German soldier lying in a shallow ditch next to a fallen French soldier during the Battle of Verdun
The following is excerpts of Danish-German soldier Hermann Hunger's letter on an episode in a shell-hole at Côte 304 at Verdun on June 9, 1916. Translated by myself:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
"We lay together in a shell-hole, the mama's boy and myself. He was of that age when you're neither a boy nor man. He was just beginning to get his first curly hairs on his chin and was scared of using a razor blade.
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Now he didn't speak much. But down in the dug-outs, even in the trenches, there he wouldn't shut up about how good and clever his mother was. He definitely had the greatest mother on the planet.
Now there wasn't time to talk, not even about his mother. He had left the school rows and went straight for war. And he loved his Fatherland and was proud of serving it. He was a city boy, but now we lay the two of us, the boy and I, in a shell-hole at 304 between the German and French lines.
It was a wonderful Spring day when we received the order to storm the French trenches without artillery. At 4 AM the order came: "In 15 minutes we charge. Everyone prepare to leave the trench. The enemy's position must be conquered."
Then came our flamethrowers. At exactly 4:15 AM they opened up, and the screams from the French trenches showed that they had been hit. "Out! Forward!"
And then hell on earth began. All weaponry the French had at their disposal was thrown against us. "Down!" Ten meters ahead lay a small shell-hole. And here we fell down, the boy and I. We reaqquired our composure. It was certain death to charge forward.
But the boy was eager: "We must advance - that was our order". "Are you out of your mind? Get down!". We lay quiet for a while. Were his thought on his mother? And did his mother's heart at home feel that her boy was in danger?
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The firing calmed down a bit. "I'll just find out where the Company is at." "Don't!" Too late. His warm blood splashed on me. The boy's head bent downwards against the wall of the shell-hole. The last word those trembling lips mumbled: "Mother..."
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