Storm of Steel

by Ernst Junger, Basil Creighton (Translator)

Overview

First published in German in 1920 and English in 1929, "Storm of Steel" is Ernst Jünger's memoir as a German officer serving at the Western Front of World War I from December 1914 to August 1918. What is remarkable about this memoir is the absence of moralizing or political arguments for or against the military conflict. Instead, it focuses on the brutal realism of trench warfare. Separately, Jünger describes conflict at Les Éparges, the village of Guillemont, the Battle of Arras, the Third Battle of Ypres, the German counter-attack during the Battle of Cambrai, and the German spring offensive of 1918. Wounded a total of fourteen times, Jünger received numerous medals for his courage during the conflict. Described by French author André Gide as "utterly honest, truthful, in good faith," Ernst Jünger's memoir remains an important contribution to the genre of World War I autobiography. This edition follows the 1924 revised edition translated by Basil Creighton.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781420982671
Publisher:	Digireads.com
Publication date:	05/25/2025
Pages:	180
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.41(d)

About the Author

Ernst Jünger (1895–1998) was born in Heidelberg. He ran away from school and volunteered to join the German army. Fighting throughout the war, he recorded his experiences in several books, most famously in In Stahlgewittern (Storm of Steel).

Table of Contents

	Introduction	vii
	Bibliography	xxiii
	In the Chalk Trenches of Champagne	5
	From Bazancourt to Hattonchatel	16
	Les Eparges	23
	Douchy and Monchy	34
	Daily Life in the Trenches	51
	The Beginning of the Battle of the Somme	67
	Guillemont	91
	The Woods of St-Pierre-Vaast	111
	Retreat from the Somme	121
	In the Village of Fresnoy	131
	Against Indian Opposition	141
	Langemarck	156
	Regnieville	180
	Flanders Again	192
	The Double Battle of Cambrai	204
	At the Cojeul River	219
	The Great Battle	224
	British Gains	257
	My Last Assault	274
	We Fight Our Way Through	283

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Extraordinary... Michael Hofmann’s superlative translation retains all the coruscating vitality of the original." —Niall Ferguson, author of Colossus

"Storm of Steel is what so many books claim to be but are not: a classic account of war." —Evening Standard

Editorial Reviews

One closes Storm of Steel with a heavy heart. So many men dead! And, really, for what? Moreover, these were the Huns, the supposedly evil, ruthless enemy, men who in normal life were schoolteachers, factory workers and artists, as well as husbands, fathers, sons and brothers. Yet each faithfully undertook his obligation as a soldier, and each died heroically or foolishly or unfairly. Jünger's great book matter-of-factly conveys the mysterious glamour of war, the exhilaration of its excess and intensity and, not least, the undeniable glory of men bravely preparing for battle as for "some terrible silent ceremonial that portends human sacrifice."
— The Washington Post

Michael Dirda

The definitive World War I account from the German point of view.” —Margaret Atwood, Entertainment Weekly

“Storm of Steel is what so many books claim to be but are not: a classic account of war.” —London Evening Standard
 
“Extraordinary . . . Michael Hofmann’s superlative translation retains all the coruscating vitality of the original.” —Niall Ferguson, author of Civilization,Colossus, and The Ascent of Money

From the Publisher