Following are the complete letters from which the quotations were taken:

Letter from Paul to Franz Lefmann, 9 July 1915

 

 

“France, 9 July 1915

 

Dear Papa,

Our work is progressing (…) We are building one position after another. I have no news to report.

Please send more writing paper; the paper available here is useless. Above all, Mother should send me some butter again — there’s none to be had here. From time to time, please also send a Braunschweig-style smoked sausage.

The post will not arrive until 9 p.m. tonight.

 

Kind regards,

Paul.

 

P.S. Please send a few insoles for boots, size 43.”

 

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Letter from Paul to Franz Lefmann, 30 July 1915

 

 

“Pignicourt, 30 July 1915, 3 p.m.

 

Dear Parents, dear Heti,

 

As I already wrote to you, we are currently digging a new position, this time for the artillery. The position is about 100 meters long and intended for four heavy 15 cm cannons. Each gun emplacement, about 5 meters long, 4 meters wide, and 1.10 meters deep, is connected to the next one by a communication trench.

The small chambers next to the gun emplacements are the ammunition rooms where the shells are stored. The communication trench is about 75 cm wide and 2 meters deep.

 

How hard it is to dig such a position becomes clear to me when Papa digs his land — that is pure child’s play in comparison. The ground here consists almost entirely of chalk and has to be loosened first with a pickaxe.

 

Now that the weather is fine, we get visits from aircraft every morning. Scarcely two hours pass before another French plane appears. Then we must seek cover in trenches and dugouts, or we risk being hit by fragments of shrapnel fired at the plane. The enemy aircraft, of course, try to photograph the positions we are building from above.

 

A few days ago, a French plane flew over our position and was heavily targeted by our anti-aircraft guns; it took about 200 shots, as well as machine gun and infantry fire. I would very much like to see one of these planes being shot down, but that pleasure will likely not be ours.

 

The planes here don’t drop bombs; they are used only for reconnaissance. Our German planes work just as intensively as the French ones.

 

That’s all for today. Many greetings,

Your Paul.”