A Soldier's Declaration commentary

Beginning with a strong opening sentence, Sassoon immediately makes it clear that he is frustrated and perhaps a bit angry at the government, which Sassoon accuses of prolonging the war for “evil and unjust” reasons despite having “the power to end it”. He calls his declaration a “willful defiance of military authority”, which is insubordination, I believe that his cause is worthy and justifies the breach of discipline as soldiers are being sacrificed daily battlefields needlessly, especially when a peace treaty or ceasefire can easily be brokered between the warring nations.

Sassoon claims that he represents his fellow soldiers in his declaration, and believes that the objective of the war should have been set in stone at the beginning and cannot be changed as he feels that the purpose of the war has changed since the start – the war which was supposed to be a war of “defense and liberation” became a war of “aggression and conquest”, which means that the soldiers are now fighting a war they did not sign up for, and dying for it. Moreover, he thinks that peace can be negotiated with Germany as France had been recaptured by the Allies by 1917 and the warring factions would want to find a way to withdraw troops without surrender or retreat, but merely call it a draw.

Sassoon aims to eradicate the “callous complacence” of the general public with his declaration as he feels that they are ignorant of the fact that war is a terrible thing, and they do not share the soldiers’ horrifying experience of war nor do they have “sufficient imagination” to realize the atrocities of war the soldiers’ face everyday so they cannot understand how big a role they are playing by allowing the war to continue.