The horror of the Western Front trenches is a well-worn theme but what was life like on 'the other side of the Western front' in the First World War? This account, based on original sources including diaries, memoirs, family records, secret diaries written during the war, vivid memories and official records, show how the rich agricultural and industrial areas of northern France were invaded, occupied and exploited between the summer of 1914 and the Armistice in November 1918. Factories were stripped, household furniture and fittings requisitioned, food supplies taken, the population...