for nothing let alone the death from diseases
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews