Ernst Junger's 'Steel Of Storm'

The document, Steel of Storm, by Ernst Junger, an English lieutenant in the Great War- or WWI- tells the story of a young soldier in charge of leading other Englishmen to their potential deaths, all united by the goal of defeating the German soldiers and restoring peace to their European home. This piece explains why Junger believed his experience of fighting as an English soldier to be a positive one, what the average experience of a soldier in the trenches was like, as well as how the Great War affected everyone caught in its crossfire. The piece begins by Junger referring to his time as an English solider, as a “good and strenuous life” (Steel.). One can infer that by the use of these adjectives, Junger meant that life in the military service during the Great War provided many moments that were both challenging and rewarding, thus making it a fulfilling life. Furthermore, he describes it as “a schooling of the heart,” which could imply that the War caused a wide range of emotions for the soldiers, in particular, thus causing them to grow and mature emotionally in response to what they were seeing and experiencing (Steel.). Additionally, although the War was extremely deadly, there was a respect in “the inherent worth of the enemy” (Steel.). This could have boosted Junger’s positivity by allowing the glory of success in war to mean more in knowing that they were fighting a powerful and worthy enemy. The document, Steel of Storm, concludes with
He speaks of the deadliness and anxiety induced by life in the trenches, as well as the mass destruction of civilians and towns caught in the midst of the Great War. Junger noted that “among the living lay the dead”; however, clarifying that even death itself could not kill the worthiness and loyalty of his men’s dedication to their cause