On this day I saw one of my comrades walking around very disheartened and not saying a word; when I asked what was wrong, since he looked so defeated, he said that he didn't know, but he was probably ill.
Just as he stood and spoke, a shell struck, and a fragment tore his forehead open and exposed his brain; in silence he collapsed to the ground to never rise again until...
Fallen German soldier still wearing his helmet in no man's land somewhere on the Western Front, ca. 1918.
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The following is 19-year-old Danish-German soldier Asmus Andresen's diary entry from the Western Front on an incident on May 28, 1918 - today 106 years ago. Translated by myself:
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"On May 28 I saw one of my comrades walking around very disheartened and not saying a word; when I asked what was wrong, since he looked so defeated, he said that he didn't know, but he was probably ill.
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That was in the morning, but in the afternoon, while we stood by the artillery cannons, he approached our Officer to report his sickness. Just as he stood and spoke, a shell struck, and a fragment tore his forehead open and exposed his brain; in silence he collapsed to the ground to never rise again. There were many others besides him who foresaw a similar fate."
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