Storm of Steel

Near Regniéville, Jünger finds himself in the trenches again, where he contends with lice and poor food. When on reserve, Jünger enjoys himself in a blockhouse hidden deep in the woods, where he comes up “with just the right peaceful sort of drink: a fifty-fifty mixture of red wine and advocaat in a big-bellied glass” (182).

Soon Jünger strikes up a friendship with an older NCO (non-commissioned officer) named Kloppmann, and they go out at night in an attempt to take French prisoners, until they are fired upon and must turn back. A few days later Jünger is put in charge of a patrol designed to take French prisoners. For 10 days, Jünger’s hand-picked men practice throwing hand-grenades and rehearsing the raid, but when they finally reach the French trenches, they become confused. The first trenches are empty. Hand-grenades explode to their left, where one part of the patrol has gone, but Jünger pushes deeper into the trenches, becoming more confused: “After running down a series of cross and parallel trenches, no one knew where we were, or where the German lines were” (187). To salvage the mission, Jünger attempts to take a French machine gun, but is forced to retreat.