Reflection on Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger

Storm of Steel was a very fast read for me, in which Junger details his experiences as a German soldier on the western front of World War One. Junger adapted his memoir from his journal, so sometimes the narrative is not so clear, but he writes very descriptively and there were times when I couldn't put this book down. One example is how he describes weathering an artillery barrage, like being tied to a post while a man swings a hammer at you over and over, just barely missing you, sometimes hitting the post, and sending splinters raining down over you.

Reading Storm of Steel gave me a better appreciation for the different phases of the war, as it began in pitched battles that resulted in stalemate and trenches, followed by a war of materiel and artillery barrages, followed by some mechanized warfare at the end.

Some things that stood out to me included the general absence of life not on the front. Junger frequently tells us about when he has leave to go back home or when he goes to training or when he is in the hospital convalescing, but only to inform us that there is a pause. The action of the book does not take place in the hospital or Hanover (Junger's home). Rather, he tells us that he is gone for a while, and then, in the next sentence, we are back fighting in northern France. I also thought it was strange that the officers and maybe other men wore their awards in battle. It is strange to imagine them fighting with ribbons and iron crosses on.

Junger as a person at times seems like an absolute madman who sometimes really enjoyed the war. He writes about how "these short expeditions, in which a man takes his life in his hands, were a good means of testing our mettle and interrupting the monotony of trench life. There's nothing worse for a soldier than boredom." The book is highly emotional, as Junger is deeply introspective about his own reactions to war. He is enthusiastic at times, and at other times paralyzed with fear, sometimes throwing himself on the ground and crying, "sobbing hysterically," as he writes it. Other times, he finds himself experiencing no fear at all and experiencing "fits of laughter I was unable to repress."  Twice Junger thinks that he is about to die, and his descriptions of that are very interesting, especially the second time. He mainly describes surprise and relief as his emotions, where he gains a deeper understanding of his purpose in life. For Junger, war evokes the entire range of human emotion, often not the types that you would expect would match the situation. He is unapologetic for showing emotion. Junger reflects on seeing a dead English soldier who was so young that Junger calls him a boy-- "the state, which relieves us of our responsibility, cannot take away our remorse; and we must exercise it. Sorrow, regret, pursued me deep into my dreams." I think that is the best line of the book.