At Close Range

Peter Hart's "At Close Range: Life and Death in an Artillery Regiment, 1939-45" offers a detailed examination of the Second World War as experienced by the men who served in Britain's Royal Artillery. Hart, a veteran military historian long associated with the Imperial War Museum, draws on his extensive access to oral history archives to construct a narrative that is both intimate and expansive, tracing the war through the experiences of gunners rather than the generals who directed them from afar.

The artillery has often occupied an ambiguous place in popular memory of the Second World War. Infantry advances and armoured breakthroughs tend to dominate the historical imagination, while the men who served the guns are frequently reduced to a supporting role in the background of larger campaigns. Hart's achievement in this book is to correct that imbalance, showing how central artillery fire was to nearly every major engagement of the war, from the deserts of North Africa to the beaches of Normandy and the final push into Germany. He demonstrates convincingly that the artillery was not merely a supporting arm but often the decisive factor in determining the outcome of battles, capable of breaking enemy formations before infantry ever made contact.

What distinguishes this book from more conventional operational histories is its reliance on first-hand testimony. Hart has drawn heavily on the recorded recollections of soldiers who served in a specific artillery regiment, allowing their voices to carry much of the narrative weight. This approach lends the book an unusual immediacy. Readers encounter the mundane realities of army life alongside the terror of combat: the endless waiting, the physical exhaustion of manhandling heavy guns across difficult terrain, the camaraderie forged under pressure, and the sudden violence of enemy counter-battery fire. These personal accounts humanise the statistics of war, reminding readers that behind every barrage and every casualty figure lay individual men grappling with fear, duty, and survival.

Hart is careful to situate these personal experiences within the broader strategic context of the war. He explains the technical aspects of artillery warfare with clarity, addressing subjects such as fire control, communication between forward observers and gun batteries, and the evolving tactics that made British artillery increasingly effective as the war progressed. This technical grounding is presented in accessible language, avoiding excessive jargon while still conveying the complexity of coordinating artillery support across large and often chaotic battlefields. The book benefits from this balance, offering enough operational detail to satisfy readers interested in military history while remaining approachable to those less familiar with the subject.

The structure of the book follows the regiment through the major campaigns of the war, providing a sense of continuity and development. Readers witness how the unit adapted to different theatres and enemies, from the early setbacks of the desert campaign to the more confident operations of the later war years. This chronological approach allows Hart to trace not only the tactical evolution of artillery warfare but also the psychological toll that years of continuous combat exacted on the men involved. The narrative does not shy away from the darker aspects of war, including the deaths of comrades and the psychological strain of sustained combat, but it presents these elements with restraint rather than sensationalism.

Hart's prose is measured and clear, reflecting his long experience as both a historian and an interviewer of veterans. He allows the testimony of his subjects to speak largely for itself, intervening primarily to provide context and connective narrative rather than overt interpretation. This restraint serves the book well, lending it an authenticity that might have been diminished by heavier authorial commentary.

Overall, "At Close Range" succeeds in illuminating an often overlooked aspect of the Second World War. By focusing on a single artillery regiment and drawing extensively on veteran testimony, Hart provides a grounded and human perspective on a branch of the military that played a far larger role in shaping the war's outcome than is generally recognised. The book will appeal to readers with an interest in military history, particularly those seeking to understand the war from the perspective of ordinary soldiers rather than high command. It stands as a valuable contribution to the growing body of work that seeks to preserve and interpret the experiences of those who served, ensuring that their contributions are not forgotten amid the broader sweep of historical narrative.