Éric Baratay. Bêtes des tranchées. Des vécus oubliés - CNRS ed. (Paris 2013) 256 p.

Millions of animals have been involved in the First World War. Used as warfare tools, they carried out their roles following their own behaviours. They often had a name and they sacrificed themselves to save their humans. Apart from these military animals, there were a large number of others affected by the war: domestic and farm animals abandoned by the fleeing civilians, animals that were butchered to feed the troops and wild animals. Even though some historians dealt with the issue of animals at war, their research concentrated above all on the humans who owned them. Compared to the existing literature, this book offers a different perspective. Reading history from the ethological point of view, the author places the life of the animals at the centre of his research.