How To Write An Essay On The Storm Of Steel

Improved Essays
The Storm of Steel Though it was first believed to be an end to the war, the Battle of the Somme soon became one of the world’s bloodiest military battles in history. The Battle of the Somme was Britain’s first large offensive in World War I, and resulted in millions of deaths within a period of four months. Author Ernst Junger, The Storm of Steel: From the Diary of a German Storm-Troop Officer on the Western Front, was not only a soldier in this battle, but a very respected officer. In his book, he describes the horror of the battle, and paints a picture of constant gunfire and fields of deceased soldiers. Junger was the son of a successful German businessman and chemist. Although he was raised in a wealthy family, he often rebelled against his father in search of adventure. When Junger was merely eighteen years old, he ran away from home to join the French Foreign Legion, a branch of French military that allowed foreigners to fight for the French Armed Forces. Since Junger was a german citizen, this was considered an illegal act, but he would not face any legal punishment due to his father’s …show more content…
In November of that year, Britain would find themselves with a small gain, and a ludicrous amount of deaths. No other battle in history would cost as much lives and devastation to the land as the Battle of Somme did. This battle was unlike any battle fought before, and would possibly be the last battle of such magnitude. Junger reflects on the battle at the end of his journal entry, telling the reader of the horror that struck the Somme River for those few bloodthirsty months. “For I cannot too often repeat, a battle was no longer an episode that spent itself in blood and fire; it was a condition of things that dug itself in remorselessly week after week and even month after

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    World War I was a conflict that claimed the lives of millions of soldiers and altered the lives of countless others. Shortly after the War, two novels surfaced, Generals Die In Bed by Charles Yale Harrison and All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, that became influential in our understanding of how the soldiers lived. Each novel provides a firsthand account from a soldier’s point of view on one of the most brutal wars ever to have been fought. The novels portray war without the common popular veils of patriotism and heroism. General Douglas MacArthur stated “The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war”.…

    • 1533 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Haig was extremely ‘shrewd’ and ‘ambitious’ and that throughout the war, paired with his controversial decisions showed he had great self-confidence. But consequently this led to his one of his ‘greatest failures’ and he was too determined and too optimistic. Due to these characteristics, he continually believed that sending as many troops charging at the enemy would work. He displayed these properties also in the Battle of the Somme, but on a ‘larger scale.’ Haig was extremely religious, and on his belief that ‘God had chosen him to fulfil the duty’, he was also quite ‘arrogant’ – and this proved show his inability to recognize…

    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Battle Of Vimy Ridge Essay

    • 1563 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Prior to the Battle of Vimy Ridge, WWI was beginning to seem endless. Casualties began to build up to drastic numbers, forces were weakening, trenches were in horrible condition, and valuable resources needed for the war were depleting. A few number of battles during the First World War were somewhat successful, while most were considered a ground of large-scale chaos and butchery, which often resulted in a stalemate. One successful battle amongst the many that took place during World War I was the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Not only was it representing the ending stage of the First World War, but will forever hold a significant place in Canadian history and its citizens.…

    • 1563 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    World War I was one of the deadliest wars in human history, killing sixteen million soldiers alone, with a total of thirty seven million casualties including civilians. Mankind has been shaped by war throughout its existence. War can vary with type such as guerrilla or nuclear warfare. However, one aspect of war that remains the same is its ability to lay waste to all in its path. War has killed, not only the promising young men and women, but it has killed their dreams and goals.…

    • 1461 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Struggle: to contend with an adversary or opposing force. Struggle is faced by many people everyday and struggle shapes people, their future, and the future of the world. People face different amounts of struggle and struggle can be caused by an infinite number of things. In the Battle of the Bulge everyone in it struggled for their own side, government, belief, and to save their own life. The Battle of the Bulge was a pivotal part of World War II…

    • 964 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The battle of Gettysburg was one of the bloodiest and most horrific battles fought in the Civil War, and the aftermath of the war impacted many as well. The battle was a Union victory, stopping General Robert Lee’s second invasion of the north. It was the turning point in the war for the south, turning the course of the war in the Union’s favor. It became clear to the Union that they were going to win, and the Confederate morale was shattered. There were about 51,000 casualties on both sides, and they both suffered.…

