My name is Ludwig Schröder, and I am a post-war veteran.

On December 3, 1917, I joined the 18th Army of the Prussian Army in response to the call of the Reich, and I had only come of age the day before I joined the army.

When I first enlisted, the 18th Army was still in a state of recuperation, which prevented me from being immediately sent to the front, but war is war after all, and no one can avoid it. It didn't take long for the 18th Army, which was in a state of recuperation, to be sent to the front line one after another, and my squad leader told me that we were about to leave for the front, and the squad leader was very good to me, by the way, he was a veteran who participated in the Battle of Verdun, so I was full of admiration for him.

Two days later, my infantry division received an order from higher authorities to immediately leave the garrison and go to the front.

I was very excited on the bumpy train, and when I was just an adult, I didn't understand the dangers of the battlefield, and my heart was full of thoughts of killing the enemy and serving the country, which is really naïve and ridiculous to think about it now.

After several hours' drive, our division reached a small city, which, though small, was now crowded with soldiers from various units, perhaps more than the total number of its inhabitants in peacetime.

As soon as we got off the train, we left the station under the leadership of the commander and gave way to the troops who were coming from behind.

After walking for a while, we seemed to have arrived at our destination, the company commander told us to rest in place, and then each platoon leader and squad leader went to the company headquarters for a meeting, and the cooking squad began to light a fire and cook on the spot.

After dinner, the squad leader came back and told us that we had to stay here today, that each squad could find a room nearby where no one was there, and that tomorrow we would set off on foot to the front.

It was getting dark, and the comrades-in-arms in the same class went out to have fun, they hoped to find the French girls who had not left this small city, and then something happened to them, they made an appointment with me, but I didn't want to go, because it was a serious violation of military discipline, I even found the squad leader, and wanted him to order his comrades to come back, but the squad leader just smiled and told me that tomorrow we will go to the battlefield again, I don't know how many of us can come back alive, let them go.

I was very angry when I heard this, a soldier should look like a soldier, bullying civilians would insult the glory of a soldier, but I was weak and could not make them give up this idea, so I had to use silence as a weapon.

I don't know how long it took for them to come back, and I learned from a few words that they had not found the French girl, and that there were only countless soldiers in the whole city. I was a little glad that they didn't defile the word soldier, but I was a little worried that I couldn't put it into words, why did so many soldiers gather in the city? At the same time, I'm a little looking forward to the fact that tomorrow I will actually set foot on the battlefield, and I will be able to fight for the great Second Reich immediately!

With such mixed feelings, I slowly fell asleep.

Before dawn the next day, the squad leader woke me up and told me to have breakfast and prepare to go.

I looked at the other comrades-in-arms suspiciously, it stands to reason that they usually get up later than me, why do they all get up so early today?

I hurriedly finished breakfast, sorted out my weapons and backpack, and set off with the squad leader to the square where the troops were assembled.

The square where we assembled was so large that our entire infantry division stood in a row without looking crowded.

In front of the line was a rostrum, on which stood our division commander, Mr. Commander, who was impassionedly announcing the pre-war mobilization, and I, like some other recruits, listened with enthusiasm, eager to fight the French to the death, but strangely the veterans behaved very indifferently.

After the division commander's lecture, the team began to walk out of the city in an orderly manner, and the clear sound of artillery could already be heard in the distance, I didn't know where we were going, and I asked the squad leader and the squad leader just smiled and said that we should go where we should go, and go to the place where the whole of Germany wants to go.

I couldn't understand what the squad leader was saying, but it felt great—no matter where I went, it was good to be able to go to the battlefield and make a contribution.

This damn ridiculous thought wasn't dispelled until I actually set foot on the battlefield, yes, where is the place to make a career? It's hell out there.

Actually, I've always been very bold and not afraid of the dead, but if you were on the damn battlefield for the first time, I swear you'd be just as scared as I am.

It's no shame, when you only have red in your eyes, when you may go to God in the next second and you don't know how you died, I think that hand called fear will also grab your heart and pull your feet.

It wasn't until I was slapped in the face by the old squad leader and then pulled into the trench that I woke up, and I trembled and said to the squad leader that I was going home, that I was leaving this damn place. Later I will just repeat one sentence: why fight?

The squad leader listened quietly, then took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, lit one and took a puff, and told me his story lightly, he said: "The rest of this infantry squad is actually considered a new recruit, and I am the only veteran of this squad before I go abroad, and I have become the squad leader." When we first joined the war, we were all like you, full of loyalty and righteousness, full of hearts to kill the enemy and serve the country, but when we really arrived on the battlefield, we were all dumbfounded, and we didn't expect the war to be so cruel. The old squad leader scratched his head, and then said: "It's just that stunned, the brothers died several times, the third head was blown up by a bullet, the fourth child was shot twice in the chest and died immediately, and the seventh brother is very strong." Saying that, the squad leader laughed twice: "Hehe, he was shot several times, but he didn't hit the point, he spit blood foam in his mouth, and struggled for a long time." The squad leader rubbed his eyes together and continued: "That was our first time on the battlefield, and 7 of the 11 brothers died. We said that whoever lives will take care of the family who died, and now I am the only one left, and then several new recruits have been replenished, and many people have to die in each battle. ”

The squad leader took out a notebook from his pocket, looked at it carefully, and then looked up and said to me: "There are 34 people who have died in this squad, and the dead people in our squad can be formed into a platoon, and the other soldiers in our squad have signed here, if they die, others will take care of his family, you can sign it too." ”

After saying that, he handed me the notebook, I took out the pen in my pocket, signed my name heavily, and then returned it to the squad leader. After carefully putting away the notebook, the squad leader asked me, "Now you know why you are fighting, right?" ”

I nodded, and the squad leader pulled me up and leaned out of the trench and pointed forward: "In that direction, there is a city, it is called Paris, we have died hundreds of thousands of millions of brothers, if nothing else, I just want to enter that city to have a look, now it is in front of us, do you want to go home or go there, choose for yourself!" Then I dropped my rifle and joined the rush of people.

I was stunned for a while, wiped away my tears, picked up my gun, and rushed forward with a roar as I learned from the people around me......