From the Journal of Private Ludwig Beilschmidt

by The-Majestic-Radish

Private Ludwig Beilschmidt is a soldier in WW1. He keeps a personal journal, in which he writes home to his boyfriend, Feliciano Vargas, telling his of the atrocities of being enlisted and fighting. He hopes that should he be killed, hat his journal will find its way into the hand of his love. Crossover: Hetalia and All Quiet on the Western Front (I still stink at summaries)

4. The Screams of Nature Itself

We returned to the frontlines last night. I am still alive, albeit a bit shaken.

The ride in the lorries is crammed; we stood packed together in the vehicle, shoulder to shoulder with no room to sit.

Quite a few of the men who came were the new recruits, the rest were from unit 5 and my unit. The majority of the men are silent, listening and watching, on high alert for any sign of danger or unfriendly fire. I overhear Kat say that there will be a bombardment. His words penetrate us all, because on the front, his opinion can become the truth in a matter of seconds.

Once we arrived, we took refuge in a small stand of trees where our lorries dropped us off.

We, along with the rest of the troops, file up as columns of horsemen and munitions pass by.

The men no longer recognizable as men and the horses on which they ride were indistinguishable in the moonlight, but their movement remained beautiful.

Not long after, a red glow spread across the sky and the bombardment began.

I have certainly fought before on the front lines Feli, I know what war is like, but what we witnessed in combat last night, was beyond hell.

The rockets began to land all around our trench, getting closer and closer and closer.

We crawled away hastily, unfortunately the horses in the field often could not avoid the shells and bullet.

Some die but others are wounded badly. As they fall or try to run, their hellish screams echoed through the night and smoke.

Their cries were "the mourning of the world… the martyred creation, wild with anguish, filled with terror and groaning.

We all began turning pale.

One of the men, Detering, stands up. 'God! For God's sake! Shoot them.'... Then as if deliberately the fire [died] down again. The screaming of the beasts becomes louder " .

Eventually, well aimed shots could be heard and the beast came crashing to the earth, their black silhouettes falling to the earth.

The majestic beasts should never have been brought to the battlefield. It is only us soldiers to blame for the demise of those beasts of nature.

They are noble animals, unlike our commanders.

You are lucky Feli, to only hear of this second hand, because experiencing it is much worse. We used to depend on these animals for survival, and now look what we have done to them. We have replaced them with machines, yet still bring them to battle.