Publisher's Synopsis
See below for English description.
La guerre des tranch?es laisse Allan McBride en ?tat de choc. ? l'instar d'autres jeunes soldats, il s'est enr?l? avec enthousiasme, fier de participer ? l'effort de guerre. Mais apr's des mois sur les champs de bataille ravag?s, apr's avoir vu des hommes et m?me son ami Ken d?chiquet's par les bombardements allemands, Allan craque et quitte son unit?, croyant fermement qu'il se dirige vers le Canada pour aller chercher de l'aide.
Apr's avoir err? sans but pendant pr's d'une semaine, Allan se joint ? une bande de v?ritables d?serteurs - des hommes qui survivent in extremis et qui se terrent dans les for?ts du nord de la France pour fuir l'horreur des combats. Allan prend peu ? peu conscience de la gravit? des cons?quences de ses gestes. S'il retourne ? son unit?, il sera accus? de d?sertion, un crime punissable de mort.
Ce nouveau titre de la collection Au Canada... de l'auteur John Wilson, l?ve le voile sur l'horreur de la guerre des tranch?es de la Premi?re Guerre mondiale et de son effet traumatisant sur les jeunes soldats.
The reality of trench warfare is a shock to Allan McBride. Like many other young soldiers, he enthusiastically signed up for the chance to join the war effort and be a part of the fighting. But after months in the ravaged battlefields, watching men, including his friend Ken, get blown up by German shelling, something in Allan snaps and he leaves his unit, believing he is "walking home to Canada" to get help for his friend.
After nearly a week of wandering aimlessly, Allan is taken in by a band of real deserters - men who have abandoned their units and live on the edge of survival in the woods of northern France. Once Allan realizes what he's done, he is paralyzed by the reality of his circumstance: if he stays with these men, it's possible they will be found and have to face the consequences; and if he returns to his unit, he will be charged with desertion - a charge punishable by death.
In this outstanding new title in the I Am Canada series, acclaimed author John Wilson explores life in the horrific trenches of WWI and the effect of battle on a shell-shocked soldier.
Original title: I Am Canada: Shot at Dawn
Original title: I Am Canada: Shot at Dawn - World War 1, Allan McBride, France, 1917