Letter From A Soldier's Position At The Western Front

The First World War took the world by storm; no person could have imagined the horrors and detriments the “Great War” would cause. Over a span of four years, millions of soldiers and civilians died. Children lost their parents, and wives, their husbands. So unprecedented was this type of vicious warfare that the countries involved were unprepared for one of the worst wars in history. Two books, The Guns of August and All Quiet on the Western Front address and highlight major themes of World War I. The books offer insight to the political and military strategies of France, England, and Germany during the first month of the war, as well as the emotions of a German soldier on the Western Front in the final days leading up to the German Armistice. Each book uniquely describes an aspect of war and creates a fresh and new experience for the reader to learn about World War I.

During World War I, trench warfare was very common. It was a newer technique in battles as in wars prior to the Great World War, fighting was less invasive and men merely marched at each other from opposite ends of fields and fought until only one side remained standing or a white flag was hung high in surrender. In fact in older wars, the fighting was far less dangerous to the point where battles were often times viewed by locals who watched from side lines with really no threat of getting hurt. In World War I however, the fighting had upscaled to the most sadistic type the world had ever experienced. With the industrialist wave that had overcome us in the late 1800s into

Ars Moriendi The complete ensemble gathers to pray and mourn Pius’ passing. Tone is drumming like a military march to symbolize the start of WWI. A bells tolls throughout. Pius sings with labored breath, taking air after every phrase.

World War I changed the landscape of Europe, particularly France, like no war had ever before. The memoir, A Life of Her Own, depicts the experiences of Emilie Carles, a politically active French women. The memoir depicts the country’s history throughout, not only World War I, but most of the 20th century. Carles brother, Joseph, was caught in a German Prisoner of War camp for a good portion of the war. While there, he would write to the Carles and documented the horrors of war. The article A Republic of Letters: The Epistolary Tradition in France during World War I accurately demonstrates the letters exchanged between Joseph and his family throughout the duration of the war. The French economy needed an influx of workers to cope with the departure of abled bodied men while the war took place. For example, The Carles had to sacrifice any leisure time they had to deal with losing another worker on the family farm. These workers were replaced by immigrants. The impact of these new laborers is documented in Workers in France during World War I. The story of Emilie Carles and her family was just one of many examples of families that were dismantled emotionally and economically due to World War I.

It is March first, I miss you so much it is unbearable. Sleeping can be awful out here in the trenches only because I want to be home in a comfy bed again safe and sound where war isn’t the only thing on my mind. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and I can’t breathe because I dream someone has invaded our trenches and shot me. It isn’t easy being out here but if it means fighting for you then it is what I will do.

I am Ella Karcewski reporting to you on this gloomy Spring evening, hoping that this war may soon be over. I am currently experiencing a day that I will never forget. The images that I am seeing, and the heartbreaking pain that I am feeling will never be erased from my naive mind. I feel nearly speechless and am saddened for those drastically affected by this war. I am encountering a tragedy as soldiers and horses alike are collapsing to the ground, screams of pain coming from their courageous bodies. Pouring rain is drenching horses and soldiers, and darkness is curtained over the gloomy sky. Ominous clouds fill the atmosphere above, and it seems that the sun wouldn’t dare peek out on this bellicose April day in 1915. All of this French territory

“GAS! Gas! Quickly men!” I remember that day like it was yesterday. The new recruits were training and were trembling in their boots. Sergeant Williams they called me. I was the officer in charge of B company, preparing them to protect themselves from the mustard gas bombs they would encounter in the trenches. “GAS! Gas! Quickly men!” I would roar like a great lion and they would rush to get their masks on.

It is obvious that different circumstances would dictate that every person involved in the First World War would have different experiences. This concept is exemplified in the works of two different soldiers, Ernst Jünger, and Erich Remarque; both German, both coming into adult (they were 19 and 18 years of age, respectively, when they joined the war), both fighting on the Western Front. However, the stark contrast in their different opinions about the war may perhaps have been a reflection of their expectations going into the war. At the same time, their different accounts serve to give audiences an understanding of the whole of Europe 's feelings towards the war during the different time periods the authors had joined in the war effort.

The text begins with Private Ernst Junger 's arrival in Champagne, France on December 27th, 1914, just shy of twenty years old. Junger had “ran away from school to enlist in the Foreign Legion,” (1) and was about to begin his career in the military that would change his life forever. In the beginning, he describes the grey December sky and the “breath of battle” (5) that blew across the soldiers, stirring up fear, uncertainty, and a realization of their fate. Each soldier had a unique background: some students, others factory workers, eventually

“We are at rest five miles behind the front.” (Remarque 1). Sadly, this is not the closest a soldier will get to the front in a time of war and necessary reinforcements. Paul Baümer, a nineteen year-old schoolboy, along with with a troop of friends, is fooled into enlisting for the German Army during the vicious World War I. The warfront is no joke, as the teens had imagined. Their schoolmaster back home, Kantorek, spent countless hours presenting the importance of fighting for the Fatherland Germany. The naïve teens fell for the trap, learning that, “the front”, as is mentioned countless times in All Quiet On the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, is no game, but a struggle for survival, as the soldiers not only battle against enemy troops,

In Ernest Hemingway’s short story, “Soldier’s Home”, a young man named Krebs is unable to relate to his mother and home life after he returned from the First World War. After Krebs saw death and destruction in the wars most bloody battles, he returns home where his parents try to get him back to his normal routines. His view of the world has changed drastically since the war. He no longer feels love in his heart and cannot lie to his mother when she asks if he loves her. One of the famous lines Hemingway wrote, “Krebs looked at the bacon fat hardening on his plate.” Like bacon his heart has been hardened by what he had seen in World War I and he knew he must get far away from his parents to be able to get his life back

I could have died over there in France, at the battle of Belleau wood. Instead, my Marines did. They died with honor and valor. Let us not forget, for some of us cannot and will not.

The anonymous author of this letter had firsthand knowledge of the events he wrote home to his friend about. The letter was a few depictions of some war situations the author had been directly involved in, and showed very little bias. The only bias introduced was a direct result of the author being at war with Germany. The author used the slang names associated with dehumanizing the enemy he was entrusted to kill, in order to emotionally detach himself from what had to be done (1,2,3). One other small amount of bias displayed is for his unit; he feels his division would go down in history as second to none for their war efforts (1). Being a member of that division, he would naturally be biased.

This is not a true letter, this is an english thing where we have to write a letter to our parents saying goodbye from the holocaust.

Your key challenge in a leadership position is taking care of the Soldiers entrusted to your care. Soldiers are our nation’s most important military asset. The Leader who sends the message that Soldiers don’t really matter will generally not be as successful in the long-run as the Leader who is genuinely serious about taking care of his/her Soldiers.