Storm of Steel

by Ernst Junger, Basil Creighton (Translator)

Overview

A memoir of astonishing power, savagery, and ashen lyricism, Storm of Steel illuminates not only the horrors but also the fascination of total war as seen through the eyes of an ordinary German soldier. Young, tough, patriotic but also disturbingly self-aware, Junger exulted in the war, which he saw not just as a great national conflict but -- more importantly -- as a unique personal struggle. Leading raiding parties, defending trenches against murderous British incursions, simply enduring as shells tore his comrades apart, Junger keeps testing himself, braced for the death that will mark his failure.

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