The Western Front by Muirhead Bone is one of the most interesting - and probably the first - books to be published about The Western Front.
It was first published in 1914 after Bone was made the first officially-appointed war artist by the government's propaganda unit.

Muirhead Bone was given instructions about what he was, and was not, expected to illustrate.
The objective, supported by Fld-Marshal Haig, was that his sketches and illustrations should be published as quickly as possible - especially in America.

The title has been out of print for many years but now, with the support of the family of Muirhead Bone, it is now available here as an ebook to download.
The illustrations can be examined in great detail with our software which allows the reader to zoom in on the text and some 250 drawings.
 This is what Field-Marshal Haig wrote in the foreword to the book

I have been asked to write a foreword to Mr. Muirhead Bone's drawings. This I am glad to do, as they illustrate admirably the daily life of the troops under my command.
The conditions under which we live in France are so different from those to which people at home are accustomed, that no pen, however skilful, can explain them without the aid of the pencil.
The destruction caused by war, the wide areas of devastation, the vast mechanical agencies essential in war, both for transport and the offensive, the masses of supplies required, and the wonderful cheerfulness and indomitable courage of the soldiers under varying climatic conditions, are worthy subjects for the artist who aims at recording for all time the spirit of the age in which he has lived.
It has been said that the portrait and the picture are invaluable aids to the right reading of history. From this point of view I welcome, on behalf of the Army that I have the honour to command, this series of drawings, as a permanent record in pencil of the duties which our soldiers have been called upon to perform, and the quality and manner of its performance.

D Haig

GENERAL HEADQUARTERS,
November, 1916
 








These two images by Muirehead Bone were not published in the original title but have kindly been made available by his family. The ebook to be published in December contains other unpublished images.