This book by Arthur Guy Empey (1883-1963) describes the life of a soldier in the British army. Empey was a U.S. citizen who enlisted in the British army after the May 1915 sinking of the Lusitania, which cost many American lives.
The title of the book came from a phrase used by soldiers when they leave the trenches and attack the opposing forces: "Over the top with the best of luck and give them hell!"
Over the Top was a valuable source of information for both U.S. soldiers and civilians in those crucial first months after the U.S. entered the war. It includes many details about every stage of a soldier's life, from training to the battlefield to rest times to military hospitals and graveyards.The foreword by Empey is dated May 1917, so he finished writing the book after the U.S. entered the war on April 6, 1917.
Empey knew that many current and prospective soldiers would read his book and tried to give them words of encouragement and hope:
There is one thing which my experience taught me that might help the boy who may have to go. It is this—anticipation is far worse than realization. In civil life a man stands in awe of the man above him, wonders how he could ever fill his job. When the time comes he rises to the occasion, is up and at it, and is surprised to find how much more easily than he anticipated he fills his responsibilities.Empey served about one year before being discharged after a serious wound at the beginning of the Battle of the Somme in July 1916. During that time, he served in several positions, including intelligence (spying) and machine gun operation.
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| Arthur Guy Empey |
Over the Top was written with a mixture of realism, humor and irreverence, including a collection of terms at the end of the book that is titled "Tommy's Dictionary of the Trenches." "Tommy" was shorthand for "Tommy Atkins," a general reference to British soldiers that Empey used many times in the book.
Definitions in "Tommy's Dictionary" include:
- Bomb: "An infernal device filled with high explosive which you throw at the Germans. Its chief delight is to explode before it leaves your hand."
- Emplacement: "A position made of earth or sandbags from which a machine gun is fired. It is supposed to be invisible to the enemy. They generally blow it up in the course of a couple of days, just by luck, of course."
This background information helps the reader visualize Empey's vivid descriptions of trench life. You can almost feel your foot on a firing step as a soldier raises his rifle over the parapet and takes aim at the opposing trenches.
Similar sensations occur with Empey's descriptions of the No Man's Land area between the opposing trenches. He was sent out on several No Man's Land missions that often had him crawling closely to the ground, listening carefully for sounds that might give a clue to the next move of the German army.
A description of Empey leaving the front trench to attack the enemy reads:
How I got up that ladder I will never know. The first ten feet out in front was agony. Then we passed the lanes in our barbed wire. I knew I was running, but I could feel no motion below the waist. Patches on the ground seemed to float to the rear as if I were on a treadmill and scenery was rushing past me. The Germans had put a barrage of shrapnel across No Man's Land and you could hear the pieces slap the ground about you.In early 1917, before Over the Top was published, Empey gave speeches about his war experiences on the east coast near his home in Brooklyn, New York.
After Over the Top became a bestseller, Empey began giving speeches throughout the country. The book sold more than 300,000 copies in its first six months of publication (Des Moines Register, December 1, 1917).
In late 1917, Empey made further use of his wartime experiences to write a series of newspaper articles that expanded on Over the Top. In early 1918, Over the Top gained an even wider audience when it was serialized in its entirety in many U.S. newspapers.
Empey later applied his writing talents to motion picture screenplays and magazine fiction.
Over the Top was published around June 6, 1917 when it was advertised in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Front page articles in that day's Daily Eagle include:
- PLAN FOR DRAFT READY IN WEEK / Actual Drawing of Men May Begin Early in July. / IN CAMP BY SEPT. 1?
- ARMED U.S STEAMER SINKS GERMAN U-BOAT IN RUNNING FIGHT / Battle Lasted 1 1/2 Hours, State Department Reports—60 Shots Fired. / STEAMER'S LAST ONE FATAL
- BRITISH PIERCE GERMAN LINE ON THE ARRAS FRONT / Break Through Near Rouex; Gain in Vicinity of Lens. / MAKE SUDDEN THRUST
Online versions:
Newspaper information from Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/).
Photograph of Arthur Guy Empey from Over the Top.
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