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Many people still question Haig’s idea of wanting to still move forward. People claim that Haig should have learned from the statistics and adjusted his tactics, and argue that the cost in terms of human casualties was too high for a for a 5 mile gain at the end of the battle. The 5 mile gain was nothing compared to the cost of human casualties, and Haig seemed like he didn’t care about the deaths and in the end the soldiers who died, died for nothing, because of Haig. The British were unprepared for war; Haig could not change his tactics because he only knew one, which was conventional tactics. The soldiers were unable to keep up with the rivalry, as they were unprepared to take on their opposition with such a large number.…

    • 1640 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    On July 1st 1916 the battle for the Somme began. This battle would be one of the bloodiest battles ever fought. Among the men who were there was a war correspondent by the name of Philip Gibbs. This battle had a great loss of life that Gibbs recalls seeing wave after wave of infantry go over the top.…

    • 1147 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Did you know that within the first day of the battle at Somme over 57 thousand Britons died? This was only one small battle that occurred during World War One and only a small fractions of the lives lost in the war. World War 1 was a battle between the allies: Russia, France, Great Britain and the U.S. and the Central Power: Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy that started in 1914. The war lasted four long years. There were many events that are thought of as being the cause of the war.…

    • 474 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Confidently, I write to you in an effort to bring to your attention a novel that I believe will, in its reprint, aid a great number of students in their efforts to better understand the history of World War I. Erich Maria Remarque expertly wrote The Road Back and originally had it published in 1931 by Random House Trade Paperbacks in New York. Despite the success of the novel, its prequel All Quiet on the Western Front unintentionally dimmed it spotlight. I believe The Road Back can draw monumental success in its revival, but only with the assistance of you and your company. The Road Back exhibits an era in history, which disappears in the shadows between the two World Wars, it is an important part of the history of the world, and its reprint…

    • 1792 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    World War I, also known as the Great War, has transformed the lives of millions of people, leading to new innovations, and different forms of government. But along with new innovation, a lot of violence erupted, causing millions of lives to be lost. War is a transformative event for individuals because the deaths caused by war impacts people in a negative way, causing witnesses to have physical and/ or mental disorders, along with a feeling of helplessness and loss of faith in government. The novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque is an example of the impact war can have on soldiers. It is about Paul Baumer, a soldier in the war, and the reader follows him through his tragic endeavors fighting in the war on the side of…

    • 1284 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Interdiction The book ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ by Erich Maria Remarque described the horrors of World War I from the point of view of a young German man by the name of Paul Baumer. Though this character Erich Maria Remarque was able to portray real events that took place in World War I while bring the horrible terror that many young solders faced at that time in their lives. Three of the terrible factors he described in his book that took place in the real World War I were the terrible medical conditions for the solders in the field, the trench war fair, and the use of gasses. Medical Conditions Portrayed in the book…

    • 1295 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The gaping wounds could never be repaired. In Accrington, Liverpool, Sheffield and Manchester their men will never return. Along with the thousands and thousands of men lost on the Somme, it seemed hope, innocence and humanity died in the mire of the battlefield. The Battle dealt a fatal blow to National optimism and belief in one’s country. The Somme may have laid the foundations for the Allied victory in 1918, but even the redemption of victory fails to explain why we still feel the loss and pain of The Battle of the Somme so deeply almost 100 years…

    • 2000 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Germany flourished on the nationalism in the early 1900’s of its people, ready to encounter an attack at any moment and any time. People forget the decision of war until they are in the flame of its fire. In the novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque explains his war experience in World War 1 through a character, Paul Bumer—a kind and sensitive man. While in school, he used to write poems. Paul’s teacher brainwashed him and other students.…

    • 1393 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    cultural norms of a nation or region by a much “advanced” nation with access to superior weapons. The ideology of superiority can be seen in Rudyard Kipling’s poem, The White Man 's Burden, in which he called on the “white” European nations, and the United States, to educate and help those “sullen peoples [that were] half-devil and half-child” of the world, for it was their obligation to take on this “thankless” burden. For years, Europeans had believed that they were truly the superior being, civilizing the primitive people of the world. This way of thinking lulled them into a virtual reality where they could beat anyone and anything. Nationalism was another theme that could explain why people thought the way they did.…

    • 1207 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